Journal Entry 1 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Monday, January 22, 2007

Advanced Reading Copy from HarperCollins

BOB blurb:
When 23-year-old Pip Newling arrived in the remote West Australian town of Hall's Creek, the locals gave her 24 hours - tops - before she'd be back on the bus to Sydney. But Pip stayed - and as she pulled beers, shared jokes and swapped stories with the townspeople, she discovered a side of Australia most of us never get to see.

From the tragic to the sublime to the downright ridiculous, Knockabout Girl is a compelling, confronting journey into a heart of ribald darkness. Quick-witted and always ready with a grin, Pip takes us beyond the stereotypes with humour and compassion. We meet Sunny, Pip's exuberant partner in crime, and Jean-Paul, the fabulous French hairdresser whose dry sardonic wit matches the dryness of the desert. There's Harry, the Shakespeare-quoting prospector, and Eric, the local playboy with a disturbing history. Throw in a riot, a rodeo and a couple of road-tripping nuns and you're starting to get the picture... 

Journal Entry 2 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, January 25, 2007

I really enjoyed this. What Pip did is the sort of thing you can only do when you're young, and maybe everyone should try. The short chapters made for very easy reading and made the book feel the way memories are, snippets from the past. Looking backwards, Pip has made fairly lightly of many things but I'm sure it wasn't quite so easy at the time, and obviously Kim is still a difficult subject even now.

Without being specific, Pip's memories do convey the brutality of life in the outback, physical and mental. Those wide-open spaces can provide much-needed room to move and breathe and think and grow and heal, but the harshness can also be damaging to the psyche and create the opposite result.

I love the scene of the chopper pilot dropping in for some super at Mataranka and hated the one about the foals. They might be representative of the love hate relationship one could have with the outback.

I'm so glad she re-visited those places of her youth, although I would have liked more about Jean-Paul.

How nice of HarperCollins to send this to me. 

Journal Entry 3 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, January 27, 2007

Journal Entry 4 by book-man-8 from Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg Germany on Wednesday, February 14, 2007

I just got it in the mail. Thanks "Catsalovely" for sending it and the added little green frog! 

Journal Entry 5 by book-man-8 from Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg Germany on Friday, February 16, 2007

This is a tremendously enjoyable book! It gives a deep and most fascinating insight into the Outback! The author has that touch to make all those people "real"! I would like to read more books like this one! And these are the words that will remain with me: "That feeling of being insignificant but involved,"
Thanks "Catsalovely"! 

Journal Entry 6 by book-man-8 at on Friday, February 16, 2007

Released 5 yrs ago (2/17/2007 UTC) at

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RELEASE NOTES:

This one is off to the USA! Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 7 by Bluestocking88 from -- Wild released somewhere in the state, Washington USA on Monday, February 26, 2007

It just arrived today from book-man-8. What a wonderful surprise! I am going to Houston in 2 weeks and will be taking it along to fill that 4 hour flight. It is the first thing I'm slipping into my carry on bag. Thank you so much! 

Journal Entry 8 by Bluestocking88 from -- Wild released somewhere in the state, Washington USA on Monday, March 19, 2007

An interesting read as I knew very little about the Australian Bush when I opened it. I would have liked to know a little more about Pip's missing years, and why she found things they way she did at the end, but in all I enjoyed the read. For those of us in North America, a glossary might have been nice for some unfamiliar words, but I guess that is what google is for.

The short chapters were perfect for travelling.

Sent to SKingList March26, 2007 via priority mail.

Thanks again to catsalive for sharing! 

Journal Entry 9 by SKingList on Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Received today, possibly yesterday but I didn't get home until after midnight and definitely didn't look at the mail.

Catsalive: where did you get a personalized stamp, did you make it?

Thanks for sharing and passing on. I'll PM Sharky so this can get moving as soon as I finish it. 

Journal Entry 10 by SKingList on Sunday, April 01, 2007

It's a halfway journal entry. In addition to Bluestocking's comments about the chapter lengths being perfect for travelling, they're also perfect for the gym. I went *back* on the bike today so I'd have more reading time. Some thoughts in the first half as she's just caught a ride out of Halls Creek...

-On an unrelated note, I remember the roadhouse at Halls Creek. I wasn't able to sleep well on the bus ride from Broome so was away for a gorgeous sunrise over the Kimberley. Actually, re-reading my entry I think it's the Turkey Creek one I remember, but either way, I can picture it. Had a planned trip from Halls Creek over the Bungle Bungles but it never materialized so I went on to Kununurra.

