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A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything
So You Too Can:
- Move to a South Pacific Island
- Wear a Loincloth
- Read a Hundred Books
- Diaper a Baby Monkey
- Build a Bungalow
And Maybe, Just Maybe, Fall in Love! *
* Individual results may vary. Baby monkey not included.
The true story of how a quarter-life crisis led to adventure, freedom, and love on a tiny island in the Pacific.
From the author of a lot of emails and several Facebook posts comes A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise, a laugh-out-loud, true story that will answer your most pressing escape-from-it-all questions, including:
1. How much, per pound, should you expect to pay a priest to fly you to the outer islands of Yap?
2. Classic slumber party stumper: If you could have just one movie on a remote Pacific island, what would it definitely not be?
3. How do you blend fruity drinks without a blender?
4. Is a free, one-hour class from Home Depot on “Flowerbox Construction” sufficient training to build a house?
From Robinson Crusoe to Survivor, Gilligan’s Island to The Beach, people have fantasized about living on a remote tropical island. But when facing a quarter-life crisis, plucky desk slave Alex Sheshunoff actually did it.
While out in Paradise, he learned a lot. About how to make big choices and big changes. About the less-than-idyllic parts of paradise. About tying a loincloth without exposing the tender bits. Now, Alex shares his incredible story and pretty-hard-won wisdom in a book that will surprise you, make you laugh, take you to such unforgettable islands as Yap and Pig, and perhaps inspire your own move to an island with only two letters in its name.
Answers: 1) $1.14 2) Gas Attack Training Made Simple 3) Crimp a fork in half and insert middle into power drill 4) No.
From the Hardcover edition.
- Move to a South Pacific Island
- Wear a Loincloth
- Read a Hundred Books
- Diaper a Baby Monkey
- Build a Bungalow
And Maybe, Just Maybe, Fall in Love! *
* Individual results may vary. Baby monkey not included.
The true story of how a quarter-life crisis led to adventure, freedom, and love on a tiny island in the Pacific.
From the author of a lot of emails and several Facebook posts comes A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise, a laugh-out-loud, true story that will answer your most pressing escape-from-it-all questions, including:
1. How much, per pound, should you expect to pay a priest to fly you to the outer islands of Yap?
2. Classic slumber party stumper: If you could have just one movie on a remote Pacific island, what would it definitely not be?
3. How do you blend fruity drinks without a blender?
4. Is a free, one-hour class from Home Depot on “Flowerbox Construction” sufficient training to build a house?
From Robinson Crusoe to Survivor, Gilligan’s Island to The Beach, people have fantasized about living on a remote tropical island. But when facing a quarter-life crisis, plucky desk slave Alex Sheshunoff actually did it.
While out in Paradise, he learned a lot. About how to make big choices and big changes. About the less-than-idyllic parts of paradise. About tying a loincloth without exposing the tender bits. Now, Alex shares his incredible story and pretty-hard-won wisdom in a book that will surprise you, make you laugh, take you to such unforgettable islands as Yap and Pig, and perhaps inspire your own move to an island with only two letters in its name.
Answers: 1) $1.14 2) Gas Attack Training Made Simple 3) Crimp a fork in half and insert middle into power drill 4) No.
From the Hardcover edition.
447 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2015
42 people are currently reading
1106 people want to read
About the author
Alex Sheshunoff
1 book24 followersAlex Sheshunoff is a writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic Adventure, Slate.com, Marketplace, The Anchorage Daily News and other very, very prestigious media outlets. Before deciding to call himself a writer, Alex snuck through Yale and started and ran an Internet company in New York called E-The People - a nonpartisan precursor to Moveon.org but with a pun in its name.
Five years later and burnt out and facing a quarter-life crisis, Alex gathered the one hundred books he was most embarrassed not to have read and moved to a small island in the Pacific called Yap. He later wrote a vaguely-humorous memoir with a very long title about the experience: A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything So You Too Can: Move to the South Pacific, Wear a Loincloth, Read a Hundred Books, Diaper a Baby Monkey, Build a Bungalow and Maybe, Just Maybe, Fall in Love!*
(Individual results may vary.) Miraculously, Penguin Random House plans to release it in hardcover on Sept. 1st, 2015.
Because of his unique last name, Alex is often asked if he's somehow related to Ian Shenanigan Sheshunoff, the first-place winner of the Diaper Derby Crawling Contest at the 2008 Alaska State Fair. They are indeed related. Ian is his son. Today, Alex and his wife, Sarah, live in Ojai, California with Ian and his equally talented younger brother, Andrew Commissioner Sheshunoff.
Five years later and burnt out and facing a quarter-life crisis, Alex gathered the one hundred books he was most embarrassed not to have read and moved to a small island in the Pacific called Yap. He later wrote a vaguely-humorous memoir with a very long title about the experience: A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything So You Too Can: Move to the South Pacific, Wear a Loincloth, Read a Hundred Books, Diaper a Baby Monkey, Build a Bungalow and Maybe, Just Maybe, Fall in Love!*
(Individual results may vary.) Miraculously, Penguin Random House plans to release it in hardcover on Sept. 1st, 2015.
Because of his unique last name, Alex is often asked if he's somehow related to Ian Shenanigan Sheshunoff, the first-place winner of the Diaper Derby Crawling Contest at the 2008 Alaska State Fair. They are indeed related. Ian is his son. Today, Alex and his wife, Sarah, live in Ojai, California with Ian and his equally talented younger brother, Andrew Commissioner Sheshunoff.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
July 28, 2015
I can only review 'the excerpt' from this book...
I enjoyed what I read.....it was easy to feel the authors enthusiasm...
and I love the general idea of this book...( fits with my own desires)...
but I didn't get the full experience.
I did agree with Alex Sheshunoff, though, when he said..."Bring Friends Who Are Contractors". [perfect, my husband, can come too!!!] ...lol
I wouldn't mind spending a year or two of my life moving to the South Pacific Island... to kick back... ( and have my husband be about to take a two year sabbatical from work would be
a 'real' dream)...
To:
Read books...
Play on the beach...
AND...
Wear a loincloth lol.
Thank You for the short little teaser ... (Can't wait to diaper a Monkey). ...
Blessings to Penguin Random House Publishing, Netgalley, and
Mr. Alex Sheshunoff himself....( a guy who knows how to enjoy life!).
I enjoyed what I read.....it was easy to feel the authors enthusiasm...
and I love the general idea of this book...( fits with my own desires)...
but I didn't get the full experience.
I did agree with Alex Sheshunoff, though, when he said..."Bring Friends Who Are Contractors". [perfect, my husband, can come too!!!] ...lol
I wouldn't mind spending a year or two of my life moving to the South Pacific Island... to kick back... ( and have my husband be about to take a two year sabbatical from work would be
a 'real' dream)...
To:
Read books...
Play on the beach...
AND...
Wear a loincloth lol.
Thank You for the short little teaser ... (Can't wait to diaper a Monkey). ...
Blessings to Penguin Random House Publishing, Netgalley, and
Mr. Alex Sheshunoff himself....( a guy who knows how to enjoy life!).
Read
August 31, 2015Copy provided by NetGalley
Generally speaking, I pretty much avoid “I traveled for a couple of years to find myself, and here’s how you can, too” books written by rich people, because—speaking as someone who toiled for the greater part of my life for minuscule paychecks—I don’t feel that rich people have anything to say to the rest of us unless their book includes the wherewithal to cruise the world for a couple of years.
That said, this book was 1) free and 2) promised to be amusing, rather than hortatory, so I went for it.
And I’m glad I did. While I have my suspicions about the many word-for-word conversations Sheshunoff recollected, in a way it doesn’t matter if they happened exactly that way or were fictionalized. His eye for the idiosyncrasies of human beings, wherever they come from, is sharp, funny, and sympathetic. No one’s foibles are more unstintingly described than his own.
Particularly sharp are his observations about Americans abroad, looking for themselves as they trample unheedingly through the lives and belongings of other peoples. He gets in some good observations about colonialism, especially in his thumbnail sketches of various bits of history, in particular where USA has intersected with the islands he visits.
