Around the World in 80 Books discussion
Getting to Know You
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Introductions
dely wrote: "Hello, I have joined the group because I like to read books who are set in other countries; I like to know about their culture, history, habits, religion etc. though there are too many books to rea..."Welcome, dely! There really are too many books to read and too little time. Glad you have joined us!
Diane wrote: "Welcome, dely! There really are too many books to read and too little time. Glad you have joined us! "Thanks ;) I hope to extricate among the many discussions and maybe in the future take part in some group read or some challenge.
Hi, I'm Jennifer. I live in Massachusetts and have a DH, a DS8 and a DS12. I'm a lawyer. And I read. That's me!! I look forward to seeing what you read and hopefully being able to keep up. :)
Jennifer wrote: "Hi, I'm Jennifer. I live in Massachusetts and have a DH, a DS8 and a DS12. I'm a lawyer. And I read. That's me!! I look forward to seeing what you read and hopefully being able to keep up. :)"Hi, Jennifer! Welcome to the group!
Hey, I'm from Germany and I just read about this group at a friend's profile...so I thought it might be fun to participate :) Now I need to read through the rules and then...let's get started :)
C_ wrote: "Hey, I'm from Germany and I just read about this group at a friend's profile...so I thought it might be fun to participate :) Now I need to read through the rules and then...let's get started :)"Welcome to the group, C_! I'm so glad you found us!
Epic wrote: "I write erotica. 
"Ugh, I wish I could get this person to stop spamming my notifications feed. She? keeps joining groups (via a bot?) seeding them with the message above.
..or maybe you're just doing all the hard work yourself, Epic. Either way, I really hope you're more or less done with the groups I belong to... sadly I belong to quite a lot of groups... :P
^^and i was hoping this would be one place where we wouldn't see any of that... can't they keep that to myspace and facebook? LOL
Ugh, I wish I could get this person to stop spamming my notifications feed. She? keeps joining groups (via a bot?) ..."
Traveller, that person has been deleted from the group.
Hi all, I'm Ian from Liverpool,England - home of the Beatles. I was told about this group a while ago by Sam, but was a bit busy with my own group to get fully involved. I help moderate the UK Book Group on GR and by coincidence, we started an Around the World in 80 Books Challenge at around the same time this group was set up......but from reading previous posts Diane &others were doing this well, well before then. We're also doing a 51 book US challenge - the states plus DC (which I'm really enjoying) - and around the UK via all 92 counties. I'm trying to do all 3 plus a couple of other challenges (annual author A to Z & a monthly genre challenge) within the group, so I expect this will take quite a few years.I'll be using this group for inspiration and ideas, so feel free to pop into our group and do the same to see what people have read on the various challenges.
Just one last thing - big thanks to Diane for setting this up - great resource for all of us who want to explore all the different cultures around the world via the written word.
Welcome, Ian! Thank you so much for your kind words. Wow, I didn't even know your group and challenge existed! It's funny, but apparently two other similar world challenge groups started back in August as well. Great minds think alike, I guess. I am happy to have you join our group and travel the world with us!
Hi, I'm Allison and I currently live near Denver, Colorado. I'm originally from South Carolina. I just finished a degree in school psychology, but am currently staying home with my sons, aged 2 and 2 months. I love to read and enjoy most genres. I'm really interested in this group and learning more about the world through literature. I am not able to travel much since my kids are so young so this is a fun substitute!
Allison wrote: "Hi, I'm Allison and I currently live near Denver, Colorado. I'm originally from South Carolina. I just finished a degree in school psychology, but am currently staying home with my sons, aged 2 and..."Welcome, Allison! I'm so glad you have joined our group! What part of South Carolina are you from?
Diane wrote: "Allison wrote: "Hi, I'm Allison and I currently live near Denver, Colorado. I'm originally from South Carolina. I just finished a degree in school psychology, but am currently staying home with my ..."I grew up in Greenville and then went to college at USC. Moved west for grad school and stayed for my husband's job. I like CO, but miss the East Coast!
Allison wrote: "Diane wrote: "Allison wrote: "Hi, I'm Allison and I currently live near Denver, Colorado. I'm originally from South Carolina. I just finished a degree in school psychology, but am currently staying..."I lived in Greenville briefly as a child (only for a few months). I also lived in Charleston and Spartanburg. My parents got married in Columbia.
