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Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook
by Sarah Schmelling | Humor
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, July 30, 2010
Average 8 star rating by BookCrossing Members 

status (set by Esme-Weatherwax): to be read


14 journalers for this copy...

Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, July 30, 2010

9 out of 10

I was delightfully surprised by this book when I first found it, so when I came across this copy on the bargain rack at Borders I had to nab it for yet another release copy. It's an exercise in what might happen if famous literary figures were to show up on networking sites - and hilarity ensues!

It may seem a bit odd that I chose the book at all; I'm not on Facebook, nor on any other major networking sites - I don't even twit. Er, tweet. Whatever. (I did post on usenet groups back in the day, and now there are the BookCrossing forums and LiveJournal, but the message-board structure, etiquette, and expectations are all very different from those of the social sites.) But while I may need to do a little research to figure out some of the jokes (on the cover, Hester Prynne "received a piece of flair", whatever that means), much of the rest of it seems pretty entertaining even without the full context (Edgar Allan Poe "will not stop looking at you that way").

Other samples: from Juliet Capulet's page, "Relationship status: it's complicated." There's a "travel tipster" review of Wuthering Heights ("only stayed because of blizzard and dog attack"). And "Edgar Allan Poe received a ROFL Catz: 'iz in ur wall (wit ur ded wife)'." Hee!

Ooh, and there are quizzes, like "Which dystopia are you in?" The choices there include Brave New World, 1984 - and "Social Media", about which it says:

"You've stopped communicating with actual people to spend more time updating your status, tending your virtual farm, pretending you're in the mafia, and writing comments on the pages of people you haven't seen in person since kindergarten, if ever. What's that? Your boyfriend wants to talk to you? Just tell him you will as soon as you take these quizzes on what your birthday means about you, what kind of shoe you are, and what kind of dog breed you'd be. Go ahead, we're always here for you. Always, always here."
A bit shuddersome, that one! [And it reminds me of this entertaining Social Media Venn Diagram t-shirt from the lovely - if gloomy - folks at Despair.com!]

I'm even enjoying the segments on books/characters I haven't read; Holden Caulfield's page, for example, has him whining as usual only to receive a series of snarky/helpful comments from Huck Finn, Jo March, Pip, and Scout Finch, among others. And Holden gets to participate in some other chats, such as this exchange on the news feed for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
"Alice does wish I didn't have to keep changing! I would cry, but I did that before and almost drowned myself in my poor tears. Along with several woodland creatures.

Peter Pan: You don't have to change, Alice. Never grow up!
Lewis Carroll: Here, here!
Hans Christian Andersen: So true!
Humbert Humbert: Yes, yes!
Holden Caulfield: This place is lousy with perverts."
Some of the items, such as Great Expectations, are actually pretty good summaries of the books' plots - surprisingly so in some cases, with details that tend to get dropped from film versions; teachers should be on the lookout for book reports based on these!
I have more things-I-want-to-quote than I can fit in a single JE, so I'll have to be selective (and leave something for the readers to discover for themselves!). I loved the Jane Austen segment, where she gets comments/questions from Emma Thompson, Karen Joy Fowler, Bridget Jones, Colin Firth, Elizabeth Bennett, and William Shakespeare. [Shakespeare opens the book, come to that; among other things he suggests that one measure of a "classic" is "how often you refer to me".]

There's a lot more wonderfulness here, but I'll end with the James Joyce profile - it is a major hoot ("Are you sure he didn't just hit 'Post' too soon?", which also - oddly enough - provides some insight into Joyce's unusual style.

Very, very entertaining book, this!

[See also the maidenswhodontfloat web site, here.]
 

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, July 30, 2010

9 out of 10

I'm offering this for a book ray. [See the forum thread here.]

The book is a 7"x9.5" softcover that weighs about a pound, and will definitely hit the 1-pound mark with packaging, something to keep in mind when estimating postage costs. I'm willing to make it an international ray if I get enough participants who can mail internationally and cover all the necessary hops. [US participants can get postage estimates at the USPS site here ( http://www.usps.com ).]

Bookray instructions:

When you receive the book, please journal it, and PM the next person in line for their address so you'll have it ready when you've finished the book.

Note: even if you've sent books to that person before, please PM them before mailing this one, to confirm that the address is correct and that they're able to take on a bookray book at this time.
Try and read the book promptly - ideally, within one month of receiving it. (If you expect to take longer, you can request to be put at the end of the list. If you find you're swamped with other books when the person before you contacts you about the book, you can ask to be skipped, and then let me know whether you'd like to be moved down the list or dropped entirely. If you receive the book and find it's taking longer than you'd planned to get through it, I'd appreciate an update in its journal entries or on your profile, just to let me and the other participants know you haven't forgotten it.)

