A summary from reading the back & book review:
Andrew Daddo wanted to ride a motorbike from New York to LA. All he needed was a bike, a licence and someone to ride with him. The first two were easy but finding another rider was difficult. He ended up riding with someone he barely knew, Ray O'Neal, and forged a friendship that he thought would last a lifetime.

In 2004, Ray was killed at work and left behind his wife and young daughter, Rose. Andrew writes this book as a way of sharing stories with Rose so she can get to know her dad through more than just photos.

Looking forward to reading this one.

Australian Bookring for this one

A FEW EASY GUIDELINES
Please make a journal entry when you receive the book
Pm or email the next reader for their address when you are almost done
Please post a journal entry when you've finished the book
And try to send it on within a month of receiving it if you can
Make a journal entry or controlled release notes when you send the book on

Thanks :D

So far the readers are:

amberC - NT
Makita21 - WA
Jubby - NSW
awaywithfairies - NSW
sleepydumpling - QLD
gabbysmum - QLD
back to froggirlwendy <<<--- book is here

RELEASE NOTES:

Off to amberC to start the bookring. Enjoy :)

Received during the mayhem of moving.

A quick, easy read. I had the feeling it was aimed at an American audience. Some of it was a bit ocker.

Thanks for sharing froggirlwendy. to be posted to Makita21 tomorrow.

arrived today ... love the cover shots ;) *blush*

quick read, entertaining and some insights into the "tragedies" that happen to others, even the better known families like the Daddo bunch.

i feel it missed the target, considering that it was originally aimed at Ray's little girl, but when she grows up she may have a better understanding of Andrew's intentions.

thanks for sharing :),sending on to Jubby as soon as i get the addy.

The President of the Children's Book Council claims that Andrew Daddo is one of Australia's most exciting writers are present.

So, here I am giving this book a go. I hope it is better than I am expecting! Thank you for the postcard Makita21.

It's incredible, but as soon as I saw the cover, I knew that I was not going to like this book.

Daddo certainly is not any Jack Kerouac! If you are looking for an insightful,spontaneous and witty travel write, don't read this book! The one thing that Daddo did have in common with Kerouac was the confessional prose. And then, what I did read, I wish I hadn't bothered.

I think the biggest let down for me was that I found Daddo the type of bloke (you would typically meet in the pub) who although coming from a comfortable, middle class background is not willing to put in the effort to really go anywhere or achieve anything - but will be the first to criticise others for it.

On page 64, Daddo describes being a 24 year old journalist and interviewing an American actor, and not being familiar with the name John Gotti. Sure, Daddo is Australian, and American gangsters are not big in our media, but by admittingly only reading the sports pages of any given newspaper, why would you even bother going to the US as a reporter?

And that was my rub with most of the book. Daddo has the means and the ability to such a better writer, access to wonderful people in publishing, and this is what he produced!

And as for poor Rose, the daughter of Ray, I thought it rather crass writing the book to her as a letter. This is really one man's memories of a road trip, not a true recollection of his thoughts and emotions towards a friend (her father).

Froggirlwendy, I am grateful to you for sharing this book with me, and I would like to add that there were several passages that I were well written, but for the main part, I won't be following Mark McLeod's opinions on literature in future!

Posting off to Awaywithfairies.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posting to Awaywithfairies.

Received in the mail today. Many thanks. I look forward to reading it.

It seems the dreaded book fairy has dropped by again. Just when I was congratulating myself on having no 'priority' books on my bedside table, along comes this bookring plus two library books on the self-same day. It never rains but it pours!

I finished reading this last night. I was looking forward to it. It's been on my Wish List for a long time. However, I'm afraid I have to agree with jubby's opinion.

Addressing this book to Ray's daughter was unnecessary. The book wasn't about Ray: it was all about Andrew. Ray was just another character in the book along with seemingly Andrew's entire family. And the family wasn't even on the road trip! Young Rose wouldn't have learnt anything new about her father - he was little more than just a name. Perhaps Andrew would have been better off just presenting the story as a travel narrative.

Along with Andrew's John Gotti incident on page 64 was his apparent ignorance about the pronunciation of the word Arkansas. I find it a little hard to believe that an adult living in the USA wouldn't know the correct pronunciation, even if he hadn't grown up there. And wasn't Bill Clinton the President at about that time? Or at least campaigning for the Presidency? An ex-Governor of Arkansas, no less!

All in all, a little disappointed.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to sleepydumpling today. Enjoy!

Sent to me as part of a book ring.

Saw Andrew speak at the Brisbane Writer's Festival and he far exceeded my expectations of what I thought he was going to be like. I thought he'd be a bit of a laugh, but he was that and so much more. A very generous of spirit man with an honesty about himself and his relationship with his family that was very touching. He gave a lot of himself in his talk that was very personal and clearly not easy to talk about. I loved that he never pretended to be some great literary genius... just a bloke sharing a story about a guy he once knew (and admittedly, never knew very well) for that guy's daughter and how the time in his life was intense despite his "ocker lad" facade.

I can't wait to read this book and continue on with what he shared at his session here in Brisbane.

Thanks for the bookmark and postcard awaywithfairies!

Loved it! A light hearted, humble and affectionate telling of a significant event (and person) in Andrew's life. Beautiful memories of Ray, the time, place and adventure they had. Got some good laughs, some tender bits and a whole insight into male relationships!

Love the "everyman" voice of this book - no pretentiousness, just a guy telling the story of the guy he knew, however limited that knowledge was.

And for the record... I didn't know who John Gotti was either... and I'm a librarian!

Will contact the next person in the bookring to send it on.

Arrived today,always get more than one book at a time lol

Hmmm not the greatest of books but good for a light read.it was about him and his family than anything else which disappointed me.

RELEASE NOTES:

Now on its way home

Arrived home safe & sound. Back on the TBR pile for now. Thanks to everyone who joined this ring. Hugs :o)