2017 - Where in the world are you? (Currently reading)

[Shawn]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "I'm in Mauritius with Eve Out of Her Ruins. I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in, except that Amanda Nelson of..."

The more the merrier! :-)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm in Australia with Island Home by Tim Winton. I requested an ARC from the publisher so this isn't actually out until April but I'm enjoying it so far. Kind of like Edward Abbey only focused on Australia.

[Lilisa]

I'm in Mumbai with Last Man in Tower.

[Shawn]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "I'm in Mauritius with Eve Out of Her Ruins. I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in, except that Amanda Nelson of Book Riot tweeted several weeks ago that i..."

I sent a join request to that newest fiction group a few days ago but haven't heard whether I made the cut. :) So long as I'm not missing any discussion on EOOHR, no hurry! :)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "I'm in Mauritius with Eve Out of Her Ruins. I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in, except that Amanda Nelson of Book Riot twe..."
Ooh I saw your request come in but the other moderator does that.. I will go approve you now.

[Shawn]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "I'm in Mauritius with Eve Out of Her Ruins. I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in, except that Amanda Nelson of..."

Thanks! I've now perused the page and can't see a specific discussion for this title but you did say it would start March 10 so maybe there will be a folder opened at that point?

Belatedly, let me also say I'm dying to try some Mauritian food!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "I'm in Mauritius with Eve Out of Her Ruins. I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in,..."
Yeah it will start then.

[Shawn]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Shawn wrote: "I'm in Mauritius with Eve Out of Her Ruins. I knew absolutely nothing about this ..."

Great, thanks!

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I'm having a little sojourn in Japan with The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide.

[Shomeret]

I'm in Germany with Kasper Mützenmacher’s Cursed Hat by Keith Fentonmiller. It's a historical fantasy. The protagonist is a hatmaker in Berlin after Hitler's rise. His business is starting to change as a result of Nazi ideas about what is truly Aryan. Yet he has this hat that has been passed down in his family with a magical power that could be very useful in Nazi Germany.

I am withholding judgement until I see more of how the narrative develops.

[Andrew]

The Man booker international longlist has just come out and there are some really interesting titles on the list
I hope this is the link to the list:
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&...

[Lilisa]

Thanks Andrew!

[Claire]

I'm in Nigeria with Stay With Me longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for fiction, riveting reading so far.

[Andrew]

Im now in Switzerland withThe Gustav Sonataanother in the Bailey's longlist-

[Lilisa]

I'm in the Gold Coast (Ghana) with Homegoing - I'm anticipating heading to the U.S. in a bit. I'm also in Vietnam with Dragon House.

[Carol]

I'm in the U.S. with Bill Clegg's Did You Ever Have a Family, and also still alternating between early 1970s London and Cairo with In the Eye of the Sun by Ahdaf Soueif.

[Rusalka]

I'm in Norway with Don't Look Back, the second book in the Inspector Sejer series.

[Carol]

Rusalka wrote: "I'm in Norway with Don't Look Back, the second book in the Inspector Sejer series."

I'll be interested to read your thoughts on this one. I read the fifth in the series a couple of years ago and liked it.

[Rusalka]

Carol wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "I'm in Norway with Don't Look Back, the second book in the Inspector Sejer series."

I'll be interested to read your thoughts on this one. I read the fifth in the seri..."

I've read the first a year or so ago, and enjoyed it. This one is very similar. It's your pretty stock standard, nordic noir, police procedural but I really enjoy those.

And I'm halfway through and haven't picked the perp yet, which is a good step up from the last murder mystery book I read.

[Carol]

Rusalka wrote: "Carol wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "I'm in Norway with Don't Look Back, the second book in the Inspector Sejer series."

I'll be interested to read your thoughts on this one. I read the fif..."

Absolutely agree. Happy reading.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm in Slovakia with Seeing People Off by Jana Beňová, winner of the European Union fiction award. I had a review copy through Edelweiss and it looked like a quick read!

[Andrew]

Rusalka wrote: "Carol wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "I'm in Norway with Don't Look Back, the second book in the Inspector Sejer series."

I'll be interested to read your thoughts on this one. I read the fif..."

I read book 1 last year and really liked it so may follow suit soon however i have so many scandi / crime series running i sometimes lose track of which grumpy detective im reading, im planning book 5 in hakkan nesser series before i revisit fossum.

[Andrew]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm in Slovakia with Seeing People Off by Jana Beňová, winner of the European Union fiction award. I had a review copy through Edelweiss and it looked like a quick ..."

That's a great find Jenny, i managed the czech republic ages ago on my tour but struggled to find a Slovakian book.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Andrew wrote: "That's a great find Jenny, i managed the czech republic ages ago on my tour but struggled to find a Slovakian book. "
This one is a pretty quick read.

[Camille]

Enjoying a quick and fun read in Laos The Coroner's Lunch

[Carol]

Camille wrote: "Enjoying a quick and fun read in Laos The Coroner's Lunch"

I hope you enjoyed it. I love Dr. Siri, his friends and 70s Laos.

[Claire]

I'm in Cambodia with The Last Gods of Indochine, twin narratives from present day, post WW1 1920's and the 13th Century. Intriguing, especially the past!

[Rita]

France and the USA with Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. Anyone else old enough to remember Rin Tin Tin and Ricky?

[Carol]

Rita wrote: "France and the USA with Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. Anyone else old enough to remember Rin Tin Tin and Ricky?"

