Bastian Balthazar Bux is shy, awkward, and certainly not heroic. His only escape is reading books. When Bastian happens upon an old book called The Neverending Story, he's swept into the magical world of Fantastica - so much that he finds he has actually become a character in the story! And when he realizes that the mysteriously enchanted world is in great danger, he also discovers that he has been the one chosen to save it. Can Bastian overcome the barrier between reality and his imagination in order to save Fantastica?

Sorry, but this bookray is now closed!

Here's the list (person currently in possession of the book is in bold):





ellymae58 - California, USA
Sherria - Connecticut, USA
Wildflower67 - New Jersey, USA
Caligula03 - California, USA
titacookie - California, USA
MizzSmile - California, USA*
Jaremeister - New Mexico, USA*
tsmith51632 - Iowa, USA <------ no response to PMs
JesseBC - Illinois, USA <------ skipped by request
tania-in-nc - North Carolina, USA
Tamster33 - California, USA
tootshelling - Arizona, USA <------ moved down by request
Eithne - Florida, USA
vicki9170 - Florida, USA*
Wandeca - Canada*
loopy1 - UK*
Lucycat - UK*
thechinasourcer - UK*
Caracas - Germany
TheBloody - Germany*
jennysbkpgs - Sweden*
katayoun - Tehran, Iran*
veritas9 - Australia*
arvoredeperas - Portugal
vinyldoll - Portugal*
Tuz - Brazil
chivers - Brazil
Suzen - France (requested to be the last on the list)





(* = will ship anywhere)

Please note: I will make adjustments to the list as needed, to account for geography and to accomodate shipping preferences. Thanks!

Once you're ready to send the book on, please check the list for the next recipient and PM them for their mailing information. And please don't forget to make a journal entry and/or release notes! I'd like to know what everyone thinks of the book, as well as keep track of where it is! Thanks!

Last person on the list will release into the wild!

Received today. I have a couple of other bookrings that I need to read first, but I'll get to this one as soon as possible. I"m really looking forward to reading it. I loved watching the movie with my nephew when he was young, and I'm sure the book will be even better.

Starting this book tonite. I'll journal my thoughts when I've finished it. I"m really looking forward to remembering this story.

I finished this book tonite, and I'm so glad to have had a chance to read it. I really don't usually like sci fi/fantasy, but I loved this story when i was younger and used to watch the movie over and over again with my nephew (it was his favourite for 3 years!).

Bastien's adventures made me smile, laugh, frown and sigh. The descriptions were delightfully vivid, the characters engaging, and the story captivating. This was one of those books that I hated putting down at the end of the night. It was simply a joy to read and remember.

Thank you for sharing this book ellymae58! I'll be sending it on it's way to the next participant, Wildflower67, later this week.

*mailed 9/15/03* via media mail

The Neverending Story arrived today!

I finished this book tonight. It took me awhile to read it but I enjoyed every minute of it!
It was my first time reading this story and now I will have to rent the movie too. :) Thanks ellymae for sharing another wonderful book!
I will send it on it's way by Monday 10/20/03.

The Neverending Story Arrived safe and sound today. From flipping through it, I see that it's not a color copy. It's a shame that it doesn't have the red and green text. Nonetheless, I look forward to rereading this lovely book. :)

This book is one of my favorites but I miss the use of color to distinguish the story outside of the book and the story inside the book. Plus the color makes the print more like an illuminated manuscript. Nonetheless, the story is still wonderful, complex and imaginative.

Released on Thursday, December 11, 2003 at Tamster33 in n/a, n/a Controlled Releases.

Mailing to Tamster33.

Received over the weekend. I saw the movie years ago and had no idea it was an actual book until it was discussed on the newsgroup a few months ago. Looking forward to reading it. Will let you know my thoughts after I'm done. Thanks!

Got it today. Thanks Tamster33! Will get started on it ASAHP.

I really liked the 80s movie treatment of this book (cheesy as it was) and I was eager to read the book. While the first half of the book (which is the period covered in the movie) was exciting, I was more intrigued by the second half, which seems to deal with following your dreams while maintaining your identity (deep shtuff). Unfortunately, this copy seemed to take the title a little too seriously i.e. there is no end. The book is either missing pages or I'm lost in Fantastica myself. Either way, I will have to go to the library to get another copy and find out what happens at the "real" end.

050904: I went to the local library today to solve the mystery and this copy is DEFINITELY missing pages. Did nobody else in this bookray notice that it was missing pages or did everybody just assume that a book would actually leave a climactic scene hanging like that? Maybe this bookray should be suspended until a copy with all the pages intact can be circulated.

Sending back to ellymae58 on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 for amendment of missing pages.

