This book will be taking part in a bookring!!

About the book -

You thought some mothers were bad, wait till you meet the evil grandma..."Swallowing Grandma" is a perceptive, funny and painfully funny novel about the ties of love and hatred, and the ways in which our versions of the past can thwart our visions for the future. Eighteen-year old Katherine Millar and her grandma, Poll, are two more unforgettable characters from the magical storytelling world of Kate Long, the author who puts fun into dysfunctional. "Kate Long's debut novel, "The Bad Mother's Handbook", was one of those word-of-mouth firecrackers that launch their authors to the top of the bestsellers charts. Her second is equally wise, warm and witty...Will keep you reading until the very last page." Book of the Month, "Red". ""Swallowing Grandma" is as truthful and universal as her first book, but Long has created something gentler this time round something more careful and ultimately more affecting."

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Please make a journal entry as soon as you recieve the book and also when you send it to the next person. Then we know where the book is!

When you are finished with the book please PM the next person on the list and ask for their address so you can send it on to them!

Also let us know what you thought of the book but don't give too much away!

Lastly if you have nicer bookcrossing labels or stickers then decorate the book a little! Also stick a postcard from your country in with a message! Could be fun :)

This bookring is now full!

Here is the bookring order!

1 - LindyLouMac in Italy. <-- Completed!
2 - ajsmom in Canada <-- Completed!
3 - glade1 in the USA. <--- Completed!
4 - cheli-garza in the USA <-- Completed!
5 - Tazzell in Scotland, UK. <-- Completed!
6 - TracyR in Wales, UK <-- Completed!
7 - tabyorky in the UK <-- Completed!
8 - Redhouse in the UK <-- Completed!
9 - sunlightbub in the UK <-- Completed!
10 - Icila in France <-- Completed!
11 - Flicki in Germany <-- Completed!
12 - nikel27 in Germany <-- Completed!
13 - AzurePurpleCat in Australia <-- Completed!
14 - Needsun in Canada <-- Arrived 9/5/07
15 - Back to me in Austria

RELEASE NOTES:

Bookring started!!

Posted to Lindyloumac in Italy.

PS! This bookring has got really long! I hope that everyone will take this into account and try and keep the book moving as fast as possible!

Oh dear not a good start, only arrived today! As I am first on this bookring I need to read quickly and get it on its way again, however I must finish my current book. Please bear with me Thanks.

Finished and tomorrow on its way to Canada! Although I enjoyed this novel, yes it is perceptive and funny I also found some of the characters very annoying. Cannot say much without spoiling the plot for everyone else but I worked out what was going to happen long before Katherine did!
Maybe I was meant to, what do others think?

I received this, my first bookring book, today from LindyLouMac. I will start it right away! Thanks!!

Thanks to a head cold, I got this read quickly. I enjoyed it, but I too was a little annoyed by some of the characters. Hmmmm...there's not a lot I can say without spoiling it for everyone else...
It was funny, but it doesn't earn my highest recommendations. I didn't entirely see what was coming for Katherine, but I had my hunches about *spoiler* Grandma's financial status, as well as a few other plot twists.
This is hard to journal without wrecking it for everyone. I will check back in as more people read it and contribute my $0.02 then.
I am sending it off to glade1 tomorrow.

Received in the mail today. It's behind a few other rings but I'll read as fast as I can!

I really liked this one! I enjoyed it even more than The Bad Mother's Handbook, which was also very good. I did find it fairly predictable in a "big plot points" way, but that doesn't really bother me; I don't think she really intended to surprise her readers, anyway, with all the foreshadowing provided by the mother's comments. What I like about Kate Long is the WAY she gets where she's going, her writing style, sense of humor, and wonderful grasp of the perspectives of women from different generations. Her stories feel "true" to me in a way a lot of fiction does not.

I marked some passages that stood out to me, but I don't have the book with me at the moment so I may come back and add those later. In the meantime, I will PM cheli-garza for an address to get this one moving again.

Update: Mailed to cheli-garza via media rate on 1-24-06.

Arrived in today's mail. Thanks for letting me take part in this, Amberkatze!

Sorry, but I didn't like it. The beginning just entranced me. I thought it would be a great book to share with others. (Not this copy, of course, as it already has its sharees.) I wasn't feeling it after a while though. Callum was a bit of a disappointment. Actually something very similar happened in my own family history. I won't go into details in order to not give away any spoilers, but it's a bit depressing.

I can't find Tanzzell, but will send this off soon!

I'm so sorry about the delay in sending this out. No excuses! It may already have been mailed, or it could be in the trunk of my car, waiting on today's trip to the post office. (probably the latter) It'll be mailed today if that's the case.

Arrived safe and sound thanks :)

Can't quite decide if i enjoyed this book or not, it was well written and its style illustrated the darkness of some of the plot but felt that nothing was ever really resolved within it. Also felt Long touched on topics and then ran away from them without ever giving them the attention they deserved.
Thanks for settin up the ring Amberkatze and letting me be part of it, I've got TraceyR's address so your book is off to your home town now ;)

Book has arrived safely with me. I have a couple of rings in front of it to get through but will get to this as quick as i can.

