Journal Entry 1 by cathepsut from Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg Germany on Sunday, March 07, 2010

Different cover art despite using the correct ISBN...

From Amazon:
"The plot is highly original. Peter Brown is a young Manhattan intern who is not all he seems to be. He has a past – and as any reader of crime novels knows – the past never stays buried for long. Peter has had an edgy run-in with a mugger and a more congenial elevator one-to-one with a female pharmaceutics rep. But his most significant encounter is to be with a new hospital patient, Nicholas LoBrutto – a man who knows the truth behind Peter’s artificially contrived façade: the young intern is, in fact, in the Witness Protection program, and he remains in the gunsights of some unpleasant New Jersey heavies. And things are about to get very hot for both Peter and LoBrutto. Josh Bazell, as Beat the Reaper, demonstrates, is the real deal, and the auguries for this debut are very good. If he can just sustain this level of invention and energy thoughout that difficult second novel…"

Sopranos meet Scrubs. Started this in the waiting room of a hospital, weirdly enough... Sounded funny and the amusement carried me though the first 70 pages. Lots of swearing and wise-cracking. And it has the potential to get really good, but it didn't grab me in a big way.

Update May 2010:

I am setting up a bookray for this, let me know if you are interested! The usual wishes and recommendations apply...
- register the book, once you get it, so we know it's safe
- try to keep the book no longer than 4 weeks
- if real life gets in the way and you want to keep it longer than that, let us know, we are all human!
- ask the next one on the list if they still want it, before sending it
- have fun!
- and for the last one on the shipping list: it's a bookray, so finders keepers! Do with it whatever you wish!

Shipping list so far:
msjoanna, New York, USA, shipping US only, either at beginning or end of ray
GoryDetails, New Hampshire, USA, prefers shipping US
JerrilynnL, Colorado, USA, shipping US, maybe Canada
mitziyah, Washington, USA, shipping US only
nat4lee, Virginia, USA, can ship internationally if needed
MartinaViola, Lazio, Italy, prefers to ship in Europe 

Journal Entry 2 by cathepsut at BOOKRAY, Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, May 22, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (5/22/2010 UTC) at BOOKRAY, Bookray -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

It's away, have fun! 

Journal Entry 3 by msjoanna at Brooklyn, New York USA on Wednesday, May 26, 2010

This bookray has arrived safely in Brooklyn. I'll start it right away and will mail it along before I move at the end of June. Thanks for sharing! 

Journal Entry 4 by msjoanna at Brooklyn, New York USA on Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Not at all my usual choice, but a fun ride. A former mobster, now a doctor in the witness protection program, tells his story in wonderful, sarcastic fashion. The pacing of the book worked for me, the medical asides were fun, and I found the whole thing thoroughly enjoyable. Perfect airplane reading.

I'll be sending this along to GoryDetails within the next few days. Thanks for sharing this one. 

Journal Entry 5 by msjoanna at by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, June 03, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (6/3/2010 UTC) at by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Now on the way to GoryDetails in New Hampshire. 

Journal Entry 6 by GoryDetails at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, June 05, 2010

The book arrived safely today - many thanks! It'll be next up on my TBR list, and I should be able to move it along fairly soon.  

Journal Entry 7 by GoryDetails at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, June 14, 2010

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the laugh-out-loud bits to the stealth humor to the cringe-inducing violence. Rapid pacing, snarky asides, a protagonist who manages to be sympathetic and scary at the same time ("I look like an Easter Island sculpture of a longshoreman") - very entertaining!

Despite the this-is-fiction disclaimer at the end, I suspect that there's more truth in the medical info (not to mention the bits about the legal system) than is entirely comfortable - but it's also very funny. And the footnotes - oh, the footnotes! There's one that segues from the shape of Dexedrine tablets to that of pubic hair, not something I've encountered in a footnote before {wry grin}. And then there's the one about the name-withheld Ivy-league-school-for-mobsters, aka Sandhurst (footnote: "Oops, I said it."). [I was also tickled at the visual humor regarding the section-divider dingbats - they start out as a hooded-skeleton-with-scythe, the traditional Reaper of the title, but at some point the author muses about how out of date the symbol is, and after that the dingbats are - well, a teensy bit more modern!]

