All of a sudden, Butter finds himself popular amongst the "in" crowd at school. They go out of their way to let him know they support his "choice" and will do everything they can to help him make it happen. Along the way we meet people in Butter's life who really do care about him and find him rejecting all of them, for various reasons that become thinner and thinner as the story ploughs on. My favourite of these was his teacher, Professor Dunn. The Professor connects with Butter through their love of jazz and he reaches out to Butter several times through the story. Butter dismisses all those who show him kindness as "lame' because who would want to be seen with/be friends with a guy like him? Only losers.

So it was just me, a pile of dirty dishes, and a dining table covered in crumbs and splattered juice. The suddenly nauseating smell of pot roast overwhelmed me. I fought the urge to puke. That's right. I fought it. I was a binge eater, not a bulimic. That sh*t is for girls. He's also crushing on a girl from his school called Anna, but she'd never talk to him if she knew who he really was so he uses fake online identity called JP, claiming to be a boy from a nearby high school, and gets into an online relationship with her. Here's my preface: I know some people are naturally heavier than others. I'm aware that some people have medical issues. I know, as cliche as it sounds, that what's on the inside matters much more than what's on the outside.

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Butter is divided into two parts: the story of butter and recipes involving butter. The first part covers how butter is made around the world, how it has developed, and what the butter industry looks like today. It was also the reason why I went around asking my friends: “do you know that yak butter costs twice as much as cow butter in Bhutan?” If you were thinking that a book about a kid eating himself to death and live-streaming it would be stupid, you were right; good catch. Probably one you can judge by the description. I read the description of this book when it first came out, and I almost bought it. It sounded so morbid, but like an incredibly interesting platform for discussing bullying and obesity. For whatever reason, I didn't buy the book--and now I am so glad I didn't. This book was the definition of underwhelming. Everything from the writing to the characters to the plot progression were just...not good. Absolutely disappointing. As I close, I’d like to reiterate; you can get help. It’s not easy, but you can do it. Just start asking. And keep asking until you get it. I believe in you. Butter by Erin Lange is an extremely satisfying read. It is exciting, funny and intriguing, as well as deep and enlightening. Making you think about obesity, the different forms of bullying and suicide, Butter stays with you long after you've finished reading it.

Every person deserves to be loved and that also includes people who weigh more than the average person. He shouldn’t have catfished Anna for that reason (though I dislike Anna as well) A few months ago, I had the opportunity to read and review a cookbook that recommended using a high fat butter. While that book went into a little bit of detail on what constituted high fat butter, I realized I still had a lot of questions after a discussion on my review about how to find high fat butter. So when I requested this book, I hoped to learn more about how to choose a good butter for baking and got a whole lot more. The first thing to bother me regarding the diabetes research was that Butter, who plays saxophone and virtually only plays the blues, has never, ever, EVER heard of B.B King. Ever. The king of the blues just doesn't exist. Never mind that BB literally made ads to promote diabetes awareness and is basically the unofficial face of type 2 diabetes. Let's just ignore that BB King would go play shows on stage and sit the entire time--and I know this because I saw him do it. I was at the Indy Jazz Fest in like 2001, 2002, something like that, and I distinctly remember that he was sitting when the show started and he stayed sitting even when it ended. But in this book, apparently playing a musical instrument while sitting has never happened and is physically impossible. Obviously if you're overweight, well, you just can't play blues. No heroes for you, Butter.

Peanut, Butter & Crackers: River Rescue by Paige Braddock – at a glance

One of my favorite kinds of non-fiction book to read is the book that explores the history of a particular thing: from clothes to chairs, customs to countries. Food history has begun to get its due with books like Mark Kurlansky's Salt, and now Elaine Khosrova's Butter: A Rich History. A what a history it has! This seemingly simple and ubiquitous kitchen staple has a complex and fascinating story to tell, and Khosrova tells it in a well-researched and engaging style. Oh, but this book had so much potential! Unfortunately, BUTTER’s casual treatment of its characters’ actions and motivations lessened the quality of what could have been a thought-provoking YA contemporary novel on the highly relevant issues of bullying, obesity, and body image. I think the story has an interesting concept but I would NEVER let a teenager read this… I don’t know why this is a YA book (that’s insane in my opinion but anyways) Perhaps most surprising is the story of butter's sacred and supernatural past. For many ancient civilizations, the unexplained mystery behind milk's transformation into butter made it seem magical. It "seemed like a marvelous event," Khosrova says.

Thankfully, I put aside any hasty negative assumptions and read up on homemade butter. As it turns out, it’s simple to make if you have a stand (or hand) mixer, a blender, or a food processor. Within about 10 minutes, you can turn cream into solid butter.

In addition, homemade butter is soft and malleable before being chilled, perfect for making compound butter by stirring in some garlic, cheese powder, cinnamon sugar, or your favorite sweet or savory add-in. Can you do this with store-bought butter? Sure; it’s just less convenient since you have to soften the butter first. Surprised at the love for this one. I was surprised when learning the news that margarine was now considered MORE unhealthy than butter. I grew up eating it whenever I had bread/toast because supposedly butter was BAD for you. It never really bothered me but at the same time I really didn't mind when butter for bread was available at a restaurant or at someone else's house, etc.

You think I eat a lot now? That's nothing. Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal. I can't take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you're invited to watch...as I eat myself to death. So enter this book about butter. The history and origins, how it's made today and how that has changed, its uses (which aren't always for consumption/cooking/baking/etc. purposes!), and its place in society. The book also includes recipes and a few pictures of stuff ranging from tools to Tibetan butter carvings (!). Some of it was quite interesting to read about.

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Originally I had the idea to do a book about fat and cover all topics from dripping to lard and all that kind of stuff, but my publicist said “well, what about your favourite ingredient?”’ James explains. ‘It was always going to be on the cards, it was just the timing.’ Given his well-known passion for butter, people have often asked James why he hasn’t brought out a book like this one before. ‘It’s a great ingredient, and I really do think people have been waiting for this book,’ he says. I've mixed feelings about this book. As soon as I read the blurb, I wanted to get my hands on Butter. I expected a powerful, emotional novel and I'll admit, the writing's actually pretty good but sadly, the protagonist, Butter, pissed me off. I'm not sure how I can love a book when I don't like the main guy in it. And honestly, I thought this book was fantastically written, except for a giant red flag, which I'll get to in a bit. The pace was fantastic, the humor on point, the characters very real. Lange does an amazing job with making you understand everything that Butter's going through, what teen drama is like, and honestly, what it's like being overweight. All of that is perfectly captured. Butter's a fat kid. That's something no one would argue with and something he himself identifies with. But he's so alone, and he's sad about being alone. He hates knowing what it is that keeps him alone is that number. Over the last few months, he's made good friends with Anna online -- Anna goes to his school, fits in with the in crowd, and has absolutely no idea the boy she talks to online (who goes by the name JP) is really Butter. As we near New Year's Eve, Butter constructs a final menu, and considers measures to make sure he succeeds in this attempt. He is has an anaphylactic reaction to strawberries? Onto the menu they go, but not too early - he wants to put on a good show. It is macabre and absolutely gut-wrenching.