At 23 years old, I was looking for experience, adventure, change - yep, I can definitely sympathize with that. Hit me at 21 and hasn't gone away yet. While her Australia is one I'm not likely ever to see - nor am I sure I *wan* to, it's great to get a view of it. It's definitely off the beaten path, yet something you'll never forget.

I like her perception of the Aboriginal population, it gave a good surface understanding of the issues the face. I felt she did a good job in showing them in a positive light i.e. Belle and Elvis while recognizing the odds facing them: Mick, Billy. It really made me think about what had gone through my mind as I travelled further in WA and was exposed to more aboriginal people. It's so hard to decipher, even looking back, how much of my thoughts were basedo n my own thoughts and how many were based on what people had told me.

I loved the people she met: Sunny, Harry, Father, Kim, Ugly...It's the people you remember for far longer than the places.

More when I've finished this. 

Journal Entry 11 by SKingList on Friday, April 06, 2007

Finished, yay! Of course needed another day at the gym to have time to finish it. I really really loved this book.
When I finish digesting my thoughts, I'll post them over on my site but here are a few comments:

I never made it to Mataranka, but I could relate to her mentions of the Gunns. I released We of the Never Never in Kununurra which is ~ halfway between Halls Creek (or Hell's Crack as she later heard it called) and Mataranka, where I never stopped. I'd still like to read it one day.

I couldn't relate as much to her section on Mataranka because I hadn't been there, but I like how she went back.

I could identify with the transient nature of friendships and trying to go back, it's not all that dissimilar to the backpacking friendships made.

"Sunny. ... We partied hard. And worked hard. And we had amazing times. In Our Australia. Talking long into the night about love and lost hearts." It's the same as those you meet while travelling minus 'our Australia' but it really makes me realize how much of the US I haven't seen. I could identify with the place names up and down the Stuart Highway...36+ hours from Coober Pedy to Charters Towers, ~20 from Darwin to Alice... I knew that highway well.

"I began to write my stories down, but really, to find out, I had to go back."
Yep. Japan. That's a lot of what Japan was about.

and then trying to find them again later. Some really are best left in the past. I was glad she finally found The Charmer, but I want to know more about Jean Paul, Kim and Sunny. Especially Sunny.

I have Sharky's address. Not sure whether we have postal service tomorrow. It will go out MOnday at the latest. 

Journal Entry 12 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Friday, April 06, 2007

Thanks for your great journals everyone!

I read We of the Never Never when I was a kid & think I may still have a copy knocking about (excuse pun, or not) if you'd ever like to read it, Cari, or any other interested party.

Normal services now resume. We apologise for this interruption. 

Journal Entry 13 by SKingList on Thursday, April 12, 2007

OK, weird. It won't let me make release notes w/o the book in my possession, that's weird!

Have to admit the fact that I loved this book is making it hard to read next on Mt. TBR. It's good but I want to revisit Pip and her tales.

/necessary entry 

Journal Entry 14 by SKingList at bookring in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, April 12, 2007

Released 5 yrs ago (4/11/2007 UTC) at bookring in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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RELEASE NOTES:

Posted off to sharky yesterday. Per USPS, it's 4-7 days. Travel safe! 

Journal Entry 15 by Sharky13 from Devonport, Tasmania Australia on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Arrived safely today from sking in the USA.

I have a couple of books ahead of this, but will get to it asap.

Seek, read & enjoy. 

Journal Entry 16 by Sharky13 from Devonport, Tasmania Australia on Friday, April 27, 2007

I found this a very easy book to read. Chapters short enough to pick up anytime.

After moving to Darwin from Sydney in 1994 I found myself re-tracing some familiar places while reading this book, & thinking about people I hadn't thought about in years. One of which I recently bumped into after 10 years & a move from Darwin to Tasmania.lol.

I took a driving holiday from Darwin through Kununurra to Broome so had some idea of where places were which I think helped to understand some of the language, distance & cultures that she wrote of.

I almost cried in some parts (you'll know which ones when you read them, & laughed out loud in others. There really is something special about the locals that a smalltown pub can have.

I enjoyed this book for the trip down Pip's memory lane as well as my own.

Thanks for sharing.


Seek, read & enjoy.

 

Journal Entry 17 by Sharky13 from Devonport, Tasmania Australia on Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Posted to BargainQueen today.

Seek, read & enjoy. 

Journal Entry 18 by bargainqueen from North Nowra, New South Wales Australia on Monday, May 07, 2007

Arrived safely today thank you. Have been looking forward to this so much! Am halfway through another ring book and will read this straight after. Cheers! 