Since the story's told in a mix of current narrative and flashbacks it does jump around a bit, but I didn't mind that - in fact I rather like non-linear narratives. And as our hero fills in his own back story, it becomes surprisingly easy to see how someone might find himself (to borrow a phrase from Good Omens) "sauntering vaguely downward" - getting into some pretty nasty places without making a conscious decision to become a Bad Guy. Though he certainly does embrace his inner thug relatively easily (and with good reason)...

Even though I should have been prepared for twists and turns (not to mention lies and deceit), the story surprised me plenty of times, and kept on doing so up to the end. In a good way, I should add.

The climax of the story gets a bit... um, extreme, I suppose one could call it. There's some almost-literal shark-jumping at one point (no, I won't explain that, just read the book), and what might be considered figurative shark-jumping as well; it might be physically possible but oh, is it ever unlikely. Still, I winced and cringed and omygod-ed quite a bit during that scene (you'll know which one), all the while gasping in admiration at the author's sheer, unmitigated gall!

Thanks for sharing this one!

[Edited to add: I thought I'd seen an Unshelved Book Club strip about this book, and I was right; here it is!] 

Journal Entry 8 by GoryDetails at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, June 14, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (6/14/2010 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book's on its way to JerrilynnL in Colorado to continue the bookring. Hope you enjoy it! 

Journal Entry 9 by JerrilynnL at Denver, Colorado USA on Friday, June 18, 2010

Arrived safely in Denver - will read and send on shortly. Thanks for sharing!

Update 7/14/10 - interesting book. I thought it was very much "House" meets "In Plain Sight" meets "Sopranos". I'm still cringing at parts though (like the freezer). Ack! Otherwise, a very entertaining book! 

Journal Entry 10 by JerrilynnL at by mail, a bookmoocher -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (7/15/2010 UTC) at by mail, a bookmoocher -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

off to mitziyah in WA (not a bookmoocher - I had a brain freeze there ...) 

Journal Entry 11 by mitziyah at Seattle, Washington USA on Thursday, July 22, 2010

Finding books in the mailbox is always fun. Thanks! 

Journal Entry 12 by mitziyah at Seattle, Washington USA on Monday, August 23, 2010

I DEVOURED this novel in a day (started reading it Friday at bedtime, woke up Saturday morning, rolled over, and finished reading it). As I was stuck at home feeling sorry for myself for having a summertime cold, it was great companion to help with my stir-crazy feelings.

I cannot remember who recommended this novel to me, but I do remember the warning that this is caustic and the descriptions are clinical and don't pull any punches. When I started reading this, I was thinking about the ethical issues with loaning it to my mom or sister first, before continuing with the bookring. But I quickly discovered this is NOT a book either of them would like...they are too squeamish for its medical descriptions.

This was totally out of the norm of what I tend to read. It almost felt like the mystery genre (although there's not a crime to be solved), but it had that sort of gritty, almost noir, feel to it. Still, as someone who generally reads historical epics, travel memoir, etc, this was a fun break.

I thought the pacing was brilliant, and I enjoyed the way that the story unfolds. Interesting narrator. The ending had me audibly crying "Oh GOD!!" a few times. I mean, yikes! I hope that this does well enough for a sequel.

Edited to add: I'm such a SUCKER for fiction with footnotes. Great job! 

Journal Entry 13 by Amaranta20 at Seattle, Washington USA on Friday, August 27, 2010

Oh my God.

My sister got this as part of a bookray, read it, and, while waiting for the address of the next person on the list, she gave it to me to read. Just started it last night and finished it tonight.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved the writing style. It's that very informal modern style where you feel like you're having a conversation with someone really clever and good at expressing exactly what they mean. I will definitely seek out anything else this guy has written and will probably end up owning a copy of this book for myself.


