What do readers think of Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli? Write your own review.

People undergo changes all the time. Using a physical location to map and understand a midlife crisis was clever. The book provided insight into Bhutan - the culture and the people there. The differences between all the worlds (personal and political) was a comforting read.

If you are looking for another Eat, Pray, Love, this book is not it. For me, that was a major plus. While it seems to be billed as another “travel to find myself” book, I found that where it was its most interesting was the look it gave us at modern Bhutanese life (and it dragged a little when the author focused on her own relationships with other westerners because I didn’t care about that). But I learned a lot about Bhutan, and the author seems to have begun her contacts with Bhutan and the Bhutanese people right at the point where Bhutan is in a transition period between keeping itself almost completely isolated from the modern world, and allowing the modern world in. And it seems pretty clear that the modern world is going to rapidly run roughshod over their old way of life. I found that aspect to be fascinating, and it left me with a lot of food for thought – it seems pretty poignant that their old ways will disappear, but why shouldn’t they have all of the benefits of modern technology and communication that we have? But does that make people happier? But even if it doesn’t, would it have been acceptable for their government to continue to keep them isolated? I finished it several days ago, and I still find myself thinking about it.

After reading “Radio Shangri-La” by Lisa Napoli, one thing I can say is “I wish I could visit Bhutan!” But sadly I’m afraid that as Bhutan opens up to the world, it will cease to be the same unspoiled country that Napoli discovered.

As I read about Napoli’s adventures, I felt as though I were traveling with her, getting acquainted with her Bhutanese friends -- Ngawang, Pema, Pink and the others – and sharing their lives. Although I haven’t lived in another country, I traveled throughout the world for many years in my job for a non-profit organization. Reading this book brought back lovely memories of my experiences and the people who changed me by giving me a different perspective on my life and values.

However, partly because Napoli kept us at arms length, only teasing us about her problems and experience instead of bringing us into the heart and soul of her changed self and partly because I was more interested in Bhutan and its people, I didn’t enjoy Napoli’s personal musings as much as I did her descriptions of this beautiful country, these delightfully open-hearted people and their lives. All in all, though, it was an enthralling book.

I enjoy reading books that teach some kind of spiritual lesson, so I was eager to read this book to find out what the author learned by working at a radio station in a Buddhist nation. While I believe the epiphanies she arrived at were profound and relevant to my life, they didn't take up much of the book. Radio Shangri-la reads more like a travel memoir offering sights, sounds and a rich atmosphere of a place the reader will never experience in real life. I enjoyed it more for this reason.

I found the book to be extremely interesting as very, very little is known about this closed and secluded country. However, I felt there was something lacking, perhaps more information would have been helpful. I would still definitely recommend this book to others who have penchant to learn about new places that are literally unheard of or where very little is known about the country and its people.

I enjoyed this book up until Lisa got back to the US after her first trip to Bhutan. Then it fell flat. In the end, her story is interesting and I learned about the happiest kingdom on earth, but I have to rate it average.

I was prepared to love this book, but it turned out to a bit of a disappointment. I had to force myself to keep reading. If you really want to read a fascinating book on happiness and places where people are the happiest, try The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner instead.

I rated the book average because I liked elements of the book. But, I would have liked to know more about Napoli's life in Bhutan. Not much was written about what she specifically did for the radio station and rather late in the book she mentioned friends she had made who were ex-pats but she hadn't mentioned them previously.