This is one of my favorite books of all time - classic chick lit set in Austin, TX, a town I'd barely even heard of when I read this as a high school student in New England. It wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that this book changed my life.

Gretchen Griner is a struggling photojournalist for an independent weekly. Her obnoxious yet irresistible pillhead editor/boyfriend sends her on an assignment to cover the Luvboree, a convention of romance writers in a snooty Dallas hotel. First paragraph: "I pulled up in front of the Austin Grackle office, overshot the curb, and jumped the front wheel of my 1973 Delta 88 ever so slightly onto the sidewalk. Docking was never easy with the 88. I switched off the ignition and waited the long minutes it took for the engine to die. As the car convulsed, I steeled myself for the task at hand. Today, no question about it, I would collect at least a portion of the money Trout owed me for the seven assignments I'd shot."

I'm sending this out on my first bookray. The order will be a little different here: the book is going first to the readers outside the US, then coming back to North America. Here it is:

BlossomU (Portugal)
Katayoun (Iran)
TramGirl (Australia)
fanclub (Hawaii)
melissaparcel (Washington)
First-Noel (Texas)
Sherri5762 (Texas)
JPandJo (Massachusetts)
lady-sybil (New Brunswick, Canada)
Tyressia (Ontario, Canada) mailed June 3rd
Hengameh (Iran)
choclaholic (Texas)
kymberlie (Texas)
nicole4 (Illinois)
sweetpea0678 (Florida)
sharalsbooks (Arizona)
[your name here]
bookczuk (South Carolina)

If you'd like to join the bookray and are willing to ship internationally, please let me know and I will add your name to the list.

Just a few rules:

- When you receive the book, please post a journal entry that it has arrived and PM the next person on the list for her address.
- When you finish reading, make another journal entry (or else edit the first one) with your comments.
- This book should be a quick read. Please don't keep it more than a couple of weeks.
- No need to post a release note when mailing a book - please just note the next recipient in your journal entr(ies).
- Photos of the book in the place where you are reading it, either tucked into the book or posted with your journal entry, are always welcome.
- Have fun!

And the book has just arrived, many thanks sugarkane for starting this bookring! I will be asking katayoun for her mailing adress at once, and with luck should start reading the book tonight - and it seems a totally perfect book for my present mood!

What a charmer this book is! My favorite part being probably the Luvboree, for sheer fun, and the most moving being the diary at the end, great read and I understand perfectly the comments of this book as an ancestor of chick lit, only Gretchen is more fun and more sensible than most lady characters in chick lit novels.

I am afraid the middle of the book sagged a bit, I just could not care for Manx/Hattie/Cassie though I understand the simbolism of it. And Lizzie totally stole the book, much as I liked the other characters. I am almost sorry i can not get to read Love´s Fevered Fiefdom not to mention the Merovingian romances.

Many thanks sugarkane, I will be shipping this book to Katayoun on monday.

8/September - I have just mailed this to Katayoun.

the books here! thanks alot. will start reading it in a couple of days (am reading "cat" and after that got another one) but don't worry will start on it this weekend at most and will let it go on it's way next week.
will journal when finished and thanks again

i'm half way through and will be done in a 2 or 3 days. this book is real fun, thanks sugarkane

the book is on it's way to australia and to tramgirl. it's by airmail and should take a month, give or take a week to get there.
i envy all the rest in the ring, cause you've got reading and enjoying this book all ahead of you. YUP, the book was real great, sooooooo funny, though this book should come with a warning: "don't read in public places", people tend to look strangely at poor souls sitting alone and laughing aloud :)
happy reading and thanks a million sugarkane for a lovely ring.

Just got this in the post today (20/10) am looking forward to reading it next week while away on vacation!!

How great is this book?!?! I loved it, and it didn't even make it to my vacation, I just read it over the weekend and really enjoyed it! I loved all the bits, the Luvboree was hilarious and Gretchen and the Manx/Cassie scenario made me wonder whether I to could write a book, how hard can it be? Especially for that money!! Anyway it is off to Fanclub now in Hawaii...

27/10 - Just posted this off to Fanclub, using economy air...it should be there in a couple of weeks.

This came in today's mail and is behind one other bookring to be read!

OK, I really didn't think I was going to like this book when I took it out of the package. I just got the impression it was going to be...well...romancey. But it totally wasn't! It was so hilarious! I loved Gretchen and laughed out loud as I followed her along. I am glad I stuck it out with this one, it was totally worth it! This went out in today's mail to melissaparcel. Enjoy!

Received today...I have quite a number of rings and rays before this one, I will attempt to read it as quickly as possible.
1/8--I am truly sorry! I am trying to get to this one as fast as I can. I am buried in books. If I can't get to it soon I will send it out without reading.

Finally finished this one...so sorry it took me so long, you all know what it's like to have many books arrive all at once.

Although this book is a bit dated (typing on a typewriter with carbon paper?) the overall story is very cute and kept me interested throughout. As an avid reader I thoroughly enjoyed the romance writer storyline, it was hilarious and very true to life. Like some of the other journalers, it made me wonder if I could write a romance novel...ah, to have the time someday to find out.

Sending along to first-noel tomorrow.

Opps. Got this on Monday, sorry it took me a few days to journal. I'm in the middle of a book right now but will get to this ASAP

Rec'd today as part of a ring / ray. Will journal again after I read it!

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? It was great!!! Lots of fun, not your typical romance book, would be very surprising if you didnt' read the back cover for details. I'm actually thinking of buying my own copy and making it a book ring! LOL.

It arrived here a few days ago and will be read as soon as I am done with my current read :-)

I have mailed this book off to Tyressia in Ottawa yesterday in a mad dash to get all my errands done before I leave on vacation and have just remebered that I have not made my journal entry yet :-)

I will echo a few of the previous journallers and say that when I saw the book, I was not sure if I would really enjoy it ... boy, was I wrong! It was hilarious and I really enjoyed reading it. The Luvboree had me thinking that there has to be something to romances -> yes, I'm one of the 'never read' crowd (except for a brief Barbra Cartland spell when I was 13):-). Romance writers are probably some of the most prolific authors out there and, although I could not find a single soul who admitted to reading these books (except my mother), there seem to be an awful lot of romances out there.

Anyway, I set out to one of my favorite book exchanges last Sunday and discovered that they have a separate room filled to the rafters with them :-) ... and there are so many different themes: pre-historic (yes, I'm not kidding), historical, fantastical, Victorian, futuristic, humor ... I was astounded and grabbed one with an enticingly unclad hunk on the cover (and embarrassed hubby because he was paying for the books this week). I realized just how relaxing it was to read a romance and will probably do so again. So ... that is my confession, The Boyfriendschool made me read romances, thanks florafloraflora.

The book arrived safely earlier today. However, I'm extremely busy at the moment, and unfortunately my reading time is severely limited. I'll PM the next person on the list and keep the book moving, and hope to find a copy elsewhere down the road.