Wow - Spartanburg - great name for a town.
Hi there! i am new to Goodreads and stumbled upon your group while finding my way through it. I love to read. But as a professional social worker in Bombay, I hardly ever get the time. So this is to motivate me to keep at it.I love all kinds of literature.
Hi, everyone. I live in Antwerp, Belgium and love to read. Besides reading books, I also like to listen to audio books. I joined this group as I liked the idea of travelling through books.
Sumanya wrote: "Hi there! i am new to Goodreads and stumbled upon your group while finding my way through it. I love to read. But as a professional social worker in Bombay, I hardly ever get the time. So this is t..."Welcome to the group, Sumanya! I really love how we are all from different parts of the world and reading about each other's countries and the rest of the world!
Danielle wrote: "Hi, everyone. I live in Antwerp, Belgium and love to read. Besides reading books, I also like to listen to audio books. I joined this group as I liked the idea of travelling through books."Hi, Danielle! I have really became a big audio book listening, too. My book reading really declined when I went back to work full time, but audio books have helped me make up a lot of that lost reading time. I am so glad you joined out group!
Hi everyone, as many of you I am someone who enjoy discovering new places over the world, and I think that one way to do it is reading books from author of all over the world, I hope to find good suggestions in this group for my future readings :)
Susan wrote: "Hi everyone, as many of you I am someone who enjoy discovering new places over the world, and I think that one way to do it is reading books from author of all over the world, I hope to find good s..."Hi, Susan! Welcome to the group!
Diane wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Hi, everyone. I live in Antwerp, Belgium and love to read. Besides reading books, I also like to listen to audio books. I joined this group as I liked the idea of travelling throug..."Hi Diane,
I sure can listen to more books than I can read. For me it is also a nice way to hear foreign languages as English and German, as I mostly listen to books in these languages. My taste in listening is also different from that what I care to read so that is a bonus as well
Danielle wrote: "Diane wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Hi, everyone. I live in Antwerp, Belgium and love to read. Besides reading books, I also like to listen to audio books. I joined this group as I liked the idea of tra..."I totally agree about the taste in listening being different than that of reading . I have listened to many books that I probably wouldn't have read in book format. My favorite audio books lately have been the ones where the narrator is speaking in an accent from the book's country of origin.
Just found a couple websites to check-out audiobooks:Audiopolis
Audiobooker(ALA booklist site)
my local library site has samples
Audible
Hi EveryoneI'm Furny from North Yorkshire in UK.
I have quite eclectic reading tastes and have a fascination with fiction set in other countries hence joining this group. I am hoping to broaden my horizons and discover some great books.
Both next months books look really interesting and are on order. :0)
Furny wrote: "Hi EveryoneI'm Furny from North Yorkshire in UK.
I have quite eclectic reading tastes and have a fascination with fiction set in other countries hence joining this group. I am hoping to broaden my..."
Welcome to the group, Furny! I'm so glad you have joined us!
I'm a 29-year-old freelance drummer in Utah with a wife and two young kids. I missed reading as much as I did in college and high school and so I joined this and several other GR groups a few months ago because I couldn't get any of my friends or family to want to read anything with me :-) I'm excited to get to know others in this group and to read together and explore the world, as I have a great wonderlust, but not much time and advantage to travel with a young family. Thanks so much Diane for starting this group, and also thanks to LindaD for recommending those audio ebook sites! :-)
Thanks Diane.Welcome Jeremy, I joined for similar reasons. You will not be alone in the reading world now! :0)
Jeremy wrote: "I'm a 29-year-old freelance drummer in Utah with a wife and two young kids. I missed reading as much as I did in college and high school and so I joined this and several other GR groups a few mont..."Welcome, Jeremy! We will be happy to read with you! I know exactly what you mean about lack of time and advantage for travel. My traveling opportunities have diminished quite a bit in recent years. I do love that I can travel "by book" every day!
Hi, everyone. I'm a reading challenge lover who also loves world literature. I don't know how I managed to just discover this group/challenge today! I'm glad to have found you all, as I need a challenge to help me remember to read around more and not get stuck in a rut of created worlds (science fiction/fantasy) or the same countries again and again. (I'm a Japan and England junkie, it seems.)I'm looking forward to getting involved!
