This book was a wonderful refuge for me to read. It helped me gain clarity from a view I wouldn't have thought of. The way the main character derived inspiration from the little things in life, allowed me the same benefit.

There are already so many reviews on this wonderful book, so my word of advice is: Read the book first and see the movie later!

I'm sorry, but I just didn't get it. There was absolutely nothing I could relate to in this book (which I guess is good for me) so it made it a very looonnng book. I cannot recommend.

This book is one which definitely takes a lot of time to read, because as three books, three entire journeys in one it is long. It is long and at times tedious, but I walked away from this book feeling like I had learned quite a lot about myself.

I too have issues with the thought of a Christian God, and all that is written about Him, just like mentioned in the beginning of this novel. This also falls on, as my background dictates, having issues with the Jewish God. However this book made me feel more inspired and wishing I believed in the beautiful practices of other religions more than ever. It made me want to learn more about myself.

Liz's issues throughout the book, her divorce, the pain of a breakup are something I feel a lot of people can identify with as everyone has had their heart broken in some way.

The scenes in Italy made me yearn to visit their, to taste the buttery melting pasta, the pizza in Naples, and meet wondrous lively people.

The scenes in India made me wish for the times when I actually used meditation as a tool not to get closer to God but rather to get closer to what I wanted to write.

Bali was beautiful, and I could picture these people and the places she visited so perfectly, I could feel what she was feeling so much so. The ideas of Balinese meditation fascinated me even more and I'm probably going to try it. The thought of heaven and hell being circular, being one in the same fascinated me in a way that nothing from the bible ever did.

This book is often tedious, but in the end I am so glad to have finished it.

I really enjoyed reading Eat Pray Love. Elizabeth Gilbert had me captivated right from the start. I think it makes a big difference when you can relate in one way or another to a character in the story. I wouldn't call this a book you would want to sink into if you are looking for a "romance"; it's really about a woman who is trying to find herself. She struggles with depression and goes through a divorce. After which she travels around the world eating good food and learning a new language, finding God, and her life partner.
Through reading this book I found myself wanting to experience the food, serenity, and sights of Italy, India, and Bali. I was inspired by the journey she takes the reader on.
Now in saying that I really enjoyed the book there were parts that I found a bit stretched out and slow. There was a lot written on her views of spirituality, which I don't totally agree on. I do believe in God and I did agree with some of her views on meditation and forgiving, I give the writer credit for referencing her beliefs.
Altogether I found this book engaging and adventurous, the title was very appropriately named. I could read it over again and again and still appreciate it.

I am currently reading this book and find it extremely boring. I do not understand all the hype for this book.

Being a Foodie this is one of those books you feel obligated to read. With a title like "Eat Pray Love" how can a Foodie resist or deny the desire to read about eating in Italy...what an experience that would be.

Elizabeth Gilbert takes the reader on a journey to Italy, India and Bali. She is divorced and also just recently left a relationship and is on this journey to find herself.

In Italy she finds food and bigger jeans. She learns the language and how to "do nothing" something we North Americans are not capable of. I agree with her we do not eat pleasurable soul stretching food, nor do we truly know how to do nothing.

In India she finds meditation and that God is in you, if you seek your God inside yourself and forgive.

In Bali she finds love and compassion. While in Bali she is able to help a healer and her daughter and two orphans taken in by this healer, by raising money via her friends to buy them a house. And she finds her soul mate.

This book definitely has its moments that are inspiring and funny, but I do find the author just a tad whiny and annoying at some points in the book. Does the book inspire me to new heights...no not really, did it touch me emotionally...no, did I find God...nope, already done that, did it make me hungry...YES...this book for a certainty makes me want to hop on a plane and go eat in Italy and eat gelato and pasta and bread and olive oil.

Elizabeth Gilbert is a really good writer but I still had to absolutely slog through to the end of her annoying book. I did so with the faint hope that maybe there would be some last minute clue about all the hype —or that maybe Gilbert would finally wake up one morning and say “Hey, maybe it’s not all about me!”

I liked the book but didnt love and think all the hype made my expectations higher. I enjoyed the three parts and the character development but found some parts slow moving and took longer to read. Overall a worthwhile read but not my favourite.

When this book first came out I had a friend telling me to read this over and over. I resisted thinking, I didn't want to pick something up just because everyone thinks it's so great.

Everyone goes through different experiences in their life, and I think that the depth that each individual will enjoy this book will depend on how much they can relate to it. This book has a deepness to it and honesty about a woman trying to rebuild her life. If you have been through a life-changing experience in a relationship, then this book would certainly be of interest.

Elizabeth writes with a voice that speak to all, and really it's up to the reader how much they want to take from it. I enjoyed it for all it was worth, whether or not I believed in 'praying' or 'eating'. From the moment I started it, I was captured as I could relate to most of what she spoke about, however, for those who are looking for a 'romantic' story of some kind. This isn't the book to settle into, it's soul searching.

It's not too often that I am able to read a book AFTER seeing the movie, but this one I got through just perfect ease. It's such an amazing, inspiring story. I could read this over and over again.

