Journal Entry 1 by LadyIndigo from Orange, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, August 11, 2007

from www.bloombury.com...
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, loss and fate. As they endure the ever-escalating dangers around them — in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul — they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman''s love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love that is often the key to survival.
 

Journal Entry 2 by Mookstar from Orange, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, September 27, 2007

I caught the book at a book discussion group meeting at Orange City Library. I'm really enjoying reading it. It gives an insight into life in war torn Afghanistan. I've been carrying the book around with me to read in every spare moment as I want to find out what happens to the main characters. 

Journal Entry 3 by LadyIndigo from Orange, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, November 17, 2007

BookRing

This book is finally ready for the much anticipated book ring

Please attempt to follow the following guidelines to make it a smooth ring:

* Make a journal entry when the book arrives safely.
* Please attempt to read the book within 4-6 weeks of receiving it (or let us know if you need longer)
* When finished, journal your thoughts about and rate the book.
* Please check back here for the latest distribution list - it may still be tweaked a little.
PM the next person on the list and send it to them.

please note: FreePages is the final reader and she needs to stay in that place as she is undergoing spinal injury rehabilitation & (i think) she would appreciate the space to read as her energy allows without the time pressure ~ thanx for understanding ;-)


order of participants @dec07:

1. Carole888 Perth
2. blundery WA
3. mummafour SA

5. nikkilovesbooks NT
6. charliewendy Vic
7. livrecache Vic
8. leeny 37 Vic
9. FreePages ACT
10.Elddau1 NSW <--it is here ;-)

happy reading
enjoy ;-)

 

Journal Entry 4 by Carole888 from Perth, Western Australia Australia on Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Its arrived!! It looks so good..... and I know that I am going to enjoy it. Thank you LadyIndigo for sending it to me. I look forward to starting it, tonight. 

Journal Entry 5 by Carole888 from Perth, Western Australia Australia on Sunday, December 02, 2007

Journal Entry 6 by Carole888 from Perth, Western Australia Australia on Saturday, December 08, 2007

I have left this book at Blundery's. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did. Happy reading! :) (Thanks again, LadyIndigo!) 

Journal Entry 7 by Blundery on Saturday, December 08, 2007

Woohoo. I have been busting to read this book for so long and I cant wait to get started. Thanks for the home delivery carole, I appreciate it (and for the record - my lawn doesn't usually look that tragic, we had a fertiliser crisis combined with a retic rupture hehe).

I will journal again once I have finished the book. 

Journal Entry 8 by mummafour from Adelaide, South Australia Australia on Thursday, December 27, 2007

Thank you Blundery I picked this up from the post office today. I will start on it tonight! 

Journal Entry 9 by mummafour from Adelaide, South Australia Australia on Friday, January 11, 2008

I couldn't put this book down once i started to read it. I really enjoyed Mariam and Laila's characters. I also found the book to be very imformative as I really didn't know much about Afganistan and their culture. Im so glad I got the chance to read this book. Thanks LadyIndigo!


I posted this book to nikkilovesbooks on Friday 11-01-08 by Registered post (RL46346753) 

Journal Entry 10 by nikkilovesbooks from Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory Australia on Sunday, January 27, 2008

The book has arrived safe & well in the NT. I'm just about to finish a bookray I have with me at the moment, so should get into this one (CANNOT WAIT!!!) tonight, or maybe tomorrow. Thanks so much for sending it up to me. (Note to mummafour - packaged excellently). 

Journal Entry 11 by nikkilovesbooks from Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory Australia on Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Well, what can I say... I finished the book in two sittings, the second one running very late into the night, but I was unable to put it down. At times, I was worried that if I did put it down I would not be able to continue reading. It was terrible and wonderful, and I had to go & check on my two peacefully sleeping children at the end & be very thankful for our life.
Thanks for a life impacting read. Sending off to charliewendy tomorrow. 

Journal Entry 12 by charliewendy from Yarra Glen, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Received today. Now I just have to resist starting it until tonight. This is going to be tough.

Thanks for sending Nikki and for sharing Lady Indigo!
 

Journal Entry 13 by charliewendy from Yarra Glen, Victoria Australia on Sunday, March 02, 2008

Just checking in because I am taking longer than usual with this book. It's not the book to blame - it is quite a quick read and I am enjoying it, it's this pesky life getting in the way.
Hope to be finished it within the next week. Thanks for bearing with me! 

Journal Entry 14 by charliewendy from Yarra Glen, Victoria Australia on Sunday, March 09, 2008

I enjoyed this book. I found the characters believable and I was able to imagine the claustrophobia of their lives. I would have liked a more detailed history of Afghanistan especially pre September 11.

Livrecache has since received another copy of this so this is going off to leeny37 tomorrow March 11.

Thanks for the chance to read this LadyIndigo and thanks to everyone who has sent it on. 

Journal Entry 15 by leeny37 from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Received today, thank you! While I haven't had the chance to read The Kite Runner yet, I'm still looking forward to this one. 

