2020 - Where in the World Are You? (Currently Reading)

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I'm back in France again, this time with The Godmother on audio. I'm not too keen on the narrator, I must admit, but it's only about 5 hours so I'll try not to let it get to me too much.

[Lilisa]

I’m in Turkey straddling two books - Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire and A Chemical Prison. And, binging on the series: Resurrection Ertugrul. So, I’m pretty much all in with Turkey.

[Diane]

I'm in India with My Story by Kamala Suraiyya Das.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

It wasn’t planned, but I find myself back in Sweden with Tuva in Red Snow (audio again) 😀

[Lilisa]

I’m in China with The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream, in Georgia/Russia with The Eighth Life, and in India with The Henna Artist.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m also in China, with The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, which has been sitting on my Kindle for a loooong time. Not sure why, as Lisa See is one of my favourite authors. It’s set around the Pu’erh tea industry in Yunnan so I thought it would be a good one to add to my food challenge... until I remembered I’ve already ticked China off that list. 😆 oh well, never mind.

[Carol]

I’m in Italy, on the Isle of Capri, with Kevin Kwan’s Sex and Vanity. It is fun and light and propulsive. So perfect for me this week. [Also tonight my iPad won’t let me edit comments or use the add book/author link, so please forgive the omission.]

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

So-called ‘women’s fiction’ is my white chocolate - I love it but try not to have too much, or too often. To get out of my reading slump I’ve picked up The Himalayan Summer: The heartbreaking story of a missing child and a true love, which is set in 1930s Nepal. So far, so good.

[Carol]

Best of luck, Andrea!

[Lilisa]

Started listening to I Will Never See the World Again: The Memoir of an Imprisoned Writer by Ahmet Altan, who wrote this series of essays while in prison. A journalist, editor, and writer, he has been in and out of prison over the last few years as part of a media purge for having spoken out against the current Turkish administration. In February 2018 he was sentenced to life imprisonment; in November 2019 sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, ordered to be released on probation, and then was detained again. He is currently back in prison sitting in a cell at age 70.

[Sanne]

Lilisa wrote: "Started listening to I Will Never See the World Again: The Memoir of an Imprisoned Writer by Ahmet Altan, who wrote this series of essays while in prison. A journali..."

I read this about a year ago and was deeply impressed by his writing! It's one of those memoirs I still think about.

[Sanne]

I was reading about a gazillion books at once as it seemed I was finally getting my reading groove back for the first time this year. I was darting from Indonesia with The Wandering to Canada with Alias Grace to Russia, Dagastan with The Mountain and the Wall, but life is a bit too much right now and it has grinded to a halt. So I've put these books aside as I can't seem to concentrate on more challenging reads. I'll get back to them later on, because I was really enjoying them!

Instead I'm losing myself in a comfort read by picking up another installment of the Inspector Chen series set in China: Don't Cry, Tai Lake. Escapist adventure with the familiar gourmet and poetry-quoting detective is exactly what the doctor ordered!

[Lilisa]

Sanne wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Started listening to I Will Never See the World Again: The Memoir of an Imprisoned Writer by Ahmet Altan, who wrote this series of essays while in pri..."

Yes, the essays are impressive, especially writing from prison and each one is so compact, holds so much, and is tied up with a red bow so well - and the topics are not easy either. You still think about his book - hallmark of a great writer!

[Lilisa]

Sanne wrote: "I was reading about a gazillion books at once as it seemed I was finally getting my reading groove back for the first time this year. I was darting from Indonesia with The Wandering..."

Lol!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm about 2/3 into Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah which is interesting because it falls right before 9/11 and I feel this is significant in the level of access he is able to achieve.

[Lilisa]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm about 2/3 into Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah which is interesting because it falls right before 9/11 and I feel this is significant in the l..."

This one sounds really interesting, Jenny. Adding - thanks!

[Lilisa]

I’m still with The Eighth Life - it’s a door stopper and enjoying it - set in the country of Georgia and the old Soviet Union. Started listening to The Survivors set in Australia.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’ve just landed in Trinidad with Love After Love and I’m finding all 3 of the main characters quite endearing already.

[Lilisa]

Andrea wrote: "I’ve just landed in Trinidad with Love After Love and I’m finding all 3 of the main characters quite endearing already.

"

Nice - interested in your review when you’re done!

