Girlfriend in a Coma

by DOUGLAS COUPLAND | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0060987324 Global Overview for this book
Registered by amynsperry of Tulsa, Oklahoma USA on 5/7/2003
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9 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by amynsperry from Tulsa, Oklahoma USA on Wednesday, May 7, 2003
This is the book that made me want to read all of Douglas Coupland's books:

My Amazon.com Review:
A woman comes out of a coma after almost 20 years to discover that the world has changed for the worse and her friends have barely changed. All the newest inventions have left people with less and less time and made everyone shallower and shallower. She predicts that, 3 days after Christmas, the end of the world will come and only herself and her slacker friends will be left. The question is, can they learn from being the only people left in the world or will they continue to be slackers. I have never been swept into a book in such a way; I found my dreams getting tangled up in this book at night. But it's fitting, since it seems that much of the book takes place in the realm of dreams. I love the mandate given to the characters at the end of the book to go out and ask questions and make people think. Without asking questions about how we got to where we are, the purpose of it all, and where we are going, the world stagnates. The author touches on my own feeling that technology is actually causing many people to stagnate. You can tell this if you've ever been in an internet chat room and have tried to procure any intellectual conversation from anyone. Great book.

This books is part of my PERMANENT COLLECTION.

Release planned for Monday, June 30, 2003 at Broken Arrow - Mailed for the Bizarre BookRing in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA.

This is the book that turned me on to the writing of Douglas Coupland. His books always seem to show how modern technology has made for a less intelligent and lazy society. When you begin this book, you're probably going to dislike the characters. They seem to live a shallow existence and don't change much from high school to adulthood until they find themselves alone at the "end of the world". Suddenly, all the conveniences of modern man seem to be useless and their shallow existence is challenged.

I'm releasing this into the Bizarre BookRing. Please let me know what you think of Coupland and this thought-provoking book.

BookRing Order:
1. amynsperry - released 6/30/2003
2. pchemphd - received 7/8/2003
3. grover3d
4. Mom-of-one
5. Guinneth
6. LaurieS
7. lightwavz
8. sweetsangria
9. DrBrown
10. amynsperry



Journal Entry 3 by pchemphd from Deland, Florida USA on Tuesday, July 8, 2003
Just got this in the mail today. It will go on the top of my TBR pile. Thank you for the bookmark!

Journal Entry 4 by pchemphd from Deland, Florida USA on Saturday, July 12, 2003
This is a fantastic book! I'm going to hunt out more of Coupland's writing. I'll be releasing this book to grover3d on Monday. Thank you for sending it my way!

Journal Entry 5 by pchemphd at on Sunday, July 13, 2003
Release planned for Monday, July 14, 2003 at The Bizarre Bookring in postal release, postal release USA.

This book will be making its way to grover3d. Enjoy! It's a great read.

Journal Entry 6 by grover3d on Sunday, July 20, 2003
Received as part of the Bizarre Book Ring...I'll get crackin' on it!

Journal Entry 7 by grover3d on Friday, August 1, 2003
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, and this after having sworn off Coupland after reading about half of MICROSERFS. Great characterization and I LOVE stories that don't end when you think they will. Wonderfully bizarre, yet true-to-life at the same time. Thanks for putting this one in the ring!

Journal Entry 8 by Mom-of-one from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Friday, August 8, 2003
Arrived today as part of the bizarre bookring. This is one of the books I've been looking forward to reading!

Journal Entry 9 by Mom-of-one from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA on Monday, August 18, 2003
This was a truly bizzare story! I stayed up until 3:00 AM to finish it! Douglas Coupland did a wonderful job portraying these characters...I mean...about how they grew, or lack of growth, rather, as they aged from teenager to adulthood. And the ending...it was a hard choice this group was given! I wonder how I would have faired in the same situation. Oh...I wish I could express myself more eloquently about this book! It was wonderful and there is so much more I want to say, but at this moment I have a ten year old child bouncing around my desk wanting me to "do something" with him...and my thought process is quite distracted!

Released on Thursday, September 04, 2003 at bookring in Butler, Pennsylvania USA.

Sent to Guinneth as part of the bizarre bookring. Happy reading!