When you're ready to pass the book along, please add your comments about the book and indicate where you're sending it, either through a journal entry or through the controlled-release-note option using your country/state/city as the location. If you find that you're having problems contacting the next person in line, or don't think you can manage to mail the book as originally agreed, please let me know; I'll be glad to try to work something out.

Participants so far, in mailing order:

collectorkerri [USA]
nancynova [USA]
Minerva101 [Canada]
rureading [Canada]
FrancesinSA [South Africa]
snufkin81 [South Africa]
chich [Spain]
elstaplador [UK]
ArabellaFigg [UK]
salvami [Ireland]
Projekt-X [UK]
Luanalara [Germany]
Esme-Weatherwax [Ireland] 

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, July 31, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (7/31/2010 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

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The book's on its way to BCer collectorkerri in Illinois, to kick off the bookray. Hope you enjoy it! 

Journal Entry 4 by collectorkerri at Springfield, Illinois USA on Thursday, August 05, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This book arrived within hours of my leaving for a 10-day vacation, so it's going with me to the cool north woods of Minnesota. It's been on my wishlist for awhile, so I look forward to reading it. I don't use Twitter (can't keep myself to that 140-character limit), but I do regularly use Facebook, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. 

Journal Entry 5 by collectorkerri at Springfield, Illinois USA on Tuesday, August 17, 2010

9 out of 10

Absolutely hilarious! I just loved this book; I brought it to a family summer camp on a remote island in far northern Minnesota and I think more than a few people looked at me sideways when I laughed out loud over something. I can't pick a favorite chapter; it all was too funny. I have to say, I've not read some of the books, so I scratched my head over a few of the postings, but overall I "got" most of the jokes. Very clever.

It's now on its way to nancynova in Pennsylvania for the next leg of its journey. 

Journal Entry 6 by wingNancyNovawing at Lansdale, Pennsylvania USA on Tuesday, August 24, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Got this today & am adding to the suitcase of books going to the Fla house Friday. Maybe this time I really will hit the 24 hour mark of Chuckles' readathon!

I don't facebook, tweet or anything else, much to my kids' dismay, but looking forward to reading this anyway. 

Journal Entry 7 by wingNancyNovawing at Lansdale, Pennsylvania USA on Wednesday, September 01, 2010

8 out of 10

Hilarious - you don't need to know facebook, but remembering those classic tomes from high school comes in handy to recognize the play on words...and the sarcasm.

Now off to Canada! 

Journal Entry 8 by wingNancyNovawing at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, September 01, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (9/1/2010 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

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Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 9 by Minerva101 at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, September 19, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This book arrived yesterday and I was sooooo excited!! I started reading and couldn't put it down. I lost track of how many times I was actually snorting while laughing and almost peed my pants more than once!
Granted some of the jokes went over my head as I haven't read all the classics exploited within but still was able to appreciate the chapters anyways.
Loved it, loved it, loved it! Honestly my favorite part was Alice in Wonderland - the exchange with Alice, Holden Caulfield, Huck Finn, Cake, Morpheus, Hunter S Thompson and Neo was beyond priceless! I was over the top with laughter when Grace Slick jumped into the conversation! Hahahahahahaha!
And the Paradise Lost part was very good also. I particularly liked the lines:
God removed Satan from his Best Friends.
Satan added "Motivational Speaker" to his Work Info.

Oh, thank you, GoryDetails, for sharing this book! My stomach hurts from all the laughter! I will PM rureading and arrange to meet up with her so that she can enjoy it also. 

Journal Entry 10 by Minerva101 at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, September 19, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (9/20/2010 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

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I am passing this wonderfully funny book off to rureading at a lunchtime rendevouz. I hope she likes it as much as I did (thanks again GoryDetails!). 

Journal Entry 11 by wingrureadingwing at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Tuesday, September 21, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Minerva101 gave the book to me after devouring it in a day. Thanks, Minerva101 for meeting up with me to deliver the book. Will pm the next person in line for the book. 

Journal Entry 12 by wingrureadingwing at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

9 out of 10

rureading received a book from Minerva101 – thanks Minerva101!

rureading is reading “Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don’t Float”

rureading wonders who Odysseus is… :P

rureading enjoyed Paradise Lost because of the Rolling Stones reference! (Which band do you prefer: Rolling Stones or the Beatles? –An old school quiz- ha.)

rureading watched Pride and Prejudice and understands the references- ha ha!

