Eat.Pray.Love.

Eat.Pray.Love

I know this is a bestseller and I'm late in reading this etcetera. Picked it up from the library and started off without the least idea of what was inside. I mean, yeah, I know it's about a 30+ aged divorcee, rediscovering herself on a trip that spans across Italy, India and Indonesia in a year- 4 months at each destination. But I wasn't sure if it was going to be inspirational and/or a fun ride for me. Bestsellers hardly mean great books.

So first off: It wasn't inspiring for me, though it did motivate my inside-writer just a leeeeetle bit.
Secondly, it wasn't exciting either. But that doesn't have to mean that I hated the book either! I kinda liked it, though my interest seriously waned while she was in the second leg of her journey- aka India.

Italy: Eat
My favorite was the first part when she goes to Italy. That was so much fun and interesting a read. I got just as addicted to Italian as her and I LOVED that Italian favorite word of hers just as much as her. (shall I tell it out loud?) Attraversiamo. Love the way it sounds, what it means, I loved the whole Italian-ness of it. I love how the writer just indulged herself all through her Italian trip.

(for the curious- Attraversiamo means "let's cross over". It's a pedestrian word.)


India: Pray
Apart from being holed up in some Ashram and meditating, she doesn't exactly travel India. duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh. I mean, we've like the most amazing, crazy country in all the world and she just sits and meditated for the whole 4 months? That totally had me going "loser" and skipping through her India-exploration quick as you please. I get it that not everyone comes to India for trippin', but hey- Nirvana can come from doing deeds. I guess why I hated her idea of India is because for me, religion is a two-way thing- we have to be spiritual, but also grounded enough to recognize our surroundings and try to do our best in helping out those around us. Hardly what happened in this India-trip. Gah.

Then why did she have to be all trying-to-prepare-for-the-poverty-in-India by going to Sicily and then just being holed up in an Ashram then? Graaaarr. ok, I know most of you wouldn't agree with me though.

Indonesia: Love
Indonesia is a whole different story. She just relaxes. Is all. And oh yeah, meets up with strange healers, fall in love and finally-ACTUALLY does a good deed. She pretty much saved herself in my eyes with that one thing.


Concluding notes
Like the title, the book indeed goes from the EAT part, to the PRAY part next, and finally to the LOVE part. Though the last one sure took a looooooong time to happen. You get messed up with healers for a long while before the love part happens, trust me if you haven't read this yet.

Despite my several disappointments with the book, I loved it 'cos she starts living for herself and doesn't feel ashamed for just livin' it up one whole year. Hey, sometimes we all need to take a year or whatever off, so that we can come back a better person.

Props to her for making this an engaging read, great flow, lovely language and just delightful in a happy way.

And finally, attraversiamo. =)

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Who knew science fiction could be so hilarious as to rock your socks off and get you laughing yourself breathless and red in the face?

Before I read this hunk, I really had no substantial interest for science-fiction. Much less for sci-fi of the outer space order. And now that I have read it? I regret all those years that went by untouched by the awesomeness of this book. You're right people, it's THAT big and brilliant. Vivid, richly detailed, wildly imaginative and 500 flavors of awesomeness. Did I say awesome more than once already? That's cos this book deserves that sort of lavish praise.

I personally recommend this book for everyone who hasn't been interested in science fiction like me and every other Earthling, as well as aliens who might be interesting in Earthly fiction.

Since I'm going to have to restrict my squeeing to the above three paragraphs (BIIIG SIGH), might as well get to giving you an intro regarding the book.

INTRO
Arthur Dent is your regular normal human, pretty boring and all- until he gets his world literally blown apart and finds him escaping the catastrophe thanks to his weird friend Ford Prefect, who turns out to actually being from Betelgeuse and not the other side of London as he had always claimed.

WHAT GOES
What then ensues is how they hitchhike across the Galaxy, getting picked up and sometimes kicked off random spacecrafts while they simultaneously manage to get themselves into all sorts of crazy adventures. So crazy that you DEFINITELY have to read them to believe how madcap it gets out there in the space for them.

For instance?

• The journey they make to the restaurant Milliways which is literally built at the End of the Universe aka The Apocalypse.
• The wack trips they make on the Heart of Gold which travels on Improbability Drive. Which means they could be going anywhere. Anywhere!
• I don't want to spill it all in here! 

THE AUTHOR AND I TRY TO EXPLAIN IN AS LITTLE WORDS AS POSSIBLE OF HOW MUCH I LUFF HIM, HIS STYLE OF WRITING, HIS BOOK, HIS BOOK, HIS BOOK
Douglas Adams! Is there anyone else like you at home? Where can I buy one like you? His language, his English, or rather his manner of writing, twisting normal usages of speech around in such a refreshing way, that the reader is left gaping at first, laughing and crying their eyes out the next from the realization about how simple all this prose actually is, and yet so beyond and out of box, unconventional. All I could do after yet another mind boggling paragraph (which happened with EVERY paragraph I think) was go "whoa.." "yowza!" and laugh like a maniac which always elicited sighs and mutters from my roomies who had by the third page of my reading the book itself, had gotten used to the fact that I was prone to sudden attacks of laughter when reading the Ultimate Guide.

The Ultimate Guide is actually five stories plus a bonus story in one hell of a tome for a book. I loved it so entirely that I kept re-reading until I realized I was in danger of not reading another book ever. And had to resist my unwillingness to part with this beauty and return it over to the library. That caused quite a scene of separation y'know. Ah, the pangs.

I ought to have just stolen the book and lied outrageously that I have absolutely no idea where the book might have gone missing. No idea at all. I need that book in my life forever.
I need it to belong to me! But I have the feeling that it's actually the other way round, never you mind.

And for those who wonder about time travel, there's quite a lot the author has to say on the topic which actually makes sense, so you better listen up. Er.. read up!