The Book of Lost Things
25 journalers for this copy...
Thriller writer Connolly (Every Dead Thing) turns from criminal fears to primal fears in this enchanting novel about a 12-year-old English boy, David, who is thrust into a realm where eternal stories and fairy tales assume an often gruesome reality. Books are the magic that speak to David, whose mother has died at the start of WWII after a long debilitating illness. His father remarries, and soon his stepmother is pregnant with yet another interloper who will threaten David's place in his father's life. When a portal to another world opens in time-honored fashion, David enters a land of beasts and monsters where he must undertake a quest if he is to earn his way back out. Connolly echoes many great fairy tales and legends (Little Red Riding Hood, Roland, Hansel and Gretel), but cleverly twists them to his own purposes. Despite horrific elements, this tale is never truly frightening, but is consistently entertaining as David learns lessons of bravery, loyalty and honor that all of us should learn.
Journal Entry
2 by
CanPou
at
Café Restaurante Can Pou in Ibiza - Sant Antoni de Portmany, Illes Balears/Islas Baleares Spain on Monday, October 9, 2006
Released 16 yrs ago (10/9/2006 UTC) at Café Restaurante Can Pou in Ibiza - Sant Antoni de Portmany, Illes Balears/Islas Baleares Spain
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Sent to my "baby" sister Chich in hope this will help the "unstressing" for a few hours. It worked for me. :-))

Book received today, thanks so much
CanPou!
What would I do if you weren't there to ensure I keep my sanity *and* unstress by reading a good book?!
What a fantastic read!!! Even though I didn't really enjoy the very first chapter, I kept on reading and basically couldn't put the book down after that:) A dark fairy tale for grown ups, this book reminded me very much of Roald Dahlh's
Revolting Rhymes, which I read last April and enjoyed a lot. Both Connolly and Dahl manage to play with classic fairy tales to give us an original, creative (and often wicked) rendering of these classic tales. I love it!
Thanks again CanPou for sending me this book and being such a great sister for me:-)
Starting a BookRay,
PM me if you want to join!
Shipping order: 1) Jessi626, Germany, can ship anywhere.
2)
foxbooks, Germany, can ship anywhere.
3)
marko167, Switzerland, can ship anywhere.
4)
bestfriends, Belgium, Euro shipping.
5)
iliotropio, Belgium, can ship anywhere.
6)
spy-there, Switzerland, Euro shipping.
8)
Mountainflower, Switzerland, Euro shipping.
9)
boirina, Portugal, can ship anywhere.
10) PinkManager, Greece, Euro shipping. --> asked to be skipped 11)
blakkat-BNE, UK, UK shipping.
12) YowlYY, UK, can ship anywhere. --> asked to be skipped 13) Elphaba71, UK, can ship anywhere. --> not responding to PMs 14)
rebeccaljames, US, US shipping.
15) thistle8, US (TX), US shipping. --> Asked to be skipped 16)
oi-reader, US, can ship anywhere.
17)
brookler, Canada, can ship anywhere.
18)
lauraloo29, Canada, ships anywhere *but* Canada.
19) gussy916, India or Singapore, will ship anywhere. asked to be skipped 20)
FreePages, Australia, Australia shipping.
21)
scrapaholic, Australia, can ship anywhere.
22) fairy-whispers, Australia, Australia shipping. --> Asked to be skipped 23) nikkilovesbooks, Australia, can ship anywhere. --> Asked to be skipped 24) lmn60, Australia, can ship anywhere. --> Asked to be skipped 25)
amcamp1644, South Korea, can ship anywhere.
26)
princess-peapod, US, US shipping.
27)
minesayn, US, can ship anywhere.
28)
abigailannwing, UK, UK shipping.
29)
earthcaroleanne, UK, UK or EU shipping preferred.
30)
raeliz64, UK, can ship anywhere.
...you?
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BookRay Recommendations:
• make a journal entry when you receive the book so everyone knows it has safely arrived
• try to read it within a month
• ask the next on the list for his/her address
• make a journal entry when finished, telling us what you thought - did you like it? Did you think it was well-written?
