Journal Entry 1 by trygvasson from Hamburg, Hamburg Germany on Friday, December 17, 2004

Journal Entry 2 by trygvasson from Hamburg, Hamburg Germany on Monday, December 20, 2004

Copied from amazon.de:
A revisionist view of Noah's Ark, told by the stowaway woodworm. A chilling account of terrorists hijacking a cruise ship. A court case in 16th-century France in which the woodworm stand accused. A desperate woman's attempt to escape radioactive fallout on a raft. An acute analysis of Gericault's "Scene of Shipwreck." The search of a 19th-century Englishwoman and of a contemporary American astronaut for Noah's Ark. An actor's increasingly desperate letters to his silent lover. A thoughtful meditation on the novelist's responsibility regarding love. These and other stories make up Barnes's witty and sometimes acerbic retelling of the history of the world. The stories are connected, if only tangentially, which is precisely Barnes's point: historians may tell us that "there was a pattern," but history is "just voices echoing in the dark; . . . strange links, impertinent connections." Fascinating reading from the author of Flaubert's Parrot , but not for those wanting conventional plot.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"

It made for a fun read... So this book should travel - at least 10 1/2 stages ... in a BOOKRING for 10 participants...

1. -aoirghe- D - Bonn - ?
2. Leseschaf - D, Bonn - ?
3. RonOren - Amsterdam, NL - asking for shipping inside NL
3,5. Sublevel4 - got curious and is promising to read the book very, very fast - I hope everyone else doesn´t mind...
4. wandering - Middelveers, NL - EU pref
5. bacicoline - Paris, F - int
6. concertina8 - Wien, AT - EU pref
7. quico - Coimbra, Portugal - int
8. Soongsis2 - Singapore - int > arrival in Singapore reported
9. sqdancer - Alberta, Canada - int
10. Catwoman - Alberta, Canada - int
1/2: Back to trygvasson

In the forum:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/1499869

Basic rules:
Please make a journal entry upon receiving the book - enjoy a good read - make a journal entry with a comment - PM the next bookcrosser for his/her address - put the book in the mail and make a release note.
If anyone wants to drop out of the bookray/-ring: please PM me so I can update the list.
 

Journal Entry 3 by trygvasson from Hamburg, Hamburg Germany on Monday, January 03, 2005

Bookring starts as soon as I have the first address... 

Journal Entry 4 by trygvasson at Posted to another bookcrosser in Hamburg, Germany, By Post -- Controlled Releases on Monday, January 03, 2005

Released on Tuesday, January 04, 2005 at about 2:00:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Posted to another bookcrosser in Hamburg, Germany, By Post Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Start of the bookring - I hope everyone will like it... I´ll be looking forward to your comments. 

Journal Entry 5 by -aoirghe- from Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Friday, January 07, 2005

The book arrived today and I'm very much looking forward to reading it. But alas, there are three bookrings before this! I'll try not to be too slow with it.

Thanks to trygvasson (I like that nick) for starting the ring! 

Journal Entry 6 by -aoirghe- from Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Thursday, February 10, 2005

A fascinating book! I still haven't finished it, as my real life keeps hindering me from reading. But I will buy a copy of the book for my personal collection, so I'll pass this copy on to Leseschaf when I meet her next week. 

Journal Entry 7 by Leseschaf from Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Thursday, March 03, 2005

Got it from -aoirghe- at a meetup. 

Journal Entry 8 by Leseschaf from Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Saturday, March 19, 2005

The stories were really nice and interesting. I like especially the Stowaway, the Wars of religion and The Visitors - yes, the first ones. With shipwreck came a stop for me, because I didn't read the whole chapter. My english understanding is not so good and I didn't liked the way of writing. Doesn't really matter, because the next chapters I did read and enjoyed them. The book will go on to Ron Oren on Monday. 

Journal Entry 9 by Leseschaf at on Thursday, March 24, 2005

Released 7 yrs ago (3/24/2005 UTC) at

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Finally on the way to the Netherlands. I'm very sorry it took so long. 

Journal Entry 10 by RonOren from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Sunday, March 27, 2005

It arrived yesterday, and as I happened to finish the only other ring that's here, I started it right away. Didn't get past the first few words though, so I can't really comment yet.

Thanks for sharing, trygvasson! (Oh, and I love the marker! I'm very tempted to keep it...) 

Journal Entry 11 by RonOren from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Saturday, April 02, 2005

I'm a bit hard put to give a good review of this book. First off: I did like it, that's for sure. Mr. Barnes is obviously a good writer, using nice and sharp wit occasionally and definitely able to drag a reader along in his wake.

I'm not really sure about the stories themselves; or rather, about the looseness of their connections. Some, most obviously The Mountain and Project Ararat (and The Stowaway, once one thinks about it), are clearly connected (beautiful irony in Tiggler's find, isn't it?).
Some others, however, don't seem to have anything to do with the rest. Especially Shipwreck and Upstream! seem (almost) completely unconnected. Yes, they do have some details in common, but I am missing the point of these stories.
My favourites are The Stowaway (I'd almost add an "of course" here) and The Dream, though The Wars of Religion is a good runner-up. I love the fact that, apparently, that's based on true proceedings! How strange can this world be...

