Tuesday Book Club
This may have been one of the best reading weeks of my adult life. I had the pleasure of reading not just one, but three fabulous books:
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (I’ve broken out our discussion of TTW into a separate post, so we can speak freely without worrying about spoiling it for others);
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (MASSIVE love for this book); and
The Gift of Change by Marianne Williamson (read only if you’re into changing yourself and the world).
Let us speak about Eat, Pray, Love.
It’s the memoir of a woman whose life was completely falling apart–divorce, chaotic desperate mid-divorce love affair, depression, health issues, endless crying jags–fun, fun, fun. And she decides that to heal herself and pull herself out of this bottomless pit, she’s going to take a year off from her life and do nothing but pursue pleasure and spiritual devotion. So she divides her year, four months in each place, among Italy (where she did nothing but learn Italian and eat everything on every menu), India (where she lived on an ashram and meditated hours and hours every day), and Indonesia (where she learned about life and balance from a Balinese medicine man, among others).
The book is funny–SO funny–and also shockingly honest, with all sorts of life lessons and realizations peppered throughout. I love that in Italy she decided her only assignment for the next four months was to “eat, pray, read, and write.” Add in some yoga, and I’m there. And how in India she tried to ditch her normal outgoing, sociable personality to become a silent contemplative, but it turns out our own real personalities can actually be put to better use than the fake ones we try to adopt. And how in Bali she discovered why everything had happened to her as it did, so that she could end up exactly where she was. That’s a message I’ll take eighty different ways every other day, thank you.
And did I mention the book is funny? I’ve gotten to the point where I will go anywhere with an author if she’ll only make me laugh. And the fact that this book does that while also teaching me grand lessons about life and all its surprising possibilities makes this a book I will lend often (okay, totally bully people into reading right NOW, often) and keep forever as part of my library.
And to think I got to read that right after The Time Traveler’s Wife. I am a lucky, lucky girl.
And now to your reports. What did you read this week?
Technorati Tags: Reading, Books, Book Lists, Book Reviews, Book Recommendations, Book Clubs, 50 Book Challenge, Tuesday Book Club, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger, Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, The Gift of Change, Marianne Williamson
February 6th, 2007 at 7:26 am
This week has been a slow read week for me. I finished Skellig for class, and I liked it. Now I’m reading Coraline for class. Wow! I should be done it today. It’s really good, but very creepy. My fiance was looking at it, and was like “This is a kid’s book?!” (I don’t get it. The man will watch Saw III, but Coraline freaks him out. Go figure.)
Oh, and as of yesterday, I have read 10 books! Woohoo!
February 6th, 2007 at 8:47 am
In addition to rereading TTW,I finished two books over the weekend,making it a grand total of 7 so far. One book was Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky(reviewed at my blog)and Angel With Attitude by Michelle Rowan. AWA,I started and finished in one day-nice!
February 6th, 2007 at 8:48 am
I didn’t read TTW like I was thinking I would. Instead I read a paranormal-ish mystery called “The Trouble with Magic” by Madelyn Alt. Its was pretty good. Good enough that I am going to read the next book in the series. Have a great week!
February 6th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Okay. I was never here. This post is a figment of your imagination…
February 6th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Heather, if that means you didn’t finish a book this week, so what? You can still play.
Good going, Christen, Lady T, and Danne!
February 6th, 2007 at 10:31 am
So…I didn’t finish TTW. I haven’t finished a lot of books lately. I listened to The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things on audiobook, which normally I don’t do and normally wouldn’t count, but I’m going to this time. It was pretty good - I liked the first half a lot. Didn’t like the ending, but that’s pretty typical.
I definitely will finish TTW and I also need to finish Why Girls are Weird, Until I Find You, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and another YA ARC I got recently. I resolve not to start anything else until I finish (most of) those!
February 6th, 2007 at 11:03 am
heather, do you want to start our own club?
