Summary | Author | Book Reviews | Discussion Questions


Something on the Side
Carl Weber, 2008
Kensington Publishing
320 pp.

In Brief
Carl Weber—New York Times bestselling author of The First Lady and So You Call Yourself a Man—represents with a straight-up novel about friendship and love, sex and betrayal, and how getting some on the side is never as simple as it seems.

Meet Tammy, Egypt, Isis, Nikki, Coco, and Tiny-the bodacious women of the Big Girls Book Club. There's only one rule to being a member. You must be at least a size 14.

BGBC president Tammy loves everything about her life-her two kids, her fierce friends, her BMW. She especially loves taking care of business for her husband, Tim, for whom she'd do anything. This year, she intends to top all his past birthdays by having a threesome with her best friend, Egypt. Now, if only Egypt will agree to grant them this very special favor.

And then there's hot-to-trot Coco Brown, who has a habit of messing around with married men. It doesn't bother her, as long as they don't try to deny it. But now that she's hooked up with a man who makes his living being every woman's fantasy, all she cares about is making sure he doesn't stray.

But not every BGBC member is lucky with men. As insatiable about books as they are about love-or lust-these friends are about to discover how tough it is to keep it real when they all have Something on the Side. (From the publisher.)

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About the Author
Carl Weber is the New York Times bestselling author of The First Lady, So You Call Yourself a Man, The Preacher's Son, Player Haters, Lookin' for Luv, Married Men, and Baby Momma Drama. He is also the Publisher and Editorial Director of Urban Books. He graduated from Virginia State University with a B.S. in accounting and has an MBA in marketing from the University of Virginia. (From the publisher.)

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Critics Say. . .
In Something on the Side you'll fall in love with the members of the Big Girls Book club (BGBC). Besides loving a good book, there's only one other requirement to join: You have to be at least size 14. Tammy, BGBC's president, has as much drama going on as any of the books her members are reading. Consider this: Tammy loves her husband, Tim, so much that she wants to give him a threesome for his b-day. The other woman? Her best friend, Egypt, who, like you, will think homegirl has lost her mind. As he did in previous page-turners, Weber keeps the action moving while giving us some surprisingly touching moments that will make you pause just long enough to reach for a tissue.
Essence


The only requirement to joining the Big Girls Book Club is all ladies must be at least a size 14. Another unofficial rule appears to be having something going on in one's love life that's a little bit dangerous. But in Weber's raunchy romantic comedy, these babes find there's a consequence to every freaky action in or out of the bedroom. The BGBC president is Tammy, a "sexy egomaniac" whose marriage suffers after she persuades her best friend Egypt to participate in a threesome as a birthday gift for her hubby, Tim. Egypt's sister, Isis, must face the truth about her fiancé, Tony, while Egypt learns keeping secrets from the girls isn't wise. Coco, BGBC's aggressive single, finally meets her match. And the trouble Nikki is having with Tiny, the woman she left her jealous husband for, gets intense after Nikki meets a new flame. Weber keeps things tight and funny; readers with a bent for the bootylicious will certainly want to pick this one up.
Publishers Weekly


Readers say . . .
(Some books have few critical reviews online, in which case we try to include helpful ones from Barnes & Noble readers.)

A wild book for me : This is not a book I would have chosen on my own. ...However, I am a member of a book club and this was the book chosen for the particular month.... Albeit trashy, it was a good read. I am happy I was introduced to ...[it] otherwise I would have missed out on a really good story about a group of friends. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and much to my surprise saw myself in one of them. It was the first book I had read by Carl Weber and if his other book are as trashy as this one, I will push past it and enjoy a great writers story.
Reviewer - maestradw, 4/13/09


Juicy : I love all the characters in this story. Everybody had so much dirt in their closets you need a shovel, especially when you get to the end. Loved it.
Reviewer - Miss J, 11/26/08


Carl Weber Never Lets Me Down!!!!! : To be completely honest, I started the book when it was first released and I didn't get past the first 50 pages. The beginning of the book didn't grab my attention, which caused me to abandoned it for a couple of months. I decided to start over and after I got past the beginning I didn't want to put the book down. Carl Weber had me laughing and the book got so interesting, that I had to take it with me everywhere I went till I finished reading it. The ending is great...nothing I expected. The twists and turns will make your mouth drop. Carl Weber please keep them coming!
Reviewer - 11/6/08


Not What I Expected : I was turned off by the fact that each character seemed hopelessly locked into the concept that in order for any woman to be completely happy and content, all she needed was a man and his prose as a lover. Thank goodness this is a fictional story meant to entertain and it does entertain. I would hate to think that anyone believes this is a true representation of what women want and need in a relationship.
Reviewer - 6/6/08

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Book Club Discussion Questions

Sorry—the publisher has not made any questions available for this book.

But don't despair. Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

   • Generic Discussion Questions
   • Read-Think-Talk About a Book

1. Of the five main characters—Nikki, Coco, Tammy, Isis, and Egypt, whom did you enjoy or sympathize with most? Which of the women annoyed you most? Do the women seem to represent prototypes?

2. Perhaps of all the women, Nikki seems to learn something by the end of the book. What does she come to understand?

3. Um...what was Tammy thinking? Good idea...or not so good?

4. Is this book simply for entertainment's sake...or do you feel it offers a genuine portrayal of women's lives? Or try this question: can a man write realistically about women? Does Weber?

5. How do the women handle their "plus" size? Does being large mean being miserable? Can big women have big lives?

6. Do you like how Weber switched points of view for each chapter? Why might he have structured the book as he did? Did you find the differing points of view absorbing or off-putting?

7. Was the ending predictable or surprising?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)