My thoughts on the book;

Not read by me, but this was either bought as part of a bulk-buy "10 for £1" offer at a "withdrawn" books sale at Chelmsford Library, or as part of a bulk-buy "two books for 50p" charity shop deal, or left at our staff canteen along with other books people had finished with; or has been "donated" to the BookCrossing cause (or "your Book Travelling-thingy", as he calls it) by my dear Father.

The attached journal image should give you an idea which one of those sources this book came from. ;-)

Below review / text taken from; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Karoo-Boy-Troy-Blacklaws/dp/2757804715/;

"Christmas Day, Muizenberg beach, Cape Town. A freak accident leaves Douglas's twin brother dead, and his family's fragmentation begins. Wracked by guilt, his father leaves. His mother packs up their home and takes her son to a tiny backwater town, where she withdraws into her painting.

Douglas, a city kid in an insular community, makes only two friends: harum-scarum Marika, on the brink of womanhood, and the old Xhosa garage worker, Moses, with his dream of putting together a car from spare parts and driving to Cape Town, his longed-for promised land. Through Blacklaws' powerful prose, dreams and reality meet in a lyrical novel of small town South Africa that has universal resonance.

From the Author;

Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country was the novel that stirred me to write of Africa. I still hear Mister Slater’s resonant, textured voice reading from the novel all those years ago in Paarl Boys’ High, while I stared out the window and dreamt of being a writer.

I wrote Karoo Boy partly as a reply to Disgrace, as I found Coetzee's South Africa relentlessly bleak. I have not shied away from violence and cruelty, but have focused on a sensuous, filmic evocation of South Africa, ending on a note of hope."

I'll be leaving this book on the black marble "Topshop" window ledge, right at the end where it meets "Timpson", the next shop along, in New London Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1.

I've tried to highlight where I'll be dropping the book with a red circle on the attached journal image. If it's not left there (as some idiot has now started sitting there nearly every day around 12 -1pm, waiting for a bus), it'll be just a bit further down on the same window ledge / the next pane along etc.

Topshop is technically part of the "High Chelmer Shopping Centre", but it's address is 2, New London Road. You can see the location of the High Chelmer Shopping Centre at this Google Maps link below;

http://goo.gl/maps/uhgD.

It'll have a yellow "PICK ME UP" note stuck on its front, featuring an all new random free gift, and be in a clear plastic bag.



To the finder of this book:

Welcome to BookCrossing, a unique community of book lovers, sharing their libraries with the world. This book is now yours to read, enjoy, and keep... but why not pass it on to another reader, or even better... "wild release" it yourself again, so it can continue its journey. The BookCrossing ID, which you entered in the "Enter a BCID" box on the website, is unique to this copy of this book. If you make a journal entry (either anonymously, or as a BookCrossing member) all previous readers of this actual book will be notified by email, and can follow the book as it travels around from reader to reader.

BookCrossing is free to join, completely confidential (you are known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address) and a great deal of fun. Be on the lookout for other books left in the "Wild"!

If you decide to join, consider listing JamesUK (or any of the other journalers) as referring you.

Microsoft Office Word Label and Bookmark Templates;

A lot of us BookCrossers use sheets of shop-bought sticky labels to put the BCID numbers on our books, myself included. I've made up several BookCrossing label templates and other bits and bobs in MS Word, and if you would like any of them, drop me a Private Message with your requirements, and I can directly link you to what might be suitable for you.

See http://www.fishchipsandmushypeas.co.uk/bc/ for everything I have on offer, including basic bookmarks, "Post-It" note templates, MS Word "mail merge" label templates and loads more...all for free download and use. Plus, I'd be happy to help with your bespoke designs too! Drop me a Private Message to discuss. ;-)

Found where it was left, on the ledge at Timpson. It's not for me, judging on the blurb, so I will have to find a new release site for it and leave it to run free.....

On the bench outside Iceland