Given to me by a friend for BookCrossing....copy 2 of two he gave me!

RELEASE NOTES:

looks interesting....sure i have said that about another book in the last 30 mins but there you are.

relieved from the meet up

Oh my GAWD!!!

This would have be one of the funniest books I have read this year! Admittedly it took me a couple of days to finish this book but that's not a reflection on the book.

One of my favourite passages is:

The worst burglar

The history of crime offers few figure less suited to undetected burglary than Mr Philip McCutcheon.
He was arrested for the twentieth time when, after his latest robbery, he drove his getaway car into two parked vans. During this man's appearance at Yorke Crown Court in 1971, the judge gave a rare display of careers' advice from the bench.
Giving our man a conditional discharge, Mr Rodney Percy, the Recorder, said: 'I think you should give burglary up. You have a withered hand, an artificial leg and only one eye. You have been caught in Otley, Leeds, Harrogate, Norwich, Beverley, Hull and Yorke. How can you hope to succeed?
You are a rotten burglar. You are always being caught.'

I am putting this one up for a book ring as it's just too good to not share.

If you are interested, PM me and we'll put it in circulation!

I dont intend to restrict this one to Australia so if you have a problem with international postage then please let me know.

Quilted-Elf
Davros-10 Australia
aleonblue Australia
lmn60 Australia
your-book-fairy USA
WeeDragon97 USA
buffra USA
Ilios USA
glade1 USA
LyekkaMarengo USA
wyldewomin USA
areir Greece <-------Currently here
flambard UK
buggyhare Australia

And then back to me

I would love it if everyone taking part in this book ring were to journal their favourite passage from the book.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent on to Davros-10 via Aussie Post

Received today from Quilted-Elf. Thanks for organising the bookring. I have three other books to read first, then it will be into it.

And I think you're right, it would be nice if each of us mentioned our favourite passage in our journal entry once we've read it.

I read this book almost entirely during my daily commute to and from work .... which may have been a mistake. I sat there giggling, and laughing out loud at times, which probably explains why I nearly always managed to have a seat all to myself. Maybe it was a good book to read on the commute after all....

As for a favourite passage? Bit hard to pick one, but this one tickled my funnybone, even though if you are too far on the PC (politically correct) side it is probably considered not to be a laughing matter. However, I've been "lucky" enough to be on several juries since I went on the electoral roles nearly 30 years ago and it just appealed to me.

THE WORST JUROR

There was a rape case at a Northern Crown Court in the late 1970s at which, according to a local crime reporter who covered the case, a juror fell fast asleep. Then the victim was asked to repeat what her attacker had said prior to the incident. Overcome with embarrassment, the girl was allowed to write it on paper.
This was then folded and passed along the jury. Each member in turn read and registered surprise on seeing words to the general effect that 'nothing in the whole history of sexual congress equals the comprehensive going-over which I intend vis a vis your good self'.
Sitting next to the dozing juror was an attractive blonde. After reading the note, she refolded it and nudged her neighbour who awoke with a start.
He read the note and looked at the blonde in wonderment. To the delight of the entire court, he then read it again, winked at her and put the note in his pocket.
When the judge asked him for the piece of paper, the recently dormant juror refused to hand it over, saying that it was 'a personal matter'.

Reserved for aleonblue, the next person on the bookring.

And I thought this cartoon (which has nothing to do with this book) was a good one about juries and bookkeepers - which ties in with my profession as an accountant and with by BC interests!

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to aleonblue this afternoon.

Wow - Australia Post was really quick this time! Received this great little book in this morning's post with a lovely little calendar - from Davros10 I assume. Look forward to reading it over the weekend.

Had a great laugh reading this book - I do vaguely remember some of these stories from other sources (eg the one quoted by Davros-10 above). Had difficulty picking my favourite passage, but here's one that tickled my fancy (from page 86):

"THE WORST BANK ROBBERS

In August 1975, 3 men were on their way in to rob the Royal Bank of Scorland at Rothesay, when they got stuck in the revolving doors. They had to be helped free by the staff and , after thanking everyone, sheepishly left the building.

