Winter 13/14 TtPR Questions and Answers

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Heather wrote: "ok, i'm at a loss. i'm trying to find something for some country between the Philippines and Australia and i'm stuck. :-("

Did you need suggestions? There are some good ideas in the reading suggestions thread.

[Rebekah]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Would Daughters of the River Huong by Uyen Nicole Duong work for Vietnam?"

I would be very careful of that ..."

ok thanks. I have back up countries so I might skip Vietnam anyway

[Liz M]

Heather wrote: "ok, i'm at a loss. i'm trying to find something for some country between the Philippines and Australia and i'm stuck. :-("

Heather, I'm glad you found some writers to fill in the gaps in your itinerary. I haven't been checking member's book selections--just the planned routes--but I noticed that you included Borges. He is an Argentinian writer, born in Argentina, and will not qualify for Columbia. So, while your current route is fine & approved, I want to give you a heads up in case swapping the book means you also want to swap countries.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Coralie wrote: "I am looking at Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli for Mexico. All I know about the author is that she was born in Mexico, the book was written in Spanish and s..."

After a little research, we can find no evidence that she has changed her nationality, though her relationship with Mexico appears a bit "loose." In any case, we will accept her for Mexico under A & B.

[Louise Bro]

I've put The Guest by Hwang Sŏk-yŏng on my list for South Korea, but I'm not sure it actually qualifies?

[Liz M]

Louise wrote: "I've put The Guest by Hwang Sŏk-yŏng on my list for South Korea, but I'm not sure it actually qualifies?"

He meets
A) Author born in said country (born in S. Korea)
B) Author's nationality is of said country (S. Korea citizenship)

It works.

[Rebekah]

Would Isabel Allende count for Peru (where she was born), Chile (her nationality or US (she now lives in the USA? I believe most of her books take place in Chile.

[Liz M]

Rebekah wrote: "Would Isabel Allende count for Peru (where she was born), Chile (her nationality or US (she now lives in the USA? I believe most of her books take place in Chile."

Isabel Allende is tricky : she was born in Peru, raised in Chile, and has dual Chilean/American citizenship. She also ha a tendency to set her works in "unnamed Latin American countries".

Eva Luna won't work for TtPR at all (unspecified setting) It does work for 20.2.
Daughter of Fortune and Ines of My Soul would work for Chile (setting/nationality)
Zorro *might* work for the US--I can't remember if the enough of the novel is set around San Francisco.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

As I recall, Daughter of Fortune has a lot set in the US.

ETA: I remember enjoying this, and if you really really want to read it this time, it's 39th on the 20.4 Traveling Vicariously list.

[Louise Bro]

Thanks Liz! I'm really embracing the idea of reading outside my comfort zone this time around. Normally, I try to make the assignmrnts work for sci-fi/fantasy literature, but for this subchallenge, I hadn't heard of most of the authors beforehand and have only read a book by one of the authors before. I'm really excited to get started!

[Rebekah]

Would Rattawut Lapcharoensap 's book Sightseeing work for Thailand? All I can find about his nationality is that he was born in USA to Thai parents, grew up in Thailand, went to college in USA. I can't find what his citizenship is although I think he also writes in the Thai language?

[Rebekah]

Thanks you all for answering my Isabel Allende question!

[Katy]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "As I recall, Daughter of Fortune has a lot set in the US.

ETA: I remember enjoying this, and if you really really want to read it this time, it's 39th on the 20.4 Traveling Vicariously list."

What do you think about Maya's Notebook by Allende -- set on "a remote island off the coast of Chile"?

[Liz M]

Rebekah wrote: "I don't know why Goodreads is making the text all wonky for this reply post. I'd like to switch book Owls Do Cry] by Janet Frame for my NZ book if its not too late
Owls Do Cry..."

The approvals are for the ITINERARY ONLY. Individual books are not approved in advance, unless requested. So, yes you can switch books these books out.