Gatorade-soaked sheets, barfing boat captains, rats the size of toasters, and many other aspects of tropical life get vivid descriptions as Sheshunoff leaves the NYC race for megabucks to tiny islands in search of paradise.
Midway in his journey 9/11 happens, and his observations about that are poignant and spot on; afterward he finds love with a woman who sounds like she is as much fun as he is, and together they build their own house. Then lose it in a hurricane.
Sheshunoff offers tongue-in-cheek rules for seeking paradise, most of which will have you laughing, or wincing, or both. The book, being a memoir, is easy to pick up and put down, the chapters short, with hilarious introductions. I think it would make fun reading at any time, but I especially recommend it for those facing a long, cold winter, during which time the vivid descriptions of adapting to ninety-plus temperatures in ninety-plus humidity might cause snow-bound folk to cackle madly.
Generally speaking, I pretty much avoid “I traveled for a couple of years to find myself, and here’s how you can, too” books written by rich people, because—speaking as someone who toiled for the greater part of my life for minuscule paychecks—I don’t feel that rich people have anything to say to the rest of us unless their book includes the wherewithal to cruise the world for a couple of years.
That said, this book was 1) free and 2) promised to be amusing, rather than hortatory, so I went for it.
And I’m glad I did. While I have my suspicions about the many word-for-word conversations Sheshunoff recollected, in a way it doesn’t matter if they happened exactly that way or were fictionalized. His eye for the idiosyncrasies of human beings, wherever they come from, is sharp, funny, and sympathetic. No one’s foibles are more unstintingly described than his own.
Particularly sharp are his observations about Americans abroad, looking for themselves as they trample unheedingly through the lives and belongings of other peoples. He gets in some good observations about colonialism, especially in his thumbnail sketches of various bits of history, in particular where USA has intersected with the islands he visits.
Gatorade-soaked sheets, barfing boat captains, rats the size of toasters, and many other aspects of tropical life get vivid descriptions as Sheshunoff leaves the NYC race for megabucks to tiny islands in search of paradise.
Midway in his journey 9/11 happens, and his observations about that are poignant and spot on; afterward he finds love with a woman who sounds like she is as much fun as he is, and together they build their own house. Then lose it in a hurricane.
Sheshunoff offers tongue-in-cheek rules for seeking paradise, most of which will have you laughing, or wincing, or both. The book, being a memoir, is easy to pick up and put down, the chapters short, with hilarious introductions. I think it would make fun reading at any time, but I especially recommend it for those facing a long, cold winter, during which time the vivid descriptions of adapting to ninety-plus temperatures in ninety-plus humidity might cause snow-bound folk to cackle madly.
September 1, 2015
This book was absolutely hilarious at the beginning and then still funny towards the end, but I guess I was just wondering to myself who does that? Just ups and quits his job and goes to find Paradise. It was a very entertaining, human interest book and held my attention until the end.
Then I read that he got $50 million from his stock options and I was like alrighty then, no wonder. I mean the book was talking about him running out of funds and stuff like that previously to this little jewel coming out. I think that if I had known he had all that money though, I would not have found it as interesting.
I do admire that he didn't use all that money to build the house and did it by himself with his friends, however.
Thanks Penguin Group and Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Then I read that he got $50 million from his stock options and I was like alrighty then, no wonder. I mean the book was talking about him running out of funds and stuff like that previously to this little jewel coming out. I think that if I had known he had all that money though, I would not have found it as interesting.
I do admire that he didn't use all that money to build the house and did it by himself with his friends, however.
Thanks Penguin Group and Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
August 4, 2015
I started this book thinking it would be along the lines of The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost and I wasn’t wrong. I used to be into reading travelogues a lot back in college (easy way to escape?) but haven’t read too many lately. But this was offered as a ‘Read Now’ selection on Netgalley so I decided to check it out.
Alex Sheshunoff has started his own Internet company (that really had a noble goal!) and has worked at it for 5 years, but finally decides, due to various circumstances, that he’s had enough. The company has lots of issues and the goal he set out for it, it’s nowhere near accomplishing. So he decides to quit it all and escape. He quits his company, breaks up with his girlfriend, sublets his apartment, and takes off to find what he thinks Gauguin found – Paradise.
First thing to note is that obviously, the author has a lot of privilege to be able to pick up everything and move to a tropical island in the Pacific. The nice thing is that he acknowledges that at several points throughout the book. So leaving that aside...
I enjoyed this book. It was a nice getaway from real life for a couple hours and it was funny. Sheshunoff got himself into some memorable situations and he brings a light-hearted tone to all of it.
The cool thing is that he decided to read 100 books while escaping. This before the days of the e-reader. Getting all that weight around as he moved must have been quite the task! Anyway, I loved this angle of the story because it sounds like exactly something I’d love to do. He ties some of the books he’s reading into the stories he tells as well, which I thought was well done.
One thing I liked about the book was that as Sheshunoff traveled to different islands and tried out different places to live, he tried to understand the local culture and customs, and tried to fit in with some of it. He did this while acknowledging that he’d always be the outsider, and truly, he’d probably never really fit in. I liked that he was truthful about things like that throughout the telling of his adventures.
A pretty fun, entertaining read and a nice break from reality.
Note: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alex Sheshunoff has started his own Internet company (that really had a noble goal!) and has worked at it for 5 years, but finally decides, due to various circumstances, that he’s had enough. The company has lots of issues and the goal he set out for it, it’s nowhere near accomplishing. So he decides to quit it all and escape. He quits his company, breaks up with his girlfriend, sublets his apartment, and takes off to find what he thinks Gauguin found – Paradise.
First thing to note is that obviously, the author has a lot of privilege to be able to pick up everything and move to a tropical island in the Pacific. The nice thing is that he acknowledges that at several points throughout the book. So leaving that aside...
I enjoyed this book. It was a nice getaway from real life for a couple hours and it was funny. Sheshunoff got himself into some memorable situations and he brings a light-hearted tone to all of it.
The cool thing is that he decided to read 100 books while escaping. This before the days of the e-reader. Getting all that weight around as he moved must have been quite the task! Anyway, I loved this angle of the story because it sounds like exactly something I’d love to do. He ties some of the books he’s reading into the stories he tells as well, which I thought was well done.
One thing I liked about the book was that as Sheshunoff traveled to different islands and tried out different places to live, he tried to understand the local culture and customs, and tried to fit in with some of it. He did this while acknowledging that he’d always be the outsider, and truly, he’d probably never really fit in. I liked that he was truthful about things like that throughout the telling of his adventures.
A pretty fun, entertaining read and a nice break from reality.
Note: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 2, 2015
So excited to win this as a First Reads winner! Looks like an awesome summer read!
I must have really liked this book--I read this nearly 450 page book in ONE sitting! Alex had me hooked from the beginning, but once I got to Step 6--"Meet Someone" (page 215) and he meets Sarah I had to keep reading to the end (page 447). Then I had to go look at Alex's website to see the pictures of the construction of the house, the friends, the monkey.
After five years of running his own internet company in New York City, Alex decides that his job, his current relationship and his life in general just isn't working and he goes off to the South Pacific to read 100 books, find paradise and basically discover what he wants to do next with his life.
After numerous--not to mention hilarious--false starts on several islands--Yap, Pig, Guam and Tinian he ends up in Palau and his decision to "leave it all behind" starts to make sense. Then he meets Sarah by chance, (they are both foxes, not hedgehogs) and discovering what they want their life to be together is where the book gains great momentum.
This is a very funny book and as a memoir the reader feels like they know the characters very well. I read it right after returning from a trip to San Diego, where Sarah's family resides so now I want to have a conversation with her.
I feel truly blessed to have been selected as a First Reads winner for this book and the opportunity to read it six weeks before it's publication.
I must have really liked this book--I read this nearly 450 page book in ONE sitting! Alex had me hooked from the beginning, but once I got to Step 6--"Meet Someone" (page 215) and he meets Sarah I had to keep reading to the end (page 447). Then I had to go look at Alex's website to see the pictures of the construction of the house, the friends, the monkey.
After five years of running his own internet company in New York City, Alex decides that his job, his current relationship and his life in general just isn't working and he goes off to the South Pacific to read 100 books, find paradise and basically discover what he wants to do next with his life.