Candiss wrote: "Hi, everyone. I'm a reading challenge lover who also loves world literature. I don't know how I managed to just discover this group/challenge today! I'm glad to have found you all, as I need a c..."Hi, Candiss! I'm glad you found us! It is very easy to be a Japan and England junkie. Those two countries are blessed by so many wonderful books! I saw that you started the country challenge, too! Have a wonderful trip around the world!
Candiss- Welcome to the group.I must also admit to also been a Japan junkie (I love Murakami!). This group will take you out your comfort zones now. Good luck with your challenge!.
Hello, my name is Lada Ray and I am a linguist, feng shui master, world traveler and Goodreads author. I recently released GOLD TRAIN, a mystery/thriller set in Russia and based on true historic events. It is about the disappearance of the entire Gold Reserve of the Russian Empire in 1918 and the present day conspiracy that could shift the global balance of power. The book is part of the Jade Snow International Adventure series. I'd traveled all my life. Check out my blog for entertaining posts about various corners of the globe (most notably Russia and China) with lots of great pics, and for the GOLD TRAIN Blog Tour and Giveaway: http://LadaRay.wordpress.com/
Coming in 2012: THE EARTH SHIFTER - YA fantasy/thriller set in Moscow, Siberia, US and China; DRAGON GATE - new Jade Snow Adventure set in Asia.
All about my books and current projects: http://www.LadaRay.com/
I am thrilled to join this group and looking forward to contributing.
P.S. I just came across a list of the Russian books on this site and rated the ones I've read, which, since I grew up in Russia, are many. Check out this list if you are interested in Russian literature! It's a good one! I'll try to post my reviews for some of these gems on my page soon.
Cheers and happy reading!
Lada Ray
Lada wrote: "Hello, my name is Lada Ray and I am a linguist, feng shui master, world traveler and Goodreads author. I recently released GOLD TRAIN, a mystery/thriller set in Russia and based on true historic ev..."Hello, Lada, and welcome to the group! You certainly are leading an exciting life! Wow, a feng shui master! I have always been intrigued by feng shui, and I would like to learn more about it. Thanks so much for including the links to your blog and website, I will definitely check them out.
Jeremy wrote: "I'm a 29-year-old freelance drummer in Utah with a wife and two young kids. I missed reading as much as I did in college and high school and so I joined this and several other GR groups a few mont..."Jeremy, welcome and your welcome! I have been so busy that audiobooks have become necessary. I've also found a new dimension in my reading life and I've learned to check samples before downloading or checkout at the library. My ears are a little picky. Have a great trip - wherever you go.
Lada wrote: "Hello, my name is Lada Ray and I am a linguist, feng shui master, world traveler and Goodreads author. I recently released GOLD TRAIN, a mystery/thriller set in Russia and based on true historic ev..."woohoo! can't wait to get to that side of the planet - been casually venturing through caribbean and south america since the challenge began in oct. I'll check out your sites soon. welcome :)
Sumanya wrote: "Hi there! i am new to Goodreads and stumbled upon your group while finding my way through it. I love to read. But as a professional social worker in Bombay, I hardly ever get the time. So this is t..."I can't imagine you have any free time with your profession...in a large city like Bombay! Welcome, I hope this group provides some much deserved respite from the realities of our world, if only a little at a time.
Diane wrote: "Lada wrote: "Hello, my name is Lada Ray and I am a linguist, feng shui master, world traveler and Goodreads author. I recently released GOLD TRAIN, a mystery/thriller set in Russia and based on tru..."Thanks so much, Diane, for a warm welcome!
LindaD wrote: "Lada wrote: "Hello, my name is Lada Ray and I am a linguist, feng shui master, world traveler and Goodreads author. I recently released GOLD TRAIN, a mystery/thriller set in Russia and based on tru..."Thanks, Linda, very nice to meet you!
LindaD wrote: "Sumanya wrote: "Hi there! i am new to Goodreads and stumbled upon your group while finding my way through it. I love to read. But as a professional social worker in Bombay, I hardly ever get the ti..."Ha ha Linda!thank you for the welcome! And i do believe this group can give me some respite. Interestingly, nothing pleases me more than to see the 'realities of this world' reproduced in a book. I guess that's what draws me to reading.
