

“Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”
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“Fat� is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her.
I mean, is ‘fat� really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat� worse than ‘vindictive�, ‘jealous�, ‘shallow�, ‘vain�, ‘boring� or ‘cruel�? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain�
I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!�
‘Well,� I said, slightly nonplussed, ‘the last time you saw me I’d just had a baby.�
What I felt like saying was, ‘I’ve produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren’t either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?� But no � my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate!
I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny � a thousand things, before ‘thin�. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.”
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I mean, is ‘fat� really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat� worse than ‘vindictive�, ‘jealous�, ‘shallow�, ‘vain�, ‘boring� or ‘cruel�? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain�
I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!�
‘Well,� I said, slightly nonplussed, ‘the last time you saw me I’d just had a baby.�
What I felt like saying was, ‘I’ve produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren’t either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?� But no � my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate!
I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny � a thousand things, before ‘thin�. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.”
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“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
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Rania’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Rania’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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Book Club, Chick-lit, Classics, Contemporary, Crime, Ebooks, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor and Comedy, Manga, Mystery, Non-fiction, Psychology, Romance, Suspense, and Young-adult
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