A Baby in a Backpack to Bhutan

Registered by libragirl of Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on 7/1/2004
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12 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by libragirl from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Thursday, July 1, 2004
Purchased this book after reading a review of it in an airline magazine.

Journal Entry 2 by libragirl from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, July 2, 2004
Enjoyed this book, which is written with an easy style. It makes me want to visit Bhutan to see it myself and meet the people who seem so very gracious and hospitable.

By coincidence, in another airline magazine today when I has just finished the book - there was an article about guided trips to Bhutan!!! Spooky! Maybe I should start planning my holiday!

I will start a Ring so that i can share with others.

Here is the link to the publisher's site
www.panmacmillan.com.au.

Journal Entry 3 by libragirl from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Friday, July 2, 2004
Members of the ring so far - others will be added where appropriate so that the book can go around the world in some sort of order.

tqd - Sydney, Australia
jubby - Sydney, Australia
Ebumu - New York, USA
mlbish - Chicago, USA
lorit5 - Pocomoke City, USA
kristamd - maryland, USA
Whitreidtan - Ohio, USA
billhookbabe - UK
quizgirl - UK
Brujula - France
Margih - Finland

General Book Ring Rules:

1. When you receive the book, make a journal entry so we all get the thrill of knowing where it's at.

2. Send a private message (PM) to the next person in line for their address. If they do not respond within three days, PM them again. If they do not respond within a week of your first message, PM the person after them and contact me.

3. Read the book, if possible within 30 days, and make a journal entry to tell us what you have thought about the book. You can be as brief or as lengthy as you wish with your thoughts about the book.

Please remember, that there are many anxious readers patiently waiting to read the book after you. Please bear this in mind! If you need the month to finish the book, please make a periodic journal entry indicating how far you are into the story, or thoughts about what you have read so far. This way we know that the book has not been forgotten in your ‘to-be-read’ pile.

4. When you are ready to send the book to the next person in line, make release notes/a journal entry to say when the book is leaving your hands and who'll be catching it next, and pop it into the post!

5. To the last person on the list: Please PM me and I will send you my mailing address:)

Thank you for participating!

***When you receive a PM from the person before you, letting you know that you are next in line, and you find yourself overwhelmed with book commitments,(or just life in general) Please PM me and I may be able to move you further down the list.

Regards
libragirl

Journal Entry 4 by tqd from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Monday, July 12, 2004
Turned up in the mail today, thanks libragirl!

Journal Entry 5 by tqd from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Monday, August 2, 2004
A lovely cheerful read, about lovely cheerful people! I do hope they all get as much happiness in their lives as possible.

And as someone who frets when she has to travel with her baby (now toddler) to a different suburb (Do I have enough toys? Enough nappies? Enough food? Changes of clothing? Wet weather gear? GPS tracking device to get me home again?), I am seriously impressed.

(And the cynic in me wants to know if the peasants are as happy as all the middle-class Bhutan people she met. I try to keep the cynic quiet, but it just won't shut up some days.)

I loved the tale of taking Kathryn to the monks when she's not sleeping. I wish we had that option here as well!

On to jubby, next time we meet!

Journal Entry 6 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Received tonight from tqd at meetup. Part of a bookring, and will try to read and get in the post by this time next week.

Thank you Libragirl.

Journal Entry 7 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Friday, August 20, 2004
I don't know why I am disappointed with this book. I knew perfectly well that it was written by an ex-editor of 'New Idea', but I really was expecting with a bit more to it.

I feel that the author is merely skimming the surface, and doesn't commit herself to the presenting her reader with an in-depth and intrinsic exploration of motherhood and Bhutanese culture.
What we got is fairy floss.

On the upside, this would make great airport reading. Have been reading this book on the way to and from work all week. Which, incidently involves a train ride past the international airport. And I find myself wanting to leap off and head straight to the check-in counter.



Thank you Libragirl for sharing this. And after reading this I have found the inspiration to (finally) read James Hilton's 'Lost Horizon'.

Journal Entry 8 by jubby at BookRing in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Friday, August 20, 2004
Release planned for Saturday, August 21, 2004 at Bookring in Bookring, A Bookring Controlled Releases.

Popped into the post box for Ebumu.

Sent airmail. So, she should receive it in 7 days.

Happy travels little book.

