Chocolat

by Joanne Harris | Women's Fiction |
ISBN: 0552998486 Global Overview for this book
Registered by dododumpling of St. Neots, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on 1/10/2005
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
8 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by dododumpling from St. Neots, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Monday, January 10, 2005
This is a book that I've read before (quite a while ago) and I would like to come back to it at some point. Here's a review on Amazon.co.uk. In the meantime I'm offering this as a ...

Bookring!


Some brief "rules"
* Journal the book when you receive it.
* PM the next person on the list for their address when you receive it so as to try to avoid hold-ups later on.
* If you don't hear from the next participant within a few days, PM them again. If after a few more days you still haven't heard from them, PM me to let me know, and move on to the next person on the list.
* Read (and hopefully enjoy!) Please read within a month of receipt if you can.
* Journal again when you've read it to let us know what you think of it!
* Surface mail is fine for international postage. Please include this info in your journal entry.

Participants
1. sqdancer, Alberta, Canada
2. NeedSun, Ontario, Canada
3. brewster13, Manitoba, Canada
4. timollie5502, New York, USA
5. BelleMorte, Alabama, USA Has asked to be removed
6. luvtink81, Kansas, USA Has asked to be removed
7. rooshill, California, USA
8. CdnBlueRose, Colorado, USA
9. CheriePie, Massachusetts, USA
10. Back to me, dododumpling, Cambridgeshire, UK

This ring is now closed to participants.


Journal Entry 2 by dododumpling from St. Neots, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Posted to sqdancer in Canada yesterday. Sent surface mail - hope it doesn't take too long to arrive!

Journal Entry 3 by sqdancer on Monday, January 31, 2005
Arrived safe and sound. I have three rings ahead of this one, but don't worry. I am half way through two of them and the third is not a heavy read. Anyway, I will be having a little more reading time shortly. I do not forsee any problems with getting this book moved on within a month.

Thank you for sharing this book!

Journal Entry 4 by sqdancer on Wednesday, March 2, 2005
This was not a good book to be reading when you've given up chocolate for Lent! I've never seen the movie, but I certainly enjoyed the book. Rather interesting to watch so much that had been hidden or denied coming out under Vianne's influence.

Sent to NeedSun this afternoon.

Journal Entry 5 by NeedSun from Perth Road, Ontario Canada on Thursday, March 10, 2005
This book arrive yesterday. I have a few rings to read before I get to it, hopefully by next week.

Thanks for starting this ring Dododumpling. It looks like a reall good read.

Journal Entry 6 by NeedSun from Perth Road, Ontario Canada on Sunday, April 10, 2005
It was a very interesting book and considerably different from the movie. Because I enjoyed the movie so much, one of my all time favorites, I was a bit disappointed with the book and how it turned out. Some of the characters were perfectly done and I can understand why they changed others for the movie, but I was still disappointed.

It will be mailed tomorrow.

Journal Entry 7 by brewster13 from Calgary, Alberta Canada on Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Received in the mail today. I have a few bookrings that arrived before this, but will get to it as fast as I can.

Thanks! Brew

UPDATE May 18 --> I began reading this on Monday. While I'm not completely 'into' the story yet, the first few 'days' are intriguing, and I'm looking forward to getting a chance to read more of this story. Will post again when done reading.
UPDATE June 2 --> I am thoroughly enjoying reading this, although getting to the end is taking me some time. Thank you for your continuing patience ... I'm getting close to done, and hope to have this sent off shortly.

Journal Entry 8 by brewster13 from Calgary, Alberta Canada on Thursday, June 9, 2005
I finished reading last night.
I enjoyed this story, to an extent. I really enjoyed the beginning until about 2/3 of the way through ... then I kind of lost interest. It took me 5 days to read the last 100 pages -> I prefer to be so engrossed in a book by that point that I can't put it down. Instead I had no problem putting this book down. I kept waiting for a climax, or for the build to a climax, and it just never came to me.
It just wasn't a real page-turner for me, and I found the end lacking. Overall, it was a so-so book for me.

I will send on ASAP. Thanks for sharing! Brewster

Journal Entry 9 by brewster13 from Calgary, Alberta Canada on Monday, June 20, 2005
Mailed to Timollie5502 today ... surface mail, should get there in 1 - 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Brew

Journal Entry 10 by timollie5502 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Just got this in the mail today! Thanks so much for sharing it - I loved the movie, so I look forward to reading this to see the similarities and differences...
I have a couple of rings ahead of it, but I will start it ASAP.

Journal Entry 11 by timollie5502 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on Friday, July 15, 2005
Just finished this today. I read it on my train trips to and from work, and I think that this was part of the reason that I was able to enjoy it - I read it in bits. I think that if I had tried to read it straight through I would have lost interest, and it would have taken longer.
But this was a nice story... very different from the movie with all of the side storylines going on, but I enjoyed it.

On its way to rooshill 7/27/05!

