Journal Entry 1 by chambejd from Worcester, Massachusetts USA on Saturday, September 09, 2006

From the Publisher:

A riveting novel about loyalty and self-knowledge, and the conflict between who we want to be to others and who we must be for ourselves.

Carrie Bell has lived in Wisconsin all her life. She’s had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend, Mike, now her fiancé, for as long as anyone can remember. It’s with real surprise she finds that, at age twenty-three, her life has begun to feel suffocating. She longs for a change, an upheaval, for a chance to begin again.

That chance is granted to her, terribly, when Mike is injured in an accident. Now Carrie has to question everything she thought she knew about herself and the meaning of home. She must ask: How much do we owe the people we love? Is it a sign of strength or of weakness to walk away from someone in need?

The Dive from Clausen’s Pier reminds us how precarious our lives are and how quickly they can be divided into before and after, whether by random accident or by the force of our own desires. It begins with a disaster that could happen, out of the blue, in anybody’s life, and it forces us to ask how we would bear up in the face of tragedy and what we know, or think we know, about our deepest allegiances. Elegantly written and ferociously paced, emotionally nuanced and morally complex, The Dive from Clausen’s Pier marks the emergence of a prodigiously gifted new novelist.


This is my second copy so I'm going to turn it into a US-only bookray. Please PM me to join. It is open to new participants until there are no more.

Participants:
01. broken-soul21
02. lynlee4
03. mlbish
04. caridad
05. booklover
06. saram23
07. momofap
08. rebeccaljames
09. GrannyAnn
10. cherylllr
11. bluestocking88
12. JerrilynnL
13. kiptrix <------ Book is here and has completed the ray!!

Please PM the person after you for their address once you receive the book. Please do not wait until after you have finished the book. This way if you have problems contacting them it will not delay the ray. Thanks!  

Journal Entry 2 by chambejd from Worcester, Massachusetts USA on Tuesday, September 19, 2006

This book was mailed to broken-soul21 today to start the ray! 

Journal Entry 3 by broken-soul21 from Wichita, Kansas USA on Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Got THe Dive From Clausen's Pier in the mail yesterday. What good timing! I just finished The Pledge that same day! Will start reading today :)

Thanks! 

Journal Entry 4 by lynlee4 from North Port, Florida USA on Friday, October 13, 2006

received in today's mail. thank you!
am going on vacation next week, will start when I return. 

Journal Entry 5 by lynlee4 from North Port, Florida USA on Sunday, November 12, 2006

This took longer to read than I expected. I am surprised at how moved I was by this book. I'm old enough to be Carrie's mother but was really able to connect with her. She had the courage to do what I've wanted to do countless times in my life.
Will send on to mlbish once I receive her address. 

Journal Entry 6 by lynlee4 from North Port, Florida USA on Tuesday, November 21, 2006

sent to mlbish via media mail today 

Journal Entry 7 by mlbish from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Wednesday, January 03, 2007

This book arrived while I was traveling for the holidays. Thank you! I will read and pass along ASAP. 

Journal Entry 8 by mlbish from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Friday, March 23, 2007

AAAH!!! I've had this one for forever. I'm in the process of passing it along now, I promise.

I'm going to have some spoilers in my comments, I think. Caution!




I have been wanting to read this book for a long, long time, so I was happy to finally be able to get started on it. Once I did start, I couldn't stop. I don't know what it was about the writing, but even this sleep-deprived mother of an infant couldn't put it down to go to sleep. I was telling a friend about how I was reading a book that I couldn't put down at night and she said, "Oh, it must be great then." I surprised myself by replying, "It's okay." Funny how a book that was just pretty good in my opinion could also be so gripping.

While Carrie Bell probably isn't the worst person in the world, she did frustrate me quite a bit. She turned out to be a big fat leaver, in my opinion. Whenever she felt that things got too tough to deal with, she just bailed. Without even saying goodbye or explaining herself to the people she was abandoning. Coward! I mean, it does take a certain amount of guts to walk away from something if it's not working for you. I get that. You have to live your life, after all. But it isn't cool to just bail on people and not own what you've done. I didn't expect her to do it a second time, honestly. I figured that a theme of the book would be that she recognized the cowardice in running from her life the first time and learn from the mistake, but no. Grrr.

A pretty good read, I'd say. I'm definitely glad I finally got the chance. 

