just bought for summer reading for my bookclub

10/28/2005---I can't believe it, but I finally finished this book. It took me about 6 weeks; I actually finished 4 other books while reading this one. It wasn't that I didn't like it, it just didn't grab my attention and draw me in and say read me. I'm just not much one for "fantasy" type books. My husband (who is) absolutely loved it; I can't say that I did. I went back and re-read Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and it is amazing the difference having read Wicked made on my interpretation and enjoyment of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I think I'm going to mail this to a bookcrossing friend that enjoys fantasy books.

Thanks! This one did not have a Bookcrossers bookplate, but I have some Miss Grace and I'll put one on for you before I release it.

I've changed my mind. No release in the wild. This book might not appeal to the masses. So it does not get lost and actually gets some reading mileage, I'm sending this out on a Bookray.
1. bobbarama - California
2. Mamikaem - Missouri
3. SqueakyChu - maryland
4. napper - Ney York
5. terra57 - Massachusetts

An 8 is high praise from me. This book is so very strange and interesting to me. Unexpected. Unusual. Yikes! I wanna go to the Philosophy Club!

This book has escaped the frigid winter climate of South Carolina and has landed safely here in Carlsbad ... a nice tourist trap along the coast of north San Diego County in sunny Southern California.

Thanks, gr8eyessmile, for including me in this bookray! I'm about two or three days from finishing the book I'm reading now, and then I'll make this book my top priority.

Take care!

Although I had a tough time getting into this book in the beginning, I enjoyed it more and more the deeper in I got.

I wasn't sure what to expect going in, although it wasn't as dark as I thought it might be based on other reviews I've read ... and it certainly gives you a side of the Land of Oz you've never seen anyplace else. Fascinating, for sure.

I did think the section of the book focusing on the years the Wicked Witch of the West spent in college with Glinda was the best.

I don't think this book is for everyone. Feels like one of those books you like a lot or not. I keep waffling a bit on where I fall on that fence, but I'm glad I read it. And, actually, now I'd love to see the Broadway Play someday!!

Thanks again, gr8eyessmile, for including me in your bookray. Very cool of you!

Sending it forward to Mamikaem in Missouri.

PS: Now I understand what you meant in your review when you wrote "Yikes! I wanna go to the Philosophy Club!"

Take me with you!! (smile)

RELEASE NOTES:

I mailed this book to Marikaem in the Show Me State of Missouri earlier this morning. Enjoy!

Received this in the mail today. Thanks bobbarama - I love the book mark! I have a few rings in front of this, but will get to it as soon as I can.

UPDATE: 01/10/05 - starting this today.

Whew - I finished this today. I constantly wavered between, "this is just too weird" and "this is so good!" LOL I enjoyed the different perspective on Oz. Gregory Maguire certainly does have a very vivid imagination! I was somehow disappointed in the ending. Maybe I was expecting it to correlate more with the movie version of "The Wizard of Oz"--anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the musical someday!

No Philosophy Club for me, boys. I'll pass, thanks! ;o)

Mailed to SqueakyChu on 01/27/06 via media mail.

Wicked arrived today and was waiting for me when I got home from work. I found the post card from St. Louis (the city where my mom was born). Thanks so much, Mamikaem!

I can't wait to read this book as The Wizard of Oz is my all-time favorite movie. I'll leave myself open to hearing the side of the Wicked Witch of the West. I'm sure the movie will then never be the same again.

Thanks, gr8eyessmile, for including me on your bookray.

I don't like this book. I'm giving up, which I haven't done before for a BookCrossing book, but I simply cannot get into this story. It makes me unhappy to pick up this book and have to read it so I'm moving on. I made it up to page 97...

I thought it would have had more to do with the actual story of the Wizard of Oz. Perhaps it does later, but I don't want to read any more.

Thank you, gr8eyessmile, for sharing it with me.
I hope others like it more than myself.

It's now in the mail to napper in New York.

Just got this in the mail. I have one more ray/ring ahead of it, but I spend 2 hours a day on the MTA so it shouldn't take me long! Thanks so much for sharing the book!

I tried so hard to get into this book. My usual standard is 50 pages, and this came so highly recommended I read 80. But it just isn't capturing me and I know others are waiting. Perhaps I would have enojoyed it more if I hadn;t seen the show first? In any event, I am mailing this to Terra57.

Just received and will read next.

This was much better than I thought it would be and certainly much better than any of his other books. It actually had a nice twist at the end. Thanks for letting me join the bookray.

reserved for bookray.

List of BCer's:
1. MandaJo (MN) US prefer *Finished*
2. Jnpert (KY) US & Canada *Finished*
3. rapscallia (Canada) US & Canada skip
4. mysticalzoe (NH) US prefer *Finished*
5. tenneh (NE) US only *Received* 9/26
6. Yokaye (TN) US only

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to MandaJo

This arrived this afternoon. I'm already on page 22, and I really like it, so far. So hopefully it stays good. Thanks for passing this along!