I understand that the book is meant as glimpses of history (in a somewhat strange view) rather than a clear story. Yet, I can't help missing connections. I guess I'm just too used to easy digestible one-plot story-lines ;-). Which is not to say I didn't like the book, far from it; it's just, er... different.

Once again, thanks for sharing it, trygvasson. I'll give it to Sublevel4 (boy, that's about the simplest shipping I've ever done); he should be done with it in a few days, and then it's off to wandering. 

Journal Entry 12 by Sublevel4 from Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Saturday, April 02, 2005

Received it from RonOren. Just finished my last book, so I'll start on this one straight away. 

Journal Entry 13 by Sublevel4 from Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Saturday, April 09, 2005

Just finished reading this and put it in the post to the next on the list. Thanks again to trygvasson for including me on the bookring at the last moment!

The book turned out to be nothing like I thought it would be. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, I enjoyed it. My favourite chapters, which all can be read as separate stories, were at the beginning - the first and third chapters. 

Journal Entry 14 by wandering from Den Haag, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Received it today, thanks for sending Sublevel4! It is now second in line to be read, so it shouldn't take me long to get to read this book... 

Journal Entry 15 by wandering from Den Haag, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Almost finished this book, but I can't get through the last pages. I liked some chapters, especially 'Shipwreck', because it showed me a way to look at paintings (I never know how to look at art...) I guess the timing of this book was wrong, not enough focus from my part...

I am sending it on to bacicoline next weekend, as she is on a holiday right now.

Thanks for sharing this book! 

Journal Entry 16 by bacicoline from Paris, Ile-de-France France on Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Extraordinary story :
I had even forgotten that this book was on its way to come at home...
Yesterday morning, when I left home to go working, I checked my mail. There are many letterboxes in my building, and I saw a book above all of them... One with a bally sticker on it.
I thought "great, there's another bookcrosser in my building !" I took the book, very happy about this "discovery"

then, I remembered that I was waiting a ring, with the same title.

In fact, THAT is the book I had been waiting for... How is it possible to find it, without any enveloppe nor my name written on it, lying above the letterboxes, 2 months after it was sent ???

I really don't understand what happened... maybe one of my neighbour opened the enveloppe by mistake and read it ? 

Journal Entry 17 by bacicoline from Paris, Ile-de-France France on Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Finished it one week ago !
I am very sorry for the time I took toi read it but I first had no time to begin its reading then couldn't read very fast because there was a lot of difficult vocabulary for me.

Well, I enjoyed this reading ! The stories are all so different, it doesn't become boring because beginning a new "chapter" is like beginning a new bookk.
And I had fun discovering how the characters and/or the story were linked somehow !

I'm going to send the book as soon as I have the next person's address !

Mery Christmas to all the previous readers of this book !
:o) 

Journal Entry 18 by concertina8 from Wien Bezirk 13 - Hietzing, Wien Austria on Thursday, April 20, 2006

it's here! it's here! 

Journal Entry 19 by concertina8 from Wien Bezirk 13 - Hietzing, Wien Austria on Saturday, May 06, 2006

As some of the other reviewers, this is not what I expected. I thought the stories would be more obviously connected.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy it as well - that is to say: most of it. By the life of me, I could not read 'The Dream' and I didn't finish that one. Which might seem kind of odd, as it is the last story in the book, but I came to a point where I couldn't get myself to read another line of it.

My favorite story would have to be the first one and the chapter (third? sorry, the book is not with me at the moment) that is compiled of translated courtpapers about the trial against the woodworms.



(slightly) SPOILER(-ish)

...

I found it quite amusing that 'Touchdown' found a skeleton and was convinced that it was Noah's. This made me chuckle, as I - the reader - knew whose it really was.




I wonder how much of all this happened - or something similar to it.

Thx for sharing! I already have the next address and will send it off on Monday. 

Journal Entry 20 by concertina8 at by mail in To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Released 6 yrs ago (5/8/2006 UTC) at by mail in To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

on its way to Portugal 

Journal Entry 21 by quico from Coimbra (cidade), Coimbra Portugal on Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Here it is, fresh from the mailbox! 

Journal Entry 22 by quico from Coimbra (cidade), Coimbra Portugal on Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Well, I really liked this. I enjoyed the different voices and writing styles and above all the clever sense of humour.
Like the "real" one, Barne's history doesn't make much sense. This 10 1/2 chapters randomly choosen by the author are connected by caracters (the woodworm) or themes (the incapacity to learn with mistakes, the references to the ark, the distintion between clean and unclean, the retelling of facts). A provocative and hilarious portrait of mankind and a fantastic read.

The book is ready to travel: already Pmed Soongsis2.
 

Journal Entry 23 by quico from Coimbra (cidade), Coimbra Portugal on Friday, June 16, 2006

And here it goes to Soongsis2! Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 24 by Soongsis2 on Monday, June 26, 2006

Received this in the mail today! Thanks!