Journal Entry 12 by rooshill from Grass Valley, California USA on Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Just arrived today.
I'm reading a borrowed book right now and have 2 other rings that arrived last week, so it will be a little while before I can start this. I'm a bit apprehensive after reading the reviews here. I loved the movie and *want* to love the book...we'll see!

Journal Entry 13 by rooshill from Grass Valley, California USA on Friday, August 19, 2005
The first thing to do in reading this book is forget about the movie. They have the same premise of Vianne, the chocolaterie, and the figure not wanting them in the town, but they are very different from there. Once you separate them and quit thinking "it wasn't like that in the movie" you'll enjoy it much more.
This is an excellent book - one that I'd read again someday.
Interesting side note - it inspired me to get out the deck of fortune cards that's been sleeping on a shelf for a couple of years. :)
I have CdnBlueRose's addy so it's on the way.

Journal Entry 14 by CdnBlueRose from Steinbach, Manitoba Canada on Monday, August 29, 2005
Received today, will read and journal again as soon as possible.

Journal Entry 15 by CdnBlueRose from Steinbach, Manitoba Canada on Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Absolutely lovely book - enjoyable beginning to end and now I want to read others by this author! I'm mailing Chocolat on to CheriePie tomorrow - ENJOY! (I have never seen this movie and now I want to, even though I understand from the notes here that they are quite different....)

Journal Entry 16 by CheriePie from Campbell, California USA on Monday, September 19, 2005
Got this today from CdnBlueRose. I've got a couple of other rings to finish ahead of it but will definitely be able to start on it within the next few weeks. Though this is outside my usual book genre, I've heard such good things about it that I'm looking forward to it. :)

EDIT 10-Nov-2005: Back at the end of September, shortly after I received this, I confirmed with dododumpling if she wouldn't mind me moving this down slightly in my TBR since I was last on the list, and so I could concentrate on the rings/rays in my possession which had participants after me waiting on them. Being the sweetheart she is, she didn't mind at all, but I figured I'd note it here for anyone wondering why I've had this longer than a month.

I also wanted to note that I'm starting on this book today and will return it to dododumpling right after... just in time for the holidays. :)

Journal Entry 17 by CheriePie from Campbell, California USA on Monday, November 14, 2005
A great read, I really enjoyed it. Character-wise, Reynaud stands for everything I dislike about the Catholic religion and I really hated his character in this story: a true villian, bigot, and zealot. I could never wrap my mind around some of the Catholic ideals and concepts--Lent and abstinence, original sin, and the like. Reynaud likes to take the words of the Bible and warp them to his own twisted means.

Vianne is exactly the opposite of Reynaud and stands for everything I believe in and all that is right with the world; her outlook on life closely mirroring my own--except for the parts about fleeing from place to place to escape The Black Man. She was a good mother and a wonderful woman, and I was happy to see the impact she had on many of the people of Lansquenet, giving them strength and courage, and a new love for life.

The premise of the story, a chocolate boutique opened by Vianne in a strictly Catholic village, allows the characters, both major and minor, to examine their beliefs as the priest Reynaud speaks out against the debauchery of the chocolatier. Joanne Harris, the author, is very good at describing things in the best frame of reference, the chocolates, the flowers of springtime, the images brought to mind while reading this book were both beautiful and mouth-watering. And seeing as how it's just past Halloween, and a recent vacation to Key West from which I just returned last week, I happened to find all kinds of chocolate in the house which we usually don't have. I think this book may have caused me to gain a few pounds because with all the reading about chocolate, goodness knows I had to indulge. Heh, at least all the Halloween chocolate is almost gone now... though I miss the Key West fudge and Lindt chocolates. LOL

This will be on it's way home to dododumpling shortly just as soon as I get an address. Thanks for sharing!

UPDATE 17-NOV-2005: Sent to dododumpling via International Economy (Surface) mail on 18-Nov-2005.

Journal Entry 18 by dododumpling from St. Neots, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Monday, November 28, 2005
Chocolat arrived back with me on Saturday. Many thanks to everyone who participated in this ring, for sharing your thoughts and for keeping it travelling!

It's back on Mt TBR now though ... :)

Journal Entry 19 by dododumpling from St. Neots, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Oh dear ... Chocolat has been sitting on Mt TBR for about a year and a half now! But the other day I was talking to a neighbour who said she had caught half of the film version when it was on TV over the weekend. She said she'd like to read the book to fill in the gaps and to compare the two versions. So I offered to lend her the book. No doubt once it's back in my possession it'll go straight back onto Mt TBR but it the meantime it should be read and enjoyed.

Journal Entry 20 by dododumpling from St. Neots, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Thursday, August 16, 2007
It had been quite a long time since I last read this, so although I remembered the general gist of the story I''d forgotten the detail. Therefore, it was an "easy" read, made all the nicer by the fact that I read most of it outside in the sunshine. :)

Journal Entry 21 by dododumpling at Hotel Splendid in Barcelona, Barcelona Spain on Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Released 16 yrs ago (9/10/2007 UTC) at Hotel Splendid in Barcelona, Barcelona Spain

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Left on the computer table on the first floor

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