Journal Entry 16 by leeny37 from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Friday, May 02, 2008

Just one day into my holiday in Tasmania and I turned into a sobbing mess. Nope, nothing to do with Tasmania -- which has been very lovely so far -- but this heart-wrenching read that affected me so much. I finished this yesterday while resting in our hotel room before heading out for dinner, which wasn't such a great idea since I went out with a puffy face! Anyway, back to the book, this was beautifully written and really struck a chord with me, even though I could never begin to comprehend such a nightmarish world. My heart went out to the two courageous women in this book and I wept for them for all the horrors that they had to endure, especially towards the end when Mariam had to make a terrible choice and sacrifice. This is a great account of the changing landscape of Afghanistan in the last 20 or so years, and despite all the hardships, how Laila still holds hope for the future and wants to contribute to a better life for all in Kabul. Thank you, LadyIndigo, for sharing this fantastic read. I will send this on to FreePages when I'm back in Melbourne. 

Journal Entry 17 by leeny37 at Post office: Mailed to another bookcrosser in Australia, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Released 4 yrs ago (5/6/2008 UTC) at Post office: Mailed to another bookcrosser in Australia, Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to FreePages via a prepaid Express Post satchel. Enjoy! :) 

Journal Entry 18 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Sunday, July 20, 2008

Whoops, I think I was so overwhelmed by the good wishes inside the book, that I forgot to journal it. I have a confession, it's the second in succession that I've forgot to journal (and they both are wonderful books) hope this doesnt become a habit with LadyIndigo's books ;-)
Thankyou one and all for the heartfelt wishes, they do do me good. I just wish I could fast track my reading as well as my recovery at the moment. Hope to get to this one soon :-) 

Journal Entry 19 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What a wonderful book. I had just got myself comfortable in bed last night, and the other book that I should have started last night was in the family room bookshelf. Guess what was on my bedside table saying "read me, read, me". Once I opened the book I was in the grip of these womens lives. I HAD to know what happened to them. I could not put it down. How incredibly senseless is war, how devastating on peoples lives. How fortunate I am to live were there isnt a war. I've been through a bit recently, but boy, at least my home is safe and secure and I've always been surrounded by a loving family. Although, this book shows how quickly that can change. So needless to say I am going off to work today bleary eyed :-) ......
but sort of uplifted in a way, counting my blessing, that I live in a society that allows me to do that. Really not something that I would normally think about or a way I would normally think :-)
It is hard to believe that there are crazy soceities out there that are so restrictive and this book really personalised those restrictions in a way I had not come accross before. Maybe, I've just been a bit thick with the way I've reacted to movies and documentaries I've watched on the subject. Those sorts of things happen to other women not women I know. Now I feel that those sort of things happen to women I know. I think that is quite a powerful perspective that a very good author can give you.
At 4 o'clock in the morning my husband got a very big hug. Especially since he didnt say one word about turning the light off or the "My God, what time is it"

Thanks LadyIndigo another powerful read that you've included me in, on to the next bookcrosser as soon as I'm in Bungendore :-)



 

Journal Entry 20 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Monday, November 17, 2008

Book is in Bungendore waiting with one other bookring for Elddau1 to pick up from my Aunties Antique shop in Bungendore. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 21 by Elddau1 from Yass, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, December 03, 2008

I picked this up yesterday from around the corner, thanks FreePages. I've heard very good things about this book. It seems to touch the lives of the people whose hands it passes through. Having worked with Afghani clients it will be a journey with personal meaning for me. Thanks for sharing, LadyIndigo. 

Journal Entry 22 by Elddau1 from Yass, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, March 29, 2009

Wow! This is the most powerful book I've read since... I can't remember when. This was a very strong experience for me for so many reasons. It certainly puts your life into perspective. The brutality of humans against each other is balanced so powerfully by the selfless acts of love and the human spirit rising to cope under extreme circumstances. As humans we are capable of such incredible depths, good and bad.
Hosseini is a very good story teller too so it's an incredible story told by a master of his craft. His skill did not let the story down. I was so enjoying meeting Mariam and Laila and seeing their world. Then the change in events came with a deep shock. I found some of the brutality almost unbearable and wanted to stop reading the book. My need for some hope in all of it kept me reading although with a strongly beating heart and I couldn't read it in bed anymore. By the end everything feels washed and cleansed, the heaviness lifted and the thousand splendid suns start to shine again.
I'm not sure if I could say I *enjoyed* the experience but I'm glad for reading this book and was deeply moved by it.
 

Journal Entry 23 by Elddau1 at Personally delivered, Back to the owner -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, May 03, 2009

Released 3 yrs ago (5/3/2009 UTC) at Personally delivered, Back to the owner -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Winging it's way home finally, with many many thanks, via Civic, ACT.
Huge thanks for sharing, LadyIndigo! 

Journal Entry 24 by LadyIndigo from Orange, New South Wales Australia on Friday, June 05, 2009

the book has arrived home again

a big thankyou to everyone for participating in this bookring and for your thoughts on the book

happy reading
;-)