Journal Entry 1 by markmcg from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Read this a while back but found a second copy in the bookshelf. 

Journal Entry 2 by markmcg at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Released 3 yrs ago (2/10/2009 UTC) at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia

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Will release at Meetup. 

Journal Entry 3 by tqd from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I read another copy of this a few years ago, and really enjoyed it. I picked up this copy as an orphan after meetup, and I'll see if I can send it on a bookray or something. 

Journal Entry 4 by tqd from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Friday, February 13, 2009

Participants on this bookray are (order subject to change without notice):

kzel, AU
sherlockfan, NZ
Vilda, Sweden
Bookworm-lady, Spain
soffitta1, Portugal
kittychia, Italy
Tsjara, Netherlands
moonysshadow, Germany
Jozebedee, UK
DryKid, UK - not responding
jellyfish67, UK - not responding
rebeccaljames, US - not responding

This ray has now finished with Jozebedee - it's up to her whether and how the book keeps on travelling. Thanks everyone! 

Journal Entry 5 by tqd at Balmain, New South Wales Australia on Monday, February 23, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (2/23/2009 UTC) at Balmain, New South Wales Australia

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Popped in the post to kzel.

Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 6 by kzel from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Saturday, March 07, 2009

Picked up yesterday at the post office. I have a couple of books to read ahead of this one, but I'll get to it as soon as I can. 

Journal Entry 7 by kzel from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Mixed feelings about this one. At times I really enjoyed the writing, and at other times I felt that it dragged and we were being told rather than shown how the characters were feeling. Overall I felt that it was good, but not a book that I could race through because I was hooked on what would happen.

Will be sending on to sherlockfan today. 

Journal Entry 8 by kzel at sent by post, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (4/14/2009 UTC) at sent by post, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Sending to sherlockfan today.

Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 9 by Sherlockfan from Upper Hutt, Wellington Province New Zealand on Monday, April 20, 2009

Arrived today thanks, just when I was feeling very flat having returned from the 2009 World BookCrossing Convention in Christchurch,NZ, tired but exhilarated.
It has arrived at a good time for me to try out the newly marketed posting bags from the BC supply store. There was comment at the convention that they looked too small for other than Mills & Boon books!!! Without personal experience I guess one envelope would fit about 4 M & Bs. I did try one out at the Convention and they looked fine for books about the size of this one, or a Kathy Reiches or John Katzenbach so I bought 5 to save all the hassles of wrapping and so I could report of them from experience. If it arrives in a damaged envelope, vilda, do please let me know.

Really keen to read this now, finally. I was visiting Castle Howard, Yorkshire, UK where the latest version of the film was made. There were displays prominent which at that time meant nothing to me. Not sure why I rejected reading this when it first came out but maybe when I read it I'll learn what put me off originally.

Thanks for including me. 

Journal Entry 10 by Sherlockfan from Upper Hutt, Wellington Province New Zealand on Monday, June 08, 2009

I feel very pleased to read this book after visiting and really enjoying the ambiance of Castle Howard, setting for the most recent remake of the film of this book. I wont go into the somewhat prurient ideas I had decades ago that prevented me from reading the book way back then.
With my recent knowledge of Castle Howard it was so easy to picture the Marchmain family in rresidence at Brideshead the descriptions of which could so easily have been the wonderful Castle I visited.
I was brought up in a family that was quite in awe of the English Upper classes and so many of the elements in the story were quite familiar to me.
Evelyn Waugh's writing was so truly evocative that its been a real pleasure over the last few days to follow the family and Charles, to picture them living in splendour some of the time and follow the habits and foibles of the main characters.
It is fortunate that during the same time venture overseas in which I was at Castle Howard I also spent a few days in Oxford, my first visit to that wonderful old city steeped in history. The timing was altogether perfect.
Some of the Catholic aspects of the lives of the family were a little strange; some previously held suspicions of an unfamiliar religion were reinforced. There will be so much to remember from this book. I may even have to get another copy sometime and re-read it. I do not want to see the move though as I'm sure I would be disapppointed.
I'm really pleased to have been part of this book ring, thank you to tqd.
Vilda has not yet answered my request for an address so I'll send her another message. 

Journal Entry 11 by Sherlockfan at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Monday, June 08, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (6/8/2009 UTC) at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Yeah! I've heard from Vilda in Sweden and will be off to the Post Office after lunch.

I am trialling the BC Store's new posting bags so please, Vilda, let me know if it doesn't arrive in good condition.
Travel safely great book. 

Journal Entry 12 by Vilda from Stockholm, Södermanland Sweden on Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The book arrived today in a good condition, thank you sherlockfan! I am looking forward to reading this one! 

Journal Entry 13 by Vilda at Bookray, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, July 19, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (7/20/2009 UTC) at Bookray, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

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I enjoyd this novel a lot. For me it breaths my images and fantasies of upper-class Britain in the twenties/thirties. Easy to get lost in!

