Eat, Pray, Love

I meantioned a little while ago that I really wanted to re-ignite my love of reading. I was a little afraid that this would be a hard task. And there have been times when it has been, especially when I can't seem to find anything I want to read. But lately things have been going really well and I have been devouring books in a way reminisant of my childhood. I even added a link to my sidebar in order to keep reading at the forefront of my mind. On it I listed many books I would like to read, as well as a list of books I have read so far this year. It's over there if you want to take a look. ----->

Anyway, the last book I read was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

For a long time I was hesitant to read this book (or see the movie!) because I knew it contained beliefs that I don't share or endorse. However, after reading The Happiness Project, I was really interested in the whole "taking a year to find yourself" concept as well as interested in reading another memoir-type book. I'm so glad I did. I loooovvveeedd this book. Yes, the parts I don't agree with were still in there, but I was able to look into them and see truths that the author probably didn't even realize she was writing. And I was able to pick out the things that I don't believe and put them to the side. My faith is solid and will not be shaken by a book.

Anyway, for anyone who doesn't know, this book is about a women who, after a rough divorce and a patch of depression, decides to take a year and travel to Italy, India and Indonesia to pursue pleasure, devotion and balance and find out who she is. The book is fascinating and I found myself wondering how someone could really have a life like this: one that sounded so much like a story. I was able to pull a lot from it and enjoyed it (pretty much) the whole way through. Probably what I liked the most was her writing style. Elizabeth Gilbert is (apparently) amazing at creating word pictures. This is my favorite quote from the book:

"We sit on the beach and watch the dangerous waves, watch the lean brown and white Indonesian and Western surf-cats slice across the water like zippers ripping open the backs of the ocean's blue party dress."

Looking forward to seeing the movie now!

Read

One of my resolutions this year was to read more. I decided, in order for that resolution to be measurable, I would read a minimum of one book a month. (That actually makes me laugh because "one book a month" would have been ridiculously easy for me once upon a time.) (And it actually makes me cringe because now it is a challenge. Sigh.) Anyway, January I did really awesome with it. I think I read 7 books. Of course, that was probably because I gave up TV for almost the whole month. Curse you evil TV! Feburary I didn't read one single book. Oops.

This month, however, I am on my second book. The first book I read was It Sucked and then I Cried by blogger Heather Armstrong.

It chronicles her journey through pregnancy and post partum depression. I may have mentioned this before, but reading about pregnancy fascinates me. Both my brother and I were adopted so, although I knew where babies come from, I never really learned that much about pregnancy. It is so interesting to me get different perspectives on it. Also, since depression is something I have struggled with, I was highly interested to read the account of someone who has struggled with depression as well, especially in that context.

  

But the book I really want to talk about is the book I'm reading now: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

It was suggested to me by a friend and is right up my ally. The basic premise of the book is a woman who takes a year to increase the happiness in her life. Each month she focus on a different area (Marriage, Finances, Work ect.) and sets daily goals for herself. This book is a good fit for me for two reasons: I love goal setting (have I mentioned that before?) and I want to change my life. The only thing I don't like about this book is that it is a little clinical for me. I was expecting more of a lighthearted, fun approach to changing ones life. Instead, she is very methodical with lots of research and (sometimes) boring (my opinion) approaches to improving her happiness. Still, I think I might try out a Happiness Project of my own and do it my own way.

All for now. What are you reading lately?