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

[Val]

Man Booker International shortlist:

Compass by Mathias Énard
A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman
The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors
Judas by Amos Oz
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

[Val]

I wanted an excuse to buy Fever Dream, so that is my next read.

[Rusalka]

I'm in North Korea with Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea at the moment. I thought it was important to read this now.

[Carol]

I'm in Japan with Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto, England with The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble, the U.S. with Pym by Mat Johnson and (starting today) Mexico with Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera. That's at least tier one of my bedside table. I've encountered so many great reads at once that there's a bit of an internal battle constantly about which to read. It's a great problem to have.

[Shomeret]

I'm in Tasmania (off the coast of Australia) with Into That Forest by Louis Nowra. It's about two girls aged six and seven who are adopted by tigers after a major storm.

[Carol]

Shomeret wrote: "I'm in Tasmania (off the coast of Australia) with Into That Forest by Louis Nowra. It's about two girls aged six and seven who are adopted by tigers after a major storm."

That's one attention-getting plot description :)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm in Argentina with the audiobook for Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories by Mariana Enriquez. For those of you with Hoopla through your library, it is available in audio there.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Today I started reading Ruins by Rajith Savanadasa (Sri Lanka). It's one I've been keen to read since publication and it's pretty good so far.

[Lilisa]

I'm with A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin. I wish Goodreads would change "Alasca" to "Alaska" in the author's profile for where she was born!

[Rusalka]

Lilisa wrote: "I'm with A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin. I wish Goodreads would change "Alasca" to "Alaska" in the author's profile for where she was ..."

Fixed it for you. And added the city name.

[Lilisa]

Rusalka wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I'm with A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin. I wish Goodreads would change "Alasca" to "Alaska" in the author's profile for..."

Great - thanks Rusalka!

[Carol]

Yesterday, I went to China with Whispering Shadows by Jan-Philipp Sendker. I think I will stay for awhile.

[Shawn]

I am reading multilaterally as usual this month:

-in the UK, NYC and Tokyo with Sympathy

-in Chechnya with A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

-in China with The Explosion Chronicles

-in the American South with Their Eyes Were Watching God and Absalom, Absalom!

-in Ireland with Loving

-in England with The Sword in the Stone

-in Switzerland with The Gustav Sonata

-pretty much all over the world with The Power

-deep into Carol Shields's mind as it addresses itself to the writing process, without any relevant geographical axis in Startle and Illuminate: Carol Shields on Writing

-still in India with A Fine Balance and all over Europe with Mavis Gallant's The Collected Stories

[Carol]

I am in Pakistan with The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam. It is most excellent. It has the potential to be a clear front runner for best book
I read in 2017! And I have read several excellent books this year.

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

I have just started to read Doctor Zhivago, which will of course knock Russia off my list! I'm also working my way through 100 Heartbeats: A Journey to Meet Our Planet's Endangered Animals and the Heroes Working to Save Them, which has placed me in Ecuador, India, and Indonesia so far.

[Tanya]

Carol wrote: "I am in Pakistan with The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam. It is most excellent. It has the potential to be a clear front runner for best book
I read in 2017! And I ha..."

Good to see you're liking it - I picked it up the other day as i really enjoyed Blind Man's Garden

[Carol]

Tanya wrote: "Carol wrote: "I am in Pakistan with The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam. It is most excellent. It has the potential to be a clear front runner for best book
I read in ..."

I will have to get a copy of that soon, Tanya. I hope you enjoy TGL as much as me.

[Andrew]

I'm in Colombia at the mo with The Lucky Ones
and so far I'm enjoying it. One of those books where they are individual stories but a thread emerges in each one.

[Carol]

I'm in India with Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag, and enjoying it so far (page 51).

[Carol]

I'm in India (pre-Partition) with Sunlight on a Broken Column by Attia Hosain, and also in the US with White Tears by Hari Kunzru. Both are excellent.

[Shomeret]

I'm in Ireland with Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon, a paranormal mystery which is a selection of the F2F book club that I attend. It's a fun read with music, ghosts and great dialogue. I've been looking for something light and enjoyable. This book fits my requirements.

[Lilisa]

I'm on the island of New Guinea with Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II.

[Pauline]

Just left Iran, finishing The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran. I give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, would have rated it higher but felt it was lacking voice. Still very much an interesting read.

[Lilisa]

Pauline wrote: "Just left Iran, finishing The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran. I give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, would have rated it higher but felt it was lacking voice. Still ..."

Sounds interesting Pauline. Will have to add it to my list.

[Carol]

I'm in Scotland --specifically, Glasgow-- with The Long Drop by Denise Mina. It is dark and dirty, with cat pee, cigarette ashes, smells, blood, and lots and lots of alcoholic beverages of all sorts everywhere.

