Around the World in 80 Books discussion
Getting to Know You
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Introductions
Lavinia wrote: "Hi everyone - I'm Lavinia, and I live in Seattle (originally from Florida, and moving in June to Washington DC for a year, then back to Seattle after that). I'm not new to Goodreads, but I'm new to..."Welcome to the group, Lavinia! Challenges can be very addictive and rewarding. Sometimes the biggest challenge is finding a book that can fit into all of the challenges at the same time, but that just adds to the fun! It is such a great way to introduce yourself to genres, books, and authors you may not have even heard of before. I'm so glad you have found us!
Welcome Lavinia,
I live not far from you in Eastern Oregon & frequently visit the greater Seattle area.
I am also new to this group but like you enjoying it...
I live not far from you in Eastern Oregon & frequently visit the greater Seattle area.
I am also new to this group but like you enjoying it...
Hi to all!My name is Katarina. I'm from Croatia. I was born in town called Karlovac, but now I live on the island of Pag (a nice place for a summer holiday ;) ) where I’ve moved in with my boyfriend. We just bought a flat, so all my traveling plans are grounded. That’s why this challenge will be a great surrogate.
I work as an architect and love books, movies and traveling (and my boyfriend ;) ). Hope to have fun in this group!
Hello, I am Saskia and have a multi-national background, grew up in Europe, studied German literature among other things and live in the United States. I have been a passionate, obsessive, unstoppable reader my whole life. I love the world and the people of the world and their art. Literature does more than open doors to other countries - it opens my heart.
I am delighted to find a group with people from around the world who love to share their reading, interests and explorations. World Literature - great - there are always more worlds and more literature to discovered.
Tazitazitazi wrote: "Hi to all!My name is Katarina. I'm from Croatia. I was born in town called Karlovac, but now I live on the island of Pag (a nice place for a summer holiday ;) ) where I’ve moved in with my boyfrie..."
Welcome to the group, Katarina! I just love to see all the places around the globe our members are from! Croatia is a place I would love to see one day. I hear it is very beautiful and has some of the prettiest beaches in the world. I am so glad you have joined us!
Saskia wrote: "Hello, I am Saskia and have a multi-national background, grew up in Europe, studied German literature among other things and live in the United States. I have been a passionate, obsessive, unst..."
Welcome to the group, Saskia! I love your quote "Literature does more than open doors to other countries - it opens my heart.". So beautifully put. I love reading and most genres, but world literature is nearest and dearest to my heart. I hope you will feel at home here. I am so glad you found us!
Thank you for the welcome, Diane! Still finding my way around this - how do we "discuss" books we read - where do we comment?
Thanks, Lavinia - so, what do you recommend where to start - I read the February book "The Tiger's Wife".
Saskia wrote: "Thanks, Lavinia - so, what do you recommend where to start - I read the February book "The Tiger's Wife"."Saskia, I just sent you an email.
Ahmad wrote: "Hi I'm Ahmad from Pennsylvania. I think I'm the only guy who has commented on this thread! I'm 23 and I write poetry. I read a lot and have done some traveling the past few years. Miami, LA, Toront..."Welcome to the group, Ahmad! I'm not sure how I missed your post! I have always wanted to go to Paris. It is #1 on my list of places to see someday. I'm happy to have you as part of the group! What part of Pennsylvania do you live in?
Hi everyone, I'm Natacha. I'm also new on goodreads and I'm excited about all the great books everyone is sharing!
I have a pretty diverse background myself. I was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium but now live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I've also lived in Paris, France and Jerusalem, Israel. I've traveled quite a bit as well, as my mother is German and my dad is mixed Russian and Palestinian (from Jerusalem). I'm finally starting to actively pursue a writing career and I look forward to what the future brings. I LOVE exploring different cultures and backgrounds and look forward to doing so here through some great literature and stories!! :)
Hi Natacha, Thank you for joining... Exciting to be sharing reading adventures with you. If I'd ask you what one of your top ten books of all times is, what would you choose?
Saskia
Hi Saskia,The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo all the way!!!
Interesting! I would probably choose "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides as one of my top 10.
Natacha wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Natacha. I'm also new on goodreads and I'm excited about all the great books everyone is sharing!
I have a pretty diverse background myself. I was born and raised in Brussels, Be..."
Welcome, Natacha! Wow, you have lived in some of the world's most amazing places! I haven't read Hunchback of Notre Dame yet, but I have been meaning to forever. I recently finished Les Miserables and thought it was wonderful. It is in my top 10.
Saskia wrote: "Interesting! I would probably choose "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides as one of my top 10."Middlesex is one of my all-time favorites, too. My top two slots go to Poisonwood Bible and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Diane wrote: "Natacha wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm Natacha. I'm also new on goodreads and I'm excited about all the great books everyone is sharing!
I have a pretty diverse background myself. I was born and raised..."
