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2012-2024 Discussions
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Where in the World Are You?!?! (Currently Reading)
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Rusalka
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Jun 01, 2012 06:33AM
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Rusalka wrote: "Currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog>. Am going on holiday/work trip to Singapore tomorrow and will be spending a total of 18 hours on planes this week (gotta love Australia ... urgh) so ..."Dear God I hated that book. I hope you don't hate it as much as I did.
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Heh I'm fence-sitting at the moment. Will definitely let you know Genia
Genia wrote: I also had a love-hate relationship with that book. There were parts that I truly didn't care for, and almost made me close the book forever, but then there were other parts...I don't know, it ended up growing on me.
I have left Malawi and Paul Theroux's The Lower River (review to follow) and will spend some time in Canada with Steve Heighton's new short story collection The Dead Are More Visible
I'm still looking at the roots of globalism and what the author calls "the Columbus Effect" in 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. But no matter how much I read, I never seem to get terribly far! This is the trouble with eBooks - I have no idea exactly how BIG this book is! All I know for sure is it's much longer than I thought. It's good, but it's l o n g.I think I'm going to go for put aside the talk of monocultures, slavery, and malaria and come up for air with Tomato Rhapsody: A Novel of Love, Lust, and Forbidden Fruit.
I also discovered I have fallen 6 books behind, so I changed the number of books I plan to read for this year, but I plan to keep up with the challenge after the new year so I can still read them all. And who knows? Come fall, I may even catch up and do all 52 after all!
I'm in Kenya with Unbowed, really enjoying it so far. I grew up with missionary kids who lived with the Turkana and Swahili, but I know very little about Kikuyu, and I'm learning a lot already. I look forward to learning more about her life, how Kenya changes, and her work.
Gaeta1 wrote: "Isnapped up 1493 at a used bookstore; I hope to read it next year. I learned after The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War that I am better of..."It's funny how that works. There are some books I have to read paper and some I can read just fine as an eBook. I must admit I do like being able to highlight the eBooks!
I am loving 1493, and do feel I'm going to want to re-read sections. It's a good book. For some reason I'm just not staying with it as well as I would typically. I think it's partly because I had to put it down to read a book club novel, and I kinda lost my place and momentum... There's a LOT of information in it...
Interesting thoughts about ebooks. I haven't read non-fiction in that format yet and it will be interesting if I notice a difference.
I'm in early 19th century Korea discovering a mysteriously dead book examiner with Everlasting Empire.
I cut short my visit to Korea because I was meeting too many people there that I knew nothing about and I couldn't relate to.I'm now traveling through 16th century Germany worrying about the possibility of being burned as a witch with The Book of Madness and Cures. I think there's too much traveling to include this in the challenge as representing a particular country. Has anyone used this as an Italy book?
I am apparently in Scotland. It took me a while to figure that out. The wandering central character of The Book of Madness and Cures,Gabriella Mondini, refers to the city where she is staying as Edenborg. Then I noticed the Scottish names and references to the Highlands and said "Ah,Edinburgh!" I am with Gabriella in the Edinburgh library peering over her shoulder as she reads Petrarch's letters.
Shomeret wrote: "The Korea book that I abandoned was Everlasting Empire." Can you explain, why you abandoned this book, was it boring or too violent.
I would like to recommend
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea if you're looking for a book about Korean society. Maybe you already have read it. I like it very much.
Sylvia wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "The Korea book that I abandoned was Everlasting Empire." Can you explain, why you abandoned this book, was it boring or too violent.
I would like to recommend
Nothing to Envy: ..."
I abandoned Everlasting Empirebecause there were too many characters and none were developed except the original character, the royal librarian. Unfortunately, the plot had wandered away from him. There were all these people that I knew nothing about, so I couldn't care about what happened to them.
Mod
Will be spamming the other thread with my holiday reading.
Shomeret wrote: "Sylvia wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "The Korea book that I abandoned was Everlasting Empire." Can you explain, why you abandoned this book, was it boring or too violent.
I would like to recommend
No..."
I see what you mean. Thanks for explaining this. Nevertheless I put this book on the wishlist of my library to be read in the future. I'll keep in mind what you wrote about it.
Oooh I don't know what to read next. I have more choices now than when I started! I did go through and mark which books are waitlisted in paperbackswap.com so I think I'll end up reading one of those next.
I'm in Mexico with Silvia Molina's The Love You Promised Me (1999) and Puerto Rico with Mariana Romo-Carmona's Living at Night (1997), both re-reads. Will be starting We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? (1994)--a collection of short stories by Achy Obejas which takes me all over present/past Latin America, including the U.S.
Jenny wrote: "Oooh I don't know what to read next. I have more choices now than when I started! I did go through and mark which books are waitlisted in paperbackswap.com so I think I'll end up reading one of t..."Those of us with a million paperbackswap wishlisted books thank you!!!