Journal Entry 9 by Caridad from Miami Lakes, Florida USA on Friday, April 06, 2007

Received today. Will PM next victim for address and read once I finish the one I am in the middle of right now. 

Journal Entry 10 by Caridad from Miami Lakes, Florida USA on Monday, April 09, 2007

The one thing about bookrings/rays is I come across athors I might have never read. Ann Packer is one I am glad to have read. The story was definately hard to put down (I stopped the book I was initially reading and finished this one pretty quick). A lot of lessons learned, even though I could be Carrie's mother.

Waitng for a PM response from xpangaeax to forward. With a holiday week, I can understand the delay to her response.

Sent 2nd PM 04/14 for xpangaeax mailing address. 

Journal Entry 11 by Caridad from Miami Lakes, Florida USA on Saturday, April 14, 2007

Received response from xpanganeax that she has already read the book. PMed Booklover for mailing address. 

Journal Entry 12 by Caridad from Miami Lakes, Florida USA on Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Received PM response from Booklover, put in the mail today. 

Journal Entry 13 by booklover on Thursday, April 26, 2007

Received the book today. I am currently reading a book that is due back at the library soon. I will read this as soon as I have finished reading the library book.
 

Journal Entry 14 by booklover on Friday, May 04, 2007

I am done reading the first part. Will continue reading over this weekend. Hopefully I will be able to post it out to saram23 some time next week.

I love that the main character is a creative sewer who makes clothes for herself and gifts for others. 

Journal Entry 15 by booklover on Thursday, May 10, 2007

I have finished reading and will post it out to saram23 Saturday. I wonder what I would have done in the same situation. Would I have stayed, or run away? I do think she should have learned a lesson and not left everyone in NY without closure. 

Journal Entry 16 by saram23 from Lowell, Massachusetts USA on Thursday, June 07, 2007

Took a while to get here, but it got here today. The timing was perfect, I just finished another ring. I will get to this now and pass it on quickly. 

Journal Entry 17 by saram23 from Lowell, Massachusetts USA on Saturday, July 21, 2007

I wanted to post an update- I am reading it still. I have four other books I am trying to get through and I am making regular progress. I promise I have not forgotten to pass it on. 

Journal Entry 18 by saram23 from Lowell, Massachusetts USA on Monday, July 30, 2007

DONE! I have to do some repair to the cover and then it is going on to the next person. It was a great story, but difficult to get into. 

Journal Entry 19 by saram23 at mailed to a fellow bookcrosser in N/A, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, September 01, 2007

Released 4 yrs ago (8/27/2007 UTC) at mailed to a fellow bookcrosser in N/A, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

It went out last week, but I am just slow on posting it. 

Journal Entry 20 by momofap from Sheldon, Iowa USA on Wednesday, September 05, 2007

This book arrived in the mail today! I will start reading it this weekend. I have PM'ed the next person for their address. 

Journal Entry 21 by momofap from Sheldon, Iowa USA on Thursday, September 27, 2007

Journal Entry 22 by rebeccaljames from Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Thursday, October 04, 2007

I received this book yesterday. I will get to it as soon as I can and then pass it on. Thank you for sharing. 

Journal Entry 23 by GrannyAnn from West Henrietta, New York USA on Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Received today. I've been looking forward to reading this book. I'm almost done with another book and I should be ready to start this on the weekend.

Thanks for sharing. 

Journal Entry 24 by GrannyAnn from West Henrietta, New York USA on Sunday, March 09, 2008

Well, I finally finished! For some reason, I found this book hard going. I agree with some of the other journalers that Carrie seemed to run away and not care about the consequences. And I enjoyed the middle portion, about her life in New York City more than the parts in Madison. I'm glad that I got the chance to read this book.

I'm waiting for the address of the next participant and i'll send the book on its way. 

Journal Entry 25 by cherylllr from Carson City, Nevada USA on Sunday, March 23, 2008

This came at an unusually busy time but I'll read it asap! It looks different, and I joined bookcrossing to expand my horizons, so that's terrific.... 

Journal Entry 26 by cherylllr from Carson City, Nevada USA on Saturday, March 29, 2008

expertly crafted - but I just couldn't really like the characters (of either generation), or even feel as if I knew them well enough to feel sympathy much less empathy 

Journal Entry 27 by Bluestocking88 from -- Wild released somewhere in the state, Washington USA on Wednesday, April 09, 2008

This arrived safely in today's mail. I have some rings ahead of it, but I hope to get it moved on soon. Thank you for sharing and passing it on to me. 