[Sanne]

I'm currently reading Melal: A Novel of the Pacific by Robert Barclay and it's shaping up to be a really interesting novel! a great mix of mythology and anti-nuclear politics (yes...), set in the Marshall Islands. Very different from the novels I've read set in the Pacific up to date, though I have to say that this region has been a favorite haunt of mine this past year. I've read some stellar books by authors from this region this year!

After this, I'm probably going to finally start Alias Grace. A friend has been raving about it, so can't wait to read and discuss it with her!

[Claire]

I'm in modern day Scotland and in 1850's the Caucasus, delighting in looking up so many things I know nothing about,
- the Caucasus Highlanders,
- the kidnapping of Shamil Imam's son,
- the connection between Caucasus and Caucasian and
- what any of this has to do with the current Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict, happening right now.

Reading the brilliant Leila Aboulela's The Kindness of Enemies

[Lilisa]

I’m in Albania with Broken April and in the first century AD in Britannia (U.K.) with Daughter of Black Lake.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Lilisa wrote: "I’m in Albania with Broken April and in the first century AD in Britannia (U.K.) with Daughter of Black Lake."

I have The Three-Arched Bridge by this author to read for Albania next year.

[Lilisa]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I’m in Albania with Broken April and in the first century AD in Britannia (U.K.) with Daughter of Black Lake."

I have [book:The Three-Arched Bridge|1789..."

Hope you enjoy it. BA was my second read by the author - want to read a few more. His books open up a window into Albanian customs and culture.

[Nadine in California]

Miami and Colombia with Fiebre Tropical. I love the Spanglish :)

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m on an open ticket with Ava Lee in The Disciple of Las Vegas. We’ve been briefly to Canada and Hong Kong, but now we’re in the Phillipines and I think the blurb mentioned Costa Rica as well... My attention span is still quite poor (the other malady of 2020) so this is perfect reading material for me at the moment.

[Lilisa]

Andrea wrote: "I’m on an open ticket with Ava Lee in The Disciple of Las Vegas. We’ve been briefly to Canada and Hong Kong, but now we’re in the Phillipines and I think the blurb mentioned Costa R..."

Lol - enjoy hanging out with Ava! I’ll be hanging out with her in The Goddess of Yantai in a couple of weeks.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I've been in Qatar with The Girl Who Fell to Earth.

[Rusalka]

I'm currently exploring Timbuktu and Mali more broadly with The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts

I am beginning to accept bad-arse is spelt wrong ;) Love these cultural quirks.

[Claire]

I'm travelling around the world on a boat with 80 year old architect Renzo Piano and his journalist son Carlo and crew, searching for Atlantis, but visiting the sites of all Renzo's architectural projects, since he told his father back in Genoa he wasn't going to be a builder, but an architect.

A nonfiction beauty, translated from Italian. Atlantis: A Journey in Search of Beauty

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’ve set off on a gothic adventure in 1950s Barcelona with The Prisoner of Heaven. The beginning is set at Christmas-time, so that’s helping me to get in the mood, too. 🎄

[Nadine in California]

I'm in Australia with the Wiradjuri people in The Yield.

[Claire]

Nadine wrote: "I'm in Australia with the Wiradjuri people in The Yield."

I'm looking forward to this one becoming available and hearing how you find it.

[Claire]

I'm in Naples, Italy reading The Lying Life of Adults.

[Lilisa]

Claire wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I'm in Australia with the Wiradjuri people in The Yield."

I'm looking forward to this one becoming available and hearing how you find it."

This one sounds intriguing- interested in your thoughts too, Nadine. Adding to my list!

[Nadine in California]

Lilisa wrote: "Claire wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I'm in Australia with the Wiradjuri people in The Yield."

I'm looking forward to this one becoming available and hearing how you find it."

Finished The Yield - I didn't like it as much as most readers, apparently. The strengths and weaknesses balanced out to 3 stars for me. Here's my review.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m in India with The Space Between Us. It’s one I didn’t want to hold off until next year. Really enjoying it so far.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m also in Poland on audio with Swimming in the Dark. Not very far in yet, but off to a good start.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I'm in Malaysia with Fragile Monsters. As it begins, the festival of Durga Puja (more familiar to me as the major Nepali festival of Dashain) is being celebrated.

[Kim]

This week I was in Algiers browsing through a run down bookshop...
A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi.
Follows two timelines and reveals itself in layers.
If your not familiar with French Literature between 1920s and 1950s have a bit of a google of the titles and the relevance of the works.
I was left completely astonished with how it managed to convey so much in under 150 pages. Highly recommended.
Link to my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...