I'm in Paris with The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I've been doing some rapid catching up on reading with 3 other places between leaving the US Sunday night and arriving here for dinner tonight!
I was in Japan this morning on a repeat trip finding out about the Japanese-Brazilian community. Tomorrow I head out to South Africa in 1849 with a Jewish immigrant. It's a repeat trip to South Africa, but I've never been there in 1849 or been there in the company of a Jewish immigrant. Today I learned that I will soon be going to 19th century Sicily which will be for this challenge.
I'm also in Japan with 2 novels, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and The Housekeeper and the Professor. Both are wonderful. I'm also a few pages into A Pale View Of Hills which is set in Japan and Britain. Never knew I could enjoy Japanese lit so much.
I have one foot in North Korea with The Orphan Master's Son and the other in Australia with The Light Between Oceans. I'll stay in Australia for a brief lady detective novel, Cocaine Blues.
Mod
I'm interested to hear what you think about Phryne Fisher, Jenny. She's a guilty pleasure of many a friend of mine as well as my Mum.
There is also a TV series of those books on our ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp) at the moment so if you like the book you may like to check it out http://www.abc.net.au/tv/phrynefisher/
I have returned from my Iceland expedition, and had the most amazing time there*. I absolutley love the country and would go back there in a second.I was joined by Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Ice Land by Betsy Tobin, a Clive Cussler bookswapped from a hostel, and the truly terrible 50 Shades of Grey. I brought back with me From the Mouth of a Whale by Sjón, at great expense, as books were more than double the price of what they are in the UK.
*Too many things to describe but it included white nights, American batchelor parties, puffins, sea kayaking, sailing ships, the Cod War, ice axes, humpback whales, Eurovision, Arctic terns, crampons, the Arctic Ocean, volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls and brennivín. Also a plan to join some Norwegians on a midnight ski trip next spring.
After a rather grim stay in the DR Congo with Johnny Mad Dog, I'm off to the Ecuadorian Andes to watch a power struggle of a different (and hopefully more amusing) kind in The Potbellied Virgin
Rusalka wrote: "Jenny wrote: "... I'll stay in Australia for a brief lady detective novel, Cocaine Blues."I'm interested to hear what you think about Phryne Fisher, Jenny. She's a guilty pleasure of many a frien..."
I like Phryne Fisher, so I tried clicking on the link for the TV series, Rusalka, but I got a message that "This content is only viewable from within Australia."
Too bad.
i wish someone had yelled at me. there are about 22 pages of unread comments here...i guess i could say i'm in 52 Land. some of you guys are really, really funny. ;)BUT i just left Kenya and i think i am heading to Germany tomorrow, and maybe Lebanon as well, with the Saturday Readathon Express.
I am 4 books behind but am reading more than a couple .. Glue (Scotland), Barbara (Fareo Islands), Viking Age Iceland (Iceland) and I will start my Canadian read this week.
Mod
Nawww... well keep an eye out for when they are on DVD maybe. "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries"
You might be able to view some of the YouTube contents - the series was delicious! The hospital with the balcony is part of the Royal Melbourne Hospital where I work. It was fun spotting all the local landmarks!http://www.youtube.com/user/phrynefis...
In Sweden with Windows and Stones: Selected Poems by Tomas Tranströmer. I think I start to be lost at about 1962 in his work. Luckily, the book goes backward chronologically, so I am finding it making more and more sense as I go.
I arrived in Venice via Germany (same book) but its going slowly for me. I will definitely switch to Lebanon this afternoon. Jenny, I liked your blog post! Which reminds me: I totally failed at blogging this year.
Marieke wrote: "Jenny, I liked your blog post! Which reminds me: I totally failed at blogging this year. ..."Thank you! There is still half a year to blog more!
Jenny wrote: "Marieke wrote: "Jenny, I liked your blog post! Which reminds me: I totally failed at blogging this year. ..."Thank you! There is still half a year to blog more!"
I think I need to come to terms with the fact that I'm too lazy lol.
I seem to have great ambition but zero ability to implement. :(
I loved that book, Sue! I hope you do, too.
Marieke wrote: "I loved that book, Sue! I hope you do, too."Me too! Simple and beautiful.
I've hears such good things about it--I'm really looking forward to it.
Jenny wrote: "Heading back to Japan to try to get through A Pale View Of Hills on readathon day!"I'm about 1/2 way through that and then to the Summer Book.
Yrinsyde wrote: "You might be able to view some of the YouTube contents - the series was delicious! The hospital with the balcony is part of the Royal Melbourne Hospital where I work. It was fun spotting all the lo..."I can't view it on You Tube either, Yrinsyde. Even the Phyrne Fisher You Tubes are only for Australians.
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