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6th out of 16 books
—
24 voters
Balancing Acts
by
Zoe Fishman
A poignant debut novel about the transformative powers of yoga and friendship for four women on the verge of realizing their dreams
With beauty, brains, and a high-paying Wall Street position, Charlie was a woman who seemed to have it all--until she turned thirty and took stock of her life, or lack thereof. She left it all behind to pursue yoga, and now, two years later, sh...more
With beauty, brains, and a high-paying Wall Street position, Charlie was a woman who seemed to have it all--until she turned thirty and took stock of her life, or lack thereof. She left it all behind to pursue yoga, and now, two years later, sh...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
March 16th 2010
by Harper Perennial
(first published 2010)
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I had really high hopes for this book, a book I would have never picked up a year ago. Having recently discovered the true magic of yoga, I immediately fell in love with the synopsis on the back cover.
Charlie worked herself to the bone to succeed at her lucrative, high-paying Wall Street job. She studied instead of partied during her college years. Always. Which is why everyone is shocked to hear she left it all behind for yoga as they huddle at their ten year college reunion. She meets up with...more
Charlie worked herself to the bone to succeed at her lucrative, high-paying Wall Street job. She studied instead of partied during her college years. Always. Which is why everyone is shocked to hear she left it all behind for yoga as they huddle at their ten year college reunion. She meets up with...more
A story about four single women in NYC who meet up at their 10-year college reunion (they were only acquaintances in college, not real friends) and decide to bond during a 6-week intro to yoga class.
It's like Sex & the City meets the Friday Night Knitting Club. Only, with yoga mats instead of yarn. Charlie quit her fast-paced Wall Street job to teach yoga and open a yoga studio in Brooklyn; the others include a lapsed-photographer single mom; a romance novel editor who's a lapsed writer; an...more
It's like Sex & the City meets the Friday Night Knitting Club. Only, with yoga mats instead of yarn. Charlie quit her fast-paced Wall Street job to teach yoga and open a yoga studio in Brooklyn; the others include a lapsed-photographer single mom; a romance novel editor who's a lapsed writer; an...more
Charlie used to dominate Wall Street, but has changed paths and now runs a yoga studio with two fellow yoga-lovers; the reason behind her sudden switch from her old, fast-paced life to yoga remains mysterious. Naomi used to love to be behind the camera, but her life changed when she got pregnant with her son, Noah, now 8. Now she's trying to deal with the fact that Noah's once-absent father (and her ex) wants back into her son's life after years of being uninterested. Sabine is the editor of rom...more
I'm both a fan of yoga and, i'm not usually embarrassed to say, "chick lit" (though I despise the reference). Therefore, I must say, I had high hopes for this book that looked to marry the two. However, I was sorely disappointed. The book was a quick read which is great for summer but mostly the ability to turn page after page was due to the fact that it lacked any depth whatsoever. To say that this book carried on for almost 400 pages on the most surface levels would be an understatement.
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I should create a new shelf, “Debut Novels,” because I am so drawn to them in my local library’s “new fiction” section. While much of the inner thinking of the four reconnected friends has been shared in other novels, there are a few aspects that intrigued me. The yoga studio and classes served as a clean structure allowing the four friends to come together and find new strength and understanding about themselves. As a fledgling yoga student, I was interested in this. The idea of how challenging...more
Zoe Fishman's Balancing Acts was an inspirational, surprisingly upbeat novel centering around the complicated lives of four people -- all women who, by the close of the novel, felt like friends. Fishman does a fantastic job of giving us enough information about each woman to allow us to relate to their predicaments without the story breaking into cliches or random information. I saw a bit of myself in each character, especially Sabine, and could definitely relate to their problems and attempts t...more
Balancing Acts portrays four New York women in their early thirties who reaquaint themselves at their ten year college reunion and agree to take a yoga class from one of the members who has since done a 180 in her career and opened a yoga studio called Prana Yoga. The majority of the book is set in a six week period as they take the class, although we do get to see a slice of their lives three months after the class has finished. We meet Sabine, Naomi, Bess, and Charlie as they struggle with the...more
I picked up this book to read over spring break - my "trashy novels" choice. It definitely fits in with that moniker. The premise of the book is that four friends from college get back together after their 10 year reunion, and are convinced to enroll in a special Saturday morning yoga class. Through this class, they learn about themselves and grow. All in 6 classes. I know! Amazing. Also, not very believable. The characters were interesting (albeit caricatures), although they seemed to change ch...more
Balancing Acts came into my life at precisely the right time, I started yoga about 2 months ago and have been loving it. Balancing Acts was the perfect meld of yoga and the type of book I love to read, I just loved it.
I'm instantly attracted to books that are told in rotating perspective and Balancing Acts happens to explore these 4 women's journeys through each of their 4 voices. I loved all four of their voices with Bess just coming in slightly behind the other 3 women because of her initial m...more
I'm instantly attracted to books that are told in rotating perspective and Balancing Acts happens to explore these 4 women's journeys through each of their 4 voices. I loved all four of their voices with Bess just coming in slightly behind the other 3 women because of her initial m...more
This book was awful. I mean, AWFUL. As in, I can't honestly believe that someone agreed to publish it awful.
