Eat, Pray, Love in Busy as a Bee Books

Dec 19, 2009 Amy rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2010, busy-as-a-bee-books-group

I'll be honest. I did not have any desire whatsoever to read this one but it was in a stack that someone gave me so I decided to give it a shot. I'm a bit of two minds about this book. I really enjoyed the first third. And I really DID NOT enjoy the 2nd third. And I thought the last third was okay. I found it to be a bit self-absorbed overall but I could have overlooked that as I think it made sense given the focus of the book. I'm not sure that I'd ever be interested in being friends with this I'll be honest. I did not have any desire whatsoever to read this one but it was in a stack that someone gave me so I decided to give it a shot. I'm a bit of two minds about this book. I really enjoyed the first third. And I really DID NOT enjoy the 2nd third. And I thought the last third was okay. I found it to be a bit self-absorbed overall but I could have overlooked that as I think it made sense given the focus of the book. I'm not sure that I'd ever be interested in being friends with this woman but I can see why she appeals to other people.

It may be my own interest in Italy that kept me so engaged in the first 3rd of the book. I found the descriptions of the places visited, the people that she met and the FOOD that she ate to be wonderful. I found that part of her journey to be enchanting and it only made me want to visit Italy all the more.

The India section (part 2) was frankly not engaging to me at all. First, I'm not interested in India. I feel like I've read a TON of books about India, its people, etc. However, I found her lack of in depth discussion about the poverty of the country or any of the cultural background of the country to be very strange. For me, the entire section was SLOW and about as uninteresting to me as it could be. All the time spent meditating and musing about the small village she lived in while there just seemed contrived to me. I wasn't engaged and didn't find anything interesting in her India time. I even found myself skimming on occasion because I didn't care anymore about meditation, yoga or any of the other things she spoke so slowly and boringly about.

The third part was better than part 2 but not nearly as good as part 1. I know very little about Indonesia/Bali so it was interesting to learn more about the place and the people. I enjoyed her interactions with the people she met - the medicine man, for example. Very interesting to hear about her experiences with them.

Overall, I think the book was both engaging and boring. Which is a very interesting combination. I liked parts, hated parts. I never LOVED any of it, however. Not even Italy which had definite possibilities. I didn't dislike the author but I also wasn't particularly interested in her viewpoint which I found both fascinating (in that 'I can't stop staring at this accident' kind of way) AND self-indulgent, depending on the time/place in the book. I also understand that this was HER book, about her search, about her journey. But, when as a reader, I find it difficult to connect to that woman, it takes away from the overall effect of the book. So, I'm a bit perplexed by how much attention this book has gotten and how many people related so much to her. For someone so focused on enlightenment and what not, I found her lack of awareness and her utter selfishness to be very interesting. ...more

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Sep 25, 2008 Ashley FL rated it liked it

I hesitated between four and five stars for this. I ended up with four: although it was five stars for me, I think this is because (1) I went in with tremendously low expectations and only read it at all because my book club forced me to and (2) it is one of those things where it just hit me at a perfect time in my life. A year ago or a year from now, I don't know what I would have rated it.

It is basically a travel memoir of the writer's year "off" from life following a bad divorce. And she does ...more

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Oct 24, 2009 Stephanie rated it it was ok

Shelves: memoir-bio-abio, non-fic, bees

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I finished E,P,L last night, and I have mixed emotions about it. I think I am going to give it three stars, because I mostly enjoyed it, but after completion I don't understand why this book was so talked about. Stop reading here if you don't want SPOILERS!

I really enjoyed the first section on pleasure because I have a strong desire to visit Italy - I am glad the book started with this section, or I might not have continued reading. When I read about her eating pizza in Naples, I think my mouth ...more

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Aug 12, 2009 Lisa Hickman rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, bookmarks-2006, busy-as-a-bee-books, god-bless-goodwill, memoir

I enjoyed Gilbert's wit and meditation as she progressed on a year long journey of spiritual discovery. The book was a travelogue of metaphysical destinations. I liked her stay in Italy, because the food and ambience were most appealing to my senses. I found her stay in India to be enlightening, learning how to pray, meditate and sacrifice self. Gilbert seemed to learn how to be comfortable in her own skin during the final leg of her journey in Indonesia. I viewed her trip in three parts: the fi ...more

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Dec 31, 2008 Vicki rated it liked it

I boughtt this book from Amazon in 2007 and it sat on my TBR list forever. After the hype of both book and movie I decided to pick it up. My biggest problem with Liz was I could not relate to her. As a woman in my thirties, happily married, with two children I just coulnd't figure her out. I get that she needed to find her inner self, but I think she could bave done it in a less whiny (woe is me) kind of way.

I did enjoy reading about Italy and her visits to Rome and Venice. India was a bore, th ...more

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Nov 09, 2009 Carly Svamvour marked it as to-read

Recommended to me by Jana at Book Buzz . . .

http://bookbuzzdiscussion.torontopubl... ...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Adonica rated it liked it

Actually really liked this book. Didn't quite know what I was going to think of it...found it funny and actually made me think about the benefits of meditating. There were parts where I thought it dragged on, but I feel Gilbert quickly recovered. Anxious to see the movie! ...more

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