After numerous--not to mention hilarious--false starts on several islands--Yap, Pig, Guam and Tinian he ends up in Palau and his decision to "leave it all behind" starts to make sense. Then he meets Sarah by chance, (they are both foxes, not hedgehogs) and discovering what they want their life to be together is where the book gains great momentum.
This is a very funny book and as a memoir the reader feels like they know the characters very well. I read it right after returning from a trip to San Diego, where Sarah's family resides so now I want to have a conversation with her.
I feel truly blessed to have been selected as a First Reads winner for this book and the opportunity to read it six weeks before it's publication.
July 11, 2015
Alex Sheshunoff decided he had had enough of his job, of the city, and of his relationship. He felt he wasn't going anywhere and wanted to find a more meaningful life. So he packed up a hundred books he'd never read, some white t-shirts, and headed to the Pacific to find an island paradise. This is the story of his journey looking for the right place to settle, building his own home, falling in love, and his adventures along the way.
I laughed out loud on so many occasions. It was a wonderful read from the "About this Guide" all the way through the acknowledgements (seriously, I often don't bother with acknowledgements, but I'm glad I didn't skip these). Sheshunoff is a gifted writer and he has a great story to tell - awesome combination. His sense of humor includes a willingness to laugh at himself which is charming. He also seems like a genuinely likable person who cares about others and tries to be sensitive to the cultures he encounters along the way.
I received an uncorrected proof as a goodreads first-reads giveaway. It didn't contain any pictures, but I don't know if the final version will or not. If it doesn't it is very much worth going to his web page to see the islands, the house, and the cutest baby monkey ever!
As fair warning to sensitive animal loving readers, there is a terrible incident involving a sea turtle. It is thankfully brief, but it is important to the story and I suspect it probably traumatized the writer far more than the reader.
I laughed out loud on so many occasions. It was a wonderful read from the "About this Guide" all the way through the acknowledgements (seriously, I often don't bother with acknowledgements, but I'm glad I didn't skip these). Sheshunoff is a gifted writer and he has a great story to tell - awesome combination. His sense of humor includes a willingness to laugh at himself which is charming. He also seems like a genuinely likable person who cares about others and tries to be sensitive to the cultures he encounters along the way.
I received an uncorrected proof as a goodreads first-reads giveaway. It didn't contain any pictures, but I don't know if the final version will or not. If it doesn't it is very much worth going to his web page to see the islands, the house, and the cutest baby monkey ever!
As fair warning to sensitive animal loving readers, there is a terrible incident involving a sea turtle. It is thankfully brief, but it is important to the story and I suspect it probably traumatized the writer far more than the reader.
August 13, 2015
I received a NetGalley copy.
It's a hard one to review. I loved the idea of the book and was ready to fall in love with it. I started reading this book during a particularly stressful flight and I thought I would be entertained by light and funny memoir. Who wouldn't love the real-life story of a man who moved to a South Pacific Island and read a hundred books.
Weeeell...... While a part of the book was sort of interesting and slightly amusing, I couldn't laugh out loud. I often find myself being annoyed. "That's not good." I thought. "I should be laughing out loud!" Then I started to doubt my sense. "There must be something wrong with me." That thought made me feel even more stressful. So, I stopped reading the book and started reading "Money: Master the Game" by Tony Robbins, and started chuckling. (Mind you. I'm a kind of person who prefer to escape to South Pacific Island instead of thinking about making money.)
I don't think "A Beginner's Guide to Paradise" is bad. It's not the book. It's me. I'm a wrong reader for the book because I'm not a white young American male with privileged background. If you are from a quiet village of an Asian country where wild boars or bears can destroy your vegetable garden any morning, building a beach house on an Pasific island with friends from USA seems too lame.
Joking aside, the book would've been better suited if it was published in 1980's. But, the world is flat now and we are more connected. To write about experience in other cultures, you really have to give something new. I didn't find anything new and exciting. That is why I'm giving this book 3 stars.
It's a hard one to review. I loved the idea of the book and was ready to fall in love with it. I started reading this book during a particularly stressful flight and I thought I would be entertained by light and funny memoir. Who wouldn't love the real-life story of a man who moved to a South Pacific Island and read a hundred books.
Weeeell...... While a part of the book was sort of interesting and slightly amusing, I couldn't laugh out loud. I often find myself being annoyed. "That's not good." I thought. "I should be laughing out loud!" Then I started to doubt my sense. "There must be something wrong with me." That thought made me feel even more stressful. So, I stopped reading the book and started reading "Money: Master the Game" by Tony Robbins, and started chuckling. (Mind you. I'm a kind of person who prefer to escape to South Pacific Island instead of thinking about making money.)
I don't think "A Beginner's Guide to Paradise" is bad. It's not the book. It's me. I'm a wrong reader for the book because I'm not a white young American male with privileged background. If you are from a quiet village of an Asian country where wild boars or bears can destroy your vegetable garden any morning, building a beach house on an Pasific island with friends from USA seems too lame.
Joking aside, the book would've been better suited if it was published in 1980's. But, the world is flat now and we are more connected. To write about experience in other cultures, you really have to give something new. I didn't find anything new and exciting. That is why I'm giving this book 3 stars.
August 30, 2015
Have you ever imagined just throwing up your hands, walking away from your commitments and escaping to an exotic island? The author, Alex Sheshunoff did just that. His journey to find a remote island to call home, carrying with him 100 books was fascinating!
Burnt out from trying to make his Internet business successful, Alex walked away from his life – his home, his belongings, his business, his relationship to find an exotic small island in the South Pacific on which to make a fresh start. He breaks down his quest in nine chapters, with titles such as: Make Some Big Choices, Stop Being so Picky and Just Pick a Damn Island, Build a House, Live Pretty Much Happily Ever After.
At the beginning of each chapter, Alex starts off with 2 bullet points of “what you can expect to learn in this chapter” – so very clever and often laugh out loud funny. Loved this approach and couldn’t wait to dive into the chapter details based on these enjoyable teaser bullets. The chapter contents did not disappoint. His determination to make his new life work and get along peacefully with the natives, learning and adhering to new cultures was compelling and fun to read. It isn’t all fun and games, however, as Alex also gives us a small glimpse of America’s pork projects in the Pacific, the wastefulness is appalling. But don’t let this bit of negativity deter you; this is a great adventure by an excellent writer.
Burnt out from trying to make his Internet business successful, Alex walked away from his life – his home, his belongings, his business, his relationship to find an exotic small island in the South Pacific on which to make a fresh start. He breaks down his quest in nine chapters, with titles such as: Make Some Big Choices, Stop Being so Picky and Just Pick a Damn Island, Build a House, Live Pretty Much Happily Ever After.
At the beginning of each chapter, Alex starts off with 2 bullet points of “what you can expect to learn in this chapter” – so very clever and often laugh out loud funny. Loved this approach and couldn’t wait to dive into the chapter details based on these enjoyable teaser bullets. The chapter contents did not disappoint. His determination to make his new life work and get along peacefully with the natives, learning and adhering to new cultures was compelling and fun to read. It isn’t all fun and games, however, as Alex also gives us a small glimpse of America’s pork projects in the Pacific, the wastefulness is appalling. But don’t let this bit of negativity deter you; this is a great adventure by an excellent writer.
August 15, 2015
This review refers to the NetGalley edition of this title.
My rating hovers at closer to 3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4 for the overall enjoyment factor. Alex Sheshunoff has written a humorous chronicle of his time spent in the Pacific, the things he did there, and the people he encountered. Many of the stories are really great.
However, it's just too long and too detailed and it seems like it's never going to end. Several chapters could have been edited out or down and it would have done wonders for the reading experience. Even the acknowledgments section went on for page after page. Sheshunoff writes very much like David Sedaris, but more verbose. This novel could have easily adapted well into a collection of Sedaris-like essays and removed the droning-on factor.
I want to be clear – Sheshunoff has a great sense of humor, his story is interesting and engaging and is so the entire time, there was just a small voice in the back of my head going "are we there yet?"