[Rebekah]

thanks

[Jenifer]

Would The People in the Trees work for the Federated States of Micronesia? I thought I'd already asked but can't find the post so I probably just imagined that I'd asked. lol

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Jenifer wrote: "Would The People in the Trees work for the Federated States of Micronesia? I thought I'd already asked but can't find the post so I probably just imagined that I'd asked. lol"

I thought so too - found this discussion for you, where we found that author is an American and it does not work for Micronesia.

[Jenifer]

Thank you. I thought it was kind of iffy which is why I'd thought I'd already asked. lol Guess I'll cross Micronesia off my list for now.

[Jenifer]

I have another Canadian author that I'd like to get approved: Susanna Kearsley

She was born in Canada and although I cannot find proof that she still lives in Canada, I am pretty sure she does. She identified herself as a "Canadian author" in this interview

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Found this: "She lives in Canada, near the shores of Lake Ontario."

You're good to go with Kearsley as Canadian.

[Jenifer]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Found this: "She lives in Canada, near the shores of Lake Ontario."

You're good to go with Kearsley as Canadian."

Great! I started reading one of her books the other day and then it dawned on me that I might be able to fit her into my itinerary. Yay!

[Rebekah]

Rebekah wrote: "Would Rattawut Lapcharoensap 's book Sightseeing work for Thailand? All I can find about his nationality is that he was born in USA to Thai parents, grew up in Thail..."

I don't think I got a judgement on this one

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Rebekah wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Would Rattawut Lapcharoensap 's book Sightseeing work for Thailand? All I can find about his nationality is that he was born in USA to Thai parents, ..."

I can find only that he was born in Chicago, making him a US citizen, and that he now lives in Brooklyn, making him a US resident. As such, thought the stories take place in Thailand, this book does not qualify for that country.

[Tanya]

I wanted to update my itinerary because I saw someone use a book that I had on my TBR shelf. Can someone approve it so I can read it? Thanks!

[Liz M]

Tanya wrote: "I wanted to update my itinerary because I saw someone use a book that I had on my TBR shelf. Can someone approve it so I can read it? Thanks!"

Sorry Tanya, you caught me during a bad time at work & I forgot to come back to your itinerary. The new one is good!

[Rebekah]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Would Rattawut Lapcharoensap 's book Sightseeing work for Thailand? All I can find about his nationality is that he was born in USA t..."

Thanks, Elizabeth
I may have to work on my itinerary too. I'm having trouble finding some countries that have been translated into English, that I can get on audiobooks or Kindle.

any ideas for the Philliipines or Vietnam?

[Rebekah]

How about Mimi and Her Mirror by Uyen Nicole Duong? Would that work for A & C? It's hard from the description to see how much takes place in Saigon or if any actually takes place in the US.

Never mind, I read a sample of the book on Amazon and the first two chapters are set in US.

[Rebekah]

Ok would this work for The Phillipines?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

It starts out that a visiting Filopino author's body is found in the Hudson River and his student goes to Manila to investigate.
It won the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2008.
http://www.manasianliteraryprize.org/...

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Rebekah wrote: "Ok would this work for The Phillipines?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

It starts out that a visiting Filopino author's body is found in the Hudson River and his student goes..."

Yes, he works for the Philippines - was born there and appears to have retained citizenship in spite of now living in Montreal.

[Rebekah]

Think I found a Vietnamese book
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram by Đặng Thùy Trâm

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Rebekah wrote: "Think I found a Vietnamese book
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram by Đặng Thùy Trâm"

Well done!

[Liz M]

Rebekah wrote: "Think I found a Vietnamese book
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram by Đặng Thùy Trâm"

I was going to suggest Paradise of the Blind by Dương Thu Hương(because i own it and i want someone to tell me if I should read it ;) ).

[Rebekah]

I saw that but I could only get the one book I mentioned.

Thank You and Thank You, Ladies!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "Do any of the mods see a problem with this book for my Japan stop, Monkey's Raincoat?"

Author born in Japan and has Japanese residency/citizenship and meets the 100 page requirement - looks good from here!

[Rebekah]

I need to change the last stop of my itinerary from So. Korea to Chile.
See post # 22 in Itineraries

[Liz M]

Rebekah wrote: "I need to change the last stop of my itinerary from So. Korea to Chile.
See post # 22 in Itineraries"

That works.