Jane Austen: How could you appreciate my book if you only watched the movie on DVD?! I don’t even get the royalties from all the movies, spin offs and book clubs. Despicable…

rureading wishes Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) would send a Bouquet of Tulips to her…

rureading remembers something of her grade 10 English and understands Juliet Capulet’s profile.

rureading is reading Coles notes for Moby Dick… snore…

rureading enjoyed the Quiz with Dante’s Inferno!

Dante: Confess that you only read that section because “Dante” is the name of a vampire in that trashy novel you read.

rureading: :O

rureading thanks GoryDetails for the book! I wish I had paid attention in English and, of course, now my TBR pile is much bigger… :)

rureading is sending this book to South Africa!
 

Journal Entry 13 by wingrureadingwing at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (9/29/2010 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

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I sent the book off today to FrancesinSA.  

Journal Entry 14 by FrancesinSA at Vaalpark, Free State South Africa on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

This book has not been rated.

The book arrived today. Thank you rureading for posting it to me. Thanks also for the colourful postcard of "Sunrise over field near Camrose, Alberta, Canada." :-)

I have two bookring books to read before this one but will get to it asap. 

Journal Entry 15 by FrancesinSA at Vaalpark, Free State South Africa on Tuesday, November 02, 2010

This book has not been rated.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as I expected to. It is clever and I'm grateful to have learned a lot about these classics without actually having to read them. :-)

I did enjoy the way that rureading did her review. :-D 

Journal Entry 16 by FrancesinSA at Vaalpark, Free State South Africa on Tuesday, November 02, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (11/2/2010 UTC) at Vaalpark, Free State South Africa

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Posting today to Cape Town. 

Journal Entry 17 by snufkin81 at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Wednesday, November 10, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This arrived safely. Thanks, FrancesinSA! This looks like a fun, quick read :) 

Journal Entry 18 by snufkin81 at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Friday, November 19, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This is a very fun, quick read. I thought Schmelling's use of various Facebook functions and applications was quite innovative. While not laugh-out-loud funny, it was a worthwhile and entertaining read. I read Twitterature last year, which is a similar concept to this one (obviously using Twitter rather than Facebook) and this one was much better - cleverer, more quirky and definitely more memorable.

I will post this to chich tomorrow.  

Journal Entry 19 by snufkin81 at To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, November 23, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (11/20/2010 UTC) at To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Sent to chich by airmail. Happy travels! 

Journal Entry 20 by wingchichwing at Sant Antoni de Portmany, Illes Balears/Islas Baleares Spain on Sunday, December 05, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This book was patiently waiting for me in the mailbox when I arrived home last night. Thanks for passing it on snufkin81!

I started reading the book last night and am already loving it, thanks for sharing it with us GoryDetails:) 

Journal Entry 21 by wingchichwing at Sant Antoni de Portmany, Illes Balears/Islas Baleares Spain on Thursday, December 09, 2010

This book has not been rated.

This is such a fantastic book, I had a great time reading it! It's absolutely hilarious and although I loved every section of the book my all-time favourites have to be Oscar Wilde's and James Joyce's profiles. Here's a small excerpt from Oscar Wilde's which I find irresistible:

Oscar Wilde thinks we live in a age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.
Oscar Wilde: Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing. Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.
William Shakespeare: Oscar, you're going to hurt yourself quipping. Also, you'll never win in a quip-off against me. We know what we are, but not what we may be. Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Frailty, thy name is woman!
Mark Twain: The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco.
William Shakespeare: Har har.
Oscar Wilde: Who would even care about that quip unless they were in San Francisco?
Ernest Hemingway: How do you fellows find the time to quip so often? No one ever quotes my quips?
Charles Dickens: They do have bad writing contests in your honour, however, as well as those look-alike contests. No one does that for me.
Ernest Hemingway: You get built-in publicity every damn Christmas!
Charles Dickens: True.
Dorothy Parker: I hear you're quipping over here? I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true.
Oscar Wilde: Can you all take this somewhere else? This is my page. My quips.
William Shakespeare: Sure
Charles Dickens: Of course.
Dorothy Parker: Certainly.
Ernest Hemingway: Damn right.
Mark Twain: Okeydoke.