This has arrived back home for a temporary stop. I can't believe titacookie was the first to notice the book was missing pages at the end! (Almost 8 of 'em to be exact!) Since I bought this copy expressly to share, I didn't read it myself, so didn't know pages were missing when I mailed it out on the bookray.

I will xerox the missing pages from my hardcover copy, and then move the book on to the next person in line.

This book is ready to head back out on the road! I've made copies of the missing pages from my hardcover copy of the book here at home, and it will all be going to MizzSmile as soon as I have an address!!

Thank you again, titacookie, for bringing this to my attention!

Okay, this book is traveling once again! On the way to MizzSmile (pages intact!) on 5/29!

Received the book with additional pages intact...thanks ellymae58! As others have mentioned, I too love the movie and the song....can't wait to read it.

16th Book Read in 2004: I thoroughly enjoyed the book as it pushed my imagination to visualize all the wonderful characters and lands. Even though there were 3 primary story themes (Bastian's life in the real world, Atreyu's Mission, and Bastian's Fantastica adventure), I discovered that there was the potential to learn about so many more other magical tales with its own lessons to learn. Ende writes each word, sentence, paragraph, & chapter so that the reader is taken on a predetermined journey, while at the same time provides us with little detours for us to hopefully explore another time (primarily in our imagination).

At times, Bastian did frustrate me in his decision making process and his next actions were sometimes predictable. It was not until I reached the point of the book where it was clear that Bastian needed to find his way back to the human world that I couldn't stop reading it until I finished it at around 3:30 this morning!

A wonderful, classical fairy tale for adult readers. Now to cross my fingers to see if the movie is available at my library!

Released on Monday, June 21, 2004 at Released to another BookCrosser in Santa Clara, California USA.

Mailed the book today to Jaremeister via media mail.

Got the book (intact with spare pages) in the mail today! Can't wait to start reading this one, and seeing just how much better than the movie it is.


***** UPDATE 08-20-2004

What a fun book this was! The movie wasn't too far off either, which is oh so rare. I'm glad I got to experience the journey in print though. Would definitely recommend this to friends!

Waiting for the address of the next person in line and I'll ship on...

RELEASE NOTES:

Will be mailing out to tania-in-nc this weekend, so very sorry I have held this up so long, I let things get the best of me and pile up. Off this one goes, enjoy!

The book arrived safely today. Thanks. Shall read it as soon as I finish my current read -- The Heart of a Woman, by Maya Angelou, c. 1981 -- link goes to blog as it's from the library. See entry of January 29th, 2005.

I'll have finished my current read sometime this coming morning and will get started on this one. Am looking forward to it as I read it years ago. Hope it's still fun. Shall drop back in as I read the book.

This book sure was powerful. It made me ponder on the way I look at life, dreams and wishes. Thanks for sharing ...

I collect quotes as I read. These ones are fun, poetical, or even philosophical. Take what you like, and leave the rest. Note that these aren't necessarily the "best" in the book. These happen to be close to the spot where I stopped reading each night.

He now realized that not only was Fantastica sick, but the human world as well. The two were connected. He had always felt this, though he could not have explained why it was so. He had never been willing to believe that life had to be as gray and dull as people claimed. He heard them saying: "Life is like that," but he couldn't agree. He never stopped believing in mysteries and miracles. p153
[comment: hear, hear to mysteries and miracles]

Throughout the day they were joined by new adherents, not only those Atreyu had sighted the day before, but many more. There were goat-legged fauns and gigantic night-hobs, there were elves and kobolds, beetle riders and three-legses, a man-sized rooster in jackboots, a stag with golden antlers who walked erect and wore a Prince Albert. Many of the new arrivals bore no resemblance whatsoever to human beings. There were helmeted copper ants, strangely shaped wandering rocks, flute birds, who made music with their long beaks, and there were three so-called puddlers, who moved by dissolving into a puddle at every step and resuming their usual form a little farther on. But perhaps the most startling of all was a twee, whose fore-and hindquarters had a way of running about independently of one another. Except for its red and white stripes it looked rather like a hippopotamus. p311
[comment: I love reading about other creatures - I would say mythical but they're not -- i'm grinning as i write this as I am here to keep Fantastica alive in my own way.]

But wishes cannot be summoned up or kept away at will. They come from deeper within us than good or bad intentions. And they spring up unannounced. p347
[comment: I am going to ponder this one.]

--

I have Tamster33's address already so shall get it to the post office some time today. Take care all, and happy reading :)

sent it off 3/4/05

Received this book a couple weeks ago. Sorry for not journaling sooner. I hope to read this book within the next 3 weeks. If not, I'll mail it off to the next reader. Thanks!