Journal Entry 1 by solittletime from Portland, Maine USA on Monday, January 27, 2003

Pre-numbered label used for registration. New hardcover book. 

Journal Entry 2 by solittletime from Portland, Maine USA on Thursday, February 06, 2003

To send to JennyO. 

Journal Entry 3 by solittletime from Portland, Maine USA on Friday, February 28, 2003

Journal Entry 4 by O-Jenny from Temple, Texas USA on Tuesday, March 11, 2003

Read this book many, many moons ago, but so many people have told me lately that it's their favorite book, I want to go back and reread it. (I have NO idea what happened to the original copy I had. Thank God for BookCrossing...) Thank you so much for sharing it with me solittletime! 

Journal Entry 5 by O-Jenny from Temple, Texas USA on Monday, March 24, 2003

Currently reserved for jmg49 when I'm through. Will change journal entry if this changes. 

Journal Entry 6 by O-Jenny from Temple, Texas USA on Wednesday, April 09, 2003

I had solittletime send me this book because I read it years ago...when I read it then, I didn't much care for it. Then I saw tons and tons of reviews that said what a terrific novel it was. It even won the Pulitzer. I thought, okay, maybe I was just too young to appreciate it. So, I picked it up again yesterday. By this afternoon, I'd read half of it, and I still don't much care for it. It's well written, the characters are interesting, Toole has the New Orleans patois down pat, it has a decent plot...and I still don't care for it. I think it's because I can't stand the protagonist. Ignatius J. Reilly is fat, obnoxious, lazy, paranoid, erudite, gassy, probably clinically insane. I can't find it in me to care what happens to him (unless he gets run over by a truck in the end; that would be okay).

I won't read the last couple hundred pages. My TBR stack is too big. I'll set it aside to send to jmg49 (I'm waiting for Lost in a Good Book, and I'll send them together). I'm sure it will be more appreciated there. I seem to be the only person in the world that doesn't like it.

Thanks for letting me try it again, solittletime!  

Journal Entry 7 by jmg49 from Woodstock, Ontario Canada on Friday, May 02, 2003

Thanks JennyO. I'll read and release it. 

Journal Entry 8 by jmg49 from Woodstock, Ontario Canada on Sunday, July 13, 2003

I just could not get into this book and have offered it in a bookray. Amazon.com's reviews are complimentary so it must be a personal thing. 

Journal Entry 9 by jmg49 from Woodstock, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, July 29, 2003

I have started a bookray for "A Confederacy of Dunces".
So far these bookcrossers have joined:

aannddee Minnesota USA.
pulpmode Minnesota USA
squirrel818 Minnesota USA
Rhinowriter North Carolina USA
sarajenni New York USA
YowlYY England UK
kymberlie Texas USA
kalipriestess Florida USA
arugh48187 Minnesota USA
weeblet Virginia USA
Theresa-A - England

Above is the current order of the bookray. It is still open to new members.
Before each person is ready to send the book on, he or she should send the next person on the list a pm asking for their address. 

Journal Entry 10 by jmg49 at Bookray By Mail in Woodstock, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Released on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 at Bookray By Mail in Woodstock, Ontario Canada.

Mailing to aanddee in Minnesota. 

Journal Entry 11 by aannddee from Arden Hills, Minnesota USA on Thursday, August 14, 2003

Just received this book today in the mail. Thank you jmg49! I'll be starting this book right away so that it can move along to the next person on the list. 

Journal Entry 12 by aannddee from Arden Hills, Minnesota USA on Tuesday, September 02, 2003

I have finished this very strange book, and will be handing it off to pulpmode over lunch hour today. Good luck!! 

Journal Entry 13 by pulpmode from Saint Paul, Minnesota USA on Tuesday, September 02, 2003

Just got the book today in a hand off from aannddee (Thanks again!). I will read it and send it on as soon as humanly possible.
peace

UPDATE: 10/14/03
I haven't found the time to even get half way thru this book and don't know if I will any time soon. Since it's not fair to the others in the ring I will simply pass the book on to the next person in the ring. What little I did read (first 3 chapters) I found to be entertaining and thought provoking even though I was annoyed by the main character, Ignatius Reilly. I will find a used copy of this book in the future and make a complete journal entry here so that I can leave a thorough opinion on it. Thanks for including me in the ring!