Journal Entry 28 by Bluestocking88 from -- Wild released somewhere in the state, Washington USA on Thursday, May 08, 2008

What an interesting story. Even at the end of it, I was not really sure I understood Carrie anymore than she understood Kilroy. It was a difficult position to be in after the accident, and her response to the situation was very surprising. Even more surprising though was when she finally found passion in her life, personally and professionally, she chose abandonment yet again.

Some of her friends had equally odd issues. I was fascinated with Rooster's confrontation and later conversations--and how her friends treated her like nothing happened in the weeks after the accident. Jamie was full of blame, but if she was really as close to Carrie as the book suggests, then she should have realized what Carrie was going through and been better able to help her.

Some wonderful characters considered Carrie a friend, yet only Simon seemed to really connect with her. As so many other mentioned, Carrie is quick to quit, and afterwards she is left with only superficial remorse. Even at the end, she is still a quitter, change the meaning of the ring, but only as a way to avoid committment not to add meaning. I really wonder about her future relationships with all the characters she meets--it is really a toss up to see what she does next.

I am glad I read this book, it was a difficult subject to write about and I liked the angle of things from Carrie's perspective-I would have liked some resolution about her father, and I don't see how her mom is a therapist. I thought she was rather vacant in the story--I would think a therapist would be a little better connected to her daughter.

I'm mailing this out to Jerrilynn in tomorrow's mail. 

Journal Entry 29 by JerrilynnL from Denver, Colorado USA on Thursday, May 15, 2008

Arrived safely in today's mail. Thanks for sharing! 

Journal Entry 30 by JerrilynnL from Denver, Colorado USA on Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Journal Entry 31 by JerrilynnL at USPS in Postal Mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, June 26, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (6/27/2008 UTC) at USPS in Postal Mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

off to kiptrix 

Journal Entry 32 by kiptrix from Summerville, South Carolina USA on Tuesday, July 01, 2008

This actually arrived in yesterday's mail, but since we are babysitting for our 3- and 5-year-old grandchildren, I never got to open it until today. Thanks, JerrilynL, I am looking forward to reading this book soon.

Chambejd, what next with this book? Thanks for starting this bookray. 

Journal Entry 33 by kiptrix from Summerville, South Carolina USA on Thursday, May 13, 2010

I'm glad that I've finally read this book. I've wanted to read it for some time now, but I guess I wasn't in the right mood whenever my eye fell on it. The story was well-written and held my attention, but for me it was not unputdownable. I could understand Carrie's motivation for her actions, but I couldn't always approve of those actions. She hurt a lot of people, and could have lessened their pain by communicating with them, but she didn't, at least not soon enough. I guess basically I was disappointed in her.

I'll be bringing this book to our next local BC meeting. 

Journal Entry 34 by kiptrix at Atlanta Bread Co. 8966 University Boulevard in North Charleston, South Carolina USA on Sunday, May 16, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (5/16/2010 UTC) at Atlanta Bread Co. 8966 University Boulevard in North Charleston, South Carolina USA

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WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Brought to our local BC meeting this afternoon. 

Journal Entry 35 by plainjane8160 at North Charleston, South Carolina USA on Sunday, July 11, 2010

I got this at the last meet up in May.
I found this difficult to get into and will send it on. 

Journal Entry 36 by plainjane8160 at Charleston, South Carolina USA on Sunday, July 11, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (7/11/2010 UTC) at Charleston, South Carolina USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I am releasing this today at the meeting. 

Journal Entry 37 by brownwhitetan at Charleston, South Carolina USA on Sunday, July 11, 2010

Got this at the meet-up and am looking forward to reading it. 

Journal Entry 38 by brownwhitetan at Charleston, South Carolina USA on Friday, July 15, 2011

I couldn't make it through this book. It was like watching a Twilight movie -- constant angst. I just couldn't take it anymore after the first section and stopped reading. I'm hoping the next reader enjoys it more. 

Journal Entry 39 by brownwhitetan at Bakehouse (OBCZ) 180 East Bay in Charleston, South Carolina USA on Sunday, February 12, 2012

Released 3 mos ago (2/12/2012 UTC) at Bakehouse (OBCZ) 180 East Bay in Charleston, South Carolina USA

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Welcome to BookCrossing! Enjoy this book. It's yours to keep, share, give away to a friend, or whatever. If you want to, add your own journal entry here.

Thanks!