A Beginner’s Guide to Paradise by Alex Sheshunoff

422 Pages
Publisher: Penguin Group Berkley, NAK/Signet Romance, DAW, Berkley
Release Date: September 1, 2015

Nonfiction, Memoirs, Biographies, South Pacific Islands, Travel

The subtitle of the book is:
9 Steps to Giving Up Everything so You Too Can:
Move to a South Pacific Island,
Wear a Loincloth,
Read a Hundred Books,
Build a Bungalow,
Diaper a Baby Monkey,
And Maybe, Just Maybe, Fall in Love

The book is broken down into the following steps.
Step 1: Make Some Big Choices
Step 2: Show Up
Step 4: Find the Right Island
Step 4: Stop Being So Picky and Just Pick a Damn Island
Step 5: Settle In
Step 6: Meet Someone
Step 7: Regroup
Step 8: Build A House
Step 9: Live Pretty Much Happily Ever After

I had no idea what to expect when I got this book, but the title really says it all. The author is running a start up in New York and becomes disillusioned with his life. He knows there is something better out there and sets out to find it. He decides he is going to read 100 books that he is embarrassed to say he never read. He travels around some of the most remote island in the south pacific looking for the perfect island. Each has its pros and cons but after visiting Palau, he makes his decision. He meets Sarah, a lawyer working with the Supreme Court. They spend time together and he decides to rent an apartment. Her time on the island is almost up so Alex suggests they build a house. The only problem is foreigners cannot own land so they must find a spot and ask permission to lease it so they can build on it.

This book shows that it is not easy to leave everything behind and move to a remote island. Alex realizes this several times during his travels. At the back of the book are two recipes and the things you should know before building a house on a remote island. This was an interesting book. It is written in the first-person point of view. His writing is descriptive and at times I laughed and other times asked why a person would do that. If you like travel books, you will probably enjoy reading this.

I was very interested in reading this book about Yap and the cover really drew me in. I had high hopes, but it never engaged me. The author can be funny, but his humor and situations seemed forced. Too long and too introspective. He never really acclimates either to the island or its people. DNF

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.