I also loved the smack talk when authors play Scabulific together! "Faulkner: Muchsias grapcias my sautril little meise. Hemingway: I hate you." Hilarious I tell you:)

Thanks so much for sharing this very entertaining book with us GoryDetails! This would make a perfect Christmas gift for many people I know;)

Happy Holidays to all!
 

Journal Entry 22 by wingchichwing at Bookray, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, December 09, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (12/9/2010 UTC) at Bookray, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

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Book sent to elstaplador today, enjoy! :) 

Journal Entry 23 by elstaplador at Woking, Surrey United Kingdom on Tuesday, December 21, 2010

This book has not been rated.

Received as bookring - many thanks! 

Journal Entry 24 by elstaplador at by post, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Monday, January 10, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (1/10/2011 UTC) at by post, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Posted to ArabellaFigg today. Hope you enjoy!

I thought this book was a lot of fun - great literary characters' status updates, very cleverly done. Happily I knew most of the works referenced, because I could see from reading the chapters based on works I didn't know that it wasn't going to make a whole lot of sense out of context. My favourite was the Shakespeare's Comedies section, which was utter genius. 

Journal Entry 25 by ArabellaFigg at Hull, East Yorkshire United Kingdom on Thursday, January 13, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Book arrived yesterday, thanks elstaplador. Really looking forward to reading this, will start it as soon as I've finished current read. 

Journal Entry 26 by ArabellaFigg at Hull, East Yorkshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, January 25, 2011

8 out of 10

Just finished reading this, I really enjoyed it. Very funny. Though I hadn't read all the original books, I know the plots to most of them so could still understand the read it and enjoy the humour.
I will get the address from the next book-crosser and get the book moving again as soon as I can.
Thanks again for sharing! :-) 

Journal Entry 27 by ArabellaFigg at Hull, East Yorkshire United Kingdom on Thursday, February 03, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Sorry about the delay. The book is now on it's way to salvami! 

Journal Entry 28 by wingsalvamiwing at Wexford, Co. Wexford Ireland on Monday, February 07, 2011

This book has not been rated.

I received it this morning! It looks so fun.
Thank you GoryDetails for sharing & ArabellaFigg for sending me this book! 

Journal Entry 29 by wingsalvamiwing at Wexford, Co. Wexford Ireland on Tuesday, March 01, 2011

7 out of 10

Funny, quick read. I read little by little in bed till I drift off to sleep.
Some of them I didn't know or never read *shame*, so I had to look up, but overall it was a fun entertaining book!

Got Projekt-X's address the other day, so I will send this as soon as possible. 

Journal Entry 30 by wingsalvamiwing at Wexford, Co. Wexford Ireland on Thursday, March 10, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (3/9/2011 UTC) at Wexford, Co. Wexford Ireland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted yesterday, Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 31 by Projekt-X at London , Greater London United Kingdom on Saturday, March 12, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Received this yesterday! Likey so far... :) 

Journal Entry 32 by Projekt-X at London , Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, March 28, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (3/28/2011 UTC) at London , Greater London United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On it's way! Thank you for including me :) 

Journal Entry 33 by Luanalara at -- Per Post geschickt / Persönlich weitergegeben --, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Saturday, April 02, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Thanks a lot, the book arrived today! It looks a bit worn, but all pages are still there. ;)

I'll finish another book this weekend and then I'll see what all those famous people are doing on facebook.

Thank you for sharing! 

Journal Entry 34 by Luanalara at Erkelenz, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Sunday, April 10, 2011

8 out of 10

Very funny and entertaining! I didn't understand every news feed or profile, as I haven't read all of the mentioned classics, but it was still very interesting and many jokes still worked for me.

Especially loved Odysseus, Paradise Lost, Pride & Prejudice (and Austen's profile *g*), Romeo & Juliet, Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Flies, Oscar Wilde's profile.. I could go on. :) Loved it when characters commented on other characters' profiles. *g*

Got the next address and will send the book off on Monday. 

Journal Entry 35 by Luanalara at -- Per Post geschickt / Persönlich weitergegeben --, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Tuesday, April 12, 2011

This book has not been rated.

Released 1 yr ago (4/12/2011 UTC) at -- Per Post geschickt / Persönlich weitergegeben --, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to Esme-Weatherwax in Ireland. Enjoy reading! :) 

Journal Entry 36 by Esme-Weatherwax at Limerick, Co. Limerick Ireland on Friday, April 29, 2011

This book has not been rated.

I have been looking forward to reading this book. The book is well loved but all the pages are there. Thanks Gory for hosting the ray and Luana for mailing it on to me.  



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