Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Giveaway - Friends Like These - Danny Wallace



Subtitled:
My Worldwide Quest to Find My Best Childhood Friends, Knock on Their Doors, and Ask Them to Come Out and Play.

Do you ever wonder what happened to all those friends from long ago? Danny Wallace did...

From the publisher:
"Danny Wallace has friends. He has a wife and goes to brunch, and his new house has a couch with throw pillows. But as he nears 30, he can't help wondering about his best childhood friends, whose names he finds in a long-forgotten address book. Where are they now-and where, really, is he?Acting on an impulse we've all had at least once, he travels from London to Berlin, Tokyo, Australia, and California, risking rejection and ridicule to show up on his old pals' doorsteps. Memories of his 1980s childhood-from Michael Jackson to Ghostbusters-overwhelm him as he meets former buddies who have blossomed into rappers and ninjas, time-traveling pioneers, mediocre restaurant managers, and even Fijian royalty.Danny's attempt to re-befriend them all gives remarkable new resonance to the age-old mantra, "friends forever!"

Thanks to The Hachette Book Group I have five copies to giveaway. Ends Wednesday Sept 2/09 at 6 pm EST. Open to both US and Canada, no po boxes. Please make sure I have a way to contact you by either leaving your email or through your blog.

To be entered let me know if you're still in touch with any old friends. I still keep in touch with my oldest friend (Janice V you know who you are!) from grade 2 - not as much as we should, she's across the country - but it's still so easy to pick up where we left off every year or two when we do get together.

126 comments:

KR said...

I really don't keep in touch with old friends. We lost touch when I had children before they did. They just didn't get the Mommy thing.

mj.coward[at]gmail.com

Pam said...

Through facebook, I've reconnected with a couple of old elementary school friends. I still keep in regular contact with my friend, Ron, who lives across the country now but we've known each other for 23 years now and have been best friends for 18 years.

melacan at hotmail dot com

nfmgirl said...

I still try to keep in touch with my best friend since second grade as well. We commonly lose touch for 5 or 10 years and then find one another again. Last I saw her, she was preparing to move to Germany. I'm going to try to track her down again. Whenever she comes to town, she gets in touch with my mother in order to get in touch with me, because it's easy to get in touch with my mother, but she never knows where I am.

nfmgirl AT gmail DoT com

Morgan Mandel said...

I do keep in touch with one of my friends from grammar school, but I've been remiss with keeping touch with another. I should call her up some time.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://www.morganmandel.com
morgan@morganmandel.com

Anonymous said...

I still keep in touch with one girl I went to high school with but our lives have turned out so differently that we don't really have the same connection anymore.
wandanamgreb (at) gmail (dot) com

The Book Chick said...

I haven't kept in touch with any childhood friends with the exception of one, who met when I was 10. We don't see each other much, but only live about 2.5 hours apart, so every once in a while we will get together and catch up. There's one friend in particular that I would love to know where she went, but have no idea how to track her down :)

jonitathebookchick@gmail.com

Linda Nguyen said...

Hi Luanne,

What a neat book! I also wonder what has happened to those elementary school friends. I had changed schools quite often in those days though, and I haven't kept contact with many of them.

I do keep contact with close friends from high school, although a number of them have migrated with me to university. =)

I did try to track 1 friend from elementary, but gosh, I've almost given up.

Thanks for hosting this giveaway. =)

lindanmc (at) gmail.com

remarker/fcffollower said...

I've moved a lot in the last 20 years and made new friends along the way. The friend that I have stayed in touch with the longest was a friend since grade 4 (30 years) although there can be a few years between contact we just pick up wherever we left off. Fun

Sue said...

Facebook has me hooked up with some of the friends I grew up with, prior to that I hadn't been in touch with many people.

Thanks for the giveaway.

s.mickelson at gmail dot com

cqueen2 said...

most of my friends i do keep in touch with but there are a few that maybe think they are better than me so them I dont keep in touch with:)

wadesherry@hotmail dot com

Mary said...

With the invention of Facebook, I've gotten back in touch with my old friends. It's a great thing!

mamie316(at)sbcglobal.net

Julia said...

I recently got in touch with friends from high school - we are having a 35 year reunion in September and I have not seen anyone from high school for about 32 years! There is definitely a special bond you share with the people who knew you in the years when you were discovering who you are.

juliamac@sympatico.ca

Mozi Esme said...

