Dating Big Bird: A Novel

I bought this book on a whim, only to bring my order to 25 dollars to qualify for free shipping. Ironically, this was the best of the lot! One of the best books of the type that I have read, I would recommend to anyone who liked the book or movie by the same author, Animal Husbandry. The book was entertaining and I read it in one sitting! A great read for the money!!

If you are looking for an easy reading, this is the book you should have. I bought it on a sale and wasnt sure what to expect. I enjoyed reading it, it is quite funny too. It is the story of a sucessfull 35 year old woman who is so obsessed with her niece that she realized it is time for her to have a child of her own. The story brings the up and downs that her decision can have towards her life and others. It is a good and very fast reading book(I finished in one day!). Hope you like it, Ana

Dating Big Bird features an annoying protagonist with a fierce desire to have a baby. Undoubtedly, this character would raise any child to be as whiny and useless as she is. Her preoccupation with the Pickle and Big Bird border on pathological. After detesting Animal Husbandry, I shouldnt have expected anything different from this book.

I bought Dating Big Bird because the title caught my eye. The book is right for someone on a plane or car ride, but it lacks any real emotions. I thought that the writer could have added a few more chapters at the end. I read it and got off of my self, but dont think that I will be reading any more book by Ms. Zigman again.

Another hit from Laura Z. Thank God womens fiction is more than singletons and dieting. Dating Big Bird touches that nerve every woman (every person actually) has. The nerve about wanting and loving and the desire to share your life with something meaningful. I plowed through this in one sitting, but its going to haunt me for a long time.

Ellen Frank is a 35 year-old woman who likens her reproductive system to a gumball machine, and the gumballs are running out. Having devoted most of her adult life to a career in the fast-paced yet shallow world of fashion, Ellen now finds a little voice telling her theyre just clothes more often than she is comfortable with. Moreover, she finds herself absolutely smitten with her 3 year old niece, whom she affectionately refers to as The Pickle. Ellen desperately longs for a Pickle of her own, but her Pickle-producing-profile is not promising. Malcolm, The man in her life is a compassionate and funny companion. The best one Ellens ever had. Except hes a Prozac-induced impotent. Oh yeah, and her doesnt want kids. His lifes is your basic tragedy: his only son died of leukemia, he became an alcoholic and his wife left him. Hes frozen, unable to escape the dark shadows of his past. And yet Ellen loves him.She just doesnt know if she can get a baby out of him. I had trouble putting down this funny, lively book. Zigman does a wonderful job navigating Ellens emotional roller coaster as she tries to determine how to become a mother, and who to include on her journey. It is a satisfying, feel-good read.

I picked this book up yesterday just because the title struck me as funny... I couldnt put it down. Dating Big Bird is one of the funniest books Ive read in a long time. Its a great summer read; whether you like fluff or deep literary tomes, youll enjoy this book quite a bit.

tho im only 19, i feel weary and cynical about the state of things, and i can understand ellens need to have a child so much she wont mind having one by an unknown sperm donor. big bird would make a really good father, like ellen said, but that does not exist in real life...sigh!

Dating Big Bird was a quick and pleasant read. Thats it. I would advise against treating the book like a how-to manual aimed at single motherhood. Its not particularly believable, nor did I relate to Ellen, the protagonist, except in the most general I want to have a baby someday and boy wont it look cute dressed up in little big people clothes sort of way. I can understand the consternation a single mother might feel upon reading the book, as its not a realistic depiction of single motherhood. Having said that, however, I still enjoyed the book. As Animal Husbandry, which was great, this is a humorous novel full of fun characters and quick plot and dialogue. My recommendation for Dating Big Bird, as for many of the other books I review, is to not take it so seriously. It seems, oftentimes, that people expect much more from a book than what the author might have intended to provide. So read Dating Big Bird, laugh and enjoy, but dont expect philosophical musings on the meaning of life.

Dating Big Bird is not the story of a woman desperate for a baby, nor is it the tale of a career woman suddenly in the midst of a mid-life crisis. It is not about a womans relationship with an emotionally unavailable partner, or the sudden need to reevaluate everything she once thought important. Characterizing this story in any of these ways would be an oversimplification. Ellen Franck is a normal, mid-thirties woman with a fantastic job, decent friends, a normal family, and a relationship. But the satisfaction of living the good life is eluding her. What exactly would make her life perfect? Like many people of her age and station in life, she realizes a baby would make her life complete. Shes not just looking for a plaything, or someone to love me. She wants the whole relationship, and craves the mother-child bond so much it hurts. But how does she make the fairy tale come true without a soulmate? And when she knows her fairy tale wont be the traditional kind? What Ellen wants is what some of us have, and others can only dream of: that perfect relationship that can only exist between mother and child, the perfect love you feel for that little person that calls you Mom. As Ellen navigates her way through her career, coworkers, family, friends, and relationship with a man not emotionally in the same place as she is, her needs and wants clarify in her mind. And she brings her readers along on a very funny journey to the realization of where she really wants to be. Zigman has a great way with words. This story is very funny, and her descriptions of the other characters will leave you snickering out loud. The dialogue is real, and the supporting cast seem very familiar--we must all know people similar to these. Women of all ages will relate to this story, whether you have kids or not. Great light reading, engaging until the end.