Falling For Me: How I Hung Curtains, Learned To Cook, Traveled To Seville, And Fell In Love (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This book, what can I say? It started off nicely, before I realized how neurotic Anna is and instantly became annoyed and impatient.Seems to me she doesn't/didn't want to help herself and like so many others, just sat around wallowing in her sad self-pity hoping someone of the opposite sex would take her out of it. Pathetic.Though she gets help from her therapist (who dispenses some fine, insightful advice we could all use) and though she does decide on her own to try new things despite her insecurities, I felt she never really learned much. This could be a good thing, a realistic approach that change and progress takes time for all of us, but I wanted more.And I feel she could have done a better job with the writing during her travel to Seville. I almost felt like I was there with her, but not quite. In the end, did she really fall for herself? I need more convincing. I hate to give autobiographies/biographies anything less than 3 stars because I feel like it isn't fair to be judging someone's life, especially when the writing was actually pretty good. That being said, I was constantly annoyed with the author here. In addition, the title is a complete misnomer; in my 302 page book, she spends less than 20 pages in Seville, and loses eveything she learned there in the epilogue that follows the chapter that focused on Seville (and Morocco). The curtains and learning to cook? Each are addressed in one chapter. I think she should have left off the second clause of the title. Also, so much time is spent whining and complaining that I didn't even want to finish the book. And while the idea of following Helen Gurley Brown's rules intrigured me while reading the back cover, seeing them put in practice made me wince. Some of it was just too 1950s for me, and I am as romantic a fool as anyone. I get that by learning to love yourself you will be more able to find love in other places, but I swear this book felt more like a therapy session than anything else. In fact, it's almost like the author was telling her therapist about her adventure, and decided to write it down and publish it. To sum it up, I generally like books of self-discovery, but this one just didn't do it for me. Granted, some of this may be the bitter side of me who was hoping for more time in Seville, but I think it was more than that.
What do You think about Falling For Me: How I Hung Curtains, Learned To Cook, Traveled To Seville, And Fell In Love (2011)?
I really enjoyed this book. Very inspirational-makes you want to better yourself and branch out. :)
—agoodie13
I loved the story from the beginning. It is a very uplifting and witty novel.
—daisyofluv
A fun book that is perfect reading material for a lazy, Sunday afternoon.
—Cbrower22
Incredibly honest, funny and moving. A beautiful journey.
—kianacohen
