Enjoyed but not too memorable.

I am sending this to other BCer in Fukuoka

Thanks Rilla922!

From back cover:
"Mary Beth is trying to support herself and her younger sister Leeann in their small southern hometown. While working to make ends meet, Mary Beth practices her own unique talent: "song reading." By making sense of the song lyrics people can't get out of their heads, Mary Beth can help make sense of their lives. In no time, everybody in town is singing her praises, including the skeptical scientist Ben, who falls hard for Mary Beth and her unearthly intuition.
What happens when she can't make out the lyrics?
But when Mary Beth reveals a long-muted secret in the community that no one wishes to hear, she turns off the music and gives up song reading. Soon everyone's lives are out of tune: Leeann worries she'll never graduate from high school. Ben can't make headway on his experiments, and the town's silence is louder than ever. Could it be that all the lyrics to all those silly love songs really aren't so silly after all?"

Thanks Rilla922. Interesting story. Look forward to passing it on to others.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailing it off as part of a Bookray

Please journal when the book arrives and also PM the next person on the list for their address.

Please try to pass on the book within a month. PM me if you need more time or have any problems.

Happy Reading!
lauraloo29 -- Canada
dee831 -- US
TheBowieFollies -- US
namedujour -- US
booknhand -- US
Luintaurien -- US
etherea -- US
Nikel27 -- Germany
MieLH -- Denmark
PinkManager -- Greece
Hengameh -- Iran
LizzieM -- Australia
Pixette -- Australia

Arrived today. I'm currently in the midst of a book, with another bookring next. I'm hoping I get this read within the 3 week limit. If not, I'll keep it moving.

Update - Feb 23rd - started reading this morning.

I don't think I enjoyed this book. I found it utterly depressing. I found the mention of songs interesting. Reminding me of my life then. I felt sorry for Leeann. I didn't feel too much empathy for Mary Beth.

I'll get this book out in the mail on Monday.

Rec'd today. I just finished a book, so I'll start this one right away.

Started 3/9/06

Finished today. I had a tough time getting into this one at first. More than midway through, I started to feel like the story was finally moving along. I can't imagine being a young girl and having to go through what Leeann did. The end of the book kind of left me hanging. Maybe someone would be kind enough to PM me to explain what their opinion of it was. Please don't post it here, no spoilers. :) Thank you for the chance to be a part of this bookring!

I'll have this in the post this Saturday to TheBowieFollies. Batty14 has asked to be skipped at this time.

just arrived, and this song writer can't wait to delve into the song reader, I have been especially anticipating it because of the theme. cheers totoroandmei for letting me participate and dee831 for posting this to me so quickly :) will be back soon to deconstruct.

The Song Reader, although not the most visceral experience I have been privy to in a read, was quite endearing and had I been an American, I am sure the zeitgeist would mean that much more to me. The concept is quite fascinating; "song reading." I am a musician and someone who has divined by use of tarot and medicine cards and was once a Roscirucian, so i am not abject to the concept of song reading, if it could be possible. As a composer of musicals, and the fact that I write what I know as the adage states, I can say there is something personal in my music, as there is bound to be initimacies of another artist's personal life conveyed in the songs they smith, But then again there are many songs that are quite vacuous and have nothing to offer, but a few clever hooks. " do do do dey da da da" by the Police, I am sure is not the answer to the universe and I will confess being a Liverpudlian and a Beatles enthusiast, ju ju eyeballs are not a component of the philosphers stone. What I will confess is that most songs that people tend to have an affiliation with in one sence or other, will revisit a memory, a lover, it is a remembrance of things past.. Interesting yes, believable that a person's musical taste could be the answer to their pysche, not very likely. With that aside, this is a great book to lose yourself in, I have read far too much Gide and Sologub in my past, it is nice to have a guilty pleasure. Take this one to the beach, bring some Go-Go tunes with you and bobs your uncle...

I have namedujours address and will post this out during the week, wishing all a Happy Easter, or gute Pasech.

Just to update this book is now on its next leg of the journey to namedujour as of 20th april

merry reads

I've wanted to read this book for some time now, so I was really pleased to get it today. I'm moving it to the top of my TBR pile. More soon...

I really loved this book because I've always been interested in what makes people tick. The book is a study of the quasi-psychology of "song reading," which the author used to dissect her characters. I thought it was a kind of interesting concept. But more interesting to me was the way the characters unfolded.

Mary Beth has a compulsion to help people. The narrator Leeann, her adoring baby sister, describes her as an almost perfect, selfless, beautiful creature. We see Leeann's quirks and ticks, but Mary Beth has none, except for her gift of intuition - the song reading. And that is good (like everything else about Mary Beth) because it helps people.


The song reading goes wrong one day, with nearly tragic consequences, and the always strong and heroic Mary Beth comes completely unraveled. Leeann is left trying to hold the family together alone. She tries to locate the father who left them when she was still small because she needs help. He comes, but this is not the father she expected at all, and is just one more person for the overworked teenaged Leeann to look after.

