Journal Entry 1 by choclaholic from San Antonio, Texas USA on Thursday, January 08, 2004

This is a book on CD read by the author, Steve Martin. Yes, that Steve Martin; the comedian, who has obviously come along way from his SNL days of being a wild and crazy guy! Who knew he had such a way with words? Great descriptions and an intense vocabulary. He was throwing around words I didn't know! I loved the characters; the plot was interesting; and the resolution was quite satisfying. Really, quite a remarkable work for someone best known as a movie star.

Now, to be a good comedian, one must be a good observer of people, to know what makes them tick and turn that into something that makes people laugh (and not cringe). That, no surprise, Steve Martin does masterfully in this book. It's a poignant book, full of pathos for the hero, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, the benign neurotic who makes us root for him to succeed and to take his quiet heart into our own.

Daniel, an up-rooted Texan living on government assistance in Santa Monica, has a psyche racked with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Daniel's quirks range from having to cross the street at perfectly symetricaly scooped out driveways to having his indoor lighting always total 1125 Watts. His coping skills range from creating magic squares of various orders, to prohibiting himself from using words with the letter "e" in them. He knows he makes up these self-imposed rules as a means of hiding himself, yet that makes them no less real to his chest tightening in panic.

Regardless of this, he is an immensly intelligent guy, one of those people with the ability to instantly tell the day of the week that corresponds to the date it falls on, for any year of history. He loves logic and order and mathematics and has a heighened awareness of semantics.

How ironic that a fellow of his qualities would win the Most Ordinary American Contest -- not just once, but twice! I'll let you read (or listen) to this book yourself to find out how he pulled that off!

Anyway, it was very funny, very enjoyable, and I have a soft spot in my heart for Daniel Pecan Cambridge. If only every neurotic were as lovable as he. Listening to this kind of reminded me of Martin's portrayal of the mafioso Vinnie, aka Todd, in the movie "My Blue Heaven". Actually, they couldn't be more different in style, but Martin has the ability to take a quirky and rough around the edges kind of a guy, and shows us how lovable they really are on the inside.

I'm so glad the story ended the way it did. Highly recommended. 

Journal Entry 2 by choclaholic from San Antonio, Texas USA on Friday, May 14, 2004

I had orginally marked this as permanent collection, but I kept a copy for myself and am making this one available, just to be un-shelf-ish with my books (on CD).

I think I'll bring this to the next BC-SAT meet-up to see if anyone there would like to have a go at it. 

Journal Entry 3 by choclaholic at Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio, Texas USA on Friday, May 21, 2004

Released on Thursday, May 20, 2004 at Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio, Texas USA.

This was in a pile of books I had Flyinfox take with him to bookcrossing meet-up.

I almost didn't realize it was not among those books that came home, so obviosly it was released. I apologize for the delay in my release notes.... 

Journal Entry 4 by First-Noel from San Antonio, Texas USA on Friday, May 21, 2004

Got this one from the meetup last night. I'll listen and then it will be up for grabs. 

Journal Entry 5 by PaigeTurner124 from Cibolo, Texas USA on Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Picked this one up at tonight's local bookcrossing meeting. I'm looking forward to listening to it! 

Journal Entry 6 by First-Noel at Chipotles, 1604 & Blanco in San Antonio, Texas USA on Wednesday, January 11, 2006

RELEASE NOTES:

Released tonight at the first meeting of the NEW San Antonio Bookcrossers yahoo group.

Thanks to the wonderful staff at Chipotle and especially Mary Lynn and Tina. You guys rock! 

Journal Entry 7 by PaigeTurner124 from Cibolo, Texas USA on Thursday, January 19, 2006

I really enjoyed this story, and hearing it in Steve Martin's voice was a bonus! You can't help but to love the main character Daniel, even with all his neurotic quirks. Kind of scary, but I even could understand the reasoning for some of them! I thought Daniel was endearing and I too, loved the happy ending! 

Journal Entry 8 by PaigeTurner124 at Controlled Release via USPS in San Antonio, Texas USA on Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Released 6 yrs ago (2/14/2006 UTC) at Controlled Release via USPS in San Antonio, Texas USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Placed in the mail to Oklahoman today as a part of a trade. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 9 by Oklahoman from Moore, Oklahoma USA on Friday, February 17, 2006

thxs choclaholic!