2021 - Where in the World Are You? (Currently Reading)

[Diane]

In Bhutan with The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden.

[Rusalka]

I'm finishing off another Dr Siri adventure in Laos and this time dipping my toe into northern Thailand with Anarchy and Old Dogs, before heading back to the north of Africa.

[Carol]

I enjoyed Anarchy; hope you did, too. I'm in New Orleans and otherwise driving around Mississippi and crossing the border into Memphis briefly, with James Sallis' Moth. Spending time with series protagonist Lew Griffin is my version of comfort reading.

[Lilisa]

In Turkey with Farewell: A Mansion in Occupied Istanbul and in India with All the Lives We Never Lived - enjoying both. The latter reminds me of Rabindranath Tagore’s writing style and Tagore is referenced several times in the book. I’m doing the audio - the narrator is pretty good. Update: the narrator is Vikas Adam.

[Carol (§CoverLoverGirl§)]

I’ve been hanging out in Japan for the past few weeks with books by Hiromi Kawakami, (Strange Weather In Tokyo, People from my Neighbourhood), Banana Yoshimoto, (Kitchen) Elisa Dusapin (Winter in Sokcho) and currently Sayaka Murata (Convenience Store Woman). All of these books are fairly short, none over 200 pages. “People from my Neighbourhood” has all short stories, magical fantasy, which I liked a lot as a first time genre for me. I’m very into Japanese writers and dramas, Like their down to earth approach to life.

[Kris]

In Japan now for https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... (There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job, Kikuko Tsumura)… Battling through it — it just isn’t holding my attention ☹️

[Diane]

Back in China with Braised Pork by An Yu.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I'm back in Italy listening to Two Steps Onward by husband and wife writing duo, Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist. This time we are walking the Chemin d’Assise and Via Francigena to Rome. I've been looking forward to this, and in preparation I did a quick re-read (on audio) of the first book, Two Steps Forward. The two narrators were so perfect (despite the sometimes very dubious accents) that I decided to continue with the audio edition.

Gotta say - in this era of no travelling, this is the next best thing!

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Finally I’m in Ghana! It’s only taken me 2 years to pick up Homegoing, but I’m really enjoying it so far. I opted for the audio edition.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

After dropping the ball for a while I’ve returned to India with new release The Rules of Arrangement. Although I’ve read novels built around the search for a spouse before, where this one is a little different is that the protagonist is a modern young Indian woman who is living life to the full and happens to be fuller-figured. So far I’m not seeing a whole lot of body image empowerment, but I expect that might change. On the marriage side of things, I think I can see where it’s heading. Expecting a nice, easy read. Set in Southern Bombay.

[Lilisa]

I’m Crying in H Mart set in the U.S. with some travel to South Korea - a memoir with lots of descriptions of Korean food and plays a central role in the lives of the characters.

[Carol]

Lilisa wrote: "I’m Crying in H Mart set in the U.S. with some travel to South Korea - a memoir with lots of descriptions of Korean food and plays a central role in the lives of the characters."

I started Crying but only gave it 20 pages maybe before I was memoired out, couldn't come up with a compelling reason to continue. Do I need to just push through or is there a later benchmark like 50 where I might feel more invested? I'm a big fan of the author's and expected to be immediately engrossed; it's also possible though that I'm learning grief memoirs aren't a terribly good thing for my mental health and I'm making it about the book/s instead of the reader. Thoughts?

[Lilisa]

Carol wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I’m Crying in H Mart set in the U.S. with some travel to South Korea - a memoir with lots of descriptions of Korean food and plays a central role in the lives of the ..."

Not sure the book would be for you then Carol. She gets a lot deeper into her mother’s illness and the grief. It gets rather personal, so if you’re not in a space for it, I’d say leave it for a later time when you’re up for it. When I started it I was thinking a 3 star but as I got more into it, I think it’ll be a 4-star read. I’ve got about 40 minutes left in the audio narrated by the author.

[Carol]

Lilisa wrote: "Carol wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I’m Crying in H Mart set in the U.S. with some travel to South Korea - a memoir with lots of descriptions of Korean food and plays a central role in the..."

This is really helpful, Lilisa. Thank you!

[Diane]

Back in India with Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya.

