An Amazon buy after reading eat pray love

Whatever your marital/non-marital status this is a brilliant well researched book.

Off on a Ray taking into consideration firstly postal preferences.

Usual guidelines apply please.

kalise, Austria, post EU arrived 17/5/10
Icila, France, post Int arrived 12/6/10
BebeccaToh, Malaysia, post Int arrived 23/7/10
tohweiee, China, post US/Int arrived 29/9 10
oi-reader, US, post US/Int remove from list
dvg, US, post US/Can
ajsmom, Canada, post US/Can Arrived 12/1/11
arugh48187, US, post US only
polliwog, US, post US only
merrymari, US, post US/Can
ravencat, US, post US/Can
Luned, Canada, Int
nancynova, US, Int
wendyy, Australia, Aus/Int

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Off to Austria air mail as first stage of a long Ray - enjoy

I received the book today! Thank you very much for offering it up as a ray! I really loved Eat Pray Love and am looking forward to reading this book!

As expected, Elizabeth Gilbert doesn't disappoint! This is a truly great read; a successful mix of memoir and investigation into the complex history of Western marriage. Gilbert's prose is clear and fresh; enjoyable and amusing in parts, thought-provoking and deeply intellectual in others.

Since I've been happily married for nearly 10 years, I naturally read the book from a different perspective. Toward the end I found her repeatedly stated concerns against marriage slightly irritating, my reaction being more like: "Get over it already, will ya? Marriage is not THAT bad" . Only after she interprets marriage as a "subversive institution" - which is a very interesting discussion, by the way - she finds it acceptable (with inhibitions). My reaction was more like, "well, doh." People sure are interesting.

But all in all, GREAT book!

Thank you so much for sharing! I have already pmed the next participant and will try to send out the book ASAP (hopefully tomorrow). :-D

Sent on to the next participant today. Enjoy!

Arrived this morning. Thanks !

Very interesting work about the marriage and its history, specially regarding religious issues.
Being married for 40 years or so and happy housewife by choice (our two mothers were working) I don't agree with the feminist side.Without help from a maid I never stayed in the kitchen, I drove my children everywhere something was of interest. They grew without childcare problems and are now very prone to travel and socialize.

I'm looking forward to reading eat pray love. A nice fellow Bcer is sending it to me as a RABCK.

PMing the next.

On its way to Malaysia.

Just received this 2 days ago! I'm so delighted to read it. :)

Thank you Icila!

On its way to tohweiee in ZJG, China.

Received! Thanks! Especially for the tea. Will try it and let you know ;)

And thanks, Tregossip, for starting the ray.

Am halfway through the book. Sorry for the hold-up. Work got in the way and I couldn't find the time to read these last couple of weeks. But I'm back on track and should finish it by the weekend, after which it will be off to the next reader.

Sorry! Just wanted to drop a note to tell everyone that the book is good and well, and will start travelling again soon.

Released to dvg today. Happy reading!

Arrived safely today! In anticipation of this book, I watched the Eat Pray Love movie as a refresher. (Liked the book better, of course.)

I will be starting this tonight! I can't wait!! PMing next in line so I can keep it moving quickly. =)

I enjoyed reading this book which continues the Eat Pray Love memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. I enjoyed reading about her and Felipe and their journey to commit. I found the history of marriage interesting too. While part of me wanted to tell her to get over her fears of marriage already ... I guess I can understand if someone has been in a bad relationship to be a bit shy of the ceremony. I must admit that some of it I was bored with and skimmed but those sections were small. I think those parts could have been condensed a bit and still gotten the point across. Either way, it was nice to read the book and know that she found happiness at last.

Thank you for sharing this book with me. I will be mailing it off to ajsmom tomorrow, December 21st.

Caught today, thank you!

I have to agree with Kalise's review. I started skimming towards the end because I just wanted her to get over herself already! Yes, she'd had a bad first go of it, but her role models (parents, grandparents) were good ones. I can imagine some of the relunctance would have been because the State was telling her she had to - I can't say I'd be all excited about getting married just because someone told me to - but she doesn't acknowledge this ever.

Speaking of her grandparents, I felt like she missed a really important point when she discussed her grandmother's experience. Her grandmother was not supposed to have gotten married, having suffered a cleft palate at birth, and growing up "deformed". She had a successful, independent lifestyle in the 1930's, which was extremely unusual. When a farmer fell in love with her, she moved to his one-room farmhouse and had a pile of babies with no electricity, privacy or plumbing. Her grand-daughter is aghast that the woman's happiest time in her life is the first few years of her marriage - not her independence, not her working existence, not the fun parties of her employers - Gilbert doesn't understand that her grandmother always wanted to be married & a mother, but had been told she would never have these things. When it turned out she could have them, that's when life was at its' sunniest. Gilbert emphasizes that people contradict themselves all the time, and that this is just one of her grandmother's "mysteries".

Through this and other parts of the book, I was reminded of my very complicated uncle, who I once characterized as, "I'm happy....but WHY am I happy?" These people are never content just being...content.

I enjoyed the historical research part of this book and continuously read things aloud to ajsdad (12 years of marriage just this past fall), as I found some of the statistics amazing. Thanks so much for the ring, Tregossip, I will be contacting the next in line asap.

Found this one in my PO Box this afternoon. I have only one bookring in front of it, so it shouldn't tarry long.

I was hesitant to read this one as somebody told me that if you don't have a really good marriage, you shouldn't read it. So, I was a little worried; "really good marriage" being a nebulous phrase. Happily, after reading this book, I am more inclined to say that I have a wonderful marriage. I can't say that my husband and I don't argue, but we see eye to eye on almost everything. I too was a little leery of making the big plunge, but nothing like Elizabeth was. I like her resolution, though. Marriage is what you make of it; nothing more nothing less, and certainly none of anyone else's business.

I have an address and plan (toddler willing) to drop it in the mail later this week. Thanks for sharing and sorry for keeping it so long.

Polliwog asked to be skipped. So this is going to merrymari who is next on the list. Happy reading!

Book arrived safely and am looking forward to reading it. Thank you.

Arrived today and will start it right away.

While I do appreciate Gilbert's research on marriage I personally felt it was a little over the top and in a way felt bad for her that she had to put all this energy into this in order to make a right decision about marrying Felipe. All she had to do is look at her own family and I think that would have been all she would have needed to realize that this time around it is all good. I am happy that she decided to have a little ceremony to celebrate her new love and life with family and friends. All in all it was a good book and did not struggle with it like I did with Eat Pray Love. Thanks Tregossip for including me in this ray.. I PM'd the next person(Luned) a few weeks ago but have not heard anything and will try one more time. If no response I will move on to next in line.

Update: 20 July 2011- I have PM Luned twice with no respose so I will go to the next person in line.

Sent off to NancyNova as Luned has not responded to my several requests for their address. Enjoy!

Book arrived today. About 50 pages on my current read to finish, then will delve into this one! Good timing!

Starting this one today, but looks like a week or two long commute read. Will PM the next in line, so it's ready to go when I'm finished.

While the author ponders and waits for her Homeland Security mandated marriage, so her Brazilian husband can emigrate to the US, she researchs the subject of marriage, searching for ways to come to terms with her marriage-averse ideas.

PM'd wendyv again - if no response, will RABCK to someone who has this on their wishlist.

A Wishlist Book. Enjoy!

What a wonderful surprise to receive this wishlist book. Thanks so much.

This is now available.

On reserve for valpete for the wishlist tag game.

Sending to valpete as part of the wishlist tag game.

Thanks for thinking of me with this surprise package! Look forward to reading it.