Eat, Pray, Love

Last updated on December 17, 2016 by Liza Hawkins

Not since Under the Tuscan Sun have I read a book that has made me want to cook, travel, and eat every simple Italian dish in sight. That is, until I picked up Eat, Pray, Love the other day at the bookstore.

I’ll be honest, I want to see the movie, it actually looks good. Plus, I do really like Julia Roberts, and the fact that I want to see the movie is the main reason I chose the book (I’d like to read it before watching it). But so far the book is proving to be very good, especially the first third, which mainly takes place in Italy where Liz eats delicious Italian food ALL THE TIME. Makes me want to run out and grab a crusty baguette and dip into a state of olive-oil-herb-bliss.

While waiting in line to buy my copy, the woman behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I just wanna warn you, that book is really slow. I’ve been reading it for a couple weeks and I still have 70 pages left.”

The guy behind the counter, the one who actually works at the bookstore, nodded his head in agreement, and added, “I stopped reading mid-way through and moved on to the new Nicholas Sparks book, which is really good.”

I half-muttered, “Oh. I have yet to read a Nicholas Sparks novel, but I hear they’re quick and easy reads…”

It’s a wonder I still bought the damn book!

The woman continued, “I mean, the ‘Eat’ part moved pretty fast for me. It’s the ‘Pray’ section that was a real snooze. But I can’t wait to see the movie!”

I laughed politely and said, “Yeah, well, I’ve heard that you either really love it, or you just can’t get into it at all.” I gave the bookstore guy my money, and continued, “Hopefully I’ll really love it. I’m on vacation, and should be reading Wuthering Heights for my book club, but I forgot it at home.”

She looked a little bewildered and said, “Wuthering Heights, huh? I’ve never heard of that…”

And there you have it. I felt a little better about her opinion on my newly purchased novel. I’m loving it so far, and I’m pretty sure I’ll love it all the way through “Pray” AND “Love.” Especially if there’s more food involved!