A Good Book Cover as a Cover-Up

Alright, I'll admit it: sometimes you really should not judge a book by its cover. The worst case of this rule-breaker I've ever encountered is the colorful and catchy cover for Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love ". I love this cover; its clean and simple and pretty self-explanatory. Based on the cover, this book should be an easy and enjoyable read. 

I guess I should back up a bit and explain what this book is about and why the cover should be perfect. According to the cover, and the author, this "life experience" is about "one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia." False. This book is about narcissism. This book was written for people who have entire albums on Facbook full of photos of just themselves, taken by themselves. 

My roommate and I each purchased this book prior to our winter break so we could read it together on our cruise. Before we finished Italy, we wanted to quit, but we hate giving up on a book so we decided to finish Gilbert's journey. And, let me tell you, it was a painful journey. Liz, as she so fondly refers to herself as, its too self-involved in her writing and the reader completely misses out on her abroad experiences. 

Luckily, there was a saving grace: "Drink, Play, F@#k". Andrew Gottlieb wrote this novel as "one man's search for anything across Ireland, Vegas, and Thailand", or, 195 pages mocking Gilbert. Not only is this hysterical, it is beautiful. In the beginning of "Eat, Pray, Love" Gilbert leaves her husband and it is presumed by the "Drink, Play, Fuck" it was written by him.

Although Gottlieb mocks individual passages out of Liz's book, my personal joy came from his cover illustrator, Paul D'Innocenzo choosing to mimic Gilbert's cover:

Reading "Drink, Play, F@#k" after "Eat, Pray, Love" was incredibly rewarding, but that is just my opinion. Apparently Liz Gilbert's book is a best-seller and apparently lots of women identify with her journey but I just couldn't buy into it.

Do not be fooled by this cover.