Journal Entry 9 by Ebumu from Ithaca, New York USA on Friday, September 3, 2004
Thank you jubby, it showed up in my mailbox today (13 days--oh well). The envelope bears an enigmatic Australia Post sticker that says "Delayed for compliance with Aviation Security Regulations."

My son is 18 months old. The thought of taking him to Bhutan, alone, makes my hair stand on end. How brave and exciting! My son's middle name is Peregrine, which means traveler, and expresses our wish that he see the world. I'm curious to learn how this baby and her mom fared. Thanks for sharing, libragirl.

Journal Entry 10 by Ebumu from Ithaca, New York USA on Friday, September 24, 2004
I assumed from the "Backpack" in the title that the author was trekking or traveling in Bhutan. Instead she goes and settles down with a nice middle/upper class family. This is of course much more sensible if you're traveling with a baby, but the title made me expect a little more adventure. The people depicted in the book seem like lovely hosts, and the author captures some of the cultural uniqueness of the Bhutanese. Perhaps because the author is trying so hard not to offend her hosts, I felt that I never really got to know them.

I have to echo the comments of other readers about the relatively shallow focus of the writer. It reads like a tourist manual--perky and superficial. I don't want to complain too much, since I didn't have any problem making it through the book and I did enjoy it. I couldn't help but wish it had been written by the narrator's husband, who sounds like he has a much deeper understanding of Bhutanese culture. I would like to see one of his movies some day.

Mailed to mlbish Sept. 28, media mail.

Journal Entry 11 by mlbish from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Sunday, October 10, 2004
Received yesterday. Thank you! I am really starting to get into travel books, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Journal Entry 12 by mlbish from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Sunday, October 24, 2004
Finished this morning. I really enjoyed this light travel book. Several other bookcrossers commented on its shallowness (and I do not mean that with a bad connotation), and I always read the journal entries before I start the book, so I knew what to expect. And I have to say that while I agree, I was not disappointed in the least. This was exactly what I needed at this stressful point in my life, and I relished the light, cheerful, often very funny read.

That said, I have a friend who grew up in India, and therefore keeps up with South Asian politics, and he tells me that things in the Kingdom of Bhutan are not as idyllic as Ms. Avieson would have us believe. Apparently, many people do not care for the monarchy (maybe the lower classes?) and it's not quite the happy prosperous place that was portrayed in this book.

I was delighted to read this book that I would never have been able to get in the States. (I know this because I looked for cover art to put on my bookshelf and couldn't find it at any of the US online bookstores.) I think the only other Australian author I've ever read is Colleen McCullough. Thank you so much for sharing this one, libragirl. It was a pleasure.

Off to lorit5 as soon as I have her address.

Journal Entry 13 by mlbish from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Saturday, November 6, 2004
Just want to let everyone know that I posted this one 11/02/04. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 14 by lorit5 from Pocomoke City, Maryland USA on Friday, November 19, 2004
I received this and will start reading it soon. Thank you!!

Journal Entry 15 by lorit5 from Pocomoke City, Maryland USA on Tuesday, December 7, 2004
I am sorry but I don't see myself finishing this book anytime soon. I don't know if it is the holiday season or my hormones since becoming pregnant but I can't seem to get in interest in books that I used to. What I did read was good and I found interesting!! I am emailing the next person on the list.

Journal Entry 16 by Mountainwren from Bethesda, Maryland USA on Saturday, December 18, 2004
The book arrived safe and sound. Thanks for sending! I will it and pass it on within a month.

Journal Entry 17 by Mountainwren from Bethesda, Maryland USA on Monday, January 3, 2005
This was the first book I read in 2005! I appreciated learning about a culture of which I had no previous knowledge. What delightful hosts were the sisters and their friends and extended family! Avieson does make the whole country seem enchanted, and no doubts exaggerates some of its wonderful qualities. Each time I grew impatient with her "float on the surface, everything's perfect" commentary, I reminded myself that she was only writing about her experience, and not attempting to critique the culture as a whole.
The book will be off to Ohio today. Thanks for the chance to read it.

Journal Entry 18 by Whitreidtan from Matthews, North Carolina USA on Sunday, January 9, 2005
Came home from the holidays and an extended trip to Disney (no baby in a backpack but three kiddies in a stoller) to find this book waiting for me in the mail. Will read and send along asap since I figure my absence has already held it up long enough!!!

