2016 - Welcome and introductions!

[Lilisa]

Welcome and feel free to introduce yourself! We all love traveling around the world with a variety of books. Share a bit about what you enjoy reading and why, what your favorites books are (since we all love recommendations and adding to our reading list!), which country you're from if you'd like or anything else!

[Yrinsyde]

I'm Catherine from Melbourne Australia and I love these reading challenges! I like a variety of fiction and non-fiction. I'm loving the Wallander series at the moment but it isn't in my challenge this year (apart from the 1001 Books). I love VS Naipaul novels and love a good chuckle with Wodehouse. My current challenge is the South China Sea but I am also thinking of doing a England Counties challenge.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Yrinsyde wrote: "I'm Catherine from Melbourne Australia and I love these reading challenges! I like a variety of fiction and non-fiction. I'm loving the Wallander series at the moment but it isn't in my challenge t..."

Oh hi Catherine! I didn't realise - I'm from Melbourne too! I'm quite interested in your South China Sea challenge and will be watching to see what you pick.

[Yrinsyde]

Hello to a fellow Melbournite! :)

[Rusalka]

Aussies everywhere you turn ;)

[Lilisa]

Hi Catherine - sounds like the Aussie contingent is alive and well here! V.S. Naipaul has been one of those authors I've always been aware of, but never read - must check him out. What's your favorite Naipaul book?

The English county challenge will be fun and I'm intrigued by your South Sea challenge - fair winds and following seas!

[Joy]

Hi there! I'm Joy, an American living in Indonesia! I love reading historical fiction and mysteries, with a splash of powerful nonfiction. I did an Around the World in 80 Books reading challenge back in 2013 and loved it. I read so many great books, and I couldn't wait to do the challenge again! Looking forward to reading around the world while traveling around the world! Happy reading everyone!

[Rusalka]

Welcome Joy. Lovely to have you joining us :D

[Lilisa]

Hi Joy - welcome! looking forward to your readings as I've no doubt I'll be"stealing" some of your books! Historical fiction is my favorite genre.

[Joy]

Lilisa wrote: "Hi Joy - welcome! looking forward to your readings as I've no doubt I'll be"stealing" some of your books! Historical fiction is my favorite genre."

Awesome! Pass along any good finds!

[Lilisa]

Joy wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Hi Joy - welcome! looking forward to your readings as I've no doubt I'll be"stealing" Island of a Thousand Mirrorssome of your books! Historical fiction is my favorite genre."

Awesome! Pass along any good finds!"

I have a ton, here a few: The Marriage of Opposites, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Moloka'i, Pompeii, Guernica, An Officer and a Spy,

[Shantelle]

Hello, I'm Shantelle! Happy New Year to everyone! I love to read, write, go to movies as well as travel internationally! I live by the beach in Southern California & love being by the ocean! I love reading fun books, motivational/inspirational books, fiction and whatever catches my eye! Happy travels and happy reading to everyone!

[Lilisa]

Welcome Shantelle - you'll definitely find folks who love to read here! Sounds like you've had lots of fun traveling to 14 countries having been inspired by two authors and their travels. Which country have you enjoy visiting the best?

[Rusalka]

Welcome Shantelle!

[Yrinsyde]

Lilisa wrote: "V.S. Naipaul has been one of those authors I've always been aware of, but never read - must check him out. What's your favor..." Hi Lilisa, back to work rush leaves no time to reply in a timely manner .. Apologies! My fav Naipaul so far has been A Bend in the River

[Lilisa]

Yrinsyde wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "V.S. Naipaul has been one of those authors I've always been aware of, but never read - must check him out. What's your favor..." Hi Lilisa, back to work rush leaves no time to reply ..."

No worries Yrinsyde, thanks - will have to check it out.

[Josie]

I'm in Melbourne too!

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Josie wrote: "I'm in Melbourne too!"

Hi Josie - gorgeous day here today!

[Yrinsyde]

Joy wrote: "Hi there! I'm Joy, an American living in Indonesia!" Hi Joy! My challenge is the reading the South China Sea and I'll be reading some set in 2 Indonesian Islands. Welcome!