I recommend this for fans of memoir/David Sedaris/Augusten Burroughs and anyone who has fantasized about running away from home to their own deserted island.
My rating hovers at closer to 3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4 for the overall enjoyment factor. Alex Sheshunoff has written a humorous chronicle of his time spent in the Pacific, the things he did there, and the people he encountered. Many of the stories are really great.
However, it's just too long and too detailed and it seems like it's never going to end. Several chapters could have been edited out or down and it would have done wonders for the reading experience. Even the acknowledgments section went on for page after page. Sheshunoff writes very much like David Sedaris, but more verbose. This novel could have easily adapted well into a collection of Sedaris-like essays and removed the droning-on factor.
I want to be clear – Sheshunoff has a great sense of humor, his story is interesting and engaging and is so the entire time, there was just a small voice in the back of my head going "are we there yet?"
I recommend this for fans of memoir/David Sedaris/Augusten Burroughs and anyone who has fantasized about running away from home to their own deserted island.
August 31, 2015
Back in the late 1990s, the author ran an internet company in New York. Five years into it, burnt out and in his late 20s, he left New York to look for paradise. Along with the 100 books he'd never read in school, he moved to a small island in the Pacific called Yap (population of just over 11,000 in the Pacific Ocean). He eventually ended up in Angaur (in Palau, also in the Pacific Ocean). This is his account of his experiences and figuring out what paradise means to him.
I enjoyed this book. I found it interesting to learn about places I'd never heard of before and their people and customs. I enjoy travelling but I don't think I could rough it out in some of the places like Alex did. It was fun to live vicariously through him.
I enjoyed the writing style. What could have been a dry boring travel journal was actually quite entertaining. The author was honest, funny and sarcastic (but in a good way). I think he'd be a hoot to sit and chat with.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/08...
I enjoyed this book. I found it interesting to learn about places I'd never heard of before and their people and customs. I enjoy travelling but I don't think I could rough it out in some of the places like Alex did. It was fun to live vicariously through him.
I enjoyed the writing style. What could have been a dry boring travel journal was actually quite entertaining. The author was honest, funny and sarcastic (but in a good way). I think he'd be a hoot to sit and chat with.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/08...
April 22, 2019
I love a good travel book. I can get behind someone quitting their job, selling their stuff, and moving to a tropical island. At times, I loved this book and laughed out loud. At other times, I powered through. Overall, the end result wasn’t satisfying to the reader. The ending was so meh. I don’t want to give it away, but it made the whole book a so-so experience. Pass on this one and pick up something else instead. Some suggestions: At Home in the World, One Year Off, and Around the World in Fifty Years.
September 3, 2015
Similar to running away with the circus, running off to a live on a small island is a fantasy that few people ever make a reality. Those of us who don't chase that dream, have to armchair travel with books like Alex Sheshunoff's A Beginner's Guide to Paradise. Thank you to the Penguin Group for an advanced copy of Sheshunoff's memoir, in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- Alex Sheshunoff is having a quarter-life crisis. He is no longer finding satisfaction at the dot.com company that he founded and his relationship has started to fizzle. He needs to be knocked out of his rut and his solution is to sublet his apartment and go off to the pacific in search of a tropical paradise. He purchases a one-way ticket and brings a hundred books that he "always wanted to read" to give himself a sense of structure. As he island hops, he learns many valuable lessons and even manages to fall in love.
LIKE- Sheshunoff is funny and a majority of his memoir is a light-hearted read. Nothing truly disastrous happens during his adventure, but there are plenty of bumps in the road that give him gentle life-lessons and that make this an entertaining read.
Sheshunoff structures each chapter by posing a few humorously worded questions that set the stage for his next lesson in island living. These teaser openings made me keep reading " just one more chapter" and I finished the memoir in two days. The chapters are like potato chips (or cats) , you can't have just one.
I admire Sheshunoff's sense of adventure, optimism and determination. He really checks his ego at the door and humbly tries to live in different cultures, thriving on new experiences. He's the type of person that you'd want to have stranded with you on a deserted island. I thought that it was incredible that Sheshuoff and his future-wife, were able to get their friends to travel to a remote island to spend several months building a house for no pay. This accomplishment probably speaks as much to Sheshuoff's enthusiasm, as it does to the naiveté of the group, as it was definitely harder going than they had initially thought. Sheshuoff dispenses plenty of hard-earned wisdom and advice for other would-be paradise seekers.
If you're a huge Survivor fan, like me, then you will get a kick out of his annoyances with the production during his time in Palau. He also gives a bit of insight to the remoteness of the filming locations.
DISLIKE - I wish that the book had included pictures. There is a website that is given for additional content, like pictures, but admittedly, the book wasn't compelling enough for me to spend additional time looking at the web content. If it had been included, I would have enjoyed them, especially a picture of the baby monkey!
I also would have liked a little more on their life post-island. The ending felt rushed, with them leaving after finishing this great task of building the house. The climax was strong, but the ending was a dud.
RECOMMEND - Do you want to run off to paradise? Yes? Who doesn't, right? Well, A Beginner's Guide to Paradise is the memoir for you. Sheshunoff's memoir was fun, light-hearted and a pleasure to read. Unless you're a real grump or hate islands, I recommend Sheshunoff's memoir.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
PLOT- Alex Sheshunoff is having a quarter-life crisis. He is no longer finding satisfaction at the dot.com company that he founded and his relationship has started to fizzle. He needs to be knocked out of his rut and his solution is to sublet his apartment and go off to the pacific in search of a tropical paradise. He purchases a one-way ticket and brings a hundred books that he "always wanted to read" to give himself a sense of structure. As he island hops, he learns many valuable lessons and even manages to fall in love.
LIKE- Sheshunoff is funny and a majority of his memoir is a light-hearted read. Nothing truly disastrous happens during his adventure, but there are plenty of bumps in the road that give him gentle life-lessons and that make this an entertaining read.
Sheshunoff structures each chapter by posing a few humorously worded questions that set the stage for his next lesson in island living. These teaser openings made me keep reading " just one more chapter" and I finished the memoir in two days. The chapters are like potato chips (or cats) , you can't have just one.
I admire Sheshunoff's sense of adventure, optimism and determination. He really checks his ego at the door and humbly tries to live in different cultures, thriving on new experiences. He's the type of person that you'd want to have stranded with you on a deserted island. I thought that it was incredible that Sheshuoff and his future-wife, were able to get their friends to travel to a remote island to spend several months building a house for no pay. This accomplishment probably speaks as much to Sheshuoff's enthusiasm, as it does to the naiveté of the group, as it was definitely harder going than they had initially thought. Sheshuoff dispenses plenty of hard-earned wisdom and advice for other would-be paradise seekers.
If you're a huge Survivor fan, like me, then you will get a kick out of his annoyances with the production during his time in Palau. He also gives a bit of insight to the remoteness of the filming locations.
DISLIKE - I wish that the book had included pictures. There is a website that is given for additional content, like pictures, but admittedly, the book wasn't compelling enough for me to spend additional time looking at the web content. If it had been included, I would have enjoyed them, especially a picture of the baby monkey!
I also would have liked a little more on their life post-island. The ending felt rushed, with them leaving after finishing this great task of building the house. The climax was strong, but the ending was a dud.
RECOMMEND - Do you want to run off to paradise? Yes? Who doesn't, right? Well, A Beginner's Guide to Paradise is the memoir for you. Sheshunoff's memoir was fun, light-hearted and a pleasure to read. Unless you're a real grump or hate islands, I recommend Sheshunoff's memoir.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
August 4, 2015
***I received an early version of this book through the First To Read program***
What would you do if you decided to move to paradise? You know, sitting underneath a palm tree on the beach, reading a good book, and perhaps a cool drink on the side table next to you. The air is cool, the water is warm, and modern civilization is more than a few steps away.
If you've thought about it but didn't know how to get started on your odyssey, then this should be your first go-to book. A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything So You Too Can: Move to a South Pacific Island, Wear a Loincloth, Read a Hundred Books, Diaper a Baby Monkey, Build a Bungalow, by Alex Sheshunoff is a roadmap (more of a south pacific island map) of his search for the perfect paradise. After a few disappointing stops along the way, he finally found his home in Palau. And that's where the adventure starts.
