Where in the World Have You Been?!?! (Book Finished and Review Linked) Showing 501-550 of 1,005

[Wendy]

Judy wrote: "Wendy, you are going to have to rent yourself a flat in London. LOL!"

If only I could Judy!!!!

[Sue]

I just finished 180896757Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape. My review is:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Yrinsyde]

I've finished my travels in Scandinavia with Growth of the Soil for Norway and The Boy in the Suitcase for Denmark. I am now in The Netherlands with Maigret and then it is off to London to visit the Queen!

[Suzanne]

Just left Egypt on the verge of independence with Palace Walk, which I loved! My review is here: http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/04...

Now I'm in Uganda with A Bend in the River.

[Sylvia]

I'm leaving Japan after reading The Day of the Bomb and I've written a review with a few spoilers.

[Sharon]

Just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I loved it. Here's a link to my very short review (more of a simple acknowledgement that I read it than an actual review): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....

[Angela]

I just left Switzerland with Hotel du Lac. My review is here. Do not read if you are trying to learn about Switzerland or if you are looking for an exciting book. It is not going to happen.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Angela wrote: "I just left Switzerland with Hotel du Lac. My review is here. Do not read if you are trying to learn about Switzerland or if you are looking for an exciting book. It is not going to happen."
Uh oh, haha.

[Lara]

Sharon wrote: "Warnie B. wrote: "I visited Azerbaijan with Ali and Nino: A Love Story: review (5 stars!)

My visit to Japan was cut short--I just couldn't finish 1Q84. Back to the drawing board for Japan!"

I've ..."

Sharon, I might pick 1Q84 up again at some point and give it another try, but I'm definitely not going to finish the audio version I was listening to. I tend not to enjoy sex scenes in books, and this one really has some doozies--having to hear them all out loud in minute and graphic detail was kind of excruciating! But I'd be willing to make another attempt of it in a more skimmable format! :)

[Wendy]

Angela wrote: "I just left Switzerland with Hotel du Lac. My review is here. Do not read if you are trying to learn about Switzerland or if you are looking for an exciting book. It is not going to happen."

Thank you Angela -- this is what I would call a very helpful review :-)

[Friederike]

I left Zimbabwe.. here is my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Sylvia]

I have finished De Citroenboom and left Israel. I've enjoyed this book, although its theme isn't cheerful. If interested here's my review

[Mira]

Left Denmark (finally!) with The Boy in the Suitcase. Here is my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Angela]

Wendy wrote: "Angela wrote: "I just left Switzerland with Hotel du Lac. My review is here. Do not read if you are trying to learn about Switzerland or if you are looking for an exciting book. It is not going ..."

You are quite welcome. I was looking forward to reading it. The book jacket is quite misleading. It describes the book as spellbinding and funny. I am still waiting for that to kick in.

[Wendy]

Angela wrote: "Wendy wrote: "Angela wrote: "I just left Switzerland with Hotel du Lac. My review is here. Do not read if you are trying to learn about Switzerland or if you are looking for an exciting book. It..."

Hate it when that happens!

[Yrinsyde]

I have just left my 15th stop Holland after a short spell with a Maigret mystery. Onto my next stop - Necropolis, all about the dead of London.

[Sylvia]

I made an awful quick trip to France with The House I Loved. I read the Dutch version Het huis waar jij van hield where I also put my review

[Darrell]

For Canada, The Voyage of the Narwhal by
Andrea Barrett. Loved it!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76...

For Russia, Snowdrops by A.D. Miller. 5 stars!

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

[Sylvia]

I can leave the Ukraine for that was the country I linked to the reading of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, but I also could have added the book to my list for Poland, one of the Baltic States, Belarus, Germany or Russia. The book covers a very large area in Europe. I wrote a review, but that gives only a very summarily overview of what can be learn from this book. I recommend this book to all who are interested in Europe between 1920-1945.
Here is my review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/260770678

[Suzanne]

Two more African countries down as I have finished A Bend in the River - this book made me sleepy, but still left me with a lot to think about. My review can be found at: http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/04...
The second book completed is A Long Way Gone. This memoir was much easier to read, and even though the subject matter was distressing, it had a happy ending. Here is my review:
http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/04...

