Not Yet Drown'd by Peg Kingman

Not Yet Drown'd is a book that I would have probably missed if a gift copy had not come across my notice. Written by an author from Potter Valley, Peg Kingman, it opens a world about which I know next to nothing. Scots woman, Catherine MacDonald a recent widow, taking care of her dead husband's daughter is disturbed by a package from India. It contains an incredible paisley shawl, a package of tea and a musical score written in the hand of her supposedly dead twin brother.
Restless and pushed by the appearance of an obnoxious relative of her husband who demands the return of the child, she joins her other brother Hector on his trip to India.

Joined by a mysterious Indian woman and an escaped slave, the ship sails around Africa and onto India. Just like the intricate design of a paisley shawl, the story is decorated with tales of the East India Company, scottish tunes, bagpipe airs, steamship diagrams, tea growing, matriarchal Indian tribes, the beginnings of Chess, South African settler's trying to tame Zebras, Indian customes, British society and so much more.

It is a lovely and intricate tale and well worth reading.

And if you are curious about what happened to a group on the way to India whose ship wrecked off the wild coast of Pondoland, try Calibran's Shore: the Wreck of the Grosvenor and the strange fate of her survivors.


Eliza

eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert

eat, pray, love is one of those wonderful tales of redemption that we all wish that we had the money and time to live ourselves. Gilbert, a writer wavering in a relationship that must appear in several novels finally leaves home, husband and all those children not yet born that would define "family" to suffer depression and aimlessness until she decides to treat herself to Italian lessons just because Italian sounds so wonderful.

She receives an advance on the book she will write (this one) and takes off for four months in Italy where she eats and studies Italian. Since it seems that all my friends this year have been going to Italy, I went vicariously. If only I had the food.

She goes home briefly for Christmas and then is off to India for four months in an Ashram. A very different life than her four months of pleasure in Italy. Her last four months are spent in Indonesia with a local healer.

The format of this book makes it a great summer read. Take it with you everywhere. Most of the chapters, all 108 of them (the number of prayer beads) are short enough to read almost everywhere. So enjoyable.