[Yrinsyde]

I'm taking a break from my Africa read and am dipping into the 1001 Books list. I have nearly finished Naipaul's In a Free State (unnamed African country but could be Burundi) and started Ovid's Metamorphoses, set in the Ancient would (Rome, but also covers Greece, Babylon, Egypt, and Ethiopia).

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m in Spain with All My Mothers, a book I posted about in the Anticipated thread not so long ago. In fact the first half of the book was set in London, and although I enjoyed it, the pace has picked up since we arrived in Cordoba.

[Lilisa]

I’m back in one of my favorite countries - Turkey- with Madonna in a Fur Coat and in Syria/U.S. with The Hidden Palace, the second book in the Golem and Jenni trilogy.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm in Panama with Come Together, Fall Apart, a book of short stories and one novella.

And I'm reading a book set in El Salvador called The Heiress of Water.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m in Russia again with Tsarina, which I’d obviously overlooked upon publication. I probably saw the cover and thought it was something different from what it actually is - the story of the peasant girl who became Catherine I. Or maybe I saw the page count and passed on it. But I’m reading the audio and it is flying by.

I’m also in New Zealand with The Nancys. It’s fun but kind of exhausting. Unlike anything I’ve read before - like middle grade fiction written for adults only.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’ve returned to India (specifically the slums of Mumbai) with Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, a book I’ve been wanting to read since publication. It’s my 3rd India book in a row where the story is told from a child’s point of view, although unlike the previous two, this one is not middle grade fiction. At 25%, so far so good.

[Lilisa]

I’m in Turkey with A Recipe for Daphne - I’m about 125 pages in and a bit disappointing - not what I was expecting. Jury is still out…

I’m also in India with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur - the sequel to The Henna Artist.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Lilisa wrote: "I’m in Turkey with A Recipe for Daphne - I’m about 125 pages in and a bit disappointing - not what I was expecting. Jury is still out..."

Oh that’s a shame. I read the Kindle sample some time ago and have to admit it didn’t grab me, although the premise is still quite appealing.

[Claire]

I'm in Mexico reading Loop by Brenda Lozano for WIT month. It's a reflective novel inspired by and referencing many other works and songs, it's the antithesis of the hero's journey, the one who waits, left behind, who takes an inner journey.

Quite a pageturner for such a reflective novel, lots to highlight and ponder. Loving it. The perfect read after a bit of a reading hiatus, while I was on a 9 week writing project.

[Lilisa]

Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I’m in Turkey with A Recipe for Daphne - I’m about 125 pages in and a bit disappointing - not what I was expecting. Jury is still out..."

Oh that’s a shame. I read t..."

I skipped through it - not worth it. It had so much potential with the topic of the Rum community in Turkey, but oh the storyline and the characters, ugh :-( - I had to give it a 2 rating.

[Carol]

I'm in 19th century England with Jane Eyre, the sort of thing I tend to push in favor of more contemporary novels set outside of the US and England. I'm so glad I didn't pass it up this time. What a treat.

[Karen]

I am cooking in Ukraine with Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe by Olia Hercules.

Also, sorrowfully in Afghanistan with I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan translated and presented by Eliza Griswold.

[Carol]

Karen wrote: "I am cooking in Ukraine with Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe by Olia Hercules.

Also, sorrowfully in Afghanistan with [book:I Am the Beggar of th..."

Karen - what are you thinking about the cookbook? It intrigues, but I also know me and I like owning my Armenian cookbook, for example, more than I do using it.

[Karen]

Carol, I am surprised that I want to try so many. Lots of fermentation - which I doubt I'll get into. Lots of fruit - plums, prunes, apricots, sour cherries. Kefir doughs. I like the feel of the book - only inveterate readers of cookbooks will understand that - lol

[Carol]

Karen wrote: "Carol, I am surprised that I want to try so many. Lots of fermentation - which I doubt I'll get into. Lots of fruit - plums, prunes, apricots, sour cherries. Kefir doughs. I like the feel of the bo..."

This sounds lovely. Thank you!!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm lingering in the Balkans, now reading Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastašić. It's following what I now see as a recurring theme in 21st century Balkan literature - the Return Home, struggling with the changes to place, people, and language - for many people who fled during or after the war.

[Lilisa]

I’m all over the place with The Diamond Queen of Singapore - so far I’ve been to Toronto, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Singapore - let’s see where else Ava Lee hops to!

Also in Turkey with Disquiet and in Mauritius with Silent Winds, Dry Seas.

