Elevation by Stephen King

When a man starts losing weight (but not getting any smaller), he uses the strange situation to subtly affect change in his small town.

When we meet Scott, he's embroiled in a nasty disagreement with his lesbian restauranteur neighbors about their dogs pooping in his yard. He's super-busy with a big project for his website development business, but unhappily divorced and lacking human connections. He visits with a retired doctor about the weight problem, not because he thinks there's a cure but because he wants someone to confide in.

As his health problem becomes more extreme, Scott takes on "fixing" things with his neighbors as a project. A sort of quest, as you may.

I had a hard time starting this book - I actually read the first 30 pages twice, because I'd set it down for quite a while and had to begin again. But once I got into it, I was hooked. It's a modern parable about the "weight" of one person on a community. Bonus: I had no idea what would happen in the end!

The Skinny by Louis J. Aronne, MD

This book was recommended by online friends - I can't say I'll follow his diet plan, but the theory behind it is interesting. And something that you could actually put in everyday practice.

Aronne's weight loss system is all about feeling full - being satisfied, and not feeling like you're missing out. Generally, the guidelines require you to eat a quantity of the good-for-you, filling foods, then a quantity of the the better-for-you, slightly-less-filling foods, then finally you can eat the not-so-great stuff. Theory: you'll be less hungry by the time you get to the carbs and junk, so you'll eat less of them.