reading

This review is from the Barnes and Noble website

Bill Bryson, whose previous travelogues The Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There, and Notes from a Small Island have garnered the author quite a following, now returns to his native United States after more than two decades of living abroad. In order to rediscover America by, as he puts it, "going out into an America that most people scarcely know is there," he set out to walk, in the company of Stephen Katz, his college roommate and sometime nemesis, the length of the Appalachian Trail. His account of that adventure is at once hilarious, inspiring, and even educational

While I generally enjoyed this book, at times I found it a bit too educational. A little more "story" would have been nice. I now know more about the Appalachian Trail than I ever wanted to. Fiction is my preferred genre, so I shouldn't be surprised. An easy read, and genuinely funny at times.

I have been listening to this story in my I-pod

Oddly but aptly titled, Eat, Pray, Love is an experience to be savored: This spiritual memoir brims with humor, grace, and scorching honesty. After a messy divorce and other personal missteps, Elizabeth Gilbert confronts the "twin goons" of depression and loneliness by traveling to three countries that she intuited had something she was seeking. First, in Italy, she seeks to master the art of pleasure by indulging her senses. Then, in an Indian ashram, she learns the rigors and liberation of mind-exalting hours of meditation. Her final destination is Bali, where she achieves a precarious, yet precious equilibrium. Gilbert's original voice and unforced wit lend an unpretentious air to her expansive spiritual journey.

Narrated by the author, I am loving hearing her story. The conclusion is coming up, and I wish the story would go on. Knitting away on my couch, I have visited Italy, India and Bali.

My parents gave me some I Tunes gift certificates for my birthday, and this book is the first I have downloaded. 20 hours of entertainment.

Thanks, Merc and Pops!