Does This Church Make Me Look Fat Review

One weekend I was headed to a blogging conference when I found myself at the airport without my Nook. I wandered into the book store (yes, with real paper books!) and a book titled Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen caught my eye. I grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and anticipated a book about a girl leaving small town Pennsylvania to live in the big bad world. It turned out that the author actually grew up in a very different part of the country, but I very much related both to her upbringing as well as to her life in the world of the literati. The book had me in stitches, the kind of laughter that gets you looks on the plane, and I devoured it by the time I had returned home from the conference.

I was giddy – yes, books make me giddy! – to find out that Rhoda had written another book about her life called Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems. Again, I ended up reading this book while traveling and rather than use the time in the hotel to catch up on my sleep, I found myself reading until very late, anxious to read more on the flight home, once again getting those strange looks from the flight attendants as I stifled my laughter, tears forming. Once I got home, my poor husband had to hear entire sections read aloud, totally out of context. He now hears me talking about hearing things in a Poovey voice and we’re in open discussions about me being baptized (I believe this would make my third time…). You, too, will understand after reading the book.

There was a time when I read often, flying through a few books a week. Something happened when I began juggling life as a stay-at-home-mom and an entrepreneur, and special time for books – including monthly book club meetings – became neglected and then disappeared completely. For that reason, Does This Church Make Me Look Fat was a wonderful little gift to myself, a hilarious and quick read with enough “Yes! This!” moments to walk away with something more than just entertainment.

If you need a couple weeks of peaceful, enjoyable evening reading, definitely put both of Rhoda Janzen’s biographical works on your reading list.

And as Poovey would say, “ENJOY THIS BOOK NOW! ENJOY IT!”

I was provided with this book for review. I would have bought it anyway 🙂