*2025 - Where in the World Have You Been (Book Read and Review Linked)

[Yrinsyde]

I read A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry recently, and it was great! It's set in a city by the sea somewhere in India.

[Lilisa]

Yrinsyde wrote: "I read A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry recently, and it was great! It's set in a city by the sea somewhere in India."

Great you enjoyed it! It’s one of my all-time favorites.

[Lilisa]

I was in Sri Lanka with Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan. I definitely recommend it. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Ditto for A Fine Balance

I've also been in Sri Lanka, with a different take on the civil war, in Reef. Good book, but let down by its own brevity in that regard. But as I've said elsewhere, I read it for the food and there was plenty of that!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

I was in several countries - probably the longest in Egypt - so definitely around the world with Update: Reporting From an Ancient Land by Gayle Young who worked for CNN for many years. A great read and a unique framework for the book leveraging ancient history from 17 centuries ago - 5 stars! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I was in Taiwan with The Fourth Daughter. This is the foodie novel I've been wanting to read lately - a chef, streetfood, night markets, an old family recipe book, YouTube/TikTok cooking posts... You name it! The family drama/romance behind it all was an enjoyable read, if a little predictable at times.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

I was in a few countries in the Middle East - Egypt, Syria, Turkey, etc. with The Patchwork Cloak of Kamal Bey: An East-West Memoir by John Zada. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Was in Egypt with Dust Settles North by Deena ElGenaidi. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I've been in France for the past several months, doing my slow re-read of A Place of Greater Safety. It was everything I'd hoped for.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I've been in Nicaragua over recent weeks with The Ladies of Managua. I thought it was a great choice for the location, but the storytelling was flawed. Overall I'm glad I read it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rusalka]

Hello everyone!

Quick, boring explanation of my silence (in case you care, please skip if not :) )
Work announced 16 months ago they were cutting jobs and restructuring. Drip fed this to everyone's decline in mental health, by releasing change management proposals one by one over months. I got told 4 months ago finally I was going to have to compete for my job. Still no clarity, or how that works, but they now have fired the boss of my uni who's plan it was. SO. Reading and fun and challenges have not been on the front foot although I have desperately wanted them to be. Sorry for being AWOL. I am on a weeks leave this week at the beginning of spring, so lets start the warmer months with good intentions!!

Back in January, I was in Greece with Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold

And then I went to Equatorial Guinea, which is also a Jenny read, with By Night the Mountain Burns

[Rusalka]

P.S. Missed everyone :)

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Rusalka wrote: "P.S. Missed everyone :)"

Missed you too! Sorry to hear things have been so uncertain for you. I haven’t really been following that story, but had noted JB’s face in the news again recently.

[Rusalka]

No one really needs to follow the story really, I wish I wasn't at times. JB's handprints are all over it but has survived so far, although I do wonder for how long. But she didn't survive for so long as Foreign Minister and DL without stubbornness.

But really lovely to have some head space to be back here :D

[Lilisa]

Was in Japan with Letter From Japan by Marie Kondō. Nicely done nonfiction on the foundational concepts of Japanese culture. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Welcome back Rusalka! Sorry to hear about life’s uncertainties - keeping my fingers crossed for you. Enjoy your bit of down time as you welcome spring!

[Rachel]

INDONESIA
Beauty Is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan* (Indonesia) 23 Oct 2025 ⭐⭐⭐ my review

[Rachel]

FINLAND
My First Murder by Leena Lehtolainen* 19 Oct 2025 ⭐⭐ my review

[Rachel]

AUSTRALIA
Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin* (Australian Indigenous Author) 16 Oct 2025 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I was in Malaysian Borneo with Fierceland. While I loved the first part, where the main characters were children in Sabah, the story went downhill for me when they became adults. Still worth reading for the magnificent evocation of Malaysian childhood though. Actually I also enjoyed the device used to pull the reader along through the story - a Venetian glass bead that changes hands many times over several generations.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

I was in Croatia with The Children of Zagreb by Lelita Baldock. It’s well worth the read. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rachel]

NAMIBIA:
The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas* 20 Aug 2025 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

[Rachel]

SWEDEN:
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius* (Sweden) 26 Oct 2025 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

I was in Bosnia with Time Kneels Between Mountains, learning more about the Srebrenica genocide. I appreciated the story but had some issues with the way it was written. Still, a good one to use as a springboard for diving down some internet rabbit-holes.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Over the weekend I spent a few hours in Niue for our Group Challenge with Niue Rising. Did you know that Niue residents are New Zealand citizens? I didn't, but I do now! Can't really recommend it other than to the most determined readers, sorry.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Andrea - Hoping your next read is more enjoy than your last two. Thanks for taking one for the team with your Niue read!

[Lilisa]

I was in Norway with The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

I was in India with The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy - her first. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...