Why Italy first?

In her book, Elizabeth Gilbert writes that she wanted to “explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two.”

Why do you think she starts with Italy? If it were you, where would you start? Would you travel to Italy, India, and Indonesia? If not, where would you go and why?

Eat, Pray, Love — first impressions?

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love has been called everything from insightful to narcissistic. What are your first impressions of the book and of the author?

Read with Me in December: Eat, Pray, Love

Read with me in December — this month’s selection is Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. It comes “highly recommended” by Library Journal (“A probing, thoughtful title with a free and easy style, this work seamlessly blends history and travel for a very enjoyable read”) and Entertainment Weekly gave it an “A.”

Here’s a link to the first chapter and here’s a short video clip of the author talking about her book.