[Diane]

Carol wrote: "I'm in Scotland --specifically, Glasgow-- with The Long Drop by Denise Mina. It is dark and dirty, with cat pee, cigarette ashes, smells, blood, and lots and lots of ..."

Sounds lovely...

[Diane]

I am in a mental institution in New Zealand with Faces in the Water by Janet Frame.

[Carol]

Diane wrote: "Carol wrote: "I'm in Scotland --specifically, Glasgow-- with The Long Drop by Denise Mina. It is dark and dirty, with cat pee, cigarette ashes, smells, blood, and lot..."

At least it's 1957-58, and she suggests everything was bulldozed under and rebuilt, but ... still....

[Carol]

Diane wrote: "I am in a mental institution in New Zealand with Faces in the Water by Janet Frame."

Sounds lovely... :)

[Diane]

Carol wrote: "Diane wrote: "I am in a mental institution in New Zealand with Faces in the Water by Janet Frame."

Sounds lovely... :)"

It turns out that the atmosphere of my book wasn't too different from yours, lol.

[Diane]

Currently in rural Sweden with Beartown by Fredrik Backman.

[Carol]

Diane wrote: "Carol wrote: "Diane wrote: "I am in a mental institution in New Zealand with Faces in the Water by Janet Frame."

Sounds lovely... :)"

It turns out that the atmosphere..."

Go figure. We need some sunshine next, or fewer bars of any ilk.

[Diane]

In Kenya, with One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir by Binyavanga Wainaina.

[Shomeret]

I'm currently in Canada in the 1960's and a ship en-route to British Mandate Palestine with alternating POVs. The book is Come Back for Me: A Novel by Sharon Hart-Green. I am finding this portion of the book more hopeful than the opening.

[Carol]

That sounds interesting, Shomeret. I hope it improves.

I'm in an unidentified country that resembles Pakistan, with Mohsin Hamid's Exit West.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I'm currently in England with Slow Horses by Mick Herron, #1 in the Slough House series, which has been quite popular in one of my other groups. It's a slightly different spin on the spy genre and I'm enjoying it so far.

[Diane]

Carol wrote: "That sounds interesting, Shomeret. I hope it improves.

I'm in an unidentified country that resembles Pakistan, with Mohsin Hamid's Exit West."

I really want to read that.

[Diane]

I am in the trenches of WWI France with Birdsong.

[Carol]

Diane wrote: "Carol wrote: "That sounds interesting, Shomeret. I hope it improves.

I'm in an unidentified country that resembles Pakistan, with Mohsin Hamid's Exit West."

I reall..."

It's a fast read. I love Hamid's writing.

[Carol]

Diane wrote: "I am in the trenches of WWI France with Birdsong."

I tried to read this for my IRL book club a couple of years ago and couldn't get past page 75. I'll be interested to get your take on it, and may try again if you're a fan.

[Lilisa]

Diane wrote: "I am in the trenches of WWI France with Birdsong."

Have you read the first book The Girl at the Lion d'Or? Had not realized Birdsong - which has been on my list for awhile - is part of a trilogy. Wondering if I need to read the first one too.

[Diane]

It's a fast read. I love Hamid's writing. "

I loved The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

[Diane]

Carol wrote: "Diane wrote: "I am in the trenches of WWI France with Birdsong."

I tried to read this for my IRL book club a couple of years ago and couldn't get past page 75. I'll be interested to ge..."

I gave it 5 stars, but I am a sucker for this kind of book. It definitely isn't for everyone. You stopped before it got into the parts about WWI. It is difficult in that he tells about the atrocities of war, yet his prose is lovely at the same time.

[Diane]

Lilisa wrote: "Diane wrote: "I am in the trenches of WWI France with Birdsong."

Have you read the first book The Girl at the Lion d'Or? Had not realized Birdsong - which has b..."

I didn't. I don't think the stories are really connected (aside from being set in France), but I may be wrong.

[Diane]

I have moved south to a war-torn Angola with The Land at the End of the World by António Lobo Antunes.

[Lilisa]

Diane wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Diane wrote: "I am in the trenches of WWI France with Birdsong."

Have you read the first book The Girl at the Lion d'Or? Had not realized [book:Birdsong|6259..."

Thanks, good to know, especially since the first one doesn't have a very high rating.

[Lilisa]

I'm in Myammar with From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey and in the U.S. with The Master Butchers Singing Club.

[Carol]

I'm in Japan with Kanae Minato's Confessions.

[Lauren]

I´m in the Congo with The Poisonwood Bible

[Diane]

I'm in France again with Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac.