Update 29/04/03

There's a nice little story behind this copy of 'Ralph's Party' which my mum reminded me of this morning, that I thought I'd add on.

My mum and I apply for tickets to go to Wimbledon every year, and while we were down there in 1999, we only got about seven minutes of play due to rain. Ah, them's the breaks...

I had taken a copy of 'The Edible Woman', by Margaret Atwood along with me, but my mum, displaying incredible (and wholly undeserved) faith in the British weather, was woefully stuck for a read (Egads!)

She managed to stick it out until we were stranded due to an interminable delay on the platform at King's Cross, headed for home, at which point she broke and headed for WH Smiths to pick up something to pass the time. Spotting this on the 'New Releases' board, she remembered hearing (and very much enjoying) a radio interview with Lisa Jewell the week before...and so this book joined our little family for a trip back Up North.

She thoroughly enjoyed it, and passed it on to me, I passed it on to my boy, and now it's being passed from one BookCrosserly paw to another, seeing the world, and making new friends at every twist and turn. :O)

And now back to my original journal entry:

I enjoyed this one, but then was blown away by Lisa Jewell's next book, 'thirty-nothing' (the story of which ran an almost direct parallel to events in my own life at the time, unsurprisingly it has remained a firm favourite.;O))

This is good fun too, an intelligent romp through a 'chick-lit' style plot with enough recognisable characters and regrettably familiar situations to set bells ringing all over the place....oh, and one of the most gratifyingly grotesque and utterly deserved comeuppances you can possibly imagine...

Heading for sunny CA and lovely Bc'er SCOUT-FINCH. Happy reading sweetie!

Just received in my first non-North American trade (we Book Crossers like our milestones!) from a delightful British BCer named LucyCat..Looking forward to reading this one; that whole post Bridget-Jones-britchicklit genre I so love! Will be sending on to BCer Aisho in a trade when I'm done.

Enjoyable, fluffy, a fairly good representative of the whole Britchicklit thing..would make a fun Movie of the Week but maybe not a big screen release (it's no Bridget Jones...)
On route out East to BCer Aisho in a Chicklit trade!

Book arrived safe and sound. Thanks so much for the trade!

March 3 - Finished the book last night and found it an enjoyable read. =)

Released on Thursday, April 17, 2003 at Daidy - to read and release! in Utica, Michigan USA.

Once again, thanks Lucycat for setting this one free in the US! I really enjoyed reading the book and hope others do, too!

Just recieved it today.

I wasn't all that impressed with it. I kept putting it down and then not picking it up for a while. By the time I did pick it up again, I'd forget what had already happened and have to read it over.

Released on Thursday, December 25, 2003 at Already been bookcrossed bookbox in N/A, Bookbox Controlled Releases.

Into the Already been bookcrossed box

Pulling from the book box.

Sounds cute.

I changed my mind on how I felt about this book several times while reading it. First, I thought the story was interesting. The characters were likable and a little quirky and I was happy. Next, I completely lost interest it the book, laid it down and avoided it for a good week and a half. Everyday I’d look at the book and wonder why does it have to be so long and why can’t I be finished with it already. Finally, the book got the best of me and I needed to know what happened to the characters. I’m really glad I picked the book back up, and I finished it in no time at all. In the end, I think most of them got what they deserved (good or bad) but I kind of feel bad for Karl even though I don’t think I should.

Book Description(from Amazon.com)
Meet the residents of the London brownstone on 31 Almanac Road who together weave a tangled web of romance. Ralph, a ne'er-do-well artist, suddenly realizes he's head over heels in love with his new flatmate Jem, the most fun and sensible girl he's ever encountered. Unfortunately, Ralph's best friend, Smith, has already won Jem's affections, although Smith has not entirely given up his passion for the femme fatale, Cheri, who lives upstairs. Across the hall, Karl and Siobhan have been happily unmarried for years, until Karl gets a smashing job as a London rush-hour DJ and momentarily gets tempted into Cheri's cozy lair. These six star-crossed tenants become more enamored, and more confused, as the story progresses-until their true destinies are revealed on one crucial night-the evening of the extravaganza that is . . . Ralph's party.

Book is off to Luintaurien.
RABCK.
Enjoy!

Got it today. Thank you.

RELEASE NOTES:

Received this in the mail today :) Thanks!