Thank you Diane for the warm welcome :) Les Miserables I'm sure is great, but I have yet to read it myself. It, along with Middlesex are both on my ever-growing list... Sometimes feels like I'll never go down the entire list, but that's part of the fun I guess! ;)
Hello from Down UnderHi there - Great to e-meet you!
I’m one half of a New Zealand father-and-son writing/publishing team here at Sterling Gate Books.
My son James Morcan and I have co-authored two new release novels which have already appeared on Amazon’s bestseller lists in their respective categories.
One of these, a historical adventure-romance titled Fiji, is set in 19th Century Fiji. Partly inspired by James A. Michener's Hawaii, it is “a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth”.
In the mid-1800's, Fiji was a melting pot of cannibals, warring native tribes, sailors, traders, prostitutes, escaped convicts and all manner of foreign undesirables. It's in this hostile environment in our story that an innocent young Englishwoman and a worldly American adventurer find themselves. Despite their differences, there’s an undeniable chemistry between them. When their lives are suddenly endangered by marauding cannibals, they are forced to rely on each other for their very survival.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/
We are delighted Fiji: A Novel is receiving predominantly 5-star reviews. We are pro-actively seeking more reviews, and that’s one reason we joined this group. That and to exchange views with like-minded people.
Best from NZ
Lance
Sterling wrote: "Hello from Down UnderHi there - Great to e-meet you!
I’m one half of a New Zealand father-and-son writing/publishing team here at Sterling Gate Books.
My son James Morcan and I have co-..."
Welcome, Lance! Your book sounds great! I have it on my Kindle and look forward to reading it soon.
Hello! My name is Tanner, I just joined. I saw your group and immediately decided to join. The two things I love to do is read and travel, so this group is great! Happy to be along for the ride.
Tanner wrote: "Hello! My name is Tanner, I just joined. I saw your group and immediately decided to join. The two things I love to do is read and travel, so this group is great! Happy to be along for the ride."Welcome, Tanner! I'm so glad that you have joined us!
Hello - I'm Alice. Single mom (one 10-year-old-son) in Portland, Oregon. I was raised in Yardley, PA (near Phila.) and spent 15 years in Phoenix, AZ.I have a dog, 3 chickens, and a corn snake. Actually, the snake belongs to my son. We lost a dog and cat last year, so we're low in the pet department right now. :-(
I love to travel, read, and read about travel. I try to even out my fiction and non-fiction reading; but have to admit I'm more picky with fiction, and tend to be more likely to give it a low rating.
I work in the water/environmental policy field, and also like to read books about that (this includes traditional environmental books, but also economics, public policy, politics, farming etc.). I also love to learn more about religions, so add those to my list! Oh, and my first love is science (I started out as a chemist) - what can I say? I love it all!
Alice, you sound like a busy woman. I started out working in clinical chemistry in a hospital lab in my younger days so I enjoy science/healthcare too. I recently retired so it gives me more time to read :) (when I'm not running around helping our elderly parents.)
Hi Connie - good to know there's another science geek in the group. I look forward to retiring someday and being able to read more!
Alice wrote: "Hello - I'm Alice. Single mom (one 10-year-old-son) in Portland, Oregon. I was raised in Yardley, PA (near Phila.) and spent 15 years in Phoenix, AZ.I have a dog, 3 chickens, and a corn snake. ..."
Welcome, Alice! You sure do have some interesting pets! Thank goodness my son is only asking for a pet turtle and not a snake!
A book you may be interested in is Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature, set on the island of Nauru.
Wow - thanks for the suggestion Diane - it looks right up my alley! (or several allies, I suppose).
Hello! My name is Aini and I'm a student from Indonesia. I've always wanted to read books from other countries but never knew where to start so this is a really good idea! I hope that the books I read for this challenge are also in The BBC Big Read list because I'm also doing that this year.
I'm really trying to expand my reading experience, so let's go!
Good luck with both challenges, Aini. There are some good books on the BBC Big Read 200 Book List to get you started around the world.
Hello everyone, my name is Cheryl and I live in Missouri (US). I am already in a couple of book clubs on GR, but I really liked the Around the World challenges, although I will have to participate in the never-ending one. I'd like to use this idea in my classroom one day.
Hi everyone :)I'm Kimberly I'm from Toronto. I love reading books from other countries (obviously) and I'm in another group that is going ATW in 52 books but I think I'm going to surpass that goal so I joined this one. Most of my literary journey is taken place in Africa because I love reading about the countries there.
Looking forward to getting to know everyone!
Connie wrote: "Good luck with both challenges, Aini. There are some good books on the BBC Big Read 200 Book List to get you started around the world."The whole 200 books on the list are a bit intimidating (200 is a pretty big number!), but it can't hurt to have another look!
Aini wrote: "Hello! My name is Aini and I'm a student from Indonesia. I've always wanted to read books from other countries but never knew where to start so this is a really good idea! I hope that the books I..."
Welcome to the group, Aini! There are a lot of great books on the BBC Big Read list from around the world. I will have to make a list of them like I did for the 1001 books. There are many books that are on both lists, so it should be fairly easy. Do you have any recommendations for books from Indonesia?