A few minutes later, they returned and announced their intention of robbing the back, but none of the staff believed them. When, at first, they demanded 5,000 pounds, the head cashier laughed at them, convinced that it was a practical joke.

Considerably disheartend by this, the gang leader reduced his demand first to 500 pounds, then to 50 pounds and ultimately to 50 pence. By this stage the cashier could barely control herself for laughter.

Then one of the men jumped over the counter and fell awkwardly on the floor, clutching his ankle. The other two made their getaway, but got trapped in the revolving doors for and second time, desperately pushing the wrong way."

If you look at page 119, there is a section dedicated to THE WORST ORCHESTRA, which I think that the author Alexander McCall Smith is a member of this group (but don't quote me on that).

Will be sending this book off to continue the ring, with another little book I received as a RABCK today, that I think this bookring group will also enjoy. It is The NewScientist Book of the Last Word - please read and journal your favourite passage for this book if you're interested, and send it on with this bookring.

Eek! Why does every bookring book arrive at once? Are these like buses???

Luckily this one looks dip-into-able enough for me to read and pass on in reasonable time....

Be back when I've something to add...

Enjoyed dipping in and out of this one when I had a few minutes to spare - made for some amusing reading.

My favourite was the 'Worst Singer' about Florence Foster Jenkins. I actually have an old tape of her singing - and, yep, she was REALLY bad and ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!. Not only that... but I also have a special fondness for(as well as owning another tape of..) the 'worst orchestra', the Portsmouth Sinfonia. Actually I think this says something about my bent sense of humour rather than my musical tastes!

Have PM'd your-book-fairy and will send it off as soon as I have an address!

I just got this one in the mail today and already just the introduction has made me laugh out loud. This will be the perfect book for me to read as I'm spending countless hours sitting in my rocking chair, feeding my daughter -- the baby bottle takes up one hand, and you only have to drop a heavy hardcover on her head once to learn that you ought to be holding a lightweight paperback with the other hand.

No, I've never dropped a book on my daughter's head. But I have tried reading other larger bookring books only to end up losing my place and tiring out my wrist. So, I'll be relying on this to keep me entertained for a while, and the few entries I've read so far have not let me down!

This is one of those books that you had better read only around other people who aren't trying to read their own books, otherwise you risk really getting on their nerves with all the laughing out loud and wanting to read sections aloud to them. At least that's how it went for me. Now the book is all packed up and ready to mail to WeeDragon97 as soon as I get the address.

It's so hard to choose just one favorite entry, and others have already picked some great ones, but here's a doozie:

THE WORST JURY

A murder trial at Manitoba in February 1978 was well advanced, when one juror revealed that he was completely deaf and did not have the remotest clue what was happening.

The judge, Mr. Justice Solomon, asked him if he had heard any evidence at all and, when there was no reply, dismissed him.

The excitement which this caused was only equalled when a second juror revealed that he spoke not a word of English. A fluent French speaker, he exhibited great surprise when told, after two days, that he was hearing a murder trial.

The trial was abandoned when a third juror said taht he suffered from both conditions, being simultaneously unversed in the English language and nearly as deaf as the first juror.

The judge ordered a retrial.

Got this is the mail today and have already started it and am having a grand time!

WARNING! Do not read this book if you are in the "have to go the the restroom every five minutes" stage of pregnancy the laughter only makes it worse! that being said other that the bathroom breaks every two minutes I read this book in one setting! It was just sooooo funny! my favorite entry is....
The Most Unsuccessful Cannon-ball!
On two occasions Miss 'Rita Thunderbird' has remained inside the cannon despite gunpowder encouragement to do otherwise.
She performs in a gold lame bikini and on one of these occasions (at Battersea in 1977), Miss Thunderbird remained lodged in the cannon, while her bra was shot across the River Thames.

I can just see that bra sailing majestically over all those old buildings on the Thames! I will pass the book along to the next person as soon as I get their addy!

Received today (along with a wee gift -- very cute!) and I'm very much looking forward to it. I have a few other books I'm reading, but I think it'll move quickly anyway.

