The Popular Books

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth GIlbert

I thought the book was mediocre. The writing is clean but can get rather long winded. The main character kind of wore me out with her depression and selfish attitude. I think it's sad that she had to go to such lengths to be able to find herself. I'm all for women taking care of themselves and making time for joy but I think the message that you can only find that by yourself is misleading. I think I would like more encouragement for women to find themselves without having to leave everything in their life behind. I liked the movie better than the book. It made me laugh pretty hard a few times.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s, The Help is narrated by three

women struggling to conform. These stories of the black maids working for white women have an insiders' view of child-rearing, Junior League benefits, town gossip, and race relations.

I loved this book. I thought it was beautifully written and completely engaging. I love that it is about the relationships between women because I believe that women can cut each other the deepest. Relationships between women (civil rights aside) are the most difficult to navigate and maintain. I also liked that Stockett says this book is not just about the negative treatment of colored women in the South, but about the difficult love between women of the white and colored worlds. There are good stories and bad stories. It was difficult to stomach at times, knowing that these every day happening actually occurred on a regular basis. It was uplifting to read about women fighting for change. I'm sure this book is not a completely historically accurate representation of the civil rights movement but it provided self reflection and an enjoyable read.