I live across the country from where I grew up, but facebook is magical! All of a sudden people I barely remember are back in my life! Most of my high school class is on facebook, and quite a few people from my elementary school, plus church friends from when I was 4yo and my first "boyfriend" as a toddler in Bangladesh (my parents were missionaries there until I was almost 4).

janemaritz at yahoo dot com

wheresmyrain said...

its interesting, as I get older I dont really stay in touch as much as I should or would like to with old friends, but if they are in town, i can always reconnect with a select few that ive know forever and its like no time has passed as far as being close, totally natural etc.
great lookin book

Missy B. said...

I have kept in touch with many of my old friends...Facebook has been a big help with that! I found some kids I went to kindergarten with!

k9kutter64(at)yahoo(dot)com

Bingo said...

I do keep in touch with old friends from time to time. Using the internet has made it much easier. Sadly, I have more contact with internet friends across the country than I do, sometimes, with friends who live in my own city.

JoanneR said...

I have oftened wondered what happened to some of my old school friends.

chey said...

I'd lost contact with a lot of my school friends until I found them or they found me on facebook!

chey127 at homail dot com

heatherzilla said...

Just last night, ,I reconnected with two childhood friends on facebook.
heatherzilla(at)care2(dot)com

Jenn S. said...

Facebook has helped immensely with keeping up with old friends. Before that, I had lost in touch with almost everyone.

Mysharona said...

i am still friends with someone i've known since birth

SM said...

Thanks to Facebook, I have kept in touch with many old friends.

smiller36[at]gmail.com

Kat Bryan said...

Since I still live near the town where I was born and raised, I have a lot of life-long friends. I can usually catch up with people at the grocery store or class reunions. Three special friends and I try to get together for a girl's night out every month.

Bcteagirl said...

You have me beat! I think my oldest friends is from Gr.5 or thereabouts :)

js22 said...

I am in touch with 2 of my college room-mates(that's over 30 years ago!). One's family moved across the river from me, so we get together somewhere between once a week and once a month depending on our schedules.

Thanks for the giveaway!
email in blogger profile.

Anonymous said...

I still keep in touch w/ my first grade friend...he's my dentist! sounds like a fun book to read.

karen k
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

jemscout425 said...

i have a yearly get together with my best friends from high school
pksanddancer(at)yahoo(dot)com

janeh said...

I'm in touch with several of my girlfriends......some from elementary school days......we have reconnected, and now we see each other regularly, and it's such fun!

5webs said...

I don't keep in touch with any of the people from my youth, but I get the urge to contact them now and then.
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net

mrsshukra said...

Still in touch with best friend from kinder but we're in different countries!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

linett said...

even though she lives in Holland now we still keep in touch monthly and we have been friends for 50 years,

tawndam said...

unfortunately, we moved around alot when I was a kid, so it just became the norm to not have many friends... Now that I'm a mom, I've pretty stubbornly refused to completely uproot my children... they actually have friends that have been 'with them' nearly their entire lives... at 18... 14 years of friendship is a big deal and not to be dropped easily!

Amber said...

I do keep in touch with some old friends, but many others i have lost contact with and find myself occasionally wondering how they are doing.
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

throuthehaze said...

Im still in touch with a friend Ive known since first grade! We talk sporadically and not often enough though

throuthehaze at gmail dot com

Cody said...

I just keep in touch with a few friends from high school.
cody_endres(at)hotmail(dot)com

Lee P said...

I keep in touch with a few old friends but not as much as I should. Life gets too busy and before you know it, a lot of time has past. Now I feel guilty! Thanks for this giveaway and please count me in

chinook92(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I have a friend I haven't seen in ages and I plan to call her soon.

catss99 said...

facebook helps me keep in touch!
amanda
catss99@yahoo.com

David Johnson said...

I don't keep in touch with my old friends, I have new ones now. Thanks.

barbara said...

Yup - I have 2 friends from college I still keep in touch with and 1 woman from my very first job.

jwx4 said...

I've known my oldest friend since the 7th grade. She lives two streets away form me.
jwx4 at yahoo dot com

marthajane said...

I'm not very good about keeping in touch. I did find a childhood friend through work several years ago -- I was browsing the email address book when we first got it and ran across her name! Sent her an email and we reconnected for quite a while. I got remarried six years ago, and she's still unmarried (and has a lot more money than we do) so we have drifted apart again. I do still have her email.
Every so often I Google people from my childhood, so I do know where a few are, but haven't contacted them because it sounds a little too much like stalking!