[Claire]

I've returned to Haiti for the third part of the trilogy Love, Anger, Madness: A Haitian Trilogy by Marie Vieux Chauvet translated from French by Rose Myriam Réjouis and Val Vinkour and an intro by Edwidge Danticat - a book that was suppressed when originally published in 1968, growing to become a an underground classic, finally released in an authorised edition in France in 2005 (this English version in 2009)

It is a scathing response to the struggles of race, class, cultural beliefs and sex in Haiti, portrayed through three slices of life under an oppressive regime that test the sanity of its protagonists.

Madness is narrated by René, a lower class mulatto poet hiding inside his shack, paranoid about what's going on outside his door and inside his mind, finding solace in a bottle, in rituals to do with voodoo beliefs that most of his life he has rejected and the poet friends he fearfully opens his door to, to offer them refuge.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m probably not alone, but I’ve returned to Afghanistan this week with The Night Letters. Not very far in yet, but the Kabul scene is being nicely set. I’m also in Jaipur, India with The Henna Artist (audio) - very colourful.

[Carol]

I’m in Armenia with Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan. Am charmed this far.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Carol wrote: "I’m in Armenia with Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan. Am charmed this far."

I loved that one, Carol. Might do a re-read one day.

[Carol]

Andrea wrote: "Carol wrote: "I’m in Armenia with Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan. Am charmed this far."

I loved that one, Carol. Might do a re-read one day."

Awesome. It’s the perfect book at the right time .

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m in Singapore with a middle-grade new release called The Hungry Ghost. Eleven year old Freja has arrived in Singapore to live with her father’s new family for a year. She’s from Denmark, so she’s on a steep learning curve with the culture and religion surrounding her.

[Lilisa]

I’m in Armenia also with Three Apples Fell from the Sky. Carol - are you still there or have you moved on?

I’m doing the audiobook and half way through. I’ve had to take several breaks in between so not as smooth of a read as I’d hoped from my end, but it is interesting.

[Carol]

Lilisa wrote: "I’m in Armenia also with Three Apples Fell from the Sky. Carol - are you still there or have you moved on?

I’m doing the audiobook and half way through. I’ve had to take several b..."

I am! I had some significant family drama that knocked me off it last week, but am getting back to it in the next couple of days.

[Lilisa]

Carol wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I’m in Armenia also with Three Apples Fell from the Sky. Carol - are you still there or have you moved on?

I’m doing the audiobook and half way through. I’ve had to..."

Sorry to hear Carol - hope things have sorted out. It’ll be a bit before I get back to it. I’ll have to probably rewind to refresh my memory at that point!

[Rusalka]

Carol wrote: "...I had some significant family drama that knocked me off it last week..."

Hope all is all okay, Carol! Families always seem to get in the way of reading.

[Rusalka]

I just started We Need New Names for Zimbabwe.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I'm back in Russia with the highly anticipated The Tsarina's Daughter. Although I bought the paperback as soon as I could, I stalked my library for the audiobook so that I could have Anna Krippa read to me again. Enjoying it so far, although it's covering a period from the previous book as introduction, albeit this time from Elizabeth's eyes.

[Madmollyann]

I had an incredible visit to Nigera with The Girl with the Louding Voice . What an amazing journey and character voice. And now I've hopped around to Jaipur, India, reading The Henna Artist

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I decided on a whim to return to South Africa for whatever Tannie Maria is dishing up in The Satanic Mechanic. I want a slice of her Venus Cake right now!

[Lilisa]

Andrea wrote: "I decided on a whim to return to South Africa for whatever Tannie Maria is dishing up in The Satanic Mechanic. I want a slice of her Venus Cake right now!

[bookcover:The Satanic Me..."

Lol on the Venus cake, Andrea!

[Lilisa]

Madmollyann wrote: "I had an incredible visit to Nigera with The Girl with the Louding Voice . What an amazing journey and character voice. And now I've hopped around to Jaipur, India, reading Th..."</i>

Hope you enjoy [book:The Henna Artist. I’ve read the second book too but preferred HA. Apparently there’ll be a third.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I’m in Mexico with Mexican Gothic. At 30%, I have to admit I’m not really feeling it yet.

[Lilisa]

I’m in the U.S. (primarily) with People We Meet on Vacation - I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying it, especially since it’s not my usual fare but it’s awfully cute.

I’m also in various regions of the world with The Power of Geography: Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World.