Journal Entry 19 by bargainqueen from North Nowra, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, May 13, 2007

I absolutely adored reading this book. It was a bit like catching up with a well-traveled friend and hearing the highlights and lowlights of their adventures.
Not being natively Ausyralian, I find such huge fascination with anything "authentic". My partner and I travel bush whenever we can and have met people a lot like Ugly, Sarah et al in places like Oodnadatta, William Creek, etc.
I felt the book slowed somewhat during Pip's time in Mataranka, as if the Charmer has stolen her observation of other things. Maybe love does that to you.
I am now desparately "away-sick" (is that the opposite of homesick?) and feel ready to grapple with my own adventure. I am waiting for permanent residency (should take a year or so) and then I'm off around Australia. Makes me wonder how my trip will compare!
Thanks so much for sharing, what a treat. I will send to charliewendy as soon as I get an address.

Sent on 15/5/2007 

Journal Entry 20 by charliewendy from Yarra Glen, Victoria Australia on Thursday, May 17, 2007

Received safe and sound today. I have one bookring ahead of this but I will move it along as quickly as I can.

Thanks for sending it on bargainqueen and for sharing catsalive!! 

Journal Entry 21 by charliewendy from Yarra Glen, Victoria Australia on Sunday, June 10, 2007

I thought this book improved as it went along. The earlier part of it was short anecdotes many of which ended just as I was getting interested in them. New characters were being thrown in without much detail. I often couldn't remember who was who.
Later on she seemed to develop a more cohesive narrative. The characters stuck around or at least reappeared and her description of the places she stayed became much more interesting. If I was her editor I would have made her rewrite the first third - but thats just me. By the end I was able to say I very much enjoyed it.
This is going in the mail to Shelly-Sparkles tomorrow morning (11th June).

Thanks for sharing catsalive!!! 

Journal Entry 22 by Shelly-Sparkles on Monday, June 18, 2007

Arrived in the mail today! Many thanks Catsalive...Bio's are my favourite reads next to comedy, I am looking forward to reading Pip's memoir and an Aussie one at that. Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi.

I will update once I have read - my TBR read pile is growing - but this will join the books - even for a bit of company until I get to turn it's pages.

Oh! this is a bookring - will get to it next weekend (around 29th June) Currently I have 'A piece of Cake" by Cupcake Brown (another bookring from Pat-the-rat) so will finish that one then start this one - this book is only 250 pages long so I should be able to complete it story within 2 weeks.


*Happy Days* 

Journal Entry 23 by Shelly-Sparkles on Saturday, July 14, 2007

Sorry but I did not find this book interesting.
Will be contacting next person on the list. 

Journal Entry 24 by LadyIndigo from Orange, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, July 25, 2007

book has arrived safely in orange from shelley-sparkels ~thankyou ;-)

is the inclusion in the envelope a hint that i will need reading assistance??? 

Journal Entry 25 by LadyIndigo from Orange, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, September 09, 2007

apologies for the little delay - i knew the next reader was away and in the meantime i got stuck on another- just one- book

i met/heard pip newling at the sydney writers festival this year and she read the first chapter as part of her 'chat' - i thought it sounded fun and would be interesting to see how varuna writers centre assisted with development

to be honest it was a little all over the place structurally - just a bunch of dinner stories really without much cohesion -it was a quick read, short chapters facilitated that - there are a lot of gaps

i am left wondering how pip would have written the story/ies based on a diary if she had kept one at that time

~*~*~*~
posting to michyj - next reader in the morning

thanx catsalive for sharing ;-) 

Journal Entry 26 by michyj from Perth, Western Australia Australia on Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Arrived in the mail this morning (thanks for all the rubber bands ladyindigo!). As it happens, another bookring arrived yesterday so will try to get through that one as quick as possible and then I'll start up on this one. Looks like a good read! 

Journal Entry 27 by michyj from Perth, Western Australia Australia on Saturday, September 22, 2007

Loved this book. I really liked the writing style of short chapters of moments of memory. It's like you are sitting down with Pip over a beer and she is reminiscing about her youth living things I will never experience. I wouldn't have coped living that life even for a year, but would have loved to have been a friend of hers and popped in to visit for a week! I love books like this that make you feel like you were there. Almost felt sweaty and covered in red dust after reading it! Thanks for sharing catsalive, will post to you on Monday! 

Journal Entry 28 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Home safe. Thanks everyone. 

Journal Entry 29 by catsalive at In Australia in To a Moocher, BookMooch -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Released 4 yrs ago (4/16/2008 UTC) at In Australia in To a Moocher, BookMooch -- Controlled Releases

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Journal Entry 30 by AnonymousFinder on Monday, April 13, 2009

I acquired the book via Bookmooch and will now re-list it there for any registered Bookmoochers to mooch it from me.

CAUGHT IN PITTSWORTH QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA