2015 Where in the world have you been? (Book finished and review linked)

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I finished Salmon Fishing In The Yemen today - good story but quite different from the movie. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

This past week I finished listening to Justine by Lawrence Durrell, book 1 of the Alexandria Quartet. It is set in between the world wars, and the city itself (Alexandria, Egypt) is such a major character! My review is here but it is pretty brief as this is the second or third time through the book.

Also, back in New Guinea, I read Secret Places: My Life In New York & New Guinea by Tobias Schneebaum. My review, along with a few ethical qualms, is here.

[Lilisa]

Jenny - I have the Alexandria Quartet on my to read list as well this year. I think I'll read the books rather than listen to them.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Lilisa wrote: "Jenny - I have the Alexandria Quartet on my to read list as well this year. I think I'll read the books rather than listen to them."

Listening was a challenge.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I just finished My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated) - about a childhood and adolescence in Naples right after World War II. Highly recommended! It is part of a series of autobiographical novels. My review is here if you want a taste.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

*satisfied exhalation* I finished Dogeaters: A Novel last night - a totally satisfying read about the Philippines. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I hope a few more people pick it up and enjoy it like I did.

[Daisy]

I was just in Scotland and Iceland with The Flight of Gemma Hardy. I don't have much of a review except to say that it was utterly charming.

[[deleted user]]

I am still trekking through New Zealand with The Luminaries decent book so far, but quite a long read.

[Claire]

I have been in Kenya with Novel Peace Prize winning Wangari Maathai reading and now reviewed her autobiography Unbowed, One Woman's Story, a truly exceptional and remarkable woman.

[Lilisa]

Hi Claire - you may want to check your posted link - your review didn't come through. Sounds like you really enjoyed it.

[Claire]

Lilisa wrote: "Hi Claire - you may want to check your posted link - your review didn't come through. Sounds like you really enjoyed it."

Thanks Lilisa, fixed it now. I was bowled over by it and sobbed twice!

[Lilisa]

Claire wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Hi Claire - you may want to check your posted link - your review didn't come through. Sounds like you really enjoyed it."

Thanks Lilisa, fixed it now. I was bowled over by it and so..."

I have got to read it - added to my TBR list - thanks, and great review!

[Claire]

Lilisa wrote: "Claire wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Hi Claire - you may want to check your posted link - your review didn't come through. Sounds like you really enjoyed it."

Thanks Lilisa, fixed it now. I was bowled ov..."

Thank you for the kind words, she was such an inspirational woman, a true legend.

[Lilisa]

Was in Australia with The Light Between Oceans - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Was also in Canada with A Rule Against Murder - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Lilisa wrote: "Was in Australia with The Light Between Oceans - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I really liked that book too. The movie is being filmed in a beautiful part of Tasmania, not far from where I grew up - can't wait to see it.

[Lilisa]

Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Was in Australia with The Light Between Oceans - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I really liked that book too. The movie is being filmed in..."

Didn't know about the movie - that will be interesting. Would love to see the beautiful scenery, particular of Janus Rock and the lighthouse and see how it compares with what I've conjured up visually.

[[deleted user]]

Lilisa wrote: "Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Was in Australia with The Light Between Oceans - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I really liked that book too. The movie is ..."

I hadn't known about the movie either. I shall look forward to it's release.

[[deleted user]]

Finished The Luminaries and enjoyed it though I found the first section a bit slow. Now onto france with Bruno, Chief Of Police

[Lilisa]

Was in the Dominican Republic with In the Time of the Butterflies. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Melissa wrote: "Finished The Luminaries and enjoyed it though I found the first section a bit slow. Now onto france with Bruno, Chief Of Police"

Glad you enjoyed it Melissa. I know what you mean about the first part - although my reaction was that i was highly intrigued and was savoring the unfolding of the set up. it is a heft of a book though.

[Val]

I read a history of smuggling (mainly) alcohol from Saint-Pierre and Miquelon into US, Canada and Newfoundland.
Rumrunners: The Smugglers from St. Pierre and Miquelon and the Burin Peninsula from Prohibition to Present Day by J. P. Andrieux,
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Some of it was interesting, but I don't think he needed to include every RCMP seizure and operation in the 1990s.

[Sara]

I am listening to Sweetness in the Belly which takes me to Morocco, Ethiopia and England. Next in line in The Red Chamber which will take me to China.

