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It's January, so it must be time for another diet-book craze. This year it's the Frenchwoman's turn.
Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure is being touted as the latest boffo publishing phenomenon, the this-is-not-a-diet diet book. A mix of memoir and common-sense advice, this is a book about how to have your cake and eat it, too -- by eating trs petit pieces.
It hit No. 2 on Amazon.com, second only to advance orders of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Publisher Knopf went back to press for 150,000 more copies, bringing the total to 225,000 since its Dec. 28 release. Retailers report being sold out in days. There are more than 150 people on the waiting list for 22 copies at just one New York public library branch. The words ''unprecedented'' and ''extraordinary'' are being bandied about, especially by Knopf executives.
''An immediate coast-to-coast best seller,'' declares Paul Bogaards, Knopf publicity chief.
''In two weeks, we've almost sold out of our initial buy, and we've re-ordered twice,'' says Bob Wietrak, merchandising vice president for Barnes & Noble (671 stores), where French Women is No. 4 on barnesandnoble.com.
''There's been a very big spike in just the last week,'' reports Beth Bingham, spokeswoman for Borders (460 stores) and Waldenbooks (700).
Not coincidentally, Guiliano's book has been the beneficiary of an aggressive publicity campaign, with features in a slew of glossy magazines (Vogue, House & Garden, Self), glowing newspaper coverage (Women's Wear Daily, USA TODAY, New York Daily News), and chatty TV appearances (Today, Dateline, CNN, Inside Edition). Even Howard Stern is talking about Guiliano's French women -- and not in a lascivious way.
So much for America's recent disdain for all things French. Good riddance to ''freedom fries,'' which this book advises against, anyway. And Guiliano, CEO of Champagne maker Clicquot, goes a long way toward allaying nasty stereotypes, coming off as warm and engaging as well as thin and chic.
''In the realm of diet books, it's a breath of fresh air,'' Bingham says. ''It's not about denying yourself.''
Bogaards says, ''Her edict championing the pursuit of pleasure and defending it as healthy has struck a chord.''
Besides, it is the time of year when people are thinking diet, says Elizabeth DeVeau-tan, manager of Shakespeare & Co. on New York's Upper East Side, one of a small chain of independent bookstores, where Guiliano's book is sold out.
''It's appealing, it's charming,'' DeVeau-tan says. ''It's not Dr. Phil shaking his fist at you.''
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