Mailing the book to SQUIRREL818 in Eagan, MN on 10/15/03...enjoy the book SQUIRREL818!
peace. 

Journal Entry 14 by squirrel818 from Tafton, Pennsylvania USA on Sunday, October 19, 2003

I signed up for thi ring and will read this book asap. 

Journal Entry 15 by squirrel818 from Tafton, Pennsylvania USA on Tuesday, December 23, 2003

what an interesting book. I'm quite glad Iread it. I did however detest the main character with his sloth and laziness. I wonder if that was the point? 

Journal Entry 16 by squirrel818 at TO A FELLOW BOOKCROSSER in Asheville, North Carolina USA on Friday, January 02, 2004

Released on Friday, January 02, 2004 at TO A FELLOW BOOKCROSSER in Asheville, North Carolina USA. 

Journal Entry 17 by Rhinowriter from Asheville, North Carolina USA on Thursday, January 08, 2004

Received this as part of a bookray. Looking forward to reading it. Hope my expectations of it are in line. 

Journal Entry 18 by Rhinowriter from Asheville, North Carolina USA on Friday, January 23, 2004

Toole is the master of characterization. I have never before read a book where the characters were so vividly, and what appears to be effortlessly, drawn. Without going into wordy descriptions Toole manages to paint his characters into the reader’s mind through their interactions with each other and their internal dialogues. Even when the plot got a bit bogged down around the middle I was still willing to go on just to see what Toole was going to do with his characters. This book is a true original and it will be a long time before we see the likes of it again. Books this deftly created come along once in a lifetime.
 

Journal Entry 19 by Rhinowriter at TO A FELLOW BOOKCROSSER in Asheville, North Carolina USA on Wednesday, February 04, 2004

Released on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 at TO A FELLOW BOOKCROSSER in Asheville, North Carolina USA.

Mailed this book off today to the next person on the bookray. 

Journal Entry 20 by sarajenni from Burlington, Vermont USA on Tuesday, March 16, 2004

I received this book a couple of weeks ago. Sorry for the late journal, it has been a very busy stretch of school. However, I will have more reading time starting next week. Thanks jmg49. 

Journal Entry 21 by sarajenni from Burlington, Vermont USA on Wednesday, April 07, 2004

I've just started this now. Hopefully I can finish it in the next couple of weeks. Thanks solittletime and jmg49. 

Journal Entry 22 by sarajenni from Burlington, Vermont USA on Tuesday, June 01, 2004

I have finally finished this. Sorry it took so long. I've been busy graduating and looking for a job these past weeks.

I know that a lot of people love this book. Almost everyone I've spoken to, with the exception of one person, loved Confederacy... I can't say that I did. I admire the creation of the characters. I admire the writing. But I had to force myself to slog through almost every page. I pretty much hated every character in the book, and not in the amused/bemused way. Just hated. I gave it a 5 because, like I said, I admire the craft of the book, but I did not like it. Sending a PM to the next person on the list to get the address. 

Journal Entry 23 by sarajenni at ... by mail :) in Sent to a fellow BookCrosser, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Released on Wednesday, June 02, 2004 at ... by mail :) in Sent to a fellow BookCrosser, Bookring Controlled Releases.

Sending on the the next in the ring.
--sarajenni 

Journal Entry 24 by YowlYY from Nottingham, not specified not specified on Monday, June 07, 2004

This book greeted me welcome when I arrived in the office this morning. Thanks to sarajenny for shipping it the quickest way ;-)
I have two bookrings now on the go to finish, and I will start reading this asap. 

Journal Entry 25 by YowlYY from Nottingham, not specified not specified on Tuesday, July 06, 2004

This book has been described by a reader, who wrote a critic on Amazon, as "The Literary Equivalent of Marmite", and I completely agree with him. You either love it or hate it - and the reviews so far have proved this point.
The novel made me laugh out loud like Joe Lansdale's, although it's a different line of story altogether. Still, I enjoyed very much the characterisation of the people in the novel...and the winner of all is chain-smoking Jones!! I agree with most readers, Ignatius J.Reilly is a real slob, vicious and nasty, bad behaving, full of prejudices and misanthropy to the excess, hence very easy to dislike, but for me the most disgusting figure was Mrs. Levy, don't you agree?

Journal Entry 26 by kymberlie from Spring, Texas USA on Thursday, September 09, 2004

I received this recently but forgot to journal it. Oops! Going on my to be read pile.