BookCrossing: Blue Belle

I'm behind on posting catches from wild releases. First up is a book I released a fortnight-plus-a-day ago (and is noteworthy as my first ever Coquitlam release): Blue Belle. A journal entry was made by a new member before I arrived back home to make release notes, and that might just be the first time that's happened to me. Here's the catch:

I was leaving work in Pinetree Village at 7:00pm after a long day serving. I was waiting for my ride and decided to have a cigarette so I walked over to the tables in front of Chapters Book store and to my surprise the novel was sitting at the table I sat down at. I plan to read the book and leave it randomly at an anonymous location with hopes someone else will find it, read it, and pass it on!

act boastfully

"Why don't we give him a medal?" Colonel Korn proposed.

"For going around twice? What can we give him a medal for?"

"For going around twice," Colonel Korn answered with a reflective, self-satisfied smile. "After all, I suppose it did take a lot of courage to go over that target a second time with no other planes around to divert the antiaircraft fire. And he did hit the bridge. You know, that might be the answer - to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That's a trick that never seems to fail."

"Do you think it will work?"

"I'm sure it will. And let's promote him to captain, too, just to be certain."
-- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

It's a trick that modern governments know too well.

people who enjoyed climbing into an airplane

Doc Daneeka hated to fly. He felt imprisoned in an airplane. In an airplane there was absolutely no place in the world to go except another part of the airplane. Doc Daneeka had been told that people who enjoyed climbing into an airplane were really giving vent to a subconscious desire to climb back into the womb.
-- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

What about the enjoyment of crawling into a warm bed?

BookCrossing: The Day of the Storm

Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see! Finally, another catch. I released The Day of the Storm at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, WA, way back in October of '09 and it wasn't until many, many, many weeks later (okay, just three weeks later) that a catch hit my inbox. Catch rate sits at 12.526096033402923%. The book was caught by a new bookcrossing member from the fine state of Tennessee. The catcher and a friend brought the book up to.. well, let's let the catcher tell the story:

I was traveling to Canada for a visit with friends in Abbotsford Canada. I flew into Seattle Wa and then drove up to Abbotsford. We stopped at an outdoor outlet mall and my friend June saw the book sitting on a bench. She explained how the Traveling Books work and I decided to bring it back to Tennessee with me. I really like Rosamunde Pilcher and I am staring the book now. This is such a great idea. So, this book has been to Canada and now to Tennessee.

refused to admit that the dead man even existed

The dead man in Yossarian's tent was a pest, and Yossarian didn't like him, even though he had never seen him. Having him lying around all day annoyed Yossarian so much that he had gone to the orderly room several times to complain to Sergeant Towser, who refused to admit that the dead man even existed, which, of course, he no longer did.
-- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

There are some things that don't exist that annoy me. Affordable personal rocket packs for one, mainly for the very reason that they don't exist... yet.

Lucky Dog by Mark Barrowcliffe

Any book that prominently features a dog is a good book in my books. Get that dog a-talkin' and, well, it's a nice novelty now and then but I wouldn't read many of those books. Barrowcliffe does a fine job in creating a storyline and situations that bring about some clever passages, both with and without the dog's presence. He does appear to be fond of dogs. I don't know if there's anbody out there who could write a full-length novel of this type who wasn't fond of dogs, no matter how great the idea. All in all, I'd rate this as a lighthearted book with some areas of depth.

Lucky Dog on BookCrossing.

a dog is honesty

He was right, I knew. A dog doesn't act honestly, a dog is honesty.
-- Lucky Dog by Mark Barrowcliffe

The best line (of many great lines) in the book. While it makes me think of my first dog - coincidentally named Lucky - it also makes me think of my eight-month-old son, who is nothing but pure honesty. He knows no other way. That'll last forever, right?!

child control

'Let me see Santa!' said Sebastian.

'If you disturb him he won't leave his gifts,' said John who, after God knows how many years of training as an analyst, had seemingly just woken up to the child control possibilities of Father Christmas.
-- Lucky Dog by Mark Barrowcliffe

With our little monkey butt almost ready to walk, the days and years ahead are going to be glorious.