Leeann starts exploring the reality of her family's past, it gets darker and darker. There is mental illness, abandonment, and a hard, unaffectionate mother who dies before the story begins, but whom Mary Beth is still trying to please. And, it turns out, the perfect Mary Beth has a hidden skeletan as well.

I was really turning the pages on this one!

I've pm'd booknhand, and will ship it off when I hear back.

Thanks!

Came in today's mail.

Totally forgot I signed up for the ring and that I had given my address to the previous reader.

Just started another book this week and need to finish that one before I tackle this one - probably sometime next week or over Memorial Week-end.

I did take a peek at the beginning and it looks really enthralling - I had to force myself to put it down after a page an a half or I would never finish the other book I am reading - which is borrowed from a friend.

Thanks for letting me join the ring :)

I finished this bookring about a week ago, but wasn't able to log on to the computer to make a journal entry - so here it is now :)

It was an interesting book told from a little sister's perspective whose big sister raised her after their mother died.

This book was all about finding oneself - from the sisters themselves to the community that the big sister captivated by her "song reading" - using songs to help people through their troubles.

I found it captivating at some points and hard to pick up at others. It wasn't a book of my typical style, but if asked I would tell others to read it.

It is definitely a book that matches certian personality of readers. Some will like it, some won't, and then there are those few like me, who are neutral about it - but then I guess that is the case will all books.

Thanks for sharing it with me. I would not have read it otherwise.

Have requested the next persons address and will have this book traveling by the weekend if I get the address.

RELEASE NOTES:

Packaged this book and gave it to a friend to mail, since I was on my way out of town.

Since I forgot to make release notes for it and it hasn't been journaled after me, I checked with my friend today to be sure it got mailed. She assured me it was mailed within a day of me giving it to her.

Hope it shows up with a journal entry soon :)

Got it today. Thank you. Will read and pass on ASAP.

Sent on to etherea

RELEASE NOTES:

I picked this up from the post office today. I've already started it. I'll journal again after I read it.

I liked this one, but the end left me with questions. I think it would be a good book for a club to discuss.
I was surprised to see that it was Tucker's first book. I looked her up on Amazon.com and she's since written a couple more. I'll be looking for them.
This is a story of family and relationships and how no matter how well we think we know each other we really don't.
Anyway, I'm a sucker for a dysfunctional family story. Thanks for sharing it with me!

arrived safe at my house.

update:
Good read,thanks for sharing with me...

RELEASE NOTES:

EnJoy the book

The book is safe with me in Odense now :) I have a bookring to finish before starting this one, and I have a final exam in 5 days. But I'll be sure to get to this one ASAP :)

Thanx for letting me participate in this, totoroandmei, and for sending it over, nikel27 :)

Update July 12, 2007: I've started reading today, and have just PM'ed PinkManager for forwarding address :) The Profile for PinkManager says that she wishes to be skipped due to exams and lack of Internet access, but I'm giving her a week to reply anyway, since the statement is not dated.

Update July 26, 2007: Goodness, I'm behind! I, too, am currently without internet access and that really makes me run late on so many things :/ Sorry. There's been no reply from PinkManager, so I've PM'ed katayoun today.

I've now finally finished "The Song Reader". It has taken me quite some time, but not because of the book.

I read the first half being somewhat indifferent to the characters and what happened to them. The songs mentioned didn't mean much to me (probably because of my age - I was born in 1981. Isn't that the year this book starts off?). I knew most of the songs, but haven't grown up with them.

Previous reader lauraloo29 wrothe that she (assuming there's a girl behind that name:)) didn't feel much empathy for Mary Beth. Well, I did every now and then. Her mental issues made her deal with people in ways that sometimes made me feel sorry for her and sometimes made me angry with her (I tend to personify Mary Beth to a friend I had a while ago, who made me feel the same way. Maybe not fair to either Mary Beth or the friend I had, but still it made me reflect!)

Figuring out who you are and what agendas - if any - the people around you have is a part of growing up. Leeann was dealt a difficult hand. I feel for her and thought she was very brave.

And without spoiling anything for future readers I just have to say that like dee831 the end was sort of weird to me.

As stated in the entry above I'm trying to get a hold of the next participant. As soon as I get a forwarding address, this book will be passed on :)

Thank you for sharing this book with me, totoroandmei, and for passing it on, everyone :)

Update July 30, 2007: Katayoun has asked to be skipped, and I've therefore PM'ed Hengameh this evening.

Update August 6, 2007: No reply from Hengameh, so I've just PM'ed LizzieM.

Update August 10, 2007: Wohoo! Hengameh just PM'ed me a forwarding-address, and since I haven't heard from LizzieM yet, this book will travel to Iran asap :)

The book has been sent off to Iran today :) I hope it arrives soon.

i got the book and read it. sorry for delayed journaling. i really enjoyed the book. the narration was wonderful and i really liked the type of writing.thanks a lot for sharing. i'll ask lizieM for her/his address.