Hi everyone! My name is Donna, I'm 26 years old from Scotland originally but currently living in Saudi Arabia. I work for the British Council teaching English - best job in the world. I'm a book junkie who loves to travel. I love literature from around the world, and what I read often inspires my travels and vice versa. I'm married (no kids yet) to a wonderful man who is Moroccan, and we enjoy our multi-cultural family life. Home is Morocco though, and no matter where we travel, we'll always end up back there! I've been a goodreads member for a while, but just found this group today and it sounds right up my alley! Hopefully will be able to take part in a challenge at some point too - let's see!
Donna wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Donna, I'm 26 years old from Scotland originally but currently living in Saudi Arabia. I work for the British Council teaching English - best job in the world. I'm a book..."Hi, Donna! Thanks for joining! Wow, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco! All places I would love to see! You are right at home here with all of us other world-lit loving book junkies!
Hello all! I'm Lora....I'm a 29 yr old long haul truck driver in business for myself. I was an avid reader growing up, but I blame the age of Facebook and Twitter totally shortening my attention span, and thus my reading drastically declined. So with my trusty Galaxy Tablet and a Kindle app, I'm trying to break that trend and introduce myself to some new works I might not have tried in the past.The mobile website isnt much, and the main one is hard to navigate on a mobile device, but I will try my best to comment and participate!
Lora wrote: "Hello all! I'm Lora....I'm a 29 yr old long haul truck driver in business for myself. I was an avid reader growing up, but I blame the age of Facebook and Twitter totally shortening my attention sp..."Hello, Lora! Welcome to the group! My reading went into a slump a few years ago because of the internet and it was very difficult to get back into the habit. Once I got back into a routine I got addicted to reading again, and I hope that doesn't change. Have you tried listening to audiobooks when you are on the road?
Hi, I'm Dana! I am a musician and currently a full-time stay-at-home mommy to my six-week old son, the firstborn for my husband and me. I am a bibliophile and am addicted to buying books! (Although, aren't we all...) I joined this group a while ago thinking how fun it would be to "read myself around the world," since I won't be getting to travel any further than to the pediatrician for a while, and now I've got some time to start my "trips." ;) I'm definitely looking forward to the challenges in this group!
Dana wrote: "Hi, I'm Dana! I am a musician and currently a full-time stay-at-home mommy to my six-week old son, the firstborn for my husband and me. I am a bibliophile and am addicted to buying books! (Although..."Hi, Dana! Congratulations on your new arrival! I am sure you are still quite sleep deprived. I remember those days! Welcome to the group! I'm so glad you can travel with us!
Diane wrote: "Lora wrote: "Hello all! I'm Lora....I'm a! 29 yr old long haul truck driver in business for myself. I was an avid reader growing up, but I blame the age of Facebook and Twitter totally shortening my..."Hi Diane! I do dabble in audio books from time to time, but frankly the cost of them is often rather prohibitive. I had a subscription to Audible for a while, but since I drive around 10hrs a day, I go through selections very, very quickly and the price added up well beyond my credit allowance, sadly.
Welcome, Lora - just a thought for you if you have a smartphone, ipod or another mp3 player. There are so many out there now, and cheap, too. Just ask here for recommendations if you want. I have been downloading library books to listen to while at home, They can play on a computer, but also on many different players. Eliminates the problem of CD's that skip, although I still borrow CD's as well.
My phone uses Overdrive Media Console(free download) which allows you to connect and borrow ebooks and audio from many libraries. Librarians are helpful to ask if you need help, or ask here.
There are many low cost speakers that connect to broadcast the book in the truck. I could never drive with earphones, too dangerous, although I have seen people doing it. Don't get anything too distracting while your driving or you'll find yourself passing your exit!
I know what you mean about FB and twitter, but they are fun. Major time drains, though. It's like going to a casino - go in with a set amount of money, then leave when it's all gone. Don't go to that ATM!!! 30 minutes timer set for FB, then signoff. Stay safe and thanks for carrying our stuff back and forth :)
LindaD
Around the World in 80 Books
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I live in Italy (I am Italian) but I was born and lived a lot of years in Switzerland. I like Russian literature but I like also to read books by Indian authors or set in India or books about Hindu philosophy.
It's all for now and I hope to be active in the group. Have a good day!