• wrap it up well and pass it on to the next participant
Please PM me in case of any problems/unforeseen delay. If you are experiencing an RBC (Reading Backlog Crisis) or no longer wish to read the book, let me know and I will move/remove you down/off the list.
Hint: Ask for the address of the next on the list before you have finished reading; sometimes it takes a while before you get a reply. Some people don't get PM's. You may want to look for an e-mail address on their profile, or leave an ISO message on the
forum. If the person doesn't respond within 7-10 days (use your judgement), please PM the next person, and then me, so I can update the bookring list.
**Cheapest postage rate is fine** Happy reading everyone!

Here we go!
Book sent to
Jessi626 today, enjoy!
The book arrived today. Thank you for the ray and for sending it to me!
That was a nice and easy read. I like how the author used the fairy tales (although I don't know the one about the bears...). I liked the ending, too. But in between there were some parts that were not that interesting for me, although I never thought about not finishing the book.
I'll send it to foxbooks tomorrow, September, 24th. Sorry for the delay, I'm very busy at the moment...
hallo, das buch ist bei mir angekommen....... besten dank fürs schicken ....... danke für den ring
the book arrived yesterday . thank you for this ray and for sending it to me!
es wandert erst mal auf meinen TBR-Stapel, da gestern gleich drei ringe eingetroffen sind ..... :-))
i'll put it on my TBR, because yesterday a lot of books arrived.
for my opinion this book is too cruel and too bloody, i didn't like it realy.
Journal Entry
12 by
foxbooks at
sent to another bookcrosser in -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Niedersachsen Germany on Saturday, October 20, 2007
Released 15 yrs ago (10/20/2007 UTC) at sent to another bookcrosser in -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Niedersachsen Germany
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
the book is on its way to marko167
Arrived safe and sound. Have a couple of books ahead of this but shouldn't be too long.
Really enjoyed this book. A good mix of classic fairy tales with a modern twist. Especially enjoyed the seven dwarves and wish they had been a bit more involved.
Journal Entry
15 by
marko167 at
BookRing in Book Ring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Monday, January 21, 2008
Released 15 yrs ago (1/21/2008 UTC) at BookRing in Book Ring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Off it flies to the land of Mannekin Pis, Jean Claude van Damm and Moules Frites.
In my mailbox today. Thanks chich and marko167.
I almost finished my current read and this will be up next. Looking forward to it!

Sorry to say I did not like it too much. Maybe because when I started reading I had just finished
A Bridge to the Stars , also a children's book (a RABCK from chich!) about a boy of the same age that misses his mum. I liked that one far better. This author manages to give his story something magical,
without dragging in the old fairy tale characters! I think that is more of a literary achievement.
I never read anything by Connolly before, so I can't compare, but I don't think I will try my luck again as I did not appreciate his style of writing, nor the way the story was composed. I had one good laugh (Snow White and the Dwarfs!!) but that did not make up for the rest of it and besides, this is not supposed to be a hilarious book, now is it? I found most of it boring! The ending was too smooth and predictable for my taste. I also wondered what kind of audience the author had in mind. Too cruel in places for young children; older ones and adults may not appreciate the way it.... seems to be written for children. Beats me what he had in mind!?
I hardly ever read books with fantasy elements, because most of the time I just don't like them. I would never buy a book like this myself. Rings and rays give you a chance to nibble from genres you don't usually read. Sometimes I was in for a pleasant surprise. Not this time! Thanks for sharing anyway!
I have iliotropio's address from a previous ring, but it's my policy to ask first whether the next reader is ready to receive the book. Waiting for her answer now.
Journal Entry
18 by
bestfriends at
[UTILISEZ 'Libération contrôlée' : Pays → Région → Ville] in -- controlled release --, Liège / Luik Belgium on Monday, February 4, 2008
Released 15 yrs ago (2/4/2008 UTC) at [UTILISEZ 'Libération contrôlée' : Pays → Région → Ville] in -- controlled release --, Liège / Luik Belgium
WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:
Now it's on its way to the home town of Manneke Pis (see release note by Marko167). Off to Brussels.
Arrived safely in... the heart of Europe, Brussels.
Many thanks, bestfriends!