I find this book quite difficult to make comment on.
I really didn't think i would enjoy it at the beginning but then it started getting a little more interesting once Callum appeared. I had guessed the connection before it was revealed but i then found the ending to be a bit of a disappointment.

I have PM'd the next person for their address and will get this sent on as soon as i get it.

Thanks Amberkatze for sharing this book.

Sent this off to tabyorky yesterday.
Thanks again Amberkatze for sharing.

Received in the post last week but only registering it now as been away. Will read this book next after the one I am reading and then pass on to the next person.

Once I got in to this book I enjoyed it. Will send a pm to the next person and get it passed on.

Posted book to redhouse today.

Arrived safely. Perfect timing, just finished my last book so this will be started today.

I loved this book. I accepted the bookring on a whim and I'm glad I did.
So many people have said that they found some of the characters annoying, but isn't that the point? Weren't they meant to be annoying? Callum was a trifle one dimensional I agree, but I loved Kat and thought she was a great heroine. Her humour and vulnerability touched me.

I have sunlightbubs address, so this will be in the post tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Redhouse..got it today xxx

So sorry, I've had this too long..It is next on my tbr pile, bit having a ring crisis this month. Will get it sent out asap

So sorry, I've had this too long..It is next on my tbr pile, bit having a ring crisis this month. Will get it sent out asap

So so sorry to have had this so long.
I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book when I started to read, but I actually found it very poignant. I found all the characters a little too extreme, as no-one is that black or white, but I also thought parts were very truthful and recognisable..I'm not sure I would seek out other books by the author but already have The Bad Mothers Handbook tbr, so will give it a go at some point.
I've pm'd Icilia to check her address and will post this as soon as received.

Got it this morning. Thanks Sunlightbulb.

I really liked this one as I liked "the Bad Mother Handbook". It's diificult to comment without spoiling.

Thanks to sharing.

Received this today - thank you so much for sending, Icila! I just noticed that I passed through your town last year, yay! :-) Anyway, I hope I'll get through the book that I'm reading right now, soon, so I can get to this one! I'll keep you informed...

What makes me anonymous all the time? SNIFF!

Finished this a minute ago! :-) It's quite okay but not really a must-read. Kat really got on my nerves in those parts where she only sees black and white, but at least she was told off for this. :-) Anyway, Poll is not SUCH a bad character again, is she? I mean, I wouldn't want her to be my grandmother but being the 'evil' part... waaah! Will send it on to nikel27 some time next week. Already have her address.

arrived safe at my house

update:
Good read, thanks for sharing with me

RELEASE NOTES:

EnJoy the book, sorry for the delay in sending this book on....

YAY it's here - I can't wait to start reading it!

I agree with Tazell's comments - I didn't like how some of the topics that werent resolved - like Kat's self-abuse. I wanted to see her get "better" as a person and learn to be a better person too, not just keep existing I guess. It just sort of ended and I was left thinking "but but but!!!!" I wanted the Callum situation to be tied up better too - but then again, maybe it's very true to life. Things in the real world arent always tied up in neat little packages and this book illustrates that - maybe it was right of Long not to tie up these loose ends? It was kind of depressing in a way and I don't know if I learnt anything from reading this book, but I am glad to have read it :) Thank you Amberkatze!

This book arrived today along with five other packages of books. Thank you so much for sending it to me all the way from Australia. I am more certain than ever that my post office hordes my packages of books, somehow.

Thank you very much for including me in this bookring. Amber, this was the first package I opened today, so depending on what else arrived, I may leave this book for last since I am last on the bookring.

This was great! I would love to be able to flash forward 10 years and see how everyone is doing. My daughter is going to be 18 in August and going through some of the very very real problems that Kat and her mother both suffer from. This book brought home to me how some teenagers just don't understand the repercussions of their actions. And Donna, so popular, suffering from her own insecurities.....Kat realizing that shyness is it's own form of vanity.

This book was really well done.

Edit June 15: Sent by air on June 13

Wow!!! A bookring came home!!

Thank you Needsun for sending this back to me and thank you everyone who took part! A huge thank you also for the lovely bunch of postcards!

This book was travelling for 1 year and 8 months (give or take a few days)! It visited 14 different people living in 7 different countries!

I am not sure what I will do with this book now...maybe I will release it next month in the UK...

RELEASE NOTES:

Releasing this book at this months English Bookcrossing Meet-up!

I thought the title very tempting, so when I picked it up from the english meetup last week I thought I''d give it a try before I release it at the haydn cinema. I took it on my vaccation with me and I wasn''t disappointed:
It was one of those books I couldn''t put down. I read it in a single day, though in fairness it might have had to do with the fact that I was on holiday.
Difficult family relationships make for good reading I always thought. For the first few chapters I thought the book was set earlier in the 20th century. Only after the internet and contemporary TV made their appearance I realised my mistake. Considering her history I thought that Kat managed very well. I had my suspicions about two things, both of which turned out to be only half right. I like it when a story is a bit unpredictable but at the same time not too unbelievable.

RELEASE NOTES:

Will be released tomorrow at the ladies night at the waescherei.

I enjoyed ''The Bad Mother''s Handbook'' by the same author, so I thought I''d give this a try. Picked up at the Ladies Night.

RELEASE NOTES:

beim Starbucks "vergessen"