This book is a replacement for another copy of this book which was misplaced, thus, the new BCID #. It's a book from the My Favorite Book of the Year BookRing. At the end of the BookRing it should go back to the BC'er who inserted the first copy of this book into the BookRing. Sorry, for the mix-up. Maybe, the "lost" one will reappear and surprise us. This book is being mailed to Moore, OK.

Arrived today. I'm not very far into my current read, but tomorrow I have a consult with a doctor and so I anticipate some time sitting in the waiting room, and this book will probably be easier to concentrate on in that setting than my current read (Fire and Fury, about Trump's first year in office).

I've been sitting at my computer for five minutes and can't seem to come up with anything more eloquent than wow, what a fantastic book. I can't even begin to imagine doing what Cheryl did. I doubt I would last a full day on the trail before giving up and packing it in. But it's not just her first time hiking adventure that was fascinating. The peeks at her childhood and how she grew up were just as fascinating. Raw, honest, emotional, with no sugarcoating her faults and the bad choices she made. Completely riveting and engrossing.

I thought I had seen the movie, and was a little confused and taken aback at the beginning, with all the stuff about her mother's cancer. Then when I saw the title of chapter 5, “Tracks”, I realized that the movie I watched was called Tracks, which was also from a book, by Robyn Davidson, and which I very much want to read now.

Mailed to JudySlump612 today.

Book arrived safely in Minneapolis (actually yesterday, but I came home late from a long, exhausting convention).

Trying to separate the book, which I liked well enough, from the author, whom I strongly disliked, makes me pause and dither. Because after all, she wrote the book about herself.

She begins the book by telling us the tragedy of losing a mother to cancer, and how that loss made her so special it cut her loose from what we consider normal behavior. Well, newsflash: that's happened to other people too. I watched my cousins lose their mother to lung cancer at the age of 54, after she had been a heavy smoker for thirty years. They had tried many times and many ways to get her to quit, but her addiction had overpowered her. So their grief was augmented by a lingering sense of responsibility and failure, as they wondered if one more attempt could have made a difference...? The memory still brings shudders and tears. Yet somehow they avoided the consequence Strayed found so inevitable, a slide into endless bouts of sex and drugs.

So she proceeds, in the course of doing whatever she wants, to fix on the idea of the Pacific Coast Trail. She prepares by reading, and buying a lot of gear. In fact my absolute favorite part of the book is when she's getting ready to begin the hike. She lists all of her equipment, far more than will fit in her pack, so she ties the rest on with bungee cord, sticking out, hanging down, etc. Then she tries to pick it up.

The pack doesn't budge.

She sort of remembers the REI staff talking about the weight she'd have to carry, but didn't feel it could apply to her (special, ya know). She seems to have spent more time counting out her condoms (an essential for solo hiking, of course) than checking the fit of her hiking boots.

The best that can be said about this book is that it gives a detailed description of herself and her journey. How you feel about this will depend on how you feel about Cheryl Strayed. I know a lot of people admire the book, so I'll pass it on now and wait to read future journal entries.

Mailed to mathgirl40 for the Favourite Book of 2017 Roundabout

This roundabout book is now with me!

I enjoyed this book much more than I'd expected to. I'm not generally fond of memoirs of this sort and the author is someone whom I find difficult to admire because of all the terrible decisions she has made. At the same time, I found the narrative interesting and compelling, with a good number of humourous and touching moments. I enjoy hikes myself, of the short, easy, safe, day-trip variety and liked reading about the sort of experience that I will never be brave or fit enough to attempt. Indeed, it was not so much the author's emotional journey that appealed to me but the descriptions of her trail experiences that I found so interesting. Thanks, bookwormess, for providing this book which I probably would never have read if it were not for the roundabout.

This is the link to the original copy provided by bookwormess:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/14839255/

This book is on its way to earthcaroleanne.

It's arrived.

Thought I'd add the link to the lost book so those in the roundabout could read the comments of the others. I also needed to look it up to find out whose favourite book it was so I could keep my list up to date.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/14839255/

Yes, I had preconceptions. I thought it was going to be ‘me, me, me’ a bit like ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. The difference was I wanted to slap Elizabeth Gilbert but I could make do with just shaking Cheryl Strayed (I knew that couldn’t be her real name). However I have difficulty understanding her lack of preparation. In fact by page 71, I decided she was really stupid. Using heroin, not preparing, not even bothering to learn how to use a compass before leaving, amongst other things. I just could not warm to her and I could not even connect with the other characters. I found the stories of her past very tedious. It all came back to her, even when her horse was being euthanised. Her last chapters also seemed to become a bit rushed without anything that exciting happening anymore. I feel like there should have been something else there but not sure what exactly.

Posting on in the roundabout.

received today

Is going to Dark-Draco (UK)

You've found a travelling book. Hurray!
The book's journey continues by its finder's cooperation and creativity. By making a journal entry on this book, you can add to the book's story as it travels from reader to reader around the world.
Enjoy your reading!

Привет!
Спасибо, что нашли время зайти на сайт и сделать запись в журнале! Напишите, когда и где вы нашли книгу.
Перед тем, как попасть к Вам, она побывала в других уголках света. История ее путешествий записана на сайте, и теперь к ней добавился еще один пункт. Я очень рада, что она нашла нового читателя в Вашем лице.

Apologies - I received this a while ago, but it got mixed up with my birthday parcels, so has only just been opened. Looks interesting though - looking forward to reading it.

This took me a lot longer to read than I expected, mainly because I found my mind wandering and easily becoming distracted. I did like the style and the story itself was ok, but I have to admit that I didn't really like Cheryl much at all - admired her and wanted her to succeed, yes, but no to actually liking her, or at least the her she choose to describe in this book.

I would love to do something like this, walking through the wilderness for days on end, but Cheryl's journey is just one near-disaster after another. I'm not sure if it is naivety or just stupidity that blinds her to the reality of what she is undertaking, but you do end up rolling your eyes a lot as she writes about a sudden revelation that the rest of humanity could see right in front of our noses!

And I'm sorry, but whatever sympathy I had for her completely disappeared over the death of the horse ... having animals is precious and we take on the covenant to look after them all through their lives ... no matter what you are going through, they should never be forgotten or left to suffer.

This does give the impression that I hated this book, and I really didn't. It was fascinating and, as mentioned before, the writing itself is good. It did make me want to get walking again in the great outdoors and I did enjoy Cheryl's physical journey ... I just couldn't identify with her emotional one.

Off to the next participant of the Favourite Book of 2017 Book Roundabout.

Just received and ready to be read, thanks dark-draco!

An OK read, I must admit I shouldn't have read reviews before starting it...
I was interested in the author's story, but I was slightly bored by some episodes of the treck and found it repetitive...
I was the last one on the 2017 Roundabout, so it is now available. I will keep it for a sweepstake.

Travelling to a BookMooch request, enjoy!

Please let us know when you release it again...