[Mayson]

Hi everyone,

I'm Mayson or Lianne, I'm Taiwanese but I go to college in Virginia. I love theatre and reading, school has been absolutely hectic so I haven't been able to read as much. But hopefully with the coming semester I'll be able to dive back into it. I'm excited to meet everyone, and hope to get a lot of great recommendations.
Currently I'm trying to find period and contemporary plays to read, and my obsessions as of the moment are historical fiction and mythology. I just read The King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes and I highly recommend it.

[Rusalka]

Hi Mayson. Welcome! Glad to have you travel along with us :)

[Shantelle]

Lilisa wrote: "Welcome Shantelle - you'll definitely find folks who love to read here! Sounds like you've had lots of fun traveling to 14 countries having been inspired by two authors and their travels. Which cou..."

Hi Lilisa! Thanks so much for the welcome! Yes, it's exciting being a member of this group of readers, especially ones that love traveling. My favorite places I've traveled to thus far are Thailand and India, though I tend to fall in love with every country I visit. Each destination is a new adventure!

[Lilisa]

Shantelle wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Welcome Shantelle - you'll definitely find folks who love to read here! Sounds like you've had lots of fun traveling to 14 countries having been inspired by two authors and their tra..."

:-) Nice picks. I think most of us would agree with you. Enjoy your travels around the world!

[Shantelle]

Rusalka wrote: "Welcome Shantelle!"

Hi, Rusalka! Thank you so much for the welcome! I hope you're having a wonderful day in Australia...definitely a place on my travel wish list!:)

[Shantelle]

Lilisa wrote: "Shantelle wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Welcome Shantelle - you'll definitely find folks who love to read here! Sounds like you've had lots of fun traveling to 14 countries having been inspired by two aut..."

Thanks so much! Happy Travels to you as well!:)

[Yrinsyde]

Josie wrote: "I'm in Melbourne too!" Waves and smiles!

[Suzanne]

Hello to everyone old friends and new! I'm Suzanne from North Dakota (USA) and I'm happy to join the group again this year. I just organized my reading list(s) into a giant round the globe list including all countries except the USA. Somehow I just don't think world traveling counts if you stay in your home country! But that's just me. I'll be going everywhere from Greenland to Africa and spending extra time in England, Germany, Russia and China (because there's so many great books set in those countries!). Enjoying looking at your book lists and borrowing books for my TBR list!

[Lilisa]

Hi old friend :-) - great to have you traveling with us again in 2016 - enjoy!

[Claire]

Hello everyone, many of whom are familiar to me now, this is my second year of participating in the Around the World challenge, I generally don't participate in challenges as I love the freedom to explore and be influenced by readers like yourselves who introduce me to books I may not have been aware of, but I absolutely love to read across cultures and within cultures other than my own, I love to read translated fiction and I read a little in French.

In 2015 many of my favourite stories came from Africa and the Caribbean, I read a lot of Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe) starting with essays of her childhood and then onto her novels, also Edwidge Danticat (Haiti), Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua), Cristina Garcia (Cuba).

I also love reading novellas from the Peirene Press series, they are all contemporary European translated fiction, three new titles each year and the kind of books that would be near impossible to find otherwise.

I have lived in the South of France for 10 years now, I am originally from New Zealand and I write reviews at Word by Word.

[Lilisa]

Hi Claire - glad you're traveling with us again. You've opened up my travel door to several great books - thanks!

[Rusalka]

I had no idea you were a Kiwi, Claire! There you go. So glad you're travelling with us again this year!

[My Book Strings]

Hello there, I've only recently joined this group, which I found thanks to Claire. I'm hoping to travel the world in 80 books over the next 2 years, and I think this group will keep me on track. I am originally from Germany, but have been living in the US for almost 2 decades now. I enjoy historical fiction and the classics, but will read almost anything. I'm looking forward to discovering lots of new books!

