Journal Entry 1 by worldbooknight on Friday, February 25, 2011

Dear Reader

Welcome to BookCrossing and thanks for being a part of World Book Night 2011, the largest book giveaway in history. 1,000,000 specially printed copies of 25 different books changed hands on March 5th 2011 and began their journey from reader to reader. This book is one of them. World Book Night has joined with BookCrossing to help track these books as they travel. You can be a part of that journey by making a comment in the book's journal here on BookCrossing. Your journal entry can say how you got the book, what you thought of it, your plans for it or whatever else you might like to add.

On BookCrossing you may choose to remain anonymous or join (it's free). If you join, you’ll be alerted by e-mail each time someone makes another journal entry for this specific copy of this book (other copies of the book are travelling with their own ID number. Every copy of every book has a unique ID). It’s all confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address) and spam-free.

Thanks in advance for being part of World Book Night and BookCrossing. And happy reading and sharing. 

Journal Entry 2 by worldbooknight at London , Greater London United Kingdom on Friday, February 25, 2011

Released 1 yr ago (2/25/2011 UTC) at London , Greater London United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is being released via BookCrossing on 5 March 2011 as part of the inaugural World Book Night. With the full support of the Publishers Association, the Booksellers Association, the Independent Publishers Guild, the Reading Agency with libraries, World Book Day and the BBC, one million books will be given away by an army of passionate readers to members of the public across the UK and Ireland.

Read and release! 

Journal Entry 3 by ardachy at Colchester, Essex United Kingdom on Sunday, March 06, 2011

Picked up from the World Book Night event in Colchester.  

Journal Entry 4 by ardachy at Colchester, Essex United Kingdom on Thursday, May 19, 2011

Released 1 yr ago (5/19/2011 UTC) at Colchester, Essex United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Given to BookAmbler during meet up at the Layer Fox so that it can be passed on to Chamonix44. 

Journal Entry 5 by chamonix44 at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Monday, June 20, 2011

Journal Entry 6 by chamonix44 at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Saturday, July 16, 2011

Phew!!! I have finished this book at last! It only has 348 pages, yet it took me EIGHT LONG days to get through it! Mind you the typeface is smaller than most. The paragraphs are longer, and sometimes non-existent. The chapters are about 100 pages long!! Normally I get through them much quicker than this, but this novel was so hard for me to read.
I found it really hard going. It never actually drew me into the story at all. I dont know whether this is because it is a translation, or because it is old-fashioned, or because it is from a different culture, but I thought it just went on and on without much progression.

OK, I know it is a very famous novel, by a very famous author, and I have read lots of reviews that say this novel is wonderful. Perhaps it is just me. "One man's meat....." etc.

Anyway, what awful lives the main characters lived. It seems that it was all sadness.
Thank goodness Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza got together in the end, but what a disappointing ending!!

Oh well, I really hope that the next reader will see more in this novel than I did and get more out of it. I can't wait to start reading another WBN book!
It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders to have finished this one. I have never let a book beat me yet, but this one nearly did! At least I did read it and I tried to get something out of it!!

Having said all those negative things, I must say that I am very glad to have actually read this novel at long last, and even happier that it was a WBN copy that I read, so that I can be part of its reading history. Now I'm hoping I will be able to lend this out among my friends in church and in the Ladies' club that I belong to.
By the way, the photo of the white rose, above, has a significance, but you must read the story to find out why!

Journal Entry 7 by chamonix44 at Rijssen, Overijssel Netherlands on Sunday, August 21, 2011

Released 9 mos ago (8/21/2011 UTC) at Rijssen, Overijssel Netherlands

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

After our church service today, I lent this book out to a member of our church congregation, familywoman , from Rijssen!

I hope you will find it easier to read than I did, familywoman! It's a good story, but I just found it drawn-out and hard going, but luckily we are not all the same! 

Journal Entry 8 by familywoman at Rijssen, Overijssel Netherlands on Saturday, September 10, 2011

Ik heb het boek niet gelezen. Niet omdat ik het niet mooi vond, maar gewoon omdat ik er geen tijd voor had. Iemand anders uit de kerk wilde het boek graag lezen, daarom heb ik het boek terug gegeven aan Nicole. 

Journal Entry 9 by chamonix44 at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Saturday, September 10, 2011

familywoman returned this book to me. She started reading it, but at the moment she is busy with something else, and she will read this book another time.

familywoman's journal entry in Dutch translates to something like this:
I have not read the book. Not because I did not like it, but just because I do not have (enough) time for it. Someone else from the church would like to read the book, so
I have returned the book to Nicole.  

Journal Entry 10 by chamonix44 at Hengelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Saturday, September 10, 2011

Released 8 mos ago (9/10/2011 UTC) at Hengelo, Overijssel Netherlands

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

We were at the annual (church) Castle Fair today and I handed this book to Janice, who will be the next reader. 

Journal Entry 11 by AnonymousFinder at Hengelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Sunday, September 18, 2011

I received this book from Nicole last weekend at the Castle Fair. As I was in the middle of "The Book Thief" at the time, I couldn't start straightaway, but now I've read the opening pages and I'm hooked! Hope it lives up to expectations ... although I can see that that's not always the case. Janice. 

Journal Entry 12 by AnonymousFinder at Diepenheim, Overijssel Netherlands on Sunday, October 30, 2011

This is a book I had long been keen to read and, although it was not quite what I had expected, it soon caught my imagination. But how could such a romance, rolling out over the decades, sustain a reader’s interest? Well, it did, which shows the amazing power of the writing, the insight into the workings of the human mind, and the curiosity it aroused about an unfamiliar country and unfamiliar culture – I even dug out my atlas to check out the locations. On the other hand, I could not identify closely with the protagonists – although more so with Fermina than Florentino, but that is only natural. It was certainly interesting to witness how they adjusted to the twists and turns of life over years, and particularly the frailties of increasing age of both themselves and those around them. I use the word “witness” because I felt very much an onlooker, not really touched by their plight until the final part of the book. And then Florentino’s reaction to the death of his ward saw much of my sympathy evaporate. I’m glad that they finally found happiness together, I’m glad that I read the book, but it’s time to move on – and maybe see now how it translates to the big screen.  

Journal Entry 13 by chamonix44 at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Janice returned this book to me. It is now in my WBN book box, and I will try to find another reader for it. 

Journal Entry 14 by chamonix44 at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Friday, February 24, 2012

I'm having a get-together with expat friends,and lots of them want to read the WBN books This book is going to Belgium with Susan. I will stand over her soon and make her write a journal entry, otherwise we might never get one! Since there is a computer here....why not? 

Journal Entry 15 by chamonix44 at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands on Friday, February 24, 2012

Released 3 mos ago (2/24/2012 UTC) at Almelo, Overijssel Netherlands

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Whoops! I'm so busy here in this expat meeting writing JE's that I forgot to make the last JE into a release note! This book is going to Belgium with Susan. 

Journal Entry 16 by AnonymousFinder at Antwerpen, Antwerpen / Anvers Belgium on Friday, February 24, 2012

Hmmm I got persuaded to try this book by our Spanish friend, Maria. I will see if I like it.