Holidays and books go hand in hand for me. I have lovely memories of heading off to WH Smiths at the airport to buy a book, even as a small child! There’s something so evocative about choosing a brand new book off a shelf. This is why I jumped at the chance of being involved in eShores Book Swap Campaign.
Sometimes choosing a book can be difficult and it’s tempting to stick to what you know ie the same genre and author. I have been a member of a book club for many years and one of the aspects I find enjoyable is that I have read many books which I wouldn’t normally have picked up off the shelf.
The eShores Book Swap campaign invited bloggers to choose their favourite book in relation to travel so that the choice could be swapped with another blogger. I chose Snowball Oranges:One Mallorcan Winter by Peter Kerr, my reasons for choosing this book can be found on eShores website.
I waited in anticipation for the arrival of the book chosen for me. A lovely package arrived which contained the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Thanks to fellow blogger simone from simslife.co.uk for the choice of book! Simone recommended this book as “It’s a gentle reminder that you need to try things you may not have considered in life, in your quest to be content.”
Eat, Pray, Love couldn’t have arrived at a better time, as I have very recently made the huge decision to go to university and study for a degree with the National Childbirth trust. I have had many doubts relating to this decision, mainly around the fact that I will be a mature student, as well as keeping up with the work. This book is inspiring as it encourages you to go on a journey with the main character Elizabeth Gilbert (the author) who despite having everything, did not feel satisfied in her life. She heads off to three parts of the world Rome, India and Bali on a journey of self discovery. Life is a journey and for it to be fulfilling it’s important to take risks along the way.
Unfortunately we didn’t head off to distant shores this summer, however we did have a wonderful week in Devon. The book arrived with a lovely selection of items to make reading even more pleasurable and included a sunhat, suncream, reading light, bookmark, glasses case, book sleeve and book bag, they were a really lovely surprise!
My thoughts on the book Eat, Pray, Love are mixed. I found it inspirational in the way it shows life is a journey and it is important to have the confidence to try new things in order to become spiritually complete, however I did find it to be slightly self indulgent, which I know many other reviewers have commented on. It took me a while to complete the book and it certainly didn’t capture my interest fully. I love books which are unputdownable and for me this wasn’t one of them. On the other hand as a mum of four with many responsibilities the book further cemented in my mind that embarking on a new stage in my life ie. enrolling at university was entirely possible.
I would recommend this book to anyone entering a period of change in their lives.
Eat, Love Pray has also been made into a film which I haven’t seen yet. I will make the effort to watch it in the future.
Thanks so much to eShores for this fab blogging campaign!
*For the purpose of this honest review I received a copy of Eat, Pray, Love and reading accessories as shown.