[Lilisa]

Hi MBS - welcome and glad to have you with us! Thanks to Claire for leading you here! Historical fiction is my favorite genre and looking forward to seeing what you have on your list as you travel the world in 80 books. Happy traveling...

[Nicole]

Hello everyone. I just joined this group and I am really excited to start this challenge. I was wondering if there was someone that could help me link the titles in my list. Thank you

[Lilisa]

Hi Nicole - welcome and have fun on the challenge! Just above the comment box toward the right you'll see "add book/author" - click on the link and it will take you a window - you have the option to search by book or author - the default is book - type in the name of the book, click "search" and the title of the book (or similar books will pop up). When you find your book, click on "add" and your book will be inserted in your comment box. Hope this helps. Shout if you have more questions.

[Claire]

Rusalka wrote: "I had no idea you were a Kiwi, Claire! There you go. So glad you're travelling with us again this year!"

Most definitely a kiwi Rusalka, though France now feels like home.

[Rusalka]

Claire wrote: "Most definitely a kiwi Rusalka, though France now feels like home."

I had you in my head as a francophone, but I get overly excited with NZ/Aus connections. As you would know, we like to latch on to any little connection over here ;)

[Rusalka]

My Book Strings, and Nicole, Welcome! Hope you have a wonderful time here.

We like to help you all running around the world, but be prepared that your to read list will grow, and it may be a lifelong challenge. Which we all love and accept.

Please let us know if you have any other questions at all :D

[Hesper]

Hi, everyone. I've been a group member for a while, but never got around to participating. I'm looking forward to changing that this year.

[Rusalka]

Hi Hesper! Lovely to have you check in. Look forward to see you join in the challenge with us :)

[Lilisa]

Hi Hesper - lovely to have you participate with us - you have a great list going for your travels this year - enjoy!

[Ida]

Hello! I am Ida from Sweden. I love to read but I read too much crime novels. I need to do something else . I have a little kid, my time are limited. I want to read at least one book from each continent this year.

[Lilisa]

Hi Ida - welcome and good to have you join us! It's not difficult to see why you read Scandinavian crime novels :-) - they're great. A book from each continent is a great goal - happy travels around the world!

[A.C.]

Hi from Sydney! I'm from Sweden, but I moved to the warmer shores of Australia twenty years ago :) I have always loved crime fiction but will sometimes stray from this topic and read chick lit humor novels when I'm in the mood.

[Lilisa]

Hi A.C. - great to have you join us - welcome! We have quite a few folks from Down Under in this group. Thanks for sharing your favorite genres - enjoy!

[A.C.]

Lilisa wrote: "Hi A.C. - great to have you join us - welcome! We have quite a few folks from Down Under in this group. Thanks for sharing your favorite genres - enjoy!"
Thanks for the welcome Lilisa :) Glad to hear I'm in good company with loads of Aussies here - and books and travel; my two favourite things!!

[Michelle]

Hello! I'm Emm and I live in the US (Ohio, to be specific). I just stumbled upon this group. I've actually been working on an on-going challenge to visit various places around the world which I've been tracking on this Google spreadsheet since the beginning of the year so it should be easy to jump in. I look forward to getting some suggestions for books from other worldly readers.

[Lilisa]

Emm wrote: "Hello! I'm Emm and I live in the US (Ohio, to be specific). I just stumbled upon this group. I've actually been working on an on-going challenge to visit various places around the world which I've ..."

Hi Emm - Welcome and glad you found us. Hope the Buckeye State is treating you well. Your travel list in your other post is impressive! You'll pick up a ton of recommendations from AtW members and we're not shy about "stealing" from each other, so go for it! Happy trails!

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Lilisa wrote: "and we're not shy about "stealing" from each other, so go for it! ..."

Yes, I already stole the Bangladesh title from Emm, but I also noticed it was one of your favourites Lilisa, so how can I go wrong?

[Rusalka]

Welcome Emm! I'm sure you'll get some great reads here from us, and no doubt (as Andrea has demonstrated) we'll get some from you too! Glad to have you with us.