I did something the other night I swore to myself I would never do again. That's right. I put down a book without finishing it. It was scary.
I swore this to myself in college, when I realized I had not only a nightstand-ful, but a bookshelf-ful of books I'd never finished, as well as a hearty stack of books I was 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 the way through. I just decided, one day, enough is enough! Hence, the swearing.
But the book I put down the other night, Eat, Pray, Love, was a sad disappointment. The book is about a woman who, after going through some rather difficult personal drama (I liked that part), takes a year off to travel to Italy (liked that part too), India (she didn't even describe the clothes and food), and Indonesia. The book is broken into equal-ish 3rds, one for each country. Italy is all about food, India is about learning to meditate, and I didn't get to Indonesia.
Italy was great! She learned about food and love and art and language. Wonderful! I wish she'd stopped at that, and even elaborated a bit more. I quit the book halfway through India, due to the pages and pages of lengthy descriptions of...meditation. I suppose someone who is really into meditation might appreciate it more than I did, but I was more into the way she dealt with eating and her ex-husband and her various lovers.
On the other hand, I have to admire someone who can a.) put personal thoughts into writing - something at which I stink, and b.) publish that book for the world to see (provided they finish it...). I'm glad she found what she found, deep within herself and around the world, but I have had my fill of reading other people's diaries. Obviously, this is a personal opinion, as I have seen some raving reviews of the book.
I had high hopes for the book, due to all the hype and glam surrounding it. Goes to show how good her PR rep is, I guess. Wonder if he's taking clients...
I'm now onto Masie Dobbs, at the suggestion of my dear Aunt Rosie. It promises (from someone whose reading style I know is similar to mine) to be good. I am looking forward to it!
2 comments:
Oh, oh, but have you finished 'The Sparrow?' Did you borrow my copy, by the way?? I had my issues with Eat, Pray, Love, too, but I found that her charming writing style and some of the conclusions she came to at the end made it a good read.
Yesh. Matt is reading it and really likes it! He's about 2/3 through. I shall mail it to you when he's finished! Re: E,P,L - I do appreciate her perspectives, but like I was telling Matt, the things she's sharing are things I'd want to hear about over coffee from someone I either know or am getting to know. Reading a book of that level of detail, written by a stranger, isn't really something I enjoy. :( There are so many other books I want to read. Masie Dobbs is terrific so far!
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