Nearing age thirty, Amanda thought she’d be someone else by now. Instead, she’s just herself: an ex-nanny yogini-wannabe who cranks out...
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Mar 15, 2009
BunWat
rated it: 
Lets be clear, if you are in the mood for some quintessential chick lit, this time about yoga, this may be precisely what you are looking for. This is Brigit Jones goes to India. Twenty something woman trying to find her feet in the world takes a commission to write a book about the ashrams of India. Travels around meeting people and making amusing mistakes while obsessing about why her boyfriend wont commit. Bing.
If this sounds like fun, you will enjoy this book. It is well wri More...
If this sounds like fun, you will enjoy this book. It is well wri More...
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Oct 19, 2008
Tricia
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This was a really funny book about a young woman who is a free-lance writer for a 'dummies' book series. She is charged with writing a book on enlightenment - her editor says it is a really hot topic & can she write a 'how to' book in a few months!!
The protagonist, Amanda, is self-deprecating and witty, and you really like her a lot. In India she encounters many crazy and interesting people, and meets and becomes close to an American traveler. Devi Das is a true enlightment seeker: More...
The protagonist, Amanda, is self-deprecating and witty, and you really like her a lot. In India she encounters many crazy and interesting people, and meets and becomes close to an American traveler. Devi Das is a true enlightment seeker: More...
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Oct 30, 2011
Andrea
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This book attracted me because I was looking for some light reading, and this was light, but it was more than that. It was a learning experience about India and the world of ashrams, yoga and meditation, as well as the living conditions and people of India.
Amanda is a yoga instructor and author, and her latest assignment is a plum job: write a book called Enlightenment for Idiots. Since it has always been her dream to travel to India to learn from the best gurus, she can't wait to get More...
Amanda is a yoga instructor and author, and her latest assignment is a plum job: write a book called Enlightenment for Idiots. Since it has always been her dream to travel to India to learn from the best gurus, she can't wait to get More...
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May 11, 2011
dawn
rated it: 
I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, the detailed descriptions were exquisite (I could practically taste that smokey sweet chai), and the characters were real. I especially loved Devi Das, who was the comedic relief/guru of the book. His lines were almost always perfect.
There were times when Amanda's self-absorption bothered me, but then I realized that that's where this character was in her life. She needed to focus on that, focus on how to get beyond that. That *is* what More...
There were times when Amanda's self-absorption bothered me, but then I realized that that's where this character was in her life. She needed to focus on that, focus on how to get beyond that. That *is* what More...
Nov 27, 2008
Starbaby
rated it:
Another one of those books that you don't want to end. I actually had to put it down (hard to do, believe me) and *not* read it, because there were so few pages left and I didn't want to finish her life! This is not a book I thought I would have liked. I was just looking at the "new books" shelf in the library and kept coming back to it. I am so glad that I checked it out and I can't wait for her next book!
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Jan 13, 2009
Helen
rated it:
When Amanda, an up and coming yogini and Idiot guide writer, is sent to India by her publisher to study enlightenment and how to get it, it’s like a dream come true. But after chasing enlightenment from Ashram to Ashram, guru to guru, Amanda wonders if “enlightenment [is:] just the booby prize, the thing you went after when what you really wanted didn’t work out.”
Cushman paints a vivid picture of India, giving the story a rich sense of place. She juxtaposes Amanda’s search for enlig More...
Cushman paints a vivid picture of India, giving the story a rich sense of place. She juxtaposes Amanda’s search for enlig More...
Jul 26, 2010
Brenna
rated it:
I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Amanda, I could see being a friend of mine and at times her life reminded me of my own or of my close friends' lives. The author made the story come to life. I could not put the book down!
I think why I liked this book so much is because of the beginning setting: San Francisco. I live in Santa Cruz, so there are references to the Bay Area, especially San Francisco. It is also about a girl who practices yoga and being someone who has pr More...
I think why I liked this book so much is because of the beginning setting: San Francisco. I live in Santa Cruz, so there are references to the Bay Area, especially San Francisco. It is also about a girl who practices yoga and being someone who has pr More...