Thanks!

Mailing out tomorrow. Journal entry coming soon. Thanks!

Favorite excerpt - "The Most Unsuccessful Attempt to Work through a Lunch Hour"

Mr. Stanley Hird surely set a record in June 1978 when trying to catch up on some paperwork. At one o'clock his carpet facotry was deserted and he settlted down for an uninterrupted hour. At ten past one a cow fell through the roof. The cow had clambered onto the roof from the adjoining field. For 30 seconds they stared at each other and then the cow, who had also been planning a quiet lunch hour, lowered her head and charged. This continued for some minutes, during which time Mr Hird retreated steadily towards the door as the cow scattered stacks of wool. Eventually the heifer, whose name was Rosie, stopped to chew a green carpet and Mr Hird escaped into the corridor. Here he met a farmer who enquired if he had seen a heifer. Police, firemen, and an elaborate set of pulleys were needed to extract the animal.

Well, after reading this book, at least I can tell myself that things in my life really aren’t that bad.

;)

Some of the stories were funny, some left me feeling incredulous. This book of short snippets is the kind of thing you would love to find in a hotel room or guest room – a few short, entertaining bits to read while waiting.
***

It has now been mailed. Again, sorry for the delay!

I just received this book yesterday and started reading it right away. It's been very entertaining. I also love the cover, very Monty Python-ish. :o) I will update this entry as soon as I am done. Thank you for sharing.

Update 3/09/06
I finished this book today and I had great fun reading it. I loved the deadpan delivery of the stories. I contacted glade1 today and will send the book on its journey as soon as I get her address.

RELEASE NOTES:

mailing out to glade1 today. Happy reading!

Received in the mail today. It's behind a couple of others but things are moving pretty quickly lately (knock on wood...). More later.

This was a fun little book. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I only wish it were more up-to-date, as most of the stories occurred in the late 70s and I'm sure lots of wonderful failures have happened since then!

I have already PMed LyekkaMarengo for an address to get this moving again. (I finished it week before last but was on vacation all last week--sorry for the delay.)

Update 4-20-06: Mailed to LyekkaMarengo today.

Received safe and sound in PA. This looks like a really interesting read.

This book was a hoot! My husband was in the other room working on the computer and had to keep coming over to see what I was giggling at. It is somewhat dated and it would be nice to have an update.

My Favorite:

THE WORST TOURIST
The least successful tourist on record is Mr. Nicholas Scotti of San Francisco. In 1977 he flew from America to his native Italy to visit relatives.

En route the plane made a one-hour fuel stop at Kennedy Airport. Thinking that he had arrived, Mr. Scotti got out and spent two days in New York believing he was in Rome.

When his nephews were not there to meet him, Mr. Scotti assumed they had been delayed in the heavy Roman traffic mentioned in their letters. While tracking down their address, the great traveller could not help noticing that modernization had brushed aside most, if not all, of the ancient city's landmarks.

He also noticed that many people spoke English with a distinct American accent. However, he assumed that Americans got everywhere. Furthermore, he assumed it was for their benefit that so many street signs were written in English.

Mr. Scotti spoke very little English himself and next asked a policeman (in Italian) the way to the bus depot. As chance would have it, the policeman came from Naples and replied fluently in the same tongue.

After twelve hours travelling round on a bus, the driver handed him over to a second policeman. There followed a brief argument in which Mr. Scotti expressed amazement at the Rome police force employing someone who did not speak his own language.

Scotti's brilliance is seen in the fact that even when told he was in New York, he refused to believe it.

To get him on a plane back to San Francisco, he was raced to the airport in a police car with sirens screaming. "See," said Scotti to his interpreter, "I know I'm inItaly. That's how they drive."

This one is on to wyldewomin.

The book is now here!

I think it's another Murphy's law... All bookrings arrive at the same time and exactly when you are already facing deadlines and have no free time!

I'll try to read it asap... It looks really funny!

P.S. Has anyone forgot to close the "center" tag? Or is it on purpose? ;-)