You'll spend a good portion of the book feeling a little bit lost, just as Sheshunoff was, as he was searching for his perfect getaway. During his travels, he also attempts to read as many of his 100 books that he brought along with him as he can, sometimes going off on a usually interesting tangent to parallel the book with his own experiences. Other times, he'll offer a little backstory on his own life to give the reader a reason to feel so sympathetic to this crazy idea. One that stood out to me was his attempt to fly a kite on the rooftop of a New York City building. Ultimately, the pacing for this portion of the book felt back and forth. I would have liked to glean more insights into the books he read and how they related to his adventure, or more about his previous life and its further impact on his decision making.
By the second half of the book, the pace seems to pick up a bit. Boy meets girl. They have adventures. They build a bungalow. Boy meets monkey. Typical paradise, right? Perhaps the final version of the book may have more pictures, but I would have enjoyed some pictures and maybe even a map of the places he visited, just so that I could have a visual of what I was looking at. Luckily, the internet exists, and I found what I needed right there.
Overall, I found that I really enjoyed Sheshunoff's search for paradise. It may not be for me, but at least I got to live vicariously through his musings. But perhaps one day I might want to visit Jellyfish Lake in Palau. Likewise, I did find a book or two to add to my ever growing to-read pile. So if you think you might want to take a very long sabbatical off from your current life but don't know how to start, this is a great beginner's guide.
What would you do if you decided to move to paradise? You know, sitting underneath a palm tree on the beach, reading a good book, and perhaps a cool drink on the side table next to you. The air is cool, the water is warm, and modern civilization is more than a few steps away.
If you've thought about it but didn't know how to get started on your odyssey, then this should be your first go-to book. A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything So You Too Can: Move to a South Pacific Island, Wear a Loincloth, Read a Hundred Books, Diaper a Baby Monkey, Build a Bungalow, by Alex Sheshunoff is a roadmap (more of a south pacific island map) of his search for the perfect paradise. After a few disappointing stops along the way, he finally found his home in Palau. And that's where the adventure starts.
You'll spend a good portion of the book feeling a little bit lost, just as Sheshunoff was, as he was searching for his perfect getaway. During his travels, he also attempts to read as many of his 100 books that he brought along with him as he can, sometimes going off on a usually interesting tangent to parallel the book with his own experiences. Other times, he'll offer a little backstory on his own life to give the reader a reason to feel so sympathetic to this crazy idea. One that stood out to me was his attempt to fly a kite on the rooftop of a New York City building. Ultimately, the pacing for this portion of the book felt back and forth. I would have liked to glean more insights into the books he read and how they related to his adventure, or more about his previous life and its further impact on his decision making.
By the second half of the book, the pace seems to pick up a bit. Boy meets girl. They have adventures. They build a bungalow. Boy meets monkey. Typical paradise, right? Perhaps the final version of the book may have more pictures, but I would have enjoyed some pictures and maybe even a map of the places he visited, just so that I could have a visual of what I was looking at. Luckily, the internet exists, and I found what I needed right there.
Overall, I found that I really enjoyed Sheshunoff's search for paradise. It may not be for me, but at least I got to live vicariously through his musings. But perhaps one day I might want to visit Jellyfish Lake in Palau. Likewise, I did find a book or two to add to my ever growing to-read pile. So if you think you might want to take a very long sabbatical off from your current life but don't know how to start, this is a great beginner's guide.
August 13, 2015
4.5 stars
He’d done it, something so many individuals wish they could do but never attempt. It’s such a drastic step to take. Alex had stepped off the grid, he’d quit his job, leased out his apartment and was now going to live on a small island in the Pacific. A health issue caused Alex to take a hold of his life, he was feeling burned out and was now planning on relaxing and enjoying life. Besides rekindling his spirit, Alex was also going to read 100 of the greatest books on his trip, books he had never read. Alex soon discovers that this list of book is no small task, for everyone has their own opinion of what a great book really is. There are so many islands to choose from and after pouring over maps, consulting with friends, he finally buys a one-way ticket to Yap. Yap, Alex’s new paradise.
I really have to give my hat to Alex for committing himself to this task. I love the idea of just quitting my job and taking some time off to enjoy life somewhere different. Imagine no time constraint where you could just enjoy the culture, the scenery and the people but I really, really could not do it the way that Alex did. I would have to research and plan for months before going. Reading this novel, I was laughing and enjoying his spontaneity, sometimes wondering how it was all going to play out in the end. Arriving in Yap, the dusty, stifling, slow life of Yap got to him after a while. I was picturing in my mind, a dust bowl western town only with swampy smelly land. Alex walks through town, the whole 1.5 minutes looking for excitement only to find the locals sitting outside watching the sun move across the sky. That’s my image, Alex gives you more in his writing but that is my picture. Poor Alex, not a great start for renewing your spirit. Alex couldn’t sit still though, he wants to but yet, he just can’t. I enjoyed each local he met and the stories that he shared in his novel, I found myself thinking that there were times that he could have found peace and relaxation, had he taken the time and slowed himself down to the pace of the region that he was in. It seemed that he was searching for something, a perfect something and his determination, kept him going, moving him forward and that kept the pages turning for me. I do believe the funniest part was the house that he attempted to build. I will not elaborate on this but, I have told his part of the story countless times and it still gets me laughing even now. I am a planner, a detailed planner and when I think about this, I laugh, oh, I laugh!! Alex, hats off to you for taking your trip and cheers to making me laugh throughout your novel! It was an interesting novel and journey and I am glad I was able to go along for the ride.
I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and NAL in exchange for an honest review
He’d done it, something so many individuals wish they could do but never attempt. It’s such a drastic step to take. Alex had stepped off the grid, he’d quit his job, leased out his apartment and was now going to live on a small island in the Pacific. A health issue caused Alex to take a hold of his life, he was feeling burned out and was now planning on relaxing and enjoying life. Besides rekindling his spirit, Alex was also going to read 100 of the greatest books on his trip, books he had never read. Alex soon discovers that this list of book is no small task, for everyone has their own opinion of what a great book really is. There are so many islands to choose from and after pouring over maps, consulting with friends, he finally buys a one-way ticket to Yap. Yap, Alex’s new paradise.
I really have to give my hat to Alex for committing himself to this task. I love the idea of just quitting my job and taking some time off to enjoy life somewhere different. Imagine no time constraint where you could just enjoy the culture, the scenery and the people but I really, really could not do it the way that Alex did. I would have to research and plan for months before going. Reading this novel, I was laughing and enjoying his spontaneity, sometimes wondering how it was all going to play out in the end. Arriving in Yap, the dusty, stifling, slow life of Yap got to him after a while. I was picturing in my mind, a dust bowl western town only with swampy smelly land. Alex walks through town, the whole 1.5 minutes looking for excitement only to find the locals sitting outside watching the sun move across the sky. That’s my image, Alex gives you more in his writing but that is my picture. Poor Alex, not a great start for renewing your spirit. Alex couldn’t sit still though, he wants to but yet, he just can’t. I enjoyed each local he met and the stories that he shared in his novel, I found myself thinking that there were times that he could have found peace and relaxation, had he taken the time and slowed himself down to the pace of the region that he was in. It seemed that he was searching for something, a perfect something and his determination, kept him going, moving him forward and that kept the pages turning for me. I do believe the funniest part was the house that he attempted to build. I will not elaborate on this but, I have told his part of the story countless times and it still gets me laughing even now. I am a planner, a detailed planner and when I think about this, I laugh, oh, I laugh!! Alex, hats off to you for taking your trip and cheers to making me laugh throughout your novel! It was an interesting novel and journey and I am glad I was able to go along for the ride.
I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and NAL in exchange for an honest review
August 6, 2016
Fun, lighthearted read about taking some time off from one's 'real life' to relocate to a Pacific island and...be eccentric for a while, I guess. Not so much a permanent-life-change thing as a go-off-and-have-an-adventure thing. I don't have a full review—just wanted to leave some quotations here:
It was past one a.m. when the plane landed at Yap International Airport. Simply arriving in such a remote place felt like an accomplishment. How remote? International dialing codes are a pretty good indicator: the United States' code is 1. Antarctica is 672. Yap is 691. (35)
-----
I realized that Pig was just the latest in a series of places I didn't quite belong but had snuck into anyway.