Now it travels to Spain. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 14 by Bookworm-lady from Madrid, Madrid Spain on Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wow, this arrived in record time! Thanks for sending it on, Vilda; and thanks for sharing it, Tqd!
I am trying to catch up with bookrays; however, I am looking forward to reading this one and passing it on!
Thanks again!
Eva 

Journal Entry 15 by Bookworm-lady from Madrid, Madrid Spain on Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I am currently reading it, and will ask for the next reader's address!
Eva 

Journal Entry 16 by Bookworm-lady from Madrid, Madrid Spain on Wednesday, February 03, 2010

This is, in my opinion, a love story with many angles: the love of the characters for Brideshead, and the love that Charles Ryder feels both for Sebastian Flyte and his sister Julia.
A beautifully written novel, which makes you travel to a not so distant past,
Mr. Waugh, in his prologue, acknowledges that he was wrong when he foresaw the future of stately houses in England; fortunately, they have been well cared of, and are open to visitors. He also notes that there are a couple of passages which don't sound so good as character's speeches...
All characters are credible and well-depicted, though nowadays it is hard to identify with any of them.
I didn't have the chance to watch the TV series, depicted on the cover; however, I am sure Anthony Andrews must have been a superb Sebastian... much better than the actor who played this role in the latest film, who wasn't attractive at all!
Thanks for sharing this book, tqd; and sorry that I have kept it so long.
It will soon continue on its way to Portugal...
Eva 

Journal Entry 17 by Bookworm-lady at by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (2/10/2010 UTC) at by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

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Sent today to Soffitta1, in Portugal, who is next.
Enjoy!
Eva 

Journal Entry 18 by soffitta1 from Ávila, Ávila Spain on Friday, February 12, 2010

Arrived in Portugal, thanks.

I have PM'd the next person, but it looks like she hasn't been active recently. Will give her a week.
No response, so will PM Tsjara.

I have finished and have Tsjara's address, this will be posted next week. I will add my thoughts in a mo

Sent - 16/03 

Journal Entry 19 by Tsjara from Assendelft, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Thursday, March 18, 2010

Oh wow, that was quick :) Thanks soffitta1 for sending and tgd for hosting the ray! I've half seen the movie a while back (I think it was the newest version), but not the end... looking forward to reading it :)

Edit April 20th): I'm about halfway through now, will probably finish it before next week :) 

Journal Entry 20 by Tsjara from Assendelft, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Friday, April 30, 2010

I have finally finished reading it this morning. It took longer than I had expected, but it was well-written and I did enjoy it a lot. It was a very interesting read, though I don't know anything about Catholicism (or much about Christianity for that matter..), so sometimes I found it a bit hard to understand.. (especially at the end with Lord Marchmain, why couldn't they just leave him alone? And did Charles become a Catholic himself?). I wonder what happened to poor Sebastian? He wasn't there as much as I expected (only in the first part 'et in arcadia ego'), and I thought it quite mean of Charles to abandon him like that. Oh and he was so indifferent about his kids, didn't even want to visit them.. (hmm.. maybe it's because his father was also kind of strange?), so I guess I didn't really like Charles. His relationship with Julia was kind of unexpected, it wasn't mentioned at all at the beginning (the first part) and I thought it quite strange, as I did remember something between them in the movie, and she was kind of 'cold' to everyone. My favorite part of the book was the beginning with a sort of idyllic life at Oxford (Arcadia?), and Sebastian was very funny with his teddy bear Aloysius. One of my favorite bits:

"At Swindon we turned off the main read and, as the sun mounted high, we were among dry-stone walls and ashlar houses. It was about eleven when Sebastian, without warning, turned the car into a cart track and stopped. It was hot enough now to make us seek the shade. On a sheep-croppped knoll under a clup of elms we ate the strawberries and drank the wine - as Sebastian promised, they were delicious together - and we lit fat Turkish cigarettes and lay on our backs, Sebastian's eyes on the leaves above him, mine on his profile, while the blue-grey smoke rose, untroubled by any wind, to the blue green shadows of foliage, and the sweet scent of the tobacco merged with the sweet summer scents around us and the fumes of the sweet, golden wine seemed to lift us a finger's breadth above the turf and hold us suspended. 'Just the place to bury a crock of gold,' said Sebastian. 'I should like to bury something precious in every place where I've been happy and then, when I was old and ugly and miserable, I could come back and dig it up and remember.'

Hmm.. will have to watch the series one day, or the movie (I thought the first part of the book was rather stretched out in the movie, as it was the only thing I remembered.. the summer at Brideshead and going to Venice)

Moonysshadow has already read the book, so I PMed Jozebedee. I have her address now, so I'll mail it out after the weekend.
 

Journal Entry 21 by Tsjara at Heiloo, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Monday, May 03, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (5/3/2010 UTC) at Heiloo, Noord-Holland Netherlands

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Now travelling to the UK :)

Happy reading!

(sorry for keeping it so long) 

Journal Entry 22 by Jozebedee from Nantwich, Cheshire United Kingdom on Saturday, May 08, 2010

Thank you for sending on to me Tsjara - it has arrived safely today:)
And thanks to tqd for setting up the ray! I do have a few books before this one, as bookrays have a tendency to arrive all at once regardless of when you signed up for them! But I am making every effort to get through them asap, so will try not to hold this up for too long! 

Journal Entry 23 by Jozebedee at Nantwich, Cheshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Thoroughly enjoyable! Apologies for taking so long with it though - I found it difficult to read in large chunks although I enjoyed the story.