February 6th, 2007 at 11:43 am
This week, for the first time in way too long, I actually finished a book (I start many, finish few, it seems). I read and quite enjoyed ONCE IN A PROMISED LAND by Laila Halaby.
And Robin, I LOOOOOOVE the book EAT PRAY LOVE! I haven’t finished it; she’s still in Italy. My book club is discussing it this month and I cannot wait — like you, I want everyone I know to read that book.
February 6th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I read 3 mysteries/suspense this week, and of course I can’t remember the names of them. Instead of watching Super Bowl, I got to read in peace and quiet. Yeah Super Bowl-sent the HB out with the boys.
Danne, I liked that Madeline Alt book also. I have the next one on my Amazon Pre-order list. I have 4 books coming this week.
February 6th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Readerdiane, you do live up to your name. Excellent use of your time on Sunday.
Molly, no sweat. Your pile sounds like mine. We’re all doing what we can.
Laura, I’ve got Laila Halaby’s book, too. It’s next!
February 6th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
No book this week. My reading is like a snake feeding. I read till I can not read any more. Then I slowly absorb what I’ve read until I am empty then, gorge some more.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Herb, that’s such a good line it belongs on a t-shirt or coffee mug or something. Consider it.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Sorry if someone’s already said this (I’m in a hurry — I get an actual child-free moment in a coffeeshop with a book, thanks to my mother-in-law. If I had a laptop, I’d take it to read all these comments, but I digress).
Anyway, sorry if someone’s already said this, but you can listen at npr.org to Elizabeth Gilbert reading excerpts from her wonderful memoir. Robin already knows that I ADORE that book. So excellent. I know there’s an Italy and an India excerpt at NPR (read by Gilbert herself).
February 6th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I gotta put Eat, Pray, Love on my pile. I read 40 hours of continuing education, and need to go back and finish Focused Expressive Psychotherapy which I put on hold to read TTW.
And, yes, Annette, I not only watched the Superbowl, I loveed watching it! In my yonger days I even went to a Superbowl-XXV when the Giants creamed the Patriots. Those were the days…
February 6th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
deborah, you are the ultimate renaissance woman–you do have my respect.
and yes i am lurking on this post (well not exactly lurking) because i did not read a gosh darn thing this week and i especially didn’t read ttw, because i have a bye until 2008, at which time i hope to express my enthusiam, or lack therof, for same, and no one will give a you know what about my opinion of same.
herb, i soooo love the snake analogy. permission to use it, and reuse it, until i have appropriated it as my own?
February 6th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson.
I was planning on joining you all with The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I ordered it and it hasn’t arrived yet.
February 6th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Bummer, Kimmy! But the TTW post will be around, so when you do finish it, please show up and say what you thought.
February 6th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Deborah, I think it is so cool that you are from an alternate timeline!
In this timeline, SB XXV is the start of Buffalo’s four year run of SB losses.
And generally speaking, we wouldn’t consider 20-19 a creaming.
But I wish to learn more of your alternate history! Who invented the car? Electricity? How many Superbowl rings do the Patriots have?
I finished a book today. I have been slow. I even stopped carrying TTW in my suitcase under the false pretense that I want to read it.
February 7th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Herb… hahaha! I just watched Snakes on a Plane last night. Your post about reading and snakes reminded me of this one scene where this dude gets eaten by an anaconda. It was cool! =)
It is my dream to one day star in a Samuel L. Jackson movie! I love that man!!
February 7th, 2007 at 8:44 am
annette,
permission grant as long as you use it for your personal use. © 2007 Herb…, Inc.
February 7th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
OOOPS! I did type Patriots didn’t I? It’s the Belichek factor-I was thinking of the days with him as defensive coord., which led to a thought of the Patriots, which led me to type Patriots, which led you to catch my error, and here we are. But I stand by “cream”. Back then, to me, any win by the Giants was a cream, be it by 1 point or 20, they were just awesome to watch, it felt and seemed like they creamed them all.
Cars? Electricity? Nada clue.