Ask a Bookseller: 'A heaping helping of joy'

"01Very Fat 01Very Brave," by Nicole Byer.
"#Very Fat #Very Brave: a Fat Girl’s Guide to Being 01Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini," by comedian Nicole Byer.
Courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing

Dionne Sims, owner of the new pop-up store Black Garnet Books in Minneapolis, recommended a book that’s been bringing her joy lately: "#Very Fat #Very Brave: a Fat Girl’s Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini." It’s written by comedian Nicole Byer, host of the Netflix baking disaster show “Nailed It.”  

Sims says she can open up to basically any page of this coffee-table book and smile. Each spread includes a photo of Byer showing off her bikini collection, along with humorous observations and tips. Byer uses the commentary to push back against the comments she’s heard about fat people and their clothing choices.

Sims calls this book “a heaping helping of joy. It doesn’t matter which page I flip to. Her bikinis are so cute. The cations are really funny, and the ‘self-help’ tips and tricks that she includes in the book are extremely relevant and timely” and refreshingly body-positive.

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