Jessamy's List

[Jessamy]

So here's my list. I compiled my list based on countries I've been to, countries where friends of mine come from and place I'm interested in. I've drawn book suggestions from the master list. It'd be great to join in some of the group reads :)

Afghanistan
The Places in Between

Albania
Broken April

Antarctica
South

Argentina
Labyrinths

Armenia
Family of Shadows

Azerbaijan
Ali and Nino, A Love Story

Bangladesh
A Golden Age

Bhutan
Beyond the Sky and the Earth

Brazil
The Seamstress

Burma
From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey

Canada
Someone Knows My Name

Chile
The House of the Spirits

China
"Socialism Is Great!": A Worker's Memoir of the New China

Colombia
Delirio

Cuba
Waiting for Snow in Havana

Denmark
Smilla's Sense of Snow

Egypt
Midaq Alley

Eritrea
My Father's Daughter

Faroe Islands
Far Afield

Finland
The Year of the Hare

France
My Life in France

Germany
The Invention of Curried Sausage

Iceland
Hypothermia

India
A Suitable Boy

Indonesia
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

Iraq
I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story

Ireland
Cheating at Canasta

Israel
Extreme Rambling: Walking Israel's Separation Barrier. For Fun

Italy
Cooking with Fernet Branca

Japan
Norwegian Wood

Kenya
Out of Africa

Latvia
Exile From Latvia: My WWII Childhood - From Survival to Opportunity

Libya
In the Country of Men

Malaysia
Evening Is the Whole Day

MexicoLike Water for Chocolate

Mongolia
All This Belongs to Me: A Novel

Morroco
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood

Netherlands
The Coffee Trader

New Zealand
The Bone People

North Korea
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Norway
In the Wake

Pakistan
In the Sea There Are Crocodiles

Phillipines
When the Elephants Dance

Romania
The Appointment

Russia
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine

Rwanda
Left to Tell

Singapore
Foreign Bodies

Somalia
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad

Spain
Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia

Sri Lanka
Running in the Family

Switzerland
On a Day Like This

Turkey
Istanbul: Memories and the City

United Kingdom
A Room of One's Own

Ukraine
Katerina

United States
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

Vietnam
The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir

[Jessamy]

It does have a bit of a culinary motif to it, doesn't it? I tried to have a bit of light and shade to the list so that I won't give up when the reading gets tough. Food themed books tend to do the trick. Oh and My Life in France is about Julia Child's culinary school education in France :)

[Rebecca]

Jessamy wrote: "It does have a bit of a culinary motif to it, doesn't it? I tried to have a bit of light and shade to the list so that I won't give up when the reading gets tough. Food themed books tend to do the ..."

I loved reading My Life in France, it was such a wonderful and funny book. You do need to add some lightness to a list, otherwise it does start turning into a chore to get through.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Great list! I've added your ideas to the master lists too.

[Jessamy]

I've hope this is one of very few subs in my list but I'm swapping my UK choice of A Room of One's Own to Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.

[mussolet]

Oh, great change. I loooove North and South. Had to choose another book by Gaskell myself because I've already read it, but I love it ;). Hafe fun with that.

Are you sure you want to read A Suitable Boy? That's like ... a thousand pages long. In mini-print. Not that it's not good, it's just horribly long.

[Jessamy]

Yeah, I choose North and South because until recently I was living in Manchester - it seemed more appropriate.

And I'm going to give a Suitable Boy a red hot go. It's my friend's favourite book and she tried to get me to read it earlier in the year. I'll see how I go :)

[Betty]

Bangladesh's title A Golden Age sounds good!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I updated the list. I was definitely thinking of a different North and South, hehe.

[Betty]

I didn't pick up A Suitable Boy because so many Indian authors attract me. And, I just bought another one Sujit Saraf's The Peacock Throne while visiting an Italian bookstore because it seemed a rare find. However, I don't know if it actually is! Did someone read Vikram Seth's California book The Golden Gate?

[Betty]

Judy, hahahaha, can you be my editor or my peer reviewer? No, I meant the authors' works. I'm not editing the slip either. It's too hilarious.

[Chrissie]

Re: Vikram Seth

I really enjoyed Two Lives. Reads like a novel, but isn't. It is so good.

[Betty]

Chrissie wrote: "Re: Vikram Seth

I really enjoyed Two Lives. Reads like a novel, but isn't. It is so good."

This is a memoir of two of his family. It covers a lot of geographical territory as well. Thanks, Chrissie.

[Chrissie]

Asmah wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Re: Vikram Seth

I really enjoyed Two Lives. Reads like a novel, but isn't. It is so good."

This is a memoir of two of his family. It covers a lot of geographical t..."

After three tries I gave up on the Suitable Boy, but the memoir I mentioned is about his family and himself. Just wonderful.

[Jessamy]

Hmm... must consider Two Lives then.

[Jessamy]

Ok. I think I've deviated terribly from my original list. Here's what I've actually read so far:

Antarctica
South - Ernest Shackleton

Italy
The Periodic Table - Primo Levi

Thailand
The Beach - Alex Garland

[Louise]

The year is still young ;-)