Read, Speak, Learn

Last year, my book club broke one of our rules: No books associated with Oprah. Not that Lady Harpo is evil or anything, but we like word-of-mouth, personal recommendations and--maybe it's superficial of us, but I don't care--books that aren't publicly sanctioned by a multibillion-dollar empire. But we read Eat,...

By Merritt Martin

February 19, 2009

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Last year, my book club broke one of our rules: No books associated with Oprah. Not that Lady Harpo is evil or anything, but we like word-of-mouth, personal recommendations and--maybe it's superficial of us, but I don't care--books that aren't publicly sanctioned by a multibillion-dollar empire. But we read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. We'd gotten the word, recs and didn't care that Gilbert had been on Oprah's couch. She had a woman's journey to share--from breakdown on the tile floor of her bathroom to Italy, to India, to Indonesia. And I don't remember one person not jumping into that heated discussion during our meeting. Gilbert discusses her work and more as part of the Arts & Letters Live series 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. Tickets are $37. Call 972-744-4650 or visit eisemanncenter.com.
Tue., Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m., 2009

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Merritt Martin has written for the Dallas Observer for over two decades. She has also contributed to Eater, DMN and USA Today. In addition to arts and culture writing, she spends entirely too much time extolling the virtues of pears, black clothing, and her cat Kenneth.

Contact: Merritt Martin

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