Yes. I like to think it's not a personal memory but the result of inheriting Golden Books from my 12 and 14 year older siblings. You'll humor me. Right?

[Shomeret]

I recently returned from Germany with a book, but that will be on another thread. I am currently in England with a biography of the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, Sylvia Pankhurst: Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire. Sylvia is my favorite suffragette and I've been wanting to read a biography of her for a while. This biography was written with the help of her son and daughter in law.

[Andrew]

Shomeret wrote: "I recently returned from Germany with a book, but that will be on another thread. I am currently in England with a biography of the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, [book:Sylvia Pankhurst: Suffragette..."

I knew little about her until i listened to the Oxford dictionary of biography podcast recently and what a fascinating life- i had no idea about the Ethiopian connection so i will be really interested to see your review in due course.

[Lilisa]

I'm in Israel with To the End of the Land by David Grossman.

[Val]

I have started reading the Man Booker International long list with The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare.
I also have The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke, The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen, A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman and Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg. Those are all the ones I could get from nearby libraries. I will see which ones make the short list on 20th April before buying any.

[Val]

Val wrote: "... I will see which ones make the short list on 20th April before buying any. "
Well, that resolution lasted a day.
I have purchased Compass by Mathias Énard.
It won the Prix Goncourt in 2015 and is one of Eileen Battersby's favourites for this year's Booker International Prize. (Eileen is the Literary Correspondent for the Irish Times and writes opinionated reviews which are often spot-on.)

[Claire]

Val wrote: "I have started reading the Man Booker International long list with The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare.
I also have The Explosion Chronicles by [auth..."

I'm watching the reviews coming in by the Shadow panel, which are all being collated on one page by Lisa Hill on her blog ANZLitLovers, if you're interested to read reviews by these readers of translated fiction who shadow the prize every year, here is the link to their collected reviews as they come in:

Man Booker International Prize Shadow Panel Reviews

I'm interested to read Fever Dream by the Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin (Argentina) translated by Megan McDowell.

[Claire]

Meanwhile I am in Canada and revolutionary China reading the Baileys Women's Prize shortlisted novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing" by Madeleine Thien.

[Carol]

I'm in the Czech Republic with Prague Pictures: A Portrait of the City by John Banville; in Japan and China with Noboru Tsujihara's Jasmine, and --still -- in 1970s Cairo and London with In the Eye of the Sun.

[Shawn]

I am in:

-India with A Fine Balance
-the UK with Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, The Dark Circle, The Bookshop That Floated Away, and Mapp and Lucia
-America with Plainsong, One of the Boys, and Speedboat
-still all over Europe and a bit in Canada with Mavis Gallant's glorious The Collected Stories
-Korea and Japan with Pachinko
-Hungary with The Door
-Belgium with War and Turpentine
-Brazil with Ways to Disappear.

Whew! Having a great reading month so far!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm heading to Syria with No Knives in the Kitchens of This City by Khalid Khalifa. I wanted to buy this from Amazon after Christmas with all the Amazon gift cards but it was sold out until the end of February. Timely and one of my most anticipated reads for this year.

[Ellen]

I'm currently in modern-day New York City with The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon; in the early 1800s, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic near Gibraltar, with Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boyby L.A. Meyer; and in early colonial America with Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

[Val]

Claire wrote: "I'm interested to read Fever Dream by the Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin (Argentina) translated by Megan McDowell."
Yes, that one looks interesting. So does Fish Have No Feet by Jón Kalman Stefánsson (Iceland).

[Claire]

I'm in Italy reading the novel Ties by Domenico Starnone translated by Jhumpa Lahiri.

[Claire]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm heading to Syria with No Knives in the Kitchens of This City by Khalid Khalifa. I wanted to buy this from Amazon after Christmas with all the Amazon gift cards but it was sold o..."

Not heard of this one, look forward to reading your review of it!

[Claire]

Val wrote: "Claire wrote: "I'm interested to read Fever Dream by the Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin (Argentina) translated by Megan McDowell."
Yes, that one looks interesting. So does [book:Fish Have No ..."

Yes, I remember when he was nominated for the prize a couple of years ago, wanting to read his work, the last time it was for a novel that was part of a trilogy.

[Carol]

I am in 1950's Ireland with The Silver Swan by (John Banville) Benjamin Black, and it is excellent.

[Shawn]

I am in Bosnia and Finland with My Cat Yugoslavia - sadly, not enjoying it very much (love one half, hate the other).

And since yesterday I've been in North Korea with The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea - not only timely, but completely riveting!

Also in Rwanda with Cockroaches - I am speechless.

[Carol]

After traveling for awhile, I have returned to the US and am in Detroit with August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones.

[Claire]

After finishing Elena Farrante's Writer's Journey in Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey noting her adolescent influences that continue to inspire her writing and characters today, the classic Greek heroines Medea, Dido, Ariadne, Leda, I've picked up one that was already on the shelf Medea a modern retelling, by Christa Wolf, translated from German into English.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

It hasn't explicitly said so yet, but I assume I'm in Sweden with My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises (a few variations on the title for this one, otherwise known as Fredrik Backman #2), and I'm afraid I'm just not getting into it. After the success of Ove, I'm finding it somewhat self-aware or tryhard :-(

[Lilisa]

I'm spending quite a bit of time in Asia - headed to Cambodia with Music of the Ghosts. I'm also in India with City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi and in North Korea with Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West.