A single tin-opener

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. To suggest I'd defraud an old lady, no matter what the inducement, was ridiculous.

'One million pounds,' said the Cat. 'There are eight of us here and that's a sixth of the profit due to even the highest investors. It's absolutely our ceiling.'

'One million hounds?' said the dog, who had clearly misheard. 'That is an army, sir. The world would be yours, though the logistics of feeding them all would be astounding! A single tin-opener just wouldn't be up to it.'
-- Lucky Dog by Mark Barrowcliffe

To be honest, I'd sooner defraud an old lady for one million hounds than one million pounds. One million ponds would also be nice, but at that point why not put them all together for a nice lake. Paddle a canoe across the lake by moonlight.

a cheeky giggle

Lucy looked at me and gave me a cheeky giggle. Unlike most things that people give you - socks, underwear, under-sized shirts - I was actually in some need of it.
-- Lucky Dog by Mark Barrowcliffe

I know a Lucy, and she's given me an under-sized shirt or two in the past. She's also given me a few giggles (some cheeky, some not), and I am very appreciative of that. Here's to you, Lucia.

just heard a dog speak

'Did you hear that?' I said.

'What?' she said, which is as good as a 'no'. I had no previous experience in the matter but I felt sure that those who had just heard a dog speak were unlikely to reply 'What?' to such a question. Swooning, exclaiming 'Egad!' or at the very least phoning major circuses would be the response I was looking for.
-- Lucky Dog by Mark Barrowcliffe

Forget phoning the circus - phone The Dogs of Babel's Paul Iverson.

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

After buying Stanley Park on October 22, 2004, I finally got around to reading it. I started it shortly before moving, and made sure to keep track of it during all the packing and relocating of boxes so I could pick it up without too much elapsed time and still be able identify characters' names. That's my main problem with books, even books I love. If I set it down for too long, say a fortnight or so, then continue on, I'll have to rack my memory to recall who so-and-so is. Usually I have to flip back several pages to be sure they are who I think they are. Didn't have that problem with this one. It kept my attention, even through all the cooking/restaurant/chef details which is a testament to the writer's ability to wruite about it so even the laypeople among us could keep up. At the same time, I noticed there were (brand)names that the insiders would know about.

The storyline of Stanley Park - the actual park - was very well done. The true story bit about the babes is heartbreaking. I've long known pieces of the story, but being the father of a five-month-old baby makes it much tougher to ponder.

Stanley Park on BookCrossing.

condolences about The Monkey's Paw

Jeremy left Dante and Benny to explore by himself, to chat with the chefs and winery reps he knew. Almost to a person he was greeted with condolences about The Monkey's Paw, and about half of those people tagged on an additional coment along the lines of: "Inferno Coffee, though. Wow." The meaning of the wow varied widely depending on the speaker.
-- Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

Really? No way! That's great. How does that make you feel?

BookCrossing: The Rich are Different

Here's the pitch, and it's hit hard to rightfield. Hard and deep. Ichiro has a bead on it as he turns and heads to the wall. He's getting close to the warning track, sneaks a peek at the fence, leaps, aaaaannnnnd it's a catch! My oh my, what a wild (release) catch! Mid-June I released The Rich are Different, by Susan Howatch, on a bench in Vancouver's Pacific Spirit Park. Three and a half weeks later, a journal entry hit my inbox - well, technically my BookCrossing folder I have setup to receive BookCrossing mail. Yeah, I know - it's pretty fancypants. Even more fancypants, though, is the fact that the book has already been to Europe and seems destined for Africa! Soo-EE! My catch rate has inched higher to 12.77533039647577%.

The catch:

My sister picked this book up off a bench in Vancouver BC and she took it on our annual vacation to Europe. This is where she told me about it and I decided to read it. Normally a book like this wouldn't be of interest to me but because someone thought it was good enough to pass on I thought I would give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised! The Rich are Different is well written and has a very interesting plot. It is written in a way that is different from most books I come across in the sense that it is written from different perspectives. I plan on taking a last minute deal to Egypt or Tunisia and I plan to leave this book there even though it has already been in a different continent and country than it started in. To the next person that finds this book..Enjoy:)