I recalled my junior year in college when I had wormed my way into a performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony at Yale's Woolsey Hall. Tickets to the event in the stately gilded concert hall had long since sold out, but my friend Jessica was in the chorus. It was a big chorus—a few hundred people—so I figured no one would notice if I slid in with them. I rented a tuxedo and xeroxed a copy of her songbook. I even found a binder that looked just like the real thing.
I took a place on stage left next to the other singers—apparently, with the right uniform and a little confidence, you can work your way into almost any room. When everyone else started singing, I did too, albeit tentatively. By the second movement, however, I was not only singing but singing loudly.
Only later did I see how that performance was a metaphor for my whole education. I'd snuck into that performance just as I'd snuck into Yale, feeling unworthy. But at least for Yale I'd filled out an application. To be here, I'd simply mumbled some things to the Council of Chiefs back in Yap and waited for a ride. Which raised the question: assuming this was Paradise—and by all early indications it was—did I deserve to be here? (126–127)
-----
Figuring that electricity is useless without television, the American government donated a TV and an old-school VCR. But the people of Pig had just one video, which immediately evoked the slumber-party stumper: if you lived on a remote Pacific island and could have just one video, which one would it be? Turns out, the folks on Pig have their answer: Gas-Attack Training Made Simple. (141)
-----
The presidential suite in the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino has a designated mistress bedroom. "How is it different from any other bedroom?" I asked Justin Roberts, the mustachioed American safety manager recruited to give me a tour of the best room in Tinian's $200 million casino hotel.
"No drawers," he said without a pause. "All the other bedrooms have dressers." (170)
It was past one a.m. when the plane landed at Yap International Airport. Simply arriving in such a remote place felt like an accomplishment. How remote? International dialing codes are a pretty good indicator: the United States' code is 1. Antarctica is 672. Yap is 691. (35)
-----
I realized that Pig was just the latest in a series of places I didn't quite belong but had snuck into anyway.
I recalled my junior year in college when I had wormed my way into a performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony at Yale's Woolsey Hall. Tickets to the event in the stately gilded concert hall had long since sold out, but my friend Jessica was in the chorus. It was a big chorus—a few hundred people—so I figured no one would notice if I slid in with them. I rented a tuxedo and xeroxed a copy of her songbook. I even found a binder that looked just like the real thing.
I took a place on stage left next to the other singers—apparently, with the right uniform and a little confidence, you can work your way into almost any room. When everyone else started singing, I did too, albeit tentatively. By the second movement, however, I was not only singing but singing loudly.
Only later did I see how that performance was a metaphor for my whole education. I'd snuck into that performance just as I'd snuck into Yale, feeling unworthy. But at least for Yale I'd filled out an application. To be here, I'd simply mumbled some things to the Council of Chiefs back in Yap and waited for a ride. Which raised the question: assuming this was Paradise—and by all early indications it was—did I deserve to be here? (126–127)
-----
Figuring that electricity is useless without television, the American government donated a TV and an old-school VCR. But the people of Pig had just one video, which immediately evoked the slumber-party stumper: if you lived on a remote Pacific island and could have just one video, which one would it be? Turns out, the folks on Pig have their answer: Gas-Attack Training Made Simple. (141)
-----
The presidential suite in the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino has a designated mistress bedroom. "How is it different from any other bedroom?" I asked Justin Roberts, the mustachioed American safety manager recruited to give me a tour of the best room in Tinian's $200 million casino hotel.
"No drawers," he said without a pause. "All the other bedrooms have dressers." (170)
September 23, 2015
Alex Sheshunoff is in his late 20s and the owner of an internet company in New York when a panic attack makes him realize he is very unhappy with his life. His business is not going too well, he’s working too much, and an employee is threatening to sue. A few weeks later, he resigns from his job, dumps his girlfriend, sublets his apartment, and decides to go on a search for Paradise in the Western Pacific with 100 books to keep him company. But it turns out that there are 25,995 islands in the Pacific. After a quick google search, he chooses to start with Yap Island. Once there though, he finds out that the place has no beach and has a leprosy problem. Not a very likely candidate for paradise… Undeterred, he continues his search for the perfect island. In the process, he learns a lot about himself and unexpectedly falls in love.
Moving to a tropical island is something a lot of people think about when life gets difficult but rarely do. Alex Sheshunoff had the courage to drop everything, explore the Western Pacific and tell us all about it. A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise is not a self-help book but a tongue-in-cheek memoir about the author’s journey to happiness, and it is hilarious and very entertaining. The reader can easily identify with Alex and imagine life on a Pacific island. In addition, the fact that the author brings books with him to catch up on some reading makes him even more likable. As the story progresses, he meets interesting people and learns fun life lessons. Alex spends the first half of the book traveling alone which allows for some introspection. Then he encounters Sarah, and they decide to build a house together.
The physical book itself looks great, with a well-designed cover and smart layout. At the beginning of each chapter, Alex Sheshunoff gives a humorous sneak peek: “What You Can Expect to Learn in This Chapter” that makes you want to know what happens next. In the middle, the reader can look at pictures of Alex, Sarah, and their monkey. At the end of the book, there are recipes and a list of “14 Things to Know Before Building a House on a Remote Pacific Island”. A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise was the non-fiction winner of the Faulkner Society Words & Wisdom Competition, and this was definitely well-deserved. I highly recommend this book if you ever wondered what life would be like away from it all.
A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review.
To read the full review, please go to my blog (Cecile Sune - Book Obsessed).
Moving to a tropical island is something a lot of people think about when life gets difficult but rarely do. Alex Sheshunoff had the courage to drop everything, explore the Western Pacific and tell us all about it. A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise is not a self-help book but a tongue-in-cheek memoir about the author’s journey to happiness, and it is hilarious and very entertaining. The reader can easily identify with Alex and imagine life on a Pacific island. In addition, the fact that the author brings books with him to catch up on some reading makes him even more likable. As the story progresses, he meets interesting people and learns fun life lessons. Alex spends the first half of the book traveling alone which allows for some introspection. Then he encounters Sarah, and they decide to build a house together.
The physical book itself looks great, with a well-designed cover and smart layout. At the beginning of each chapter, Alex Sheshunoff gives a humorous sneak peek: “What You Can Expect to Learn in This Chapter” that makes you want to know what happens next. In the middle, the reader can look at pictures of Alex, Sarah, and their monkey. At the end of the book, there are recipes and a list of “14 Things to Know Before Building a House on a Remote Pacific Island”. A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise was the non-fiction winner of the Faulkner Society Words & Wisdom Competition, and this was definitely well-deserved. I highly recommend this book if you ever wondered what life would be like away from it all.
A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review.
To read the full review, please go to my blog (Cecile Sune - Book Obsessed).
January 2, 2018
I like travelogues. Someone else goes somewhere exotic and has all the discomfort and unfortunate bits, and I get to read about it. This was particularly pleasant because I knew very little about any of the places he went (Guam, Palau, and ... somewhere else. I got really behind on logging, so it's back at the library and I can't double check. Yes, I usually reference the books for these reviews. Because I am delusionally convinced that someone out there cares about my opinion. Hi, Mr. Strawman!)
Also he seems like a nice guy, which always makes travelogues more pleasant to read. Particularly when he gets to the bit of autobiography where he had so much money he quit his job at like age 25 to go bum around for a few years. And, as it says in the title, he falls in love.
This one was in the funnier vein (think Ayun Halliday or J. Maarten Troost). It was pretty much exactly what you think you're going to get from that title, with some random bonus fun. (Both in who the side characters - can you call real people side characters? I've never met them, they are effectively fictional - are, and what happens.)
Pleasant, light, and worthwhile!
Also he seems like a nice guy, which always makes travelogues more pleasant to read. Particularly when he gets to the bit of autobiography where he had so much money he quit his job at like age 25 to go bum around for a few years. And, as it says in the title, he falls in love.