Dove420 said...

I touch base with a couple of them now and then. But a few years ago I happened to sign up for a free Classmates.com and an old friend from High School (for me that was early 1970's) saw my name and joined just so she could contact me and we've been in contact since.

dove42(at)comcast(dot)net

cstironkat said...

I don't keep in touch with anyone from my childhood. I guess I'm so engaged with the friends and family I have now that I don't feel the need to reconnect.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Aack, I'm late to this party! That's because, irony of ironies, I've had an old friend visiting for the bulk of the week and haven't been online much.

Thanks for the e-mail, babe. No need to enter me; I've got this posted at Win a Book.

Jessica ( frellathon ) said...

I'm not in touch with my old friends but I often wonder about them and how I could track them down. What it would be like to catch up, what their up to.
jessica(at)fan(dot)com

Shooting Stars Mag said...

oh wow, sounds like a great book. I'm not too old...but I do have some friends from childhood that I see and some not so much...I just recently got in touch with a high school friend again and we're trying to visit every once and awhile so that's great

-lauren
lauren51990 AT aol DOT com

Belinda M said...

I only keep in touch with one really old friend, my very best friend. We have been friends for close to 25 yrs now


Canadian Contests, Freebies, Coupons, Deals, Games and Chat - join us at CoolCanucks.ca


bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com

Chelsea S said...

I don't keep in touch with old friends as much as I should. I only speak to them once in a while through email.

saulpaugh.chelsea(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I am in touch with old friends: one from JHS, two from HS and many for 30+ years.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Katrina said...

I am not friends with anyone more than 7 plus years ago. Sad I know but I am terribly at keeping in touch.

ykatrina at hotmail dot com

flowerchild said...

i still keep in touch with with a few old friends..
thanks

flower_child_23(at)hotmail(dot)com

Misusedinnocence said...

I'm still friends with a number of friends from my childhood. It's neat to see how people change and stay the same.

misusedinnocence@aol.com

danosor said...

I keep in touch with one of my friends.All the other friends i had i have lost contact with over the years.

linmoe@sympatico.ca

sweetsue said...

I still am in contact with my best friend from seventh grade. Since email, it is much easier to keep up with everybody.
smchester at gmail dot com

ossmcalc said...

I am still in touch with some friends from high school. Thanks to Facebook, I have reconnected with several old friends and students. Thank you for hosting this giveaway for a book that I would love to read.

Thank you,

Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net

Nickolay said...

a few older friends I keep in touch with. i found them via the internet. Thanks Al Gore

jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com

Cindy said...

I have lost touch with most of my childhood friends, but still stay in touch with a few friends from college. I do stay in touch with one friend from childhood who was my penpal many years ago. She and I are still penpals!

I'm in my late 50's, married to hubby that I met in college and live in another state, so my closest friends now are ones that I have met in the past 30 years.

This sounds like an interesting book!

Cindy
Socmom213@aol.com

Anonymous said...

I'm in touch with them but we have gone our own ways in life. We check in every now and then.

Tarah
tarah716[at]ymail.com

Erica G said...

I would say that we aren't as close as I thought we would be.

babychooch (at) gmail {dot} com

Alicia said...

My best friend & I met in high school 24 years ago. I don't keep in touch with really anyone else.

Thanks for the giveaway >^..^<

bloggyig at gmail dot com

a real librarian said...

I have one good friend from HS. We don't see each other often, but when we do, it's like we pick right back up!! Thanks for the chance to win!

areallibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com

Patti V. said...

This book sounds great. I've connected with some old friends with Facebook. Definitely an easy way of searching out people from the past!

Carol EL said...

I really don't keep in touch with old friends.I only have one true friend that I see a couple times a year. jelly15301@gmail.com

Lisanne624 said...

Thanks to Facebook, it's been easier to find old friends, but sadly, I've lost touch with most of my friends from school days.

P.S. I *adore* Danny Wallace! :)

lahlstedt (at) gmail (dot) com

Natalie A. said...

I do still stay in touch with old friend's from when I was young, but mostly just by e-mails! Most of my friend's moved away when I was young so it was hard, but I'm glad I still stay in touch!
coolnatty12@yahoo.com

Ms. Cindy said...