I adored this book. It takes some flexibility on the reader's part to not get upset when things don't exactly follow The Wizard of Oz, but it helps to think of it as hearing another side of the story entirely, almost like a rumor that's been passed from person to person. I did get a little impatient near the middle of the book, there were some parts that were a little slow, but for the most part, I really enjoyed it. I think the suggestions that it makes about the root and behavior of evil are very intriguing. I can't wait to get into Maguire's other books.

I already have the next address, so this will be popped into the mail in the morning.

Ok the Pony Express must be fast this week, because I received this book today. I've got one bookring ahead of it, but am looking forward to reading this one very much!

Thanks terra57 and MandaJo!

I really enjoyed the book and am so glad I joined the bookring. It's funny- I hadn't realized the book was published ten years ago. I guess I didn't think the premise of the story would be interesting enough until I saw some journal entries on Bookcrossing!

All in all, I agree with the other journelers- very interesting to think of the back story of the witch.

I sent a PM to rapscallia, so when I get an address will send on.

Thanks!

8/26 Sent via media mail to mysticalzoe. Enjoy!

Just received this book today will read asap.

I really didn't care for the book, it was overwhelming, annoying (to me), I guess I am not into this type of book, so sending off to next bookring participate as soon as i get her address.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending out today.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending out today.

Received today - great timing as I just finished a book and can start this one right away!

I really enjoyed this book. I can say I wanted it to follow the movie a bit more (the Wicked Witch spoke with Dorothy several times in the movie!) but I still enjoyed it very much. I love "seeing both sides".

Ok, I've PMed Yokaye several times with no response so I'm going to make this one available.

RELEASE NOTES:

yokaye contacted me so it's headed that way

Rec'd this yesterday, and about 40 pages in. So far, it's interesting and unusual...looking forward to finishing it soon.

Want to keep this one moving, so I'm offering it up in a bookbox.

Thanks for letting me read this! :)

What a trip. For the most part I enjoyed it, but there were too many moments I wanted to skip through to get to the good parts. It was fascinating to see another side of the story...even if it didn't follow the route I expected. I suppose that's true in real life, though, stories don't always correlate the way we'd expect them to.

Wicked really does open up the discussion of what really is evil and what is not; I found myself considering moments of the story both from Elphaba's and Dorothy's pov, and at times you can't really put the title of 'good or evil' on either of them.

Sending this off to spoiledrotten as part of WarEagle78's Almost Anything Goes Virtual Bookbox; hoping to keep it moving so as many bXr's as possible can have a chance to read this.

Received this in the mail today as part of a virtual bookbox. Thanks so much for including me. I have 2 book rins to finish then this will be next. I was told to read this before I see the play on Broadway, which I am hoping to do in 2007.

Thanks again!!!!

Fantastic Book! I did get to see the Broadway show, but not before I read the book and I believe it was much better to see the show first. It certainly gives you a whole new outlook on the entire story. I have now mailed this book off to another BC'er in Washington.

Got this in the mail yesterday, from spoiledrotten. I immediately started reading it on the bus; when I got out of my meeting, I went to get a snack and read, until a nice waiter told me I'd been at the table too long; I went home and kept reading, finished the book, and had very interesting dreams. :)

The other journal entries of this book remind me of my history with Gregory Maguire. The first time I tried reading Mirror, Mirror and Confessions of a Wicked Stepsister, I just couldn't get into them. I gave them both away when I joined BookCrossing, but before I let go of Confessions I tried reading it again. This time, I was no longer expecting a "fairy tale parody" along the lines of Terry Pratchett or Christopher Moore, and just let the book be what it was going to be. I found Confessions of a Wicked Stepsister was a historical novel, with complex characterization, a lot of psychological subtext, and fairytale allusions. And I found myself addicted to Gregory Maguire.

He is indeed a very *strange* man, who does not write, or think, quite like anyone else I can name.

Wicked is a fantasy: it takes place in Oz, where magic and witches are real (and gods and goddesses may be); where, as in Narnia, humans and other ordinary animals (small letter) exist side by side with sentient talking Animals (remember to pronounce the capital letter). A coveted book of magic has letters that twist and change as you try to read them. We definitely aren't in Kansas.

But as in all really *good* fantasy, magic is not common, or easy, or a major part of the story. The real story is about people, and the major questions of our lives: What does it mean to be human? What is "good", and what is "evil"? What is reality?

Not every person likes every author, and that is probably just as well, the hold lists at the library would be even longer. But every author has their own audience. I'm now a Gregory Maguire fan. I want to hunt up a copy of Mirror, Mirror and try reading it again.

Now to select who, among the Gregory Maguire audience, I will pass this on to next. :)