This one was in the funnier vein (think Ayun Halliday or J. Maarten Troost). It was pretty much exactly what you think you're going to get from that title, with some random bonus fun. (Both in who the side characters - can you call real people side characters? I've never met them, they are effectively fictional - are, and what happens.)
Pleasant, light, and worthwhile!
August 1, 2015
Paradise Realized A Beginner's Guide to Paradise is about a young internet entrepreneur who becomes disillusioned with his life and chucks it all to search for a more meaningful life. He packs up about a hundred of the books he felt he should have read in college, and heads off for the South Pacific. After several unsuccessful stints on various islands, he ends up on one that suits him well. (Who of us, at some point in our life, has not dreamed about doing the same?) I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has a fantastic, somewhat off-beat sense of humor. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I'm happy to report that his search is a success, and he comes to some realizations that could serve us all. One of the best was, "But paradise, I was coming more and more to think, was being around people you care about while also feeling productive - all, ideally, in a pretty place". Isn't that what we are all searching for? The book flows very well, the writing is excellent. I highly recommend this book.
June 7, 2017
NetGalley ARC.
3.5 stars
Ok so I didn't read the synopsis of this book and for the whole beginning I thought Alex was a woman. Then I thought she was a lesbian. Until I got to this part, "Sticky pads pulled at my chest hair." I stopped reading. And thought back. Then read the synopsis. I don't know why, but I just assumed this type of book was by a woman. I think because it's similar to Eat, Pray, Love. Anyways, Alex is a man. Getting that out of the way, this was an interesting read. Some parts funny, some parts not. Some people need to get completely away from everything in order to find themselves. Worked out for Alex. May not work out for everything. I've never felt the need to get away from everything and cut all ties. And Alex was my age when he went on this adventure. It's a pretty crazy idea and takes some gusto to commit to it. I give it a 3.5 but rounded to a 4.
3.5 stars
Ok so I didn't read the synopsis of this book and for the whole beginning I thought Alex was a woman. Then I thought she was a lesbian. Until I got to this part, "Sticky pads pulled at my chest hair." I stopped reading. And thought back. Then read the synopsis. I don't know why, but I just assumed this type of book was by a woman. I think because it's similar to Eat, Pray, Love. Anyways, Alex is a man. Getting that out of the way, this was an interesting read. Some parts funny, some parts not. Some people need to get completely away from everything in order to find themselves. Worked out for Alex. May not work out for everything. I've never felt the need to get away from everything and cut all ties. And Alex was my age when he went on this adventure. It's a pretty crazy idea and takes some gusto to commit to it. I give it a 3.5 but rounded to a 4.
August 18, 2015
Who hasn't wanted to run away to an island paradise and spend the days enjoying the soft sands and warm breezes. Alex has taken it one step further and decided that he is going to find that paradise and make it his own, even if he does have to hunt around for the one place that makes paradise into Paradise. This is a lark of a read about a young man trying to figure out exactly what he's looking for outside of the human rat race and is it indeed hiding on an island or was it closer to home all the time. Roll up your pants, put your feet in the water and prepare to read a book that may help you decide where your paradise is. Baby monkey not included, intelligent, lively stories free of charge.
December 10, 2015
I received this book in advance from Netgalley.
Alex is tired of the daily grind. He wants something different. He is sick of his job, which has lost its shine, his relationship is suffering. He wants to move to paradise and read a bunch of books. This is the step-by-step retelling of his adventures on Pacific Islands. He talks about how he chose the islands he visited, how he got along with a huge culture gap. He writes with a sense of wit, but I never found myself laughing out loud. I was a little put off by his ability to move to an island, ignore his work, and experience paradise. Not many people can afford to do that. I think he is a gifted writer who can poke fun at himself, and his situation. I think people who are fans of Dave Barry or Jen Lancaster will love this.
Alex is tired of the daily grind. He wants something different. He is sick of his job, which has lost its shine, his relationship is suffering. He wants to move to paradise and read a bunch of books. This is the step-by-step retelling of his adventures on Pacific Islands. He talks about how he chose the islands he visited, how he got along with a huge culture gap. He writes with a sense of wit, but I never found myself laughing out loud. I was a little put off by his ability to move to an island, ignore his work, and experience paradise. Not many people can afford to do that. I think he is a gifted writer who can poke fun at himself, and his situation. I think people who are fans of Dave Barry or Jen Lancaster will love this.
August 17, 2015
This is the story of Alex and his quest to make his life a better. Tired of the same old job and not feeling fulfilled, he sets out on a journey to find something more. Spending time on the islands of Yap, Pig, and Palau he discovers the adventure that waits out there for him.
More about this book on my personal site: https://hesaidbooksorme.blogspot.com
Disclaimer: I was awarded this book from the First to Read program part of Penguin. While I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.
More about this book on my personal site: https://hesaidbooksorme.blogspot.com
Disclaimer: I was awarded this book from the First to Read program part of Penguin. While I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.
October 6, 2015
3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this book. Good for Alex for having the guts to totally uproot his life and find more meaning. There were definitely some slower parts for me, and also some parts that made me laugh out loud. The last few chapters were a little dragging, but overall I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to see different customs for people who live on islands and to learn how many islands there actually are in the South Pacific. Good read!
*This book was sent to me for free by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
*This book was sent to me for free by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
March 16, 2016
Here’s the subtitle (and, honestly, it’s better than the blurb on the back or my thoughts when it comes to deciding if this is a book for you): “9 steps to giving up everything so you too can: move to a Pacific island, wear a loincloth, read a hundred books, build a bungalow, diaper a baby monkey, and maybe, just maybe, fall in love.”
Was I right? I think that’s all you need to decide if you want to read this book or not.
Was I right? I think that’s all you need to decide if you want to read this book or not.
May 22, 2017
A Beginner's Guide to Paradise
By Alex Sheshunoff
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
While the title is amusing, I was rather underwhelmed with the book over all. It has many redeeming qualities, don't get me wrong. The author tells his story which makes you laugh and think about life. Unfortunately, this felt like the male version of Eat, Pray, Love but with more money.
By Alex Sheshunoff
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
While the title is amusing, I was rather underwhelmed with the book over all. It has many redeeming qualities, don't get me wrong. The author tells his story which makes you laugh and think about life. Unfortunately, this felt like the male version of Eat, Pray, Love but with more money.
June 10, 2018
I almost didn't buy this book, not expecting much more than self indulgent humble bragging and maybe some half baked life advice. What I got was a fun and humorous story, real life adventure and only moderate amounts of humble bragging. It took me a really long time to read but I don't regret a moment of it. Highly recommended.
another-to-read
June 7, 2016I won this book through the goodreads first reads program and I received it today! Too soon to even mark it as received.
September 25, 2015
Very funny.
July 5, 2018
Amusing and not too serious. The bullets starting each chapter for a little annoying because the chapters were so short.
July 7, 2017
NOTE: I received a free e-copy of the book from NetGalley for reviewing purposes! All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.
When I read the synopsis for this book, I just knew I had to read it, as it takes place roughly in my childhood backyard. I say ‘roughly’ since the Pacific Ocean is ginormous! Having grown up on Guam, I was curious to read why and how someone from the “Mainland” as we called it, would up stakes and move so many thousands of miles away from everything that was familiar. I wanted to read an outsider’s perspective of “island life”. [Bonus: the synopsis made zero mention that the author later spends some time on Guam after his experience in Yap, so that was a nice surprise. And the Harmon Loop Hotel/nearby McDonald’s? I totally know where those are, and ate at that Mickey D’s many a time].
The narration is at times warm, hilarious, and almost always descriptive.
Alex Sheshunoff has a wonderful way with words. His prose is clear, concise, warm, fluid, evocative – everything you want in a memoir. The author’s tales of his encounter with geckos, fruit bats, the Pacific Daily News, and betel nut sure bring memories of my own encounters with these items native to the Western Pacific.
What I thought was highly unusual and atypical was his description of encounters with native Yapese. Islanders have a deserved reputation for warmth and hospitability so I was surprised that the author, in his words, felt “the lack of a warm embrace from the locals”. His recounting of meeting the women in the laundromat was especially eyebrow raising. The women came across as taciturn and unwelcoming in the extreme. It’s been many years since I last visited The Islands, but I can’t believe a stranger would be shunned to the extent Sheshunoff was – at least initially.