I'm still great friend's with my best friend when I was younger. She has always been there for me and it's nice to stay in contact with her!
monkeyami1@yahoo.com

AmandaK said...

I do somewhat keep in touch with old friends. However, most of them have moved on. Right now, I have a friend who I've been best buddies with for 5 years. I would not trade it for anything!

orchestratenoise0726[at]yahoo[dot]com

Karen said...

Through myspace and face book :)

ktgonyea at gmail.com

Anonymous said...

The oldest friends I keep in touch with are mostly from Middle School and most of my contact w/them is via Facebook or email - on occasion by phone. There is one friend from Elem School that I email with a couple of times a year. One way or the other I still communicate with quite a few old friends. I am blessed.

http://bookobssessed.wordpress.com

wantsandwishes said...

For me most of my old friends have gone to the old friend pile. It's true what they say people come into your life for a time, as season or a reason and this has always been true for me. Not by choice most of the time but usually by circumstance.

Unknown said...

I still keep in touch with my best friend from kindergarten, Kyle.

(I love Danny Wallace's other books -- Yes Man and Join Me -- so this looks great!)

thefatesarevicious at yahoo dot com

LindaD said...

There are some I'm still in contact with via email, holiday cards, and the ocassional long telephone call This book sounds great, by the way. Thanks for the chance!

SeahorseLady said...

I have two wonderful friends from childhood that I still keep in touch with. Both are out of state but we talk by phone and email and we visit each other at least once a year. It's fantastic to have friends like this.

Daniel M said...

I don't keep in contact with friends that have moved on, and have zero interest in facebook/myspace etc - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

erma said...

No, I am no longer in touch with friends. I haven't since high school.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net

Andrea said...

I'm still in touch with a lot of my old friends. I've known a close friend of mine since kindergarten.

andie.v107(at)yahoo(dot)com

Jenny said...

I moved away from the small town in which I was raised and no, I didn't keep in touch with people. Recently however a half dozen old friends discovered my Facebook profile, and so I've had a lot of blasts from the past of late.

Ellie Wright said...

My best friend from first grade is still my best friend-40 years later.
Eswright18 at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Yes, I am still in touch; I like using the telephone!

theyyyguy@yahoo.com

Kim F said...

I am in touch with nobody. They all know where I am, so when they are in town we hook up and it's just like old times.

Amanda D. said...

I wasn't in touch with old friends until recently when I discovered the joys of Facebook. Now I'm in touch with everybody!

macd82 at gmail dot com

Gabriel S-J. said...

I didn't keep in touch much as we grew apart. That's life!

Renee G said...

I have a couple of friends from high school I keep in touch with.

rsgrandinetti@yahoo(Dot)com

prplrush said...

I keep in touch with one friend from my childhood, being that she's lives about 18 hours away by plane, we haven't seen each other in about 16 years though.

Sheila Hickmon said...

I am still in touch with my best friend from 3rd grade on. She is my children's godmother and vice versa.
She is really the only one from my school years that I keep in contact with though. It would be nice to see how the others are doing.
Thanks for the chance!
hawkgirl_16{at}hotmail{dot}com

guettel78 said...

Unfortunately I don't keep in close contact with a lot of old friends -- moving for college and then grad school has made it difficult to stay in touch with pals from high school. However, my mom works as a nurse in my hometown, so she manages to see a lot of my old classmates who pass through, so I at least have indirect contact with many of them. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of this book - it sounds fantastic!

gkaufmanss@yahoo.com

Sir Thrift-A-Lot said...

The friend I have known the longest - which is 11 years, we still talk and hang out on a regular basis. Infact, we had dinner tonight!

Back in the day before Facebook & the internet, if you remember, there was a such thing as Pen Pals. I`ve still got a few of them. They get great letters written on great stationary!

jchaborek
at hotmail.com

Bridget3496 said...

Yes I am thanks to Facebook!

liliesrnice said...

I keep in touch with my best friend and lots of other friends on facebook

Mishia said...

I still keep in touch with my elementary school friends through myspace!

Charlene Kuser said...

I have keep on touch with a few high school friends thanks to
Facebook.

CharlieGurl57@aol.com

Deborah Wellenstein said...

I'm not in touch with any old, old "friends". This book sounds interesting. Thanks!

Lentil said...

Still friends with my "BFF" from junior high. Not in touch with anyone from before, though my mom occasionally runs into old friends' moms!