I've appreciated this book, but I can't say I've enjoyed it. Maybe I haven't been in the right frame of mind for it. Extremely overworked on top of everything else...
Happy reading spy-there!
Woot! the book arrived precisely to the World Book Day!
Thank you, iliotropio - now I can proudly take it to the
Bookparade.
A rather strange book, methinks: kind of a gloomy goth assemblage, blended with chunks of Grimm’s tales, greek mythology and ... er ... Role Playing Games? In any case there is abundant blood-splashing. I very agree with bestfriends, it’s neither fish nor flesh, neither a childrens book nor interesting enough for grown ups, full of boyish crap as it is.
Which sometimes makes no sense at all: what is a Mark V tank from WW I. doing in the story? Perhaps just slipped through one of the plot holes? LOL ... (remember: the boy escaped from WW II.). Connolly really writes balderdash like: «His hair was white with snow. It made him look much older then he was.» Have you ever mistook snow on someone's head for white hair? Me neither.
The story might be cunning, alas the narrative is rather lukewarm. The dialogues are sort of ... clumsish. If only he had worked them out with the same accuracy he exerts for the bloodthirsty details of beheading, torn apart corpses and dangling bowels.
However I liked the plot, in spite of its constructedness. I found the raping of Grimm's Tales rather amusing. The monstrously mutated Snow White and the seven little unionists were clearly one highlight, made me laugh madly. But imagine ... what had a TC Boyle made out of this scene ...
Yes, I do admit that it is difficult to write fantasy fiction after Lewis, Tolkien and Pratchett. sigh. Someone please teach Connolly how to flesh out a story! It’s a pity how poorly he cares for his promising ideas.
Journal Entry
23 by
spy-there at
Controlled release (Zürich) in -- controlled release --, Zürich Switzerland on Thursday, June 12, 2008
Released 15 yrs ago (6/12/2008 UTC) at Controlled release (Zürich) in -- controlled release --, Zürich Switzerland
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
it goes to Mountainflower at the Meet up =^;^=
Got the book from spy on last Thursdays MeetUp. Just the right book to sit on the sofa on a rainy weekend...
06-29-2008:
I liked the story very much. It's been a while since I read a fantasy story like this, and I was immediately caught by the woodsman, the dwarfs, the wolves and all the dangers the young hero had to face... I recognized a few fairy tales, but it seems I have to find out about this Roland. Never heard of him.
Thanks to spy for passing it along and to chich for the ray!
Yesterday, I sent the book along to boirina. Have fun!
The book got here yesterday!
Thanks!
PinkManager asked to be skipped and the book has left for blakkat-BNE today.
I haven't had the chance to read it. Life got in the way and I had to travel too much and work too much in the last few months. :(
Thanks for including me in the ring, anyway.
Hugs to all of you.
This book isn't lost! I actually received it ages ago but I'm a bad bad bookcrosser and didn't journal it :(
Anyway, this was quite an interesting book and I enjoyed reading it. It's now time for it to move on, however, so once I get the address of the next person, I will send it on its merry way.
Thanks for sharing the book!
I still haven't heard from the next person so am giving up and skipping them. Will contact the next person on the list, as this book really needs to get moving!!
Journal Entry
29 by
blakkat-BNE at
Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Saturday, July 25, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (7/18/2009 UTC) at Cincinnati, Ohio USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Posted to rebeccaljames
I received this book today. I am looking forward to reading. I will get to it as soon I can and then pass it along. Thank you for sharing.
Arrived safely today, perfect timing as I was just debating on what to read next! Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for allowing me to participate in this ring, reading a book I might have otherwide passed by.
Over all, I enjoyed the book, but readily admit, the first 100 pages or so seemed to drag on forever. After the chapter about the 7 dwarfs (which had me chuckling) it picked up speed and I finished it in a matter of hours. Usually I read more nonfiction or mystery/thriller tales, and somehow I thought this was a mystery prior to reading it.
I have pm'd brookler and will send it her way once I receive an address to ship.
Thanks again!
Journal Entry
33 by
oi-reader at
-- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom on Saturday, November 7, 2009
Released 13 yrs ago (11/7/2009 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
on it's way to brookler! Thanks again for sharing.