Journal Entry 11 by Guinneth from Manchester, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, September 13, 2003
Got it - to the top of the TBR pile it goes. :)

Journal Entry 12 by Guinneth from Manchester, New Hampshire USA on Monday, September 29, 2003
To be honest, this book didn't do a thing for me. I didn't care about the characters at all, probably because Coupland never really made them into anything resembling real people. I had no idea who these guys were. And the dialogue was horrible.

When the world ended, I thought that maybe things would (finally!) start to come together. But by the time the dead friend Jared reappeared I just wanted it all to be over. Sorry, guys. But - I am always grateful to have the opportunity to try new things. So thank you for that!

Journal Entry 13 by Guinneth from Manchester, New Hampshire USA on Monday, October 6, 2003
Mailing to my neighbor, LaurieS.

Journal Entry 14 by BarkLessWagMore from Merrimack, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, October 9, 2003
Girlfriend arrived today and is now part of the to be read pile that multiplies when I leave the room. I'll get it to as soon as I can. If I'm taking too long give me a gentle nudge and I'll either get to it asap or pass it along to the next person and get bumped down to the end of the list. Thanks ~ hope you're all enjoying your bizarre reads.

Journal Entry 15 by BarkLessWagMore from Merrimack, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, February 21, 2004
I'm so sorry for holding on to this since October! I was updating my page today and realized this had been in my possesion since Oct. I have tried on several occasions to read it but due to my distracted state of mind I can't work up the energy to get into it (I have way too much on my plate at the moment and literally drop at the end of the day). I'm going to pass this on to someone else rather than holding it any longer. My apologies everyone.

Journal Entry 16 by BarkLessWagMore at Bookring 2 in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Released on Wednesday, February 25, 2004 at Bookring in n/a, Bookring Controlled Releases.

Off to visit lightwavz

Journal Entry 17 by lightwavz from Detroit, Michigan USA on Saturday, March 13, 2004
Just received this in the mail. Thanks, LaurieS! I know the TBR Monster well... In fact, I am still hoarding "Baby and the Bathwater" from the Bizarre Ring! I'm looking forward to this and have resorted to my reading-six-books-at-once habit to finish them all. I'll report back when I am through... THANKS!

Journal Entry 18 by lightwavz from Detroit, Michigan USA on Tuesday, May 4, 2004
To say that this book wasn't what I was expecting would be an understatement. The concise description of the late 70s was very true to life (from what I remember of them). While the characters themselves were annoying and self-absorbed, I enjoyed their relation to one another. I must add a footnote here that my views are strongly related to two books, one I am reading and one I have read: "You Shall Know Our Velocity" by Dave Eggers and "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides. These characters all sort of relate to each other and are vaguely familiar in a nightmarish way (the entropy of suburban kids). While this wasn't the most ENJOYABLE book to read and comprehend, and i wouldn't hang out with most of these guys, the approach was unique and the writing seemed fresh. Thanks for sharing, amynsperry! I think this one goes to sweetsangria next...

Journal Entry 19 by sweetsangria from Estacada, Oregon USA on Wednesday, May 19, 2004
I am so excited to get another bizarre book! It's been awhile since the last one. This one looks interesting...will finish what I'm reading and get started on this soon.

Journal Entry 20 by sweetsangria from Estacada, Oregon USA on Wednesday, June 23, 2004
I thought this was a good read. It was an interesting story that had 3 parts with 3 different narrators. Each part seemed to go in a surprising direction. I had a difficult time putting this one down.

"There are 3 things we cry for in life---things that are lost, things that are found, and things that are magnificent."

Journal Entry 21 by sweetsangria from Estacada, Oregon USA on Sunday, July 4, 2004
sending to drbrown

Journal Entry 22 by DrBrown from Sierra Madre, California USA on Friday, July 16, 2004
this has arrived. Looking forward to reading it -- as soon as I finish the current book, I will get to it!

Journal Entry 23 by DrBrown from Sierra Madre, California USA on Friday, July 23, 2004
Pretty good. I liked the descriptions of Vancouver, and I liked the ending. It may be the fact that I'm spacy today, but the book seemed to pass in a blur -- kind of like what happens to Karen.

Journal Entry 24 by amynsperry from Tulsa, Oklahoma USA on Saturday, February 5, 2005
I had to set this back as a part of my permanent collection. It's not going anywhere anymore. I love this book. :)

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