I’m glad AS doesn’t sugar coat the reality of life on an island. Too many people see the slick, glossy brochures and don’t realize that’s all marketing. Daily life is another reality. I’m glad the author recounted the conversation he had with the hotel chef about the inadequacies of getting fresh food products (herbs, eggs, etc.) and the less than professional emergency services.
I was also sad to read that sweatshop labor existed on Yap, as I had only known about this disgusting practice in Saipan. Guam, because it’s considered one of the hubs of Micronesia (and the Pacific) doesn’t face some of the problems of the “lesser” islands, or at least not to the extent they do, but I was aware of them while growing up on Guam. Again, I’m glad Alex Sheshunoff doesn’t flinch from portraying the dark side of paradise.
Speaking of dark side, in the beginning, Sarah comes across as a spontaneous, adventurous, fun gal. Later, she seems like the bitch that Alex playfully calls her. To me, she seemed to pick a fight the night she and Alex went skinny dipping and even though it was her idea to accept a dead fish in the middle of a jungle, she made Alex carry it! Thereafter, although I didn't completely warm to her, my feelings did thaw.
For readers with preconceptions about life in remote, unspoiled parts of the world, the book does contain some of the stereotypes associated with untamed civilization: coconut trees, thatched huts, sparse roads, indifferent utilities, etc. Depending on your slant, you might be horrified people can live such a primitive existence in the 21st century, or find it terribly romantic, a true Thoreau adventure.
I did wonder though, how the author was able to identify the types of creatures, flowers and trees he encountered. Did he ask a local (native) the types of animals and flora and made note of it, or did he later look them up? Although I’m glad his book contained specifics, I wish his specificity extended to explaining his knowledge in identifying the many kinds of greenery and animals (mostly sea creatures) found locally.
Even though AS’s description of the local greenery read as quite authentic, I had to raise an eyebrow regarding the passages involving Peace Corps volunteer Maria’s interaction with the men who helped build Alex and Sarah’s house on Angaur. It just seemed too over the top, too melodramatic to be believed.
Although this book was long, at over 400 pages, I had to take exception to the author skipping how he went from Yap (or Pig) directly to Guam. Maybe there is no “adventure” to write thereof, but I still would have appreciated learning how he traversed hundreds of miles of the Pacific Ocean!
As with these kind of navel gazing novels, the writer does have an epiphany about life in general, and his own in particular. I enjoyed reading about Alex’s discovery of self and the world around him – and it doesn’t hurt that he wrote this in a book filled with wit, grace, keen observation and good humor.
Even given this praise, I do have to state that Alex’s (and Sarah’s) ability to sojourn in “paradise” is something unique to the upper/middle class set. Neither particularly struggle for money. Yes, they live simply, but not many people have the wherewithal to live life on their terms – however long – without major worries over how to pay for food or utilities or rent. Thus, while reading this book, I was cognizant that it’s only a small subset of people who could realistically find themselves doing as Alex and Sarah did, leaving everyone else to live vicariously through them. Still, I couldn’t help but admire them for their moxie in seeking to live life on their own terms, far from “civilization”.
My main take away from this novel is a) not to be afraid to take the path less traveled, b) try to live in the moment and c) make sure your self-built house has walls so critters (be they rats, monitor lizards, fruit bats or monkeys) don’t become unwelcome guests.
When I read the synopsis for this book, I just knew I had to read it, as it takes place roughly in my childhood backyard. I say ‘roughly’ since the Pacific Ocean is ginormous! Having grown up on Guam, I was curious to read why and how someone from the “Mainland” as we called it, would up stakes and move so many thousands of miles away from everything that was familiar. I wanted to read an outsider’s perspective of “island life”. [Bonus: the synopsis made zero mention that the author later spends some time on Guam after his experience in Yap, so that was a nice surprise. And the Harmon Loop Hotel/nearby McDonald’s? I totally know where those are, and ate at that Mickey D’s many a time].
The narration is at times warm, hilarious, and almost always descriptive.
Alex Sheshunoff has a wonderful way with words. His prose is clear, concise, warm, fluid, evocative – everything you want in a memoir. The author’s tales of his encounter with geckos, fruit bats, the Pacific Daily News, and betel nut sure bring memories of my own encounters with these items native to the Western Pacific.
What I thought was highly unusual and atypical was his description of encounters with native Yapese. Islanders have a deserved reputation for warmth and hospitability so I was surprised that the author, in his words, felt “the lack of a warm embrace from the locals”. His recounting of meeting the women in the laundromat was especially eyebrow raising. The women came across as taciturn and unwelcoming in the extreme. It’s been many years since I last visited The Islands, but I can’t believe a stranger would be shunned to the extent Sheshunoff was – at least initially.
I’m glad AS doesn’t sugar coat the reality of life on an island. Too many people see the slick, glossy brochures and don’t realize that’s all marketing. Daily life is another reality. I’m glad the author recounted the conversation he had with the hotel chef about the inadequacies of getting fresh food products (herbs, eggs, etc.) and the less than professional emergency services.
I was also sad to read that sweatshop labor existed on Yap, as I had only known about this disgusting practice in Saipan. Guam, because it’s considered one of the hubs of Micronesia (and the Pacific) doesn’t face some of the problems of the “lesser” islands, or at least not to the extent they do, but I was aware of them while growing up on Guam. Again, I’m glad Alex Sheshunoff doesn’t flinch from portraying the dark side of paradise.
Speaking of dark side, in the beginning, Sarah comes across as a spontaneous, adventurous, fun gal. Later, she seems like the bitch that Alex playfully calls her. To me, she seemed to pick a fight the night she and Alex went skinny dipping and even though it was her idea to accept a dead fish in the middle of a jungle, she made Alex carry it! Thereafter, although I didn't completely warm to her, my feelings did thaw.
For readers with preconceptions about life in remote, unspoiled parts of the world, the book does contain some of the stereotypes associated with untamed civilization: coconut trees, thatched huts, sparse roads, indifferent utilities, etc. Depending on your slant, you might be horrified people can live such a primitive existence in the 21st century, or find it terribly romantic, a true Thoreau adventure.
I did wonder though, how the author was able to identify the types of creatures, flowers and trees he encountered. Did he ask a local (native) the types of animals and flora and made note of it, or did he later look them up? Although I’m glad his book contained specifics, I wish his specificity extended to explaining his knowledge in identifying the many kinds of greenery and animals (mostly sea creatures) found locally.
Even though AS’s description of the local greenery read as quite authentic, I had to raise an eyebrow regarding the passages involving Peace Corps volunteer Maria’s interaction with the men who helped build Alex and Sarah’s house on Angaur. It just seemed too over the top, too melodramatic to be believed.
Although this book was long, at over 400 pages, I had to take exception to the author skipping how he went from Yap (or Pig) directly to Guam. Maybe there is no “adventure” to write thereof, but I still would have appreciated learning how he traversed hundreds of miles of the Pacific Ocean!
As with these kind of navel gazing novels, the writer does have an epiphany about life in general, and his own in particular. I enjoyed reading about Alex’s discovery of self and the world around him – and it doesn’t hurt that he wrote this in a book filled with wit, grace, keen observation and good humor.
Even given this praise, I do have to state that Alex’s (and Sarah’s) ability to sojourn in “paradise” is something unique to the upper/middle class set. Neither particularly struggle for money. Yes, they live simply, but not many people have the wherewithal to live life on their terms – however long – without major worries over how to pay for food or utilities or rent. Thus, while reading this book, I was cognizant that it’s only a small subset of people who could realistically find themselves doing as Alex and Sarah did, leaving everyone else to live vicariously through them. Still, I couldn’t help but admire them for their moxie in seeking to live life on their own terms, far from “civilization”.
My main take away from this novel is a) not to be afraid to take the path less traveled, b) try to live in the moment and c) make sure your self-built house has walls so critters (be they rats, monitor lizards, fruit bats or monkeys) don’t become unwelcome guests.
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