Oct 06, 2011
Chris
rated it:
I love the premise of this novel: a young yoga teacher with a contract to write a book for the fictional "For Idiots" series traipses through India looking for fulfillment in all the wrong -- and a couple of right -- places, while her clueless editor at home keeps emailing, "Have you found enlightenment yet?" The narrator's willingness to share her foolishness with the reader endears her to us, so that we willingly trudge along with her as her spiritual, personal, and profes
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Sep 07, 2010
Katie
rated it:
Amanda is a 29-year-old single woman who writes "idiots" guidebooks. She is a crunchy yoga instructor residing in San Francisco, and her publisher chooses her for the next project, "Enlightenment for Idiots." She is given an advance on the forthcoming book and expected to travel to India, searching for "enlightenment" by visiting ashrams, yoga centers, and gurus. She leaves her dead-end, on-again, off-again relationship with Matt behind and heads East. Early
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May 07, 2009
Janice
rated it:
This was a fun, light book. The author has previously written books about yoga and Buddhism, this is her first fiction. In this book she uses her extensive knowledge about yoga, etc., to tell a story about a young woman, Amanda, who writes books in the "For Idiots" series, and is chosen, due to her long time practice and teaching of yoga, to do a book titled "Enlightenment for Idiots". Amanda heads off for a tour of ashrams and yogis in India; at the same time she is try
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Nov 14, 2011
Danielle
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Cushman's novel really resonated with me on many levels, but the main thing I related to was her constant search for truth, and her occasional disappointments. I think that all of us who are looking for something greater than ourselves, or something within ourselves that is greater than what we have already discovered, will find comfort in Cushman's journey.
The protagonist has to reach enlightenment on a schedule, due to a book publishing deadline, and as you'd expect, this isn't th More...
The protagonist has to reach enlightenment on a schedule, due to a book publishing deadline, and as you'd expect, this isn't th More...
Nov 24, 2008
Patty
rated it:
A cute take on chick lit, but most definitely chick lit. I enjoyed the self-deprecating humor and "personal growth" in-jokes, as well as the travelogue aspects of her Indian journey. But the plot (which, by the way, pales in comparison to the book jacket description) is pretty contrived. And there's no subtlety in this book. The last few pages in particular are so heavy-handed I wanted to scream, "Enough already! I get it!"
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Feb 26, 2011
"When yoga teacher and free-lance writer, Amanda, travels to India in search of material for her new book about "enlightenment", she encounters a variety of captivating characters as she searches for the elusive secret to happiness. Woven throughout this quirky and humorous novel are Amanda's e-mail letters to her editor, description of yoga poses and quotes from Indian philosophers."
--DW/St. John Branch
--DW/St. John Branch
Apr 09, 2010
Manda
rated it:
Chick lit at its finest. Far from fine literature, I admit, but a fun beach-reading kinda book. It's sweet, doesn't buy into the usual happy ending (oh, it's a very happy ending, but not the white picket fence kind), and manages to convey a sincere appreciation for the yoga world and philosophy even while it's making fun of some of the trappings of that world...
Apr 02, 2010
Julia
rated it:
Enlightenment for Idiots may have single-handedly derailed my quest for enlightenment. If it's this boring, who the hell cares.
It took me FOREVER to finish this book. And it's not that it's boring, it's just that the plot twist that happens about a 1/3 of the way into the book changed the premise entirely. If I had known that was going to happen I would not have started the book. Once that happened I knew what the main character was going to consider being enlightened and I'm too old More...
It took me FOREVER to finish this book. And it's not that it's boring, it's just that the plot twist that happens about a 1/3 of the way into the book changed the premise entirely. If I had known that was going to happen I would not have started the book. Once that happened I knew what the main character was going to consider being enlightened and I'm too old More...
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Sep 07, 2010
Alissa
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At 29 Amanda does not have her life together. She has a bad relationship with a photojournalist who is gone more than he’s home, she’s broke and is aspiring to be a yogi. To pay the bills she writes “how to” guides for idiots. When her boss pitches her “Enlightenment for Idiots” and with it the chance to travel to India. So she goes and discovers herself, along with an intriguing cast of characters including the various gurus she encounters. Sort-of like a fictional Eat, Pray, Love type story, h
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Jul 30, 2011
this book was enlightenment, it's truyly amazing the lengths & depths one will go for what they believe in. & it's so funny when someone tries to follow suit when that life style isn't for them, I loved this book it was truly funny.