Journal Entry 19 by Whitreidtan from Matthews, North Carolina USA on Monday, January 17, 2005
This was a light and interesting travel book. Avieson meets her partner and goes with him on his travels as she works on writing her books. She gets pregnant and they have a little girl who starts travelling with them to both India and, for a longer stretch of time, to Bhutan. This work weaves Avieson's impressions of living in Bhutan (as the guest of a quite well-off family, incidentally) with learning to parent while her partner, Mal, is back and forth working flat out on a film on remote location in Bhutan. Avieson draws an incredibly appealing view of Bhutan and the people who live there. She mentions how universally beloved the King is and yet she also mentions, without noting the dissonance, that before the Queens arrive at the movie premiere, the theater has to be thoroughly vetted by security. Perhaps this doesn't point out less innocence and naivete than she ascribes to the Bhutanese and is simply good policy in our crazy world but it was small things like this that made me wonder how idealized her picture was. There were also bumps in the early chapters where it seemed almost as if she had written each individual chapter up as an article and then later collated them for the book without worrying about repetition or duplication in her information. But these quibbles are minor and all in all, I did quite enjoy the book and hearing about a part of the world I know nothing about. Do note if you plan to read it though, that the title, while perhaps implying that they went trekking around Bhutan, doesn't seem to have much to do with the actual narrative stream and there was no trekking involved.

Will send it off to billhookbabe in the morning (it's a holiday here so no mail).

Journal Entry 20 by billhookbabe on Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Received today, looks fascinating. Should get it on the move by the end of the month. Many thanks.

Journal Entry 21 by billhookbabe on Wednesday, March 16, 2005
I really enjoyed this gentle look at the life of the Bhutanese. As with others, I had never heard of the country. I found it to be a reasonable intro but I wanted her to travel the country more, learn some of the language and go deeper.


On to quizgirl next, will post later today.

Journal Entry 22 by quizgirl from Chesterfield, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Thursday, March 17, 2005
Received today, thank you billhookbabe.

Journal Entry 23 by libragirl from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Wednesday, April 27, 2005
I have just had an email from the author: thought I would share it with you all.
hi diana,

i have been following your bookring with great interest. tell that quizgirl to get a move on! i loved the review from the american woman who thought i was a dill but she liked the sound of my husband!

kind regards,
bunty avieson

Journal Entry 24 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Friday, June 10, 2005
received today in my mailbox.
Thank you!

Journal Entry 25 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Monday, July 18, 2005
After reading this book, I really want to travel to Bhutan! I'd love meeting these kind people, but I'm afraid when one travels on vacation, it's hard to meet people the way the author did, just living with them.
The book makes Bhutan sound like the perfect land, with the perfect people!
Thank you libragirl for organizing this bookring.
I'll send it to Margih as soon as I have her adress!

Journal Entry 26 by Margih from Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Monday, August 8, 2005
Received this one in the post, thanks! I have 2 ring books ahead this one but I´ll read this one right after them.

Journal Entry 27 by billhookbabe on Thursday, August 18, 2005
Thought the readers of this book might like to see this from the BBC today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4155878.stm Hope you didn't mind me adding this to the journal entries :o)

Journal Entry 28 by Margih from Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Friday, October 14, 2005
So, I did forget journaling the book... But better later than never, right :)

I enjoyed this book very much. It´s wonderful to read about people who have the courage to make this kind of decissions to travel to a totally different country and culture. And taking a kid with, wonderful! This experience has certainly taught a lot to the whole family. I love to travel and have lived abroad but at the moment I´m not able to make any longer journeys. This book gave me a wonderful journey to Bhutan and it´s culture! So, thanks libragirl, for sharing this book :)

I took the book to post office over a week ago, so it´s on its way back to NZ. ( I got the pm from Piiku unfortunately too late, so she didn´t get the possibility to read this book.)

Journal Entry 29 by libragirl from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Wednesday, October 19, 2005
This well travelled book is now back with me. Thanks to everyone for looking after it so well. A great surprise too on opening the parcel to see that some postcards have travelled with the book.
Thanks to:
Ebumu - Cayuga lake from the South, Ithaca, New York
Kristamd - White House, Washington DC
Whitreidtan - Night view of Colombus, Ohio
billhookbabe - Views of historic Derbyshire
Quizgirl - Crooked Spire, Church of St Mary & All Saints, Chesterfield
Brujula - Territoire de Belfort
Margih - Tampere Tammersfors, Finland

I will keep this collection of cards with the book as a reminder of its journey


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