stacia_reads's reviews
982 reviews

I expected the focus to be more on gelato than "reasons to travel the world, embrace failure, and do the sh*t that scares you," but it was still an OK listen. I think I was expecting more of a Stanley Tucci-style situation that would make me crave Italian food, but this was more about embracing change and taking chances through the lens of someone who did those things as part of moving to Italy. 

4h 13m

Overall, this was a great read/listen for the beginning of the year. I don't strive to be a digital minimalist, but it did make me think about how I use the internet and my devices. Especially with the nonstop barrage of news lately... As a result, I deleted a few apps from my phone, changed notification settings on others, and created filters for a bunch of email subscriptions (in addition to canceling a bunch).

However, a FULL POINT off my rating for "virtuous hobbies." He spoke about someone who's basically homesteading and making work for themselves doing "virtuous hobbies" like cutting firewood and clearing fields. The whole idea that downtime isn't "good enough" unless you're physically plowing the land really rubbed me the wrong way. 

This was brutal. Maybe it's the timing with everything going on in the world, but most of Hannah's characters lead such grim lives. This book had so little joy in it. And while I appreciate the representation of the historic events/conditions, maybe I need an escape from reality instead of the constant misery.

I found the format kind of confusing at times—how she was writing it to someone. There were times when a chapter would start and it was unclear who she was talking to.

There were some jumps and gaps and things that didn't make great sense, but I still kept going back to see what would happen next. 

It required a lot of what my HS English teacher called WSOD (willful suspension of disbelief), but I was willing to go along with most of it as a nice escape from actual reality.