eat pray love

I finished this book ages ago, but never got around to writing about it. I guess I'm better at keeping up my other blog than this one.

Written by Elizabeth Gilbert, this is a story about a year of her life when she travels to find inner peace, essentially. She has just finished a nasty divorce and wants to find herself. The first part of her year is spent in Italy (the "eat" part). She gains a lot of weight as she eats the delicious food and learns a lot from the Italian people while she studies the Italian language. I loved this section of the book. I think her voice is so honest and endearing.

The second leg of her trip is spent in India in her guru's ashram. I of course had heard of gurus, but I had never heard of an ashram and didn't know that Yoga was a religion and not just stretching exercises. In the ashram she has spiritual experiences as she learns to come to terms with her true self through meditation. I found this section of the book very interesting (because I don't know much about the religion), but also I thought there were golden nuggets of truth that were universal to all religions, including mine. I really enjoyed reading and learning from her experiences.

The last section is when she spends time in Bali. She went to Bali 2 years prior and had met a medicine man. He predicted she would come back to live in Bali for a time, so she did. Again, I didn't know much about the Balinese culture (if anything at all), so it was interesting to see the country through a westerner's eyes. Here she meets a man from Brazil named Felipe (and since the section is the "love" section, I'll let you figure out what happens in Bali!). Anyway, I think it served as the perfect ending to her journey because she had found herself and peace before she met a man and fell in love with him. It's my opinion that love works out so much better when you can love yourself first and then give love to the other.

I highly recommend the book, and yes! This is a non-fiction book I actually finished and enjoyed! Maybe because it was more of a memoir/biography than anything else, but I found it very easy to read, engaging and enlightening. I hear they're making a movie out of it (what book isn't these days) and Julia Roberts will play Liz. Should be interesting, but I'm not sure a movie will be able to convey the transformation she goes through as well as the book does. We'll see!

Proust Was A Neuroscientist

This is one of the books that I didn't finish. (Sorry Ellen!) I really meant to, but this was during the time we were packing up our house, finding renters, etc. etc. It was a very interesting book, but I just couldn't finish it.

The author, Jonah Lehrer, writes about various artists who basically understood scientific theories before the science really did. Part of the reason I had a hard time with this book was there were few of the artists I had any experience with. The first one he writes about is Walt Whitman, who I of course had heard of. But I hate poetry, so I didn't really have a lot of experience with Whitman. Another author, George Elliot, I have never read, and after reading this book, I don't really have a desire to either. Same goes for Proust. I guess I'm just not the artsy type! Or you could say, I guess I'm just not the more educated type. Anyway, it really was an interesting book that pointed out interesting ideas.

My favorite chapter was about a famous chef (don't remember his name), but it was all about food and how the chef understood the science behind taste without having to do scientific experiments to get it. He did experiments with food in his kitchen, but learned basic tried and true culinary practices that are still practiced today. I couldn't pronounce half the words, but it sure was interesting and made me think about what I eat and why.

So, if you're looking for a non-fiction to read, this is a good one. I'm just not a non-fiction kind of girl!

The Senator's Wife

I have seriously neglected this blog for the past 3 months. I have read books during that time, but apparently didn't finish any. Until Friday. I finished reading The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller. Definitely not a book I would have chosen myself, but interesting enough that I wanted to finish it, which was a feat these days.

The book is set in New England and switches between the 2 main characters: Delia (the Senator's wife) and Meri (a young married woman who moves in next door). Basically, Delia has lived separated from her husband for the past 20 years after multiple affairs. They stay married and continue to see each other from time to time. It's an interesting relationship to say the least. Meri has just married Nathan who is a college professor in history. He gets a good job and they move to this college town. Meri gets pregnant and deals with all that entails. I don't want to go into too much detail, but reading the book makes you think about what marriage is all about.

Today in church we had a lesson about strengthening marriages. There were a lot of words of wisdom shared, and I contemplated my own. I think I could fill up pages and pages of marital advice, not because I'm an expert, but because I feel like I've had a lot of experiences in the almost 9 years we've been together. Also, Rusty's little brother is getting married this Saturday, and watching newlyweds, you can't help but think of yourself at that stage. They always seem so young and naive--and they are--but so were we. It's just hard to believe we've come this far. So marriage seems to be the topic these days, and without boring you with my awesome words of wisdom, I'll just say this: I love Rusty now more than ever and I've very happy to be married to him. Thank goodness I'm not Meri or Delia, because I wouldn't have wanted either of their lives!

Rebecca

A colleague of mine gave me this book last year, thinking I might enjoy reading it. Well, I finally got around to reading it and I did really enjoy it. Daphne du Maurier wrote it in 1939 I believe. She also wrote "The Birds" (movie by Alfred Hitchcock). Apparently, Alfred Hitchcock made Rebecca into a movie too, so I'm going to have to check it out on Netflix.

Anyway, I just knew this book was considered a classic. I didn't know anything about it. Don't let the Alfred Hitchcock connection throw you; it's not scary at all. There are definitely suspenseful parts, but it's not a scary book. I think it's considered a romantic mystery.

It's a story of a young girl (her name is never mentioned in the book) who meets a fellow Brit while in Monte Carlo. This gentleman is much older than she and had his wife die about a year before. He was very wealthy, living on an estate called Manderley. I pictured Manderley like Mr. Darcy's estate in the most recent Pride and Prejudice (except a little warmer). Having lived in England, I saw a couple old estates myself (from the gate of course, we weren't allowed in!). But the concept fascinates me--having so much wealth and servants to do everything. Anyway, Maxim (the man) falls in love with the girl and marries her. He takes her home to Manderley. She thinks it'll be wonderful there, but quickly realizes that she is nothing like Maxim's first wife. The house is still run how Rebecca would have run it. Rebecca was this and Rebecca was that. She is constantly comparing herself to Rebecca, although she never talks to Maxim about it.

There are tons of things that happen, but basically, there is mystery around Rebecca's death that doesn't really get solved til the end. I won't say what happens, but I will say this: I should have expected the outcome, but for some reason I didn't. I think du Maurier is that good of a writer. She just had me reading and reading to find out what would happen next. I loved the book. It was an excellent book and I highly recommend it!

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood was an excellent book. I told someone the other day it's like "The Giver" for adults. Atwood's writing style was refreshing to read. I guess I hadn't read a really good author for a long time. Her use of metaphors and description were fantastic. Although it was easy to read, I didn't rush through it because there was a lot of thinking involved.

The setting is somewhere in the U.S., (although at the end, you find out it's probably Maine) in the future sometime. The book is kind of a mystery, in that you don't really understand what's going on, or how the society they live in got to that point. To be honest, you really don't know even by the end. She just gives you some clues throughout the book and you have to piece it together.

The main character is Ofglen (although this is not her real name). The handmaids in this society are called a name that relates to the men they are with. (So I would be Ofrusty). The men are not their husbands. The handmaids are sort of like concubines. Their sole purpose is to reproduce. The men have wives, but for whatever reason, the wives aren't able to have kids, so they get handmaids to do the job for them. It's very strange, but the whole point of the book is to get you thinking, "what if life were like this? What if I lived in a society like this? Would I be like Ofglen, or her best friend Moira (who chooses a different role in the society).

Atwood is making a statement about so many things in this book: women's rights and feminism, nuclear waste, terrorism, religious fanatics, etc. It's a compelling read that will get your wheels spinning about the society we DO live in.

If you're looking for a book that will make you think, but at the same time entertain you with exceptional writing, this is one for you! I highly recommend it.