Look what I found in my mailbox today! Can't wait to start this one, thanks so much.
I enjoyed this book, but found it a little dark and gory for my taste. It appears to be a psycho-drama disguised as a fantasy/fairy tale.
Arrived safe and sound today. I have a few rings here at the moment, but I am keeping them moving. Thank you!
I'm going to send this book on. While I always enjoy books with fairy tales in them, I'm finding this one just a bit too dark for me. If it wasn't a ring, I would most likely press on, but I have others shouting my name.
Thank you for sharing! This book will be on its way Down Under next week.
Found - The Book of Lost Things is now in the Land of Aus! In fact, it's now in the Capital of The Land of Aus ;-)
This is a bookring that I signed up for when I joined bookcrossing in 2007!
Quite a bit has changed for me since then!
However, I am still looking forward to reading this novel :-)
I've got a bit of a line-up before this one, but I'm hoping to get to it sooner then later.
Thanks for sending it on in the post lauraloo29 and everyone before her.
:-)
I really enjoyed getting lost in this book. I found myself looking forward to immersing myself in the dark tales along David's quest each evening as I sat down to read it. I liked the idea of twisting the fairy tales to suit the story ;-)
It had quite a nice little ending. I would really like my two teenagers to read this (they could benefit from the moral of the story ;-) but I suspect they won't read it (they are getting more and more sceptical of my recommendations!) before I send it off to the next in line.
Already PMed - hope to hear from her soon.
Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this one. :-)
Journal Entry
40 by
FreePages at
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Friday, May 21, 2010
Released 13 yrs ago (5/20/2010 UTC) at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Posting up to the Top End, to scrapaholic in the distant Northern Territory.
Hope you enjoy getting lost in this book!
Thanks again to everyone before me who sent this one on.
:-)
Journal Entry
41 by
scrapaholic at
Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Saturday, June 5, 2010
Have arrived safely in Darwin
Journal Entry
42 by
scrapaholic at
Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Sunday, June 27, 2010
What a great read! Good thing I'm on holidays coz I couldn't put it down. Thanks for sharing this book....will send it on to next person as soon as I get their details.
After much PMing I have sent this book to amcamp1644 (in Oct 2010).
Journal Entry
43 by
amcamp1644 at
Wheaton, Maryland USA on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sweet! Can't wait to read it, it's #2 on my read list.
Journal Entry
44 by
amcamp1644 at
Bethesda, Maryland USA on Saturday, May 28, 2011
I thought it started off predictably, and though it was predictable to the end, it won me over and I still enjoyed it.
Journal Entry
45 by
amcamp1644 at
Bethesda, Maryland USA on Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Released 12 yrs ago (6/14/2011 UTC) at Bethesda, Maryland USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Off to the next!
Journal Entry
46 by
minesayn
at
Huron, Ohio USA on Saturday, June 18, 2011
Received via media mail from amcamp1644! Thanks to her and chich for setting up the ray. Leafed through it while waiting for my computer to boot up...looks intriguing and just magical enough to be an enjoyable read (I have always liked to read fairy tales). Will get it read as soon as possible (have two rings I am working on right now).
Journal Entry
47 by
minesayn
at
Huron, Ohio USA on Monday, August 8, 2011
Interesting use of fairy tales and "things that go bump in the night"...now I know where my nightmares come from, and yet there were compelling moments as David goes from "replaced" child (at least in his mind) to a man. The ending was also touching and a reminder of both the joys and sorrows of a life well lived.
Now, onto to Great Britain with this ray...sorry it took so long to read, but glad I had the opportunity to read it. I'm not sure I would have found out about it otherwise..thanks!
Journal Entry
48 by
minesayn
at
Abingdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Monday, August 8, 2011
Released 12 yrs ago (8/8/2011 UTC) at Abingdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Book ray book being sent on...thanks to chich for allowing me to read this one. Very enlightening, very enjoyable read about a new twist on the fairy tales that we all grew up reading.