[Lilisa]

Was in China with Big Breasts and Wide Hips - a total bust for me - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Also jetsetted with Ava Lee to Hong Kong, China, Faroe Islands, Dublin, Denmark, Toronto, London and New York City in The Wild Beasts of Wuhan - review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[[deleted user]]

I was just in Afghanistan with A Thousand Splendid Suns it was such a great book, but it was heartbreakingly sad.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Khaled Hosseini is such an incredible author

[Lilisa]

Melissa wrote: "I was just in Afghanistan with A Thousand Splendid Suns it was such a great book, but it was heartbreakingly sad.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Khaled Hosseini is su..."

Nice review on your blog. I've enjoyed all his books and saw The Kite Runner movie equally impactful and parts were hard to watch. Have you read Hosseini's other two books?

[[deleted user]]

Lilisa - I have read the Kite Runner and I have the third one by him on my shelf to read.

[Lilisa]

Melissa wrote: "Lilisa - I have read the Kite Runner and I have the third one by him on my shelf to read."

I think you'll like the third one as well. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded.

[[deleted user]]

Finished An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth again and I still love it https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... http://melissasbooksaroundtheworld.bl...

[[deleted user]]

Finished The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency from Botswana. I don't have a review from good reads as it is an omnibus edition and I will review the three books at the end but this is the review I wrote on my blog http://melissasbooksaroundtheworld.bl...

[Daisy]

I don't have a proper review for this except to say that it's pretty beautiful. Again, I'm in Berlin in the 1980s. This YA book is quirky but unpretentious. I recommend it.
Going Over

[Lilisa]

Was in Uruguay with The Invisible MountainThe Invisible Mountain - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Was in Canada again with the 3rd in Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series with The Cruelest Month -- review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Lilisa]

On a roll with Louise Penny in Canada. Finished The Brutal Telling - great one in the mystery genre. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I didn't include it in my challenge, but others might be interested in one I recently finished, a collection of short stories set primarily in the Caribbean, UK, USA and Australia. Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke has been shortlisted for the Stella Prize and was a great, fairly brief read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rusalka]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Andrea. I was reading through the bios and blurbs of the Stella Prize nominees the other day, so glad to see you enjoyed this one.

[Lilisa]

Was on the island of Borneo with Land Below the Wind - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and in Sweden with A Man Called Ove - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - thanks Melissa, who I think recommended the latter.

[Lilisa]

Was in Greece with Sons of Sparta: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Was also in Ireland with Pomegranate Soup - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Lilisa]

Was in Greece with Mykonos After Midnight: A Chief Inspector Kaldis Mystery and finished the series. Nothing to write home about: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[[deleted user]]

I have just finished in Hong Kong China with Fated and Fateless

Review: http://melissasbooksaroundtheworld.bl...

[Lilisa]

Was in Nigeria with Things Fall Apart - review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I took a brief respite from New Guinea to read Ghost Moth by Michele Forbes. While I wasn't the hugest fan, it might be a good read for someone who prefers their Irish troubles in the background of a romance novel of sorts.

[Lilisa]

Was in Turkey and France with Last Train to Istanbul: A Novel. My review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Was on the island of Borneo again with the second in the Borneo trilogy - Three Came Home. Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Finished the Borneo trilogy with the last book: White Man Returns- review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I wrote a long blog post about all the books I've read from New Guinea, this year and previously. I'm finally ready to move on, I think.

[Suzanne]

I just left Japan with A Tale for the Time Being which is now on my list of all-time favorites! My review is here: https://coldread.wordpress.com/2015/0...

I also had a quick trip to France with Paris in Love, which I wasn't so keen about. My review is here: https://coldread.wordpress.com/2015/0...

[Lilisa]

Finished a few: two in the Ava Lee series The Scottish Banker of Surabaya review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and The King of Shanghai review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Also finished the last book for me in the Armand Gamache series Bury Your Dead review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and In the Sea There are Crocodiles: Based on the True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tanya]

I've been in Niger with Harmattan. This is aimed at the Young Adult audience so is quite a quick, easy, well written book. Its' written by an ex-aid worker so touches on many regional issues - aids, child labour and marriage, war, poverty etc.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Last night I finished Nightingale by Fiona McIntosh, which transported me to WWI Turkey. I absolutely loved it https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Finished The Other Language and traveled to several countries including Italy, Greece, U.S., India, islands off Tanzania and Kenya. Can't recall who in this group read it and enjoyed it but thanks - enjoyed it. Review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rusalka]

Oops, forgot to let you all know in here! I finished In the Darkness for Norway. Nice little Nordic Noir read. I really enjoyed the author's writing, and it's number one in a series... I have number two already sitting on my shelf ("accidentally" bought them out of order).