The basic story is ok. Four women meet at their ten-year college reunion and bond by taking the same yoga class. The problem is, the writing is just terrible. The dialogue is forced, the word choice is often awkward, and many of the characters are silly caricatures (a gay guy who works in a yoga studio and named his bulldogs George and Michael? REALLY? I think I actually rolled my eyes.) I...more
The basic story is ok. Four women meet at their ten-year college reunion and bond by taking the same yoga class. The problem is, the writing is just terrible. The dialogue is forced, the word choice is often awkward, and many of the characters are silly caricatures (a gay guy who works in a yoga studio and named his bulldogs George and Michael? REALLY? I think I actually rolled my eyes.) I...more
Overall an enjoyable read. I liked hearing the perspective of four different women, but do think in doing so it lacked some depth. I myself am a beginner with yoga and so was attracted to this book and how it integrated the transformative power of yoga. However - please! yoga once a week is not going to transform your life, it's not going to get you in great physical shape, and you won't be popping up into wheel after 4 weeks or a handstand after 6 week. Did the author even have a yoga teacher r...more
I read this book as part of a book blog tour, and I'll be posting my official review of it on March 29th. I found the dialogue to be a bit choppy - didn't flow super well, and I wasn't crazy about the overall style of writing, although there were some really funny parts. As far as chick lit is concerned, it was cute, and I liked the fact that there was a focus on yoga - that, in itself, set it apart from some other chick lit stories. As I got closer to the end, I was really wanting to know how t...more
I didn't really like this book, I found myself rushing through it to get to the end. I did not connect with any of the characters at all and felt the whole story was rushed.
Balancing Acts is about four women who meet up again at a reunion and decide to rekindle friendships at a yoga studio, owned by one of the characters, Charlie. The book then settles on yoga and each woman's relationship with one another and others to whom they're connected.
I just didn't find the characters to be interesting...more
Balancing Acts is about four women who meet up again at a reunion and decide to rekindle friendships at a yoga studio, owned by one of the characters, Charlie. The book then settles on yoga and each woman's relationship with one another and others to whom they're connected.
I just didn't find the characters to be interesting...more
This was a cute book. I liked it overall, but there were a few major editing errors (at one point I'm pretty sure the author used the wrong character's name?!), and there was a little too much slang for my taste- it made the book feel dated already. The use of seasons to represent change/transformation got harped on way to much as well. How many times do we need to hear about the women putting on their coats in the begining of the novel and sweating at the end? That being said, the characters we...more
Poorly written version of every other knitting/book/writing club book out there. Obnoxious dialogue, poorly developed characters, overdone premise.
I wasn't going to finish this book, but I was bored, and had no other new books to read. It was as awful as I feared. The same story - right down to the health crisis that strikes one member of the group... ugh. NO originality here. PLUS, they all start noticing how fit and whatever they are getting... really? from one day of yoga a week for 6 weeks?...more
I wasn't going to finish this book, but I was bored, and had no other new books to read. It was as awful as I feared. The same story - right down to the health crisis that strikes one member of the group... ugh. NO originality here. PLUS, they all start noticing how fit and whatever they are getting... really? from one day of yoga a week for 6 weeks?...more
Started the book Saturday night, finished in Wednesday night. Light, surface, a nice story about 4 different women in New York, in their 30s, NOT Sex in the City, but dissatisfied with their lives and opening themselve up to change. The yoga is the catalyst for the opening, but you don't need to be a yogi to understand the story. You also don't need to be a woman :) I can understand other's critiques, i.e. stereotypes of flamboyant gay man yogi, light story, but I found it what I need now (I'm i...more
I SO loved Fishman's SAVING ZOE, but this was a very disappointing freshman effort. It is so formulaic, like she is trying to fit into the chick-lit-struggling-young-women-in-NYC thing and it just doesn't work. And the yoga thing is forced as well.
I normally don't write negative reviews, but I want to say don't judge Fishman's writing by THIS book. Saving Zoe Saving Ruth: A Novel is far and away a better novel.
I normally don't write negative reviews, but I want to say don't judge Fishman's writing by THIS book. Saving Zoe Saving Ruth: A Novel is far and away a better novel.
Four college friends meet 10 years later at a college reunion. One of them is there to promote her new yoga studio. The other 3 agree to a 6-week session. During these 6 weeks, as they do the yoga and become more physically fit, they all face the emotional problems they have been grappling with for several years and end up more emotionally fit.
I enjoyed the yoga class chapters. Made me want to take up yoga. I started out interested in each of the characters but by the end, I was getting annoyed...more
I enjoyed the yoga class chapters. Made me want to take up yoga. I started out interested in each of the characters but by the end, I was getting annoyed...more
Finding a balance in their lives is a common theme for the four women in "Balancing Acts: A Novel."
They met years before in college, and at a reunion, they reconnect and decide to join a basic yoga class for six weeks on Saturday mornings.
