Eat, Pray, Love in Pick-a-Shelf

Oct 07, 2008 Gina rated it did not like it

Very dissapointing. I thought the author was too self-centered in writing this book. It helped her get over her divorce, but I didn't appreciate her story. ...more

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Dec 16, 2019 Slayermel rated it really liked it

Shelves: humor, non-fiction, religion, health, library, travel, audiobooks, 21st-century, personal-development, adventure

This was a fun read considering it's Elizabeth's story of hitting rock bottom and travelling for a year to find herself essentially. I did not expect to be so entertained. She is very candit and honest about her experience with Divorce, falling out of love, not knowing what she wanted out of life. You can not help but be able to relate to her on some level. It's refreshing to see what she was willing to put herself through to find some sort of balance and some answers for herself.
She travels to ...more

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Sep 02, 2009 Christina rated it liked it

Shelves: for-school, 2009-reads, memoir

When Liz's life is thrown into chaos after a messy divorce, another broken relationship, and the loss of every possession she owns, she decides it's time to take a year off just for herself - to Italy, India and Indonesia. To eat, to pray, and to love.

Having had no interest whatever in Eat, Pray, Love (but being forced to read it for class, anyway), I found myself surprisingly immensed within Liz's travels within the first third of the book. Perhaps because I could relate to the Italian element When Liz's life is thrown into chaos after a messy divorce, another broken relationship, and the loss of every possession she owns, she decides it's time to take a year off just for herself - to Italy, India and Indonesia. To eat, to pray, and to love.

Having had no interest whatever in Eat, Pray, Love (but being forced to read it for class, anyway), I found myself surprisingly immensed within Liz's travels within the first third of the book. Perhaps because I could relate to the Italian elements and therefore found an "in-joke" hilarity to the anecdotes she offered up. Perhaps because I'd love to visit Italy, and Liz ignited the flame once more. Whatever the reason, I loved it and couldn't wait to read more.

Her visit to India, on the other hand, provided the opposite reaction. I have no interest in religion, or finding a religion for that matter. I do have a sort of admiration for people who have such avid faith in their beliefs, but that's about the extent I'll go. Liz's stay in the Ashram, while enlightening, just about bored me to tears. There was too much history of the religion thrown into the text that had me tuning out, and I found myself skipping pages. There was an anecdote, however, I instantly related to, about how fast life passes us by, how we will never live through another September 7, 2009, how another day has been wasted, how soon everyone I know will be dead... I'm only twenty, and unless by unexpectancy, no one I know will die soon. But still, the terror is there, and I could relate to that story.

Coming to Indonesia, the final leg of the journey, my interest sparked once more. Humour brought the story back to life and I found myself enjoying the book again. I was disappointed in her love interest, (I thought for sure it would be the cute Welsh guy!) but thinking back on it, I guess this reflects real life more than we ever hope to admit. How often do we meet that interesting someone and instantly hit it off, only to never see them again? Real life, people. I think this was definitely a reality check for me, that life isn't a fairy tale; we don't ride off into the sunset with the fairy tale princes, but with guys who are actually willing to stick around. Whether 'fate' has anything to do with that, I guess is up to you.

So in conclusion - surprise, surprise! I actually liked this! I'm still trying to figure out what my word is though, lol. ...more

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Aug 07, 2008 Sabrina rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel, favorites, non-fiction, read-in-2010, spiritual, re-read, 1001-challenge, 52booksin52weeks2021, 100-books-in-2021, read-in-2021

The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, chronicles a year-long journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia (Bali) that she embarks on after a bitter and traumatic divorce and failed romance. Gilbert's journey, told in three distinct sections of the book focuses on not only her travel/journey to these three distinct locations but her larger spiritual journey.

In each locale, Gilbert focuses on a specific aspect of life: Italy is about the spiritual pursuit of pleasure, which Gilbert largely seeks through e The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, chronicles a year-long journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia (Bali) that she embarks on after a bitter and traumatic divorce and failed romance. Gilbert's journey, told in three distinct sections of the book focuses on not only her travel/journey to these three distinct locations but her larger spiritual journey.