Sep 07, 2010
Jeanne
rated it:
This is a wonderful, funny, touching novel that spoke to me greatly. Along the lines of Eat Pray Love, but somehow lighter, and more personal... I sat a meditation retreat with Anne Cushman and found her to be a fascinating person: deep of spirit, and brimming with wisdom and great sense of humor. Reading her book only helped reaffirm this.
Oh, and the book isn't calling anyone an "idiot," it is simply referring to the "for idiots" publishing company that her pr More...
Oh, and the book isn't calling anyone an "idiot," it is simply referring to the "for idiots" publishing company that her pr More...
May 14, 2011
Amber
rated it:
So much fun. Also wrote From Here to Nirvana which I would like to believe is the book written in this one. But that would make Enlightenment for Idiots a memoir and no one’s real story could be as joyful and insane as this.
Oct 28, 2008
DMD
rated it:
This book was okay. I had very low hopes for it at the beginning since it seemed to be about the sterotypical yoga student in the US who thinks India is all about yoga and the kama sutra. The student gets a book deal to write about finding enlightenment in India and this book is like a travelogue. The descriptions of India were very accurate and the portrayals of certain gurus were reminiscent of some currently popular ones. Also, there were two characters that I really liked, the doctor and
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Apr 02, 2010
Carolyn
rated it:
This first novel by a contributing editor at Yoga Journal is a light-hearted romp through India, spiritual quest, and early adulthood. Amanda is an aspiring yoga teacher and writer, who is broke, on-again-off-again with the love of her life, and pregnant. With an intriguing mix of characters and a ready sense of humor, she searches for the enlightenment that is here, now.
Sep 04, 2009
Barbara
rated it:
This is a very well written book. I loved it and read it in a day. It has many emotional journeys with laughter every step of the way. I highly recommend it....
Aug 03, 2011
Good book, made me think about a lot of things... but it could have been shortened by about a 100 pages and achieved the same results.
Nov 25, 2009
Kelly
rated it:
From the back cover I was expecting a little more light hearted look at the subject but enjoyed the path the author took. Odd but good characters.
Apr 02, 2010
Nikki
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This is a thoroughly enjoyable, lite read. It is about a writer of "for idiots" books who is given the assignment to write an idiot's guide to enlightenment. The author clearly knows a lot about yoga, India, and enlightenment and that part of the book is very interesting. The part that I appreciated most about this novel (and in fact, what surprised me the most) is the author's message that enlightenment isn't necessarily found through the traditional Eastern methods. In fact, the
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Sep 07, 2010
Linda
rated it:
Liked it. Fun and kind of funny. Good writer. Plot in a sentence: A writer is sent to India to research/write a for-dummies style book about reaching enlightenment, staying at a completely commercialized,big business ashram. Can maybe recommend to the Eat, Pray, Love crowd looking for a novel, but I liked this take on it all better (no one would go on Oprah and talk about their life changing experiences after this -- and that is immensely refreshing; it's just a well-written story).
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Jun 11, 2009
Miss
rated it:
I really had a fun time reading this and I definitely rate it higher than Eat Pray Whinge, oh sorry Love. It didn't really portray India in a very good light though but that's probably a more realistic portrayal than any of the books I've read in India (like Holy Cow, which I couldn't even finish).
Dec 22, 2010
Jackie
rated it:
Ok, since the Fall, I've read this and Eat, Pray, Love. You know what? I'm NEVER going to India.
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May 09, 2008
Eloise
rated it:
"This is an interesting story about Amanda, a 29 year old yogi student who writes guidebooks for idiots. Amanda has found life complicated when it comes to love. She has been sent to India to write about how to find enlightenment. She travels from one center to another searching for enlightenment. While searching for enlightenment, she discovers that she is pregnant. Amanda struggles with pregnancy in a foreign country, feelings about love and her childhood, while trying to find enlightenme
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Aug 07, 2011
Julie
rated it:
Enjoyed the inserted portions describing yoga positions. Great insight into the different types of yoga/meditation.