A Brooklyn neighborhood is at the centerpiece of this story, and sets the stage for the lifestyle action that follows. I could relate to the women, even though I've never lived in New York; and enjoyed reading about their journey toward finding their balance. W...more
They met years before in college, and at a reunion, they reconnect and decide to join a basic yoga class for six weeks on Saturday mornings.
A Brooklyn neighborhood is at the centerpiece of this story, and sets the stage for the lifestyle action that follows. I could relate to the women, even though I've never lived in New York; and enjoyed reading about their journey toward finding their balance. W...more
Let me just say - if you are going to write about four women and their paths toward fulfilling their dreams - at least try to be somewhat unique about it. As I was reading through this book I couldn't get over how similar this book was to books like The Friday Night Knitting Club, The School of Essential Ingredients, and even the story that Balancing Acts mocks in its pages, Carrie Bradshaw and Sex in the City.
Like these books we look at things from all the characters points of view. I saw the s...more
Like these books we look at things from all the characters points of view. I saw the s...more
Definitely "chick lit!"
The warmth and candor that the author used to describe yoga, not as a physical activity but rather a mental activity, resonated with me as I took up yoga at the beginning of the year. As in the book, I initially started yoga as another form of exercise; however, I have found it to be the much needed stress relief that has kept me sane, focused, and motivated. I have been amazed at the transformation and routinely practice "namaste" throughout my day!
The warmth and candor that the author used to describe yoga, not as a physical activity but rather a mental activity, resonated with me as I took up yoga at the beginning of the year. As in the book, I initially started yoga as another form of exercise; however, I have found it to be the much needed stress relief that has kept me sane, focused, and motivated. I have been amazed at the transformation and routinely practice "namaste" throughout my day!
I didn't really know what to expect when I got the book. I had read the reviews and it seemed all over the place. At first I was bored, but then once I had some time, I jumped into the book and didn't come out until I finished!
I thought it was 1,000 times better than the "Friday Night Knitting Club", it was a lot more realistic, and it was the first time in a long time that I actually liked the ending of the book.
I am really thinking of trying yoga now after having read the book. I wish the au...more
I thought it was 1,000 times better than the "Friday Night Knitting Club", it was a lot more realistic, and it was the first time in a long time that I actually liked the ending of the book.
I am really thinking of trying yoga now after having read the book. I wish the au...more
Apr 23, 2011
Lauren
added it
This was on my to-read list for so long that when I picked it up at my Borders (it was closing and everything was 70% off!) I had not remembered it was even about Yoga at all. It was okay, a little predictable but the perfect airport/airplane read! A little different than regular chick lit since it incorporates yoga and not just shopping!
Also, it sort of jumped to conclusions which I can't explain without spoiling the book, but it was annoying at times.
Also, it sort of jumped to conclusions which I can't explain without spoiling the book, but it was annoying at times.
This was a well written book, just light without the fun. I didn’t get the friendship, the article that one was writing, or the yoga. Maybe it was a New York City thing but I never understood why or how Charlie became a yoga instructor. There were many parts of the yoga studio atmosphere that seemed neglected. Champagne after yoga??? They took six classes and all fixed their lives and weren’t even talking about ever taking another class. It’s not like that.
This book is a very easy read, but a different read than other books in its genre. It centers around 4 female main characters in New York City, but unlike most books where that is the case, the women are not overly materialistic. The book centers around real life issues: raising children, divorce, dating, careers, illness. I definitely liked that about it.
Bring this to the beach or read it on the subway! And you won't feel stupid for reading it!
Bring this to the beach or read it on the subway! And you won't feel stupid for reading it!
I agree with the other disappointed readers. As a yoga instructor myself, I was excited to find a fiction built on that world but was terribly disappointed. Her main character cussed too much, didn't feel genuine, and just wasn't believable as an instructor. I would not recommend this book to my friends or my students. What a shame. There was great potential here.
It's a good, light read. Charlie attends a 10 year college reunion and reconnects with three former dorm mates, whom she then persuades to take a private Saturday morning class at her newly opened yoga studio. Life changes and personal development ensue. It takes a bit to get going, but once you're familiar with the format, it's a fast, light read.
through out this book I would go back and forth between 2 and 3 stars. I'm not really in to yoga, but I understand the idea of becoming "one" with yourself. To these girls it was yoga that helped them in body and mind, to me its the lord. Kinda cheesy writing at times to, but it ended well and so I gave it 3 stars.
I have always liked stories where you get the "inside scoop" for multiple characters and this book tells the story from the point of view of all four women. It was a good read, enjoyable but a little predictable. I would certainly try another book by this author.
Keeping up with my resolution to read more about yoga in order to inspire me to actually do yoga I have just finished Balancing Acts. Not great writing (needed editing in fact) but some of the character awetre engaging enough for me to want to know the outcome.
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I will put it on my TBR list!
Did you read Holy Cow? I think if you like reading about yoga it's a book you would li...more
Mar 22, 2010 04:22am