Candie L said...

I do not connect with any of my old friends. My sister reconnected with a friend she had when she was 7 and they were extremely different; they do not talk now. Thank you

candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com

Rhonda said...

Yes. I have kept in touch with a couple of childhood friends throughout the years and now with facebook, I have the opportunity to chat with more school buddies

rhondastruthers at yahoo dot ca

Becky said...

Facebook is a god-send, it has reconnected me with a bunch of old friends from High School

blogggggg said...

I am actually going to my best friend from first grade's wedding this weekend! We don't see each other as often as we would like, but we are still really close!

wordsmoveme at gmail dot com

Leslie said...

Got back in touch with a few friends last year.

susan1215 said...

I keep in touch with a good friend from school

/\Heather/\ said...

I do now! Facebook, baby! I've even found people I went to Kindergarten with! Amazing, and I'm so happy to be able to connect with my peeps.

Unknown said...

Thanking you for posting such a wonderful contest. I keep in touch with my family through Facebook. We are planning a family reunion online~ Amy (amyinkamloops *AT* gmail.com)

dvice12 said...

I still keep in touch with a few, mostly online

Terri L said...

I am still in close contact with my best friend from high school and my college roomate. I keep up with a few other middle/high school friends on Facebook.

tlannan30[at]yahoo[dot]com

unicorn91010@msn.com said...

No I haven't seen or talked to any of my childhood friends.
Carolyn

Anonymous said...

I really don't keep in touch with old friends from school. I have recently had some contact via Internet because we had our 30th (ugh!!) high school reunion this year.

The book sounds great - thanks for a chance to win.

PamelaLee [at] winn-dixie [dot] com

lilyk said...

I lost touch with my old friends.

lilyk@mail2world.com

djgroz said...

I still keep track of Lil, but there are so many i have lost!
Thanks for the chance to win a Prize!

joan ferris said...

I keep in touch with three old friends.
joan ferris
jnferris@aol.com

joan ferris said...

I keep in touch with three old friends.
joan ferris
jnferris@aol.com

yadgirl said...

I'm not still in touch with most my old friends.

Sarah said...

I've reconnected with a few old friends online recently. It's fun to see how we've all grown and changed.

Kathy P said...

no i really dont see any of my old friends i wonder about them though

susansmoaks said...

i keep in touch with a few friends from high school

Marie said...

I've lost touch with most of my old friends, but I do sometimes wonder what they are up to nowadays.

marielay@gmail.com

07violet said...

I don't keep in touch with old friends. I was in touch with my oldest friend until a few years ago, she moved away and we just lost touch. This book sounds very entertaining.

alterna7 at hotmail dot com

js22 said...

I keep in touch with friends from college- one actually lives across the river from me - only 20 miles away, so we see each other regularly.

Thanks for the giveaway!
email in blogger profile.

CanAmBlond said...

I still keep in touch with my friend from elementary/high school, but mostly via Facebook now. Thanks for the chance to win a great book!

sasquatch1bmf[at]gmail[dot]com

Dawn Reid said...

I am not in contact with any old friends but I have made great friendships with new.

Unknown said...

I'm still in touch with lots of college friends, and just spent the day with an old HS friend.

susandersonmail[at]gmail[dot]com

masonsgranny59 said...

I've lost touch with all my old friends:(

Tiffany819 said...

I'm not in touch with any of my old friends and have come to realize that most of them weren't really friends to begin with. Thank you for the giveaway!!

tiffanys819 at gmail dot com

binabug said...

facebook of course...even my mom is on facebook, we chat to each other, I get to chat to my sis, and I have added most of their friends as well as all the friends whom I was able to find (I've lived in a lot of places in my life and met a lot of people due to the fact we had small town bars)
and the best thing is, posting pics from when they were teens LOL...esp when the guys USED to have big hair and now have none!!!

Linda Kish said...

I am not in contact with any of my old friends. Other than school we really have nothing in common.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

It's hard to stay in touch with people when your family is constantly moving... Facebook has certainly helped me reconnect with my old childhood friends and like the character in this novel, I was a child of the 1980's... so there are many nostalgic instances of the same nature. Please accept this as my entry.

Aliya D.
aliyadaya(at)shaw(dot)ca

Simply Stacie said...

I keep in touch with my best friend Angel who I have known since grade 1. She is now living in Rome.

simplystacieblog@gmail.com