**HERE BE SPOILERS**






I loved the graphics of the reaper with his scythe and how that changed to the reaper with his John Deere. It took me three or four scenes before I noticed and then I thought it was brilliant.

When telling me about this book my sister warned me that there was a gross bit near the end that she and the previous reviewers had all gagged over and that she almost hadn't recommended the book to me cause she thought it would gross me out too much but then decided not to censor it for me and let me worry about that for myself. So while reading I kept looking for this part. I'm reading along, enjoying the ride, and I get to the part where he's in the freezer and I get to this line. "They're not trying to kill me. They're trying to weaken me, like the six different kinds of assholes in //Ferdinand// who stab the bull half to death before the matador even enters the arena." That was one of my favorite favorite books when I was little but who fucking references a little kid's picture book to make a simile for their big bad gangster novel? This makes me love him even more (although I was loving it already). So I sent my sister a text message to say "Oh my God I love this book! He just did a call back to Ferdinand!" And then I keep reading. And he sticks his fingers in his leg to pull out his own fucking bone to use as a weapon like the most incredible badass that ever existed but holy fuck. So five minutes after the Ferdinand elation text she gets another one that just says "Oh my God."

It's amazing though. And I like that his fight with Skinflick was so short. They didn't draw it out and do this elaborate slashing thing like they'd been pretending to set up for and like you'd typically expect. There's no way he'd be able to handle that in his condition and I liked that they were true to that and he just stabbed him in the heart.

I also was glad that Magdalena's character died rather than just refused to see him ever again. If she dies (he's ruthlessly betrayed and she's foully murdered) it's less sad than if she lives and rejects him and he still loves her so much. Of course they did let her live long enough for us to see that she was probably going to reject him but you never know, those crazy kids might have worked something out.

Anyway. What I'm saying is, I completely loved this book and I'm jealous of it for being so good. Thanks for the read! 

Journal Entry 14 by nat4lee at Springfield, Virginia USA on Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Picked this book up today safely from my box. Thanks for continuing this book's journey! 

Journal Entry 15 by nat4lee at Springfield, Virginia USA on Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Good book, much more entertaining than I expected it to be. This has an interesting mix of characters that kept me wondering most of the time if I should laugh at them, or cry with them.  

Journal Entry 16 by nat4lee at Springfield, Virginia USA on Monday, October 04, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (10/4/2010 UTC) at Springfield, Virginia USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is being released to the next bookcrosser in line. May it find a fair wind to travel upon. 

Journal Entry 17 by MartinaViola at Latina, Lazio Italy on Friday, October 29, 2010

The book arrived safely in italy and I'm already reading it: I simply love it!

Sometimes everyone needs a read like this: funny and entertaining, useful to forget the rest of your life (I'm graduating and I'm a bit stressed! xD).

I'll let you know where this book will go. Maybe to some friends and afterwards to italian bookcrossers! :D 

Journal Entry 18 by MartinaViola at Latina, Lazio Italy on Monday, November 22, 2010

I had a great time reading this book even if it contains a lot of absurd situations...
I think that the end is exaggerated and far from being plausible and I almost felt pain reading it... I would have liked to slap the author and tell him "Come on! Who's gonna believe this!?" xD

And what about the "sharks' moment"? I found it disgusting and sad what happened between the two of them while "we-know-who" (I don't want to spoil the plot) has just died... and it was then that the protagonist defends himself saying that I, the reader, cannot judge because I've never lived or felt what he was living and feeling at the time. This makes me feel almost guilty about judging them, so I can say I like the main character's strenght and his outspokenness!

"Beat the reaper" is not a book that will change your life but it's surely a good entertainment! :)
Thank you cathepsut fo sharing it!

The book is now part of the English Virtual Book Box of Italian bookcrossers, so it will soon find new readers! :) 

Journal Entry 19 by MartinaViola at Bookbox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, November 28, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (11/29/2010 UTC) at Bookbox, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Peter Brown has been chosen: another reader has picked him up from the bookbox!

happy reading! :) 

Journal Entry 20 by Hayes13 at Roma, Lazio Italy on Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Arrived just now! Thank you!!