For anyone interested in viewing the BBC Big Read 200 list, here is the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/
Cheryl wrote: "Hello everyone, my name is Cheryl and I live in Missouri (US). I am already in a couple of book clubs on GR, but I really liked the Around the World challenges, although I will have to participate ..."Hi, Cheryl! Welcome to the group! I am hoping to put a couple of reading lists for children's books around the world soon - one for picture books and another for middle grade chapter books. I am reading books from around the world to my kids now and they seem to be really enjoying it.
Kimberly wrote: "Hi everyone :)I'm Kimberly I'm from Toronto. I love reading books from other countries (obviously) and I'm in another group that is going ATW in 52 books but I think I'm going to surpass that g..."
Hi, Kimberly. I am participating in the 52 books challenge as well. Don't forget, you can count all the books you have read since October for the ATW80 challenge, so you will be off to a good start. I love reading books set in Africa, too. I was surprised to notice that my Africa shelf has well over 100 books (and there are so many I haven't put in yet!). So glad to have you as part of the group!
Diane wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Hello everyone, my name is Cheryl and I live in Missouri (US). I am already in a couple of book clubs on GR, but I really liked the Around the World challenges, although I will have ..."Diane - I really hope you do! I was looking for a good book for my son (now 10) to read before we went to Turkey last year, and came up completely short. Nothing suitable for his age group. Ugh. Would love to see what you find.
Diane wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Hi everyone :)I'm Kimberly I'm from Toronto. I love reading books from other countries (obviously) and I'm in another group that is going ATW in 52 books but I think I'm going ..."
Thanks Diane :) Glad to find another fan of books set in Africa :D
Diane wrote: "Aini wrote: "Hello! My name is Aini and I'm a student from Indonesia. I've always wanted to read books from other countries but never knew where to start so this is a really good idea! I hope t..."
Thanks Diane for including the 200 books list... I've only read 8 of those. But really I just wanted to say, I'm somewhat surprised that "Flowers in the Attic" is on that list... I guess people love(d) it that much?! Then again, that was from 2003. I'd love to see an updated list and see how some books may/may not have changed over time!
Diane wrote: "Aini wrote: "Hello! My name is Aini and I'm a student from Indonesia. I've always wanted to read books from other countries but never knew where to start so this is a really good idea! I hope t..."
Yes, I do have a book recommendation from Indonesia and it's regarded as one of Indonesia's classics:
This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
It's the first book in The Buru Quartet and tells of life in the late 19th century when Indonesia was still under Dutch colonization.
Aini wrote: "Diane wrote: "Aini wrote: "Hello! My name is Aini and I'm a student from Indonesia. I've always wanted to read books from other countries but never knew where to start so this is a really good id..."
I have been wanting to read his books for a long time. I own The Girl From the Coast, but have not read it yet. Thanks for the recommendation!
WOW, a lot of new people. Welcome everyone!
HII'm Rebeca from Mexico(living in California), glad to join this group and to discuss and heard your opinions.
Rebeca wrote: "HII'm Rebeca from Mexico(living in California), glad to join this group and to discuss and heard your opinions."
Hola, Rebeca! Bienvenudos! So glad you have joined us!
Hi! I'm Jennifer and I just found this group. I'm currently living in Florida, but will be moving back to Maryland this summer while my husband goes to Korea for a year. I figure I'll have a lot of time to read while traveling between the US and Korea. Plus, I need some reading goal...I mean, something other than "whatever free ebook download seems to be at the top of the queue". I look forward to traveling the world with you!
Jen wrote: "Hi! I'm Jennifer and I just found this group. I'm currently living in Florida, but will be moving back to Maryland this summer while my husband goes to Korea for a year. I figure I'll have a lot..."Welcome, Jennifer! I'm glad you found us!
Jen wrote: "Hi! I'm Jennifer and I just found this group. I'm currently living in Florida, but will be moving back to Maryland this summer while my husband goes to Korea for a year. I figure I'll have a lot..."Hi Jen,
Is your husband in the army? I have a friend who is in the navy (I think; not sure if it's that or something else) and told me just a few days ago that he'll be going to Korea too. I'm very excited for him!
^wops; my friend is actually in the Air Force.
Natacha wrote: "^wops; my friend is actually in the Air Force."My husband is Air Force, too. A one-year short tour overseas was the only way we could guarantee he could end up back where I would be. I'm looking forward to all the new travel destinations we'll be able to explore in Asia while I put myself into the poor house flying back and forth to visit him every few months!
Jen wrote: "Natacha wrote: "^wops; my friend is actually in the Air Force."My husband is Air Force, too. A one-year short tour overseas was the only way we could guarantee he could end up back where I would..."
Awww what a year ahead for the both of you! Wish you the best with it :)
Around the World in 80 Books
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I just joined Goodreads in May, and these challenges are addictive. I've been introduced to so many new authors that I've enjoyed.