While this was a good read overall, there were plenty of times I just didn't want to pick it up again. Gilberts journey after her divorce to find pleasure, devotion and balance at times becomes too preechy. Her veiws on religion and spirituality are a main focus of this book, and that is not what I had expected to be reading about for 108 chapters. While I knew there would be some reference to her beliefs, I did not think that the entire book would revole around this. I had expected more of an adventure, and exploration.

I'm not an overly spiritual person, and I'm definitely a hard core cynic. I've been seeing this book for years and refusing to read it based mostly on the title and my understanding of what the book was about. So when it showed up on my desk at work, given to me by someone I respect, I felt too guilty to not read it.

I'm so glad it appeared on my desk. For me this book happened at the right time, had I tried to read it two years ago it would have gotten a bad review and I probably wouldn't have finished it. Gilbert is a talented, engaging writer. She was able to draw me in and I found myself commiserating with her. Her pain, her curiosity, her love, I was there.

Eat drew me in and I found myself wanting to visit Italy and enjoy all its pleasures, it was wonderful. But Pray is the part I enjoyed the most. Her quest for inner peace and happiness, for spiritual enlightenment sparked a curiosity in me that I didn't know existed. And what I love the best about Pray is that she doesn't push a religion, Gilbert makes it more about finding what works for you and going with it, I absolutely adored it. The last part Love was needed but for me was my least favorite. That being said I take back my previous misgivings and whole heartedly recommend this book, with of course this caveat, you need to be in the right state of mind. Don't force it.

First was Eat, and where is better for that than Italy? One word: pasta. One more word: Pizza.
This was my favourite part in the book, and it made me want to go to Italy myself because the love she had for it was contagious. I liked the little bits of language, and spoke a few of them out loud just to see how they sounded.
Second was Pray. This was my least favourite part of the book, to be honest. I'm happy that she found her relationship with God, and although I don't have the same opinion I can understand her wanting to find that. I did not, however, appreciate how pushy it felt at times.
Third was Love, in Bali. Well Bali sounds like a lovely place to visit, and a lot of the characters in this section were very likeable. I enjoyed learning a bit about Bali's culture and scraps of its history.
Overall, I'm glad that she found everything she was looking for. And although I don't find this book to be as remarkable as was claimed, I did like it. It also made me think of the places and things I want to experience, and inspired me to add to my bucket list.

After the hype this book has been receiving (and now with the movie coming out), I thought I'd give it a try. I'd heard good and bad things so didn't know what to expect, but I was skeptical. Eat Pray Love is the journey of Gilbert after getting divorced and breaking up with her on-again, off-again boyfriend and determining that she needs to do something for herself.

Gilbert starts in Italy simply because she loves the way the Italian language sounds. She lives there for a few months, eating everything put in front of her, learning Italian with a Swedish friend she meets there, and slowly coming off of her depression medications.

Her next stop is in India where she learns meditation, devotion, and self-restraint at an Ashram. Yet even here Gilbert learns about herself, with the help of an out-spoken Texan. Gilbert's final stop is in Indonesia where she learns about healing from a medicine man and about love from a Brazilian.

The best part of the book was the first part; Eat. I found the second part (Pray) tedious and not as interesting as Italy. Perhaps that's because meditation holds no interest to me and I'm not an overly spiritual person, however I've heard this complaint from others as well. The final part (Love) improved but wasn't as good as Eat. I'm not sure I see why this book was so popular. It can't be simply because this woman followed her dream and 'found' herself, can it? I don't think I get it. I, personally, didn't gain anything from this book and found that it was a slow read.

Bit of a disappointment to be honest, I was hoping it was going to be a heartfelt funny, quirky and deeply personal observational type of book. A journey that in some form or another we are all on, and I find that these type of books tend to touch a nerve as its something we all want to do at some point in our lives. this one though came across as incredibly self indulgent and not so interesting in the end....

Boring and painful to get through. I can't understand why it has that many good reviews. It's all about me...me...me...poor poor pityful me. Self absorbs and really...not much of a story line here.

I thought it was just me that had a hard time reading this book. I keep trying to finish the book in hopes that it will get better, but I have had no such luck. I do not recommend this to anyone and I wish it was not recommended to me!

My mom just read this and throughly enjoyed it. She wants to see the movie now. I am just starting it so will let you know.

I found the author quite depressive, confused, and a whiner at the beginning of this book and almost felt like giving it away to charity but felt I should read through to see if I would feel differently.

Her journey in Italy was enjoyable and fun, India was reflective, and Indonesia was about finding love again. I'm glad that she found herself a happy ending in this story. (I think you'll find whatever it is you're looking for if you open yourself to it.)

Despite my disapproval of her views, her story gave me a different perspective of happiness and makes me appreciate more what I have. :)

I saw the movie and found that the book was better. The movie could not capture the feelings the author went through at each stage. And although the sceneries in the movie were nice, they didn't give a sense of connection to me as a viewer.