In each locale, Gilbert focuses on a specific aspect of life: Italy is about the spiritual pursuit of pleasure, which Gilbert largely seeks through experiencing the wines and cuisines of Italy while immersing herself in learning the language. She spends 4 months in Italy absorbing what she considers the most beautiful of languages, first studying at a school, which she eventually quits, and then with a tandem language practice exchange partner. Gilbert then spends the next 4 months in India in the Ashram of her Guru. Here, her spiritual journey continues, as she focuses on devotion. She devotes herself to the practice of Yoga and to deepening her relationship with God. After leaving India, Gilbert then spends the next 4 months in Bali, where she journeys because nearly a year earlier on a previous trip to Bali a Balinese Medicine man has predicted she will return to Bali and live there. Here, she seeks to find balance or equilibrium in her life.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Watching Gilbert's spiritual journey (and ultimately her journey to find herself as a 35 year-old woman after a difficult divorce) was quite fascinating. I really enjoyed her views on religion and how she sought to find practices from several religions to inform her own beliefs. Her explanations of Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu beliefs were both thoughtful and provocative. I was really drawn into her discussions of the similarities among the religions and how she felt that some of the practices of various religious could be used to deepen the experience of other religions.

I also thoroughly enjoyed her descriptions of all the places she traveled and the people she met. Gilbert just seemed to bring many of those she met to life and made the leap off the page for me. My favorite of those she encountered was Richard from Texas, who she met at the Ashram in India. I think Gilbert did an especially good job of capturing Richard's persona, especially his practical, no B.S. advice. I also really enjoyed her description of her experiences with the Balinese Medicine Man Ketut Liyer. (I especially loved the section where Ketut tells Liz to meditate she only needs to smile but to smile with her whole body, "even smile in your liver".

Favorite Quote: "Bhuta ia, dewa ia" (Man is a demon, man is a god.) ...more

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May 13, 2010 Arlene rated it liked it

Shelves: 2011-50-book-challenge, non-fiction, biography-autobiography, travel

This book came with a lot of hype and a Julia Roberts movie. I still want to see the movie, mostly because of the locations and Julia Roberts. I was disappointed with the book, I don't think that it lived up to the hype.
This book is in three parts: Eat-which takes place in Rome; Pray-which takes place in an ashram in India; and Love-which takes place in Bali. She undertakes the journey after a crushing divorce and the break-up of the rebound love affair which follows. She has the resources to u ...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Sherri rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio

I started this book with the worry that I would hate it. I'm not a spiritual person, not in the least, so a book about a woman's spiritual journey, no matter the reasons behind it, normally wouldn't be my cup of tea.

That being said, I really liked it. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the people Liz met and even found myself entertained by the travel guide aspect of her experiences. I laughed often and shed a tear more than once, not because her story is overwhelming or awe inspiring, but because it's ...more

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Feb 18, 2010 Lindsay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z2010, autobiography

There were parts of this book that I found annoying but overall I really enjoyed it. I think it helped that I'd visited all the countries in this book so it was bringing back fond memories for me (I visited them without all the emotional turmoil that Gilbert was suffering from). But a very interesting year and a very interesting woman. ...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Amy 💖 rated it did not like it

Shelves: gave-up-on, biography-memoirs, kindle

Didn't get very far. The author irked me early on, so I ditched the book. :-/ ...more

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Jun 30, 2008 Lennie rated it it was ok

After a bitter divorce, Elizabeth Gilbert embarks on a year-long trip to Italy, India, and Indonesia. This book chronicles her travels. I bought this book because there was so much hype surrrounding it and after reading it, I didn't understand what the fuss was all about. I felt it was boring at times and some of the places she visited were on the border of being cult-ish. I also didn't agree with some of the choices she made along the way. Nonetheless, I felt that I got to learn about different ...more

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Jun 22, 2008 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel, non-fiction, memoir, read-2009

What a beautiful book! I can't believe I left it on my shelf to read for so long. Took me a little to get into it, but once I did, what a journey! I usually believe a book is always better than a movie, and I will be interested to see how they differ. ...more

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Jun 25, 2008 Ann from S.C. rated it really liked it

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Jul 08, 2008 Keith rated it it was amazing

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Aug 23, 2008 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography-memoirs

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Dec 03, 2008 Nemie added it

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Jan 23, 2009 Melinda rated it did not like it

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Feb 27, 2009 Andrew marked it as to-read

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Apr 14, 2009 Kiki rated it really liked it

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Apr 30, 2009 Cheryl marked it as to-read

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Jul 10, 2009 John Evans rated it it was ok

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Sep 07, 2009 Edina rated it liked it

Shelves: fall-winter-challenge

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Oct 24, 2009 Kellie rated it liked it

Shelves: 2009-reads, autobiography-biography-memoir, non-fiction

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Dec 26, 2009 Kathy marked it as to-read

Shelves: non-fiction

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Jan 07, 2010 Katlyn rated it really liked it

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May 24, 2010 Kim DeCina rated it liked it

Shelves: spiritual, nonfiction, contemporary, beautiful-language, sweet, problematic, international, better-than-expected, narrative-nonfiction, travel

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