Journal Entry
49 by
abigailann at
Abingdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Monday, August 22, 2011
Thanks for sending this onto me. It arrived whilst I was on holiday and was a lovely surprise to find on my doormat when I returned home
Journal Entry
50 by
abigailann at
Abingdon, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I loved the way that this book took classic stories and twisted and turned them into something else. A classic children's tale in many respects, this story turned into much more. It reminded me to some extent of Jasper Fforde, only less humourous and more scary. I'd never have picked it up if I'd seen it in a store, but I'm definatly glad that the description on the bookcrossing ray grabbed me.
Contacting the next person now
Journal Entry
51 by
earthcaroleanne
at
Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 14, 2011
This arrived today. Won't get it started straight away but it doesn't look like it will take too long.
Journal Entry
52 by
earthcaroleanne
at
Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Monday, October 17, 2011
I enjoyed this book. I've always said the original fairy tales were quite scary and not the disneyfied version we see nowadays but this took the horror a little bit further. There was plenty of blood but it was never truly scary. It was a book I was keen to finish and couldn't put down in the end.
Journal Entry
53 by
earthcaroleanne
at
Anstey, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Monday, October 24, 2011
Released 11 yrs ago (10/25/2011 UTC) at Anstey, Leicestershire United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
On it's way in the ring.
Journal Entry
54 by
raeliz64 at
Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Sunday, October 30, 2011
It's here - thanks very much :-)
Journal Entry
55 by
raeliz64 at
Leicester, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
This was an interesting read, very dark versions of familiar fairy tales. Along with other readers I liked the seven dwarves, they made me smile.
I'm the last person on the list, but I'll see if anyone else wants to read it.
Journal Entry
56 by
Tanamo
at
Hinckley, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Picked up at today's mini meet in Leicester. Thanks Rachel.
Journal Entry
57 by
Tanamo
at
Hinckley, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Monday, January 28, 2013
A very dark tale but I enjoyed it. Like most readers I liked the dwarves. I thought the ending was good too.
Journal Entry
58 by
Tanamo
at
Yarm, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Released 10 yrs ago (4/23/2013 UTC) at Yarm, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
RABCK to another bookcrosser who has this on their wishlist.
Journal Entry
59 by
Apechild at
York, North Yorkshire United Kingdom on Saturday, May 4, 2013
What a fantastic surprise - thank you so much for sending this! It looks so good.... and wow, this copy really has travelled.
Journal Entry
60 by
Apechild at
York, North Yorkshire United Kingdom on Saturday, May 11, 2013
What a fantastic book. Such a great read. Very clever too, in the way it was written like a children's book, and yet it was so dark and gothic that it's clearly not for kids. The different layers of the book are also very clever, the way the fairystories and the escape to the other world are also David dealing with the traumas of life - his mother dying, his father getting a new wife, and then a baby brother on the scene... and even the outbreak of the second world war and how this effects the country and society. It made me think of that fantastic film Pan's Labyrinth in many ways, as that's also about a young child escaping into a world of fairytales and imagination to get away from the realities of a complicated family life, and the effects of war... and a little touch of that cheesey 80s film Labyrinth with David Bowie as the goblin king =).
Curious that the women often don't come out too well in this. I liked the way that he'd adapted some of these fairy stories to his own uses, but the women turned into monsters... perhaps because David wasn't happy about Rose (the second wife).... Red Riding Hood takes on a completely new persona; then there's the witch roasting kiddies, and the huntress who was a particularly nasty, cold piece of work. Even the beast was female.
I'm not too sure what I will do with the book next, but as it's been travelling for so long, I'd like it to continue on its journey...
Journal Entry
61 by
Apechild at
Ye Olde Starre Inne OBCZ Bookshelf in York, North Yorkshire United Kingdom on Monday, June 24, 2013
Released 10 yrs ago (6/25/2013 UTC) at Ye Olde Starre Inne OBCZ Bookshelf in York, North Yorkshire United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Taking this to the monthly York bookcrossers' meet up tomorrow evening.
Journal Entry
62 by
MoonDark at
York, North Yorkshire United Kingdom on Thursday, June 27, 2013
Picked up at the York Bookcrossing meet in June 2013. Looks interesting and is certainly well travelled...with mixed reports though. I will make my own report when done!