From my Livejournal:

This is not angst-ridden soul-searching but tourism that seeks out the bizarre. Thacker spent a few months visiting weird festivals in various parts of the world but mainly in Japan and the USA, the world capitals of weird festivals. As well as participating in bean-throwing rituals, running around a hall wearing a nappy and stuffing his face with tomatoes, Thacker mentions hundreds of other noteworthy festivals discovered on the internet. The book does not shed much light on local cultures and histories but describes some of the more intriguing things that can be found off the beaten track. There was a bit too much toilet humour for my liking but it was otherwise fun to read.

I'm putting this up for a bookray. Send me a private message if interested.

Current bookray participants:

• woosang (NSW, AU), prefers not to post overseas
  
• kirst040 (NSW, AU), can post anywhere
  

The usual bookray rules... journal when you've received it, when you're done, PM the next person to get their address.

Posted to woosang this morning.

Thanks for the book. I shall put it on top of the Mt TBR

This arrived in the mail from woosang yesterday. Thanks.
I started reading on the train this morning. The Tamworth Country Music Festival didn't do much for me but I'm enjoying his experiences of the lunar new year (Tet) in Vietnam.

claudinec, are there other participants for this or will I be releasing it when I'm finished?

A little bit hit & miss but otherwise a fairly entertaining read. I agree with claudinec, there's a little too much toilet humour but I did laugh out loud in a few places.

There are some photos of his journey on www.brianthacker.tv - it's worth a look just to see the photos of the Snow Festival.

catsalive would like to read this next so I'll pass on to her after the Easter break. Thanks for organising this claudinec.

Book received today.

Bestselling author of Rule No. 5: No sex on the bus and Planes Trains and Elephants, searches out the most bizarre festivals in a frantic race around the world.

'It was only a degree above zero and the rain was coming down in sheets, yet here I was about to run around in nothing more than a nappy. I was pretty sure it was going to be the silliest thing I'd ever done...'

Join Brian Thacker as he embarks on a round-the-world odyssey in search of as many silly, outlandish and even staggeringly banal festivals as time, distance and severe bouts of exposure will allow. Along the way he is pelted with beans, overawed by giant snow cows and stampeded in a temple full of men wearing nappies in hot pursuit of a stick. And that's just in Japan. Brian also manages to narrowly escape being sacrificed by a Vodou priest in Haiti and to retain his eyebrows after celebrating Hogmanay in Scotland. He discovers 101 new and interesting things to do with a tomato; meets a woman at the UFO Festival in Roswell who is regularly used by aliens for perverted medical experiments and hangs out at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras with a bloke called Miss Stephanie.

I'm not quite sure what 'toilet humour' is, a euphemism taken from somewhere more mealy-mouthed perhaps, but if it's a euphemism for 'effin n blindin', then yes, there is a bit of swearing & some quite graphic descriptions, such as of the results of the trots - all very bloke-ish. I found the humour a bit heavy-handed at first, "No thanks, I'm right for...", etc., but it settled down after Tamworth & Viet Nam.

The Japanese festivals were funny & I'm afraid I kept giggling when everyone was falling over at the Snow Festival - that's right, laughing at other's misfortunes. The Tomato & UFO festivals in the USA were a hoot. What a huge array of totally bizarre festivals there are in the world, & what a fun way to plan your travel itinerary. I think I'll give most of them a miss except for the Lazing-Around-Reading-and-Eating-Bonbons Festival.... now where is that?

Thanks kirst040, it may not happen overnight but it will happen..... just give me a couple of years.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to msjoanna in USA for the ATS.

This has arrived safely in NYC. I'm looking forward to reading this -- I'll probably save it for my next long plane ride as it seems perfect for traveling.

The idea for this book was brilliant -- traveling around the world attending local festivals. Unfortunately, overall I found the author overly juvenile for my taste -- the continual discussion of where to get another drink and distaste for local food and culture started to wear on me well before the book was finished. Also, though the author seems to have eaten great meals, he didn't really describe them in a way that brought them to life for the reader, which is really the point of reading travelogues for me. His usual description went something like, Then I had char-grilled chicken with char-grilled bananas and it was the best chicken I'd ever eaten. Brilliant! But no sumptuous prose to bring it to life for the reader. I wouldn't really recommend this one given the myriad other humorous travelogues that are out there.

Reading the other journals, I guess I just wasn't as amused by the humor in this book as the other readers. This will soon go to azuki, who will perhaps appreciate it more than I did.

(mailed 5/27/09)

Book is here! Thanks! I'll try to read it in two years! : D

I love the idea of the book and there are plenty of funny moments, or not-funny moments given a humorous spin by the author. It was interesting to see the U.S. from an Aussie eye, and the vocabulary - I didn't know "I am pissed" means two totally different things in American and Australian English.

However, I agree with most readers about the off-colored jokes. I mean, do I need to know what happened in that capsule hotel? I am not sure even his wife wants to know. But taken in small dosage, this book is an entertaining enough read, though not a spectular travelog.

This book now goes into TheGoalieGirl's travelog bookbox.

Pulled this out of the travel narrative bookbox yesterday. Funny that this book originated in Australia - when I saw the sub-title (... and other excuses to fly around the world), it made me think of another Australian whose only necessary excuse to fly around the world is BC. I'll try to read this in time to pass it to him at next year's anniversary con in DC - I'm sure I'll be seeing him then. Thanks to the previous readers for sending this my way.

I did enjoy this book (although Bill Bryson he's not). However, I do agree w/ the previous readers' experience, re the toilet humor. And some of his expressions were a bit overused ;) But still an enjoyable read.

I wanted to include more info about the Maryland festival he mentions on p. 88, the Maryland Wildfowl Carving Festival. Seems there is more than one. Here's the springtime festival held in nearby Ocean City, Maryland.
There's also a festival in the fall held in Easton, Maryland. This includes carving displays and classes, and was the festival I originally thought he was referring to.

This book will be reserved for a special Aussie I'll be seeing at the BC con in April.

Taking this along to the BCinDC convention at the Crystal City Sheraton hotel. The subtitle of this book made me think of someone special, so I'll take it along to our opening reception on Friday night. Hope he enjoys it (or finds a suitable place for it)!

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