[Sharon]

Just finished The Complete Persepolis, which I loved. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Sylvia]

I've finished my trip thorough ancient Egypt, starting at the Old Kingdom and traveling through the centuries until Alexander conquered Egypt.
Cyril Adred's Egyptian Art is a must read if you're interested in Egypt at the dawn of western art during the reigns of the pharaohs. Further comments are in my review.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/301023356

[Vicky]

My review of Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I think that the title of this book is pretty much perfect, and it is one of the best books I've ever read.

[Lisa (Harmonybites)]

I just left modern Pakistan and India with Salman Rushdie in Midnight's Children and it was a wonderful ride. I wouldn't call it exactly light reading--it's complex and deserves its label of literary fiction. But it's quite accessible, with an entrancing and funny voice, a terrific style and unforgettable characters. I also think this is the kind of book made for this group. Rushdie as he put it in his introduction "paired" his narrator with India itself, having him born at the very moment of its independence. As such the novel is meant to be about modern India itself, and thus manages to be a great survey of its recent history and culture. My first Rushdie novel, but emphatically not my last. Review here:

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

[Rusalka]

I just left Darjeeling in India after finishing The Inheritance of Loss. I really enjoyed it. She really captured the landscape of the area, and the feeling of belonging, or more accurately, not. "Review" here http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Just left Russia reading what might be the most significant dystopian novel, We (my review here).

So as far as baking something... should I bake only what dystopian Russia would have available? ;)

[Shomeret]

I recently left Germany where I was misled by an unreliable narrator in Half-Blood Blues. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[mussolet]

I went to Syria with a German audiobook Murmeln Meiner Kindheit, and then I went mad in Iran with The Blind Owl, for which you can find my review here.

Shomeret, I've never even ehard of this book, and I'm German. I shall see if I find it.

[Sylvia]

I read a great book about Persia/Iran Samarkand. It's absolutely a must read for everyone who loves historical novels. Read more in my review

[Genia]

Been in the home court, in Israel. Review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... though I admit it's maybe a little cryptic.

[Shomeret]

SilverRaindrops wrote: "I went to Syria with a German audiobook Murmeln Meiner Kindheit, and then I went mad in Iran with The Blind Owl, for which you can find my review here.

Shomeret, I've never even ehard of this boo..."


Esi Edugyan, the author of Half Blood Blues, is Canadian, so the book was written in English. There is a German translation, however. It's called Speil's Noch Einmal according to the author's website which can be found at http://www.esiedugyan.com

[Angela]

Just left Saudi Arabia with Girls of Riyadh. My review is here.

[mussolet]

Shomeret wrote: "SilverRaindrops wrote: "I went to Syria with a German audiobook Murmeln Meiner Kindheit, and then I went mad in Iran with The Blind Owl, for which you can find my review here.

Shomeret, I've neve..."

Thank you Shomeret, I'll look for it :).

... It was a Booker finalist???

[mussolet]

Chrissie and I have been in New Zealand with The Colour.
My 4.5-star-review is here.

[Shomeret]

SilverRaindrops wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "SilverRaindrops wrote: "I went to Syria with a German audiobook Murmeln Meiner Kindheit, and then I went mad in Iran with The Blind Owl, for which you can find my review here.

Sh..."

Yes, indeed Half Blood Blues was a Booker finalist. To me, this is interesting, but not very relevant information. I don't choose books based on whether they've won awards or been nominated for them. I choose them based on whether their subjects, stories or characters interest me.

[mussolet]

Shomeret wrote: "To me, this is interesting, but not very relevant information. I don't choose books based on whether they've won awards or been nominated for them. I choose them based on whether their subjects, stories or characters interest me."

I don't either; I just didn't expect that. Normally the German press covers awards like this a lot, especially when Germany is featured, so I figured I would have heard about it and was surprised that I haven't.

[Yrinsyde]

Finished with my macabre stay in London with Catharine Arnold's Necropolis - London and its Dead. I'm going to London next month and this interesting read has inspired me to plan a visit Highgate Cemetery!

[Sharon]

Yrinsyde wrote: "Finished with my macabre stay in London with Catharine Arnold's Necropolis - London and its Dead. I'm going to London next month and this interesting read has inspired me to plan a visit Highgate C..."

This sounds intriguing! I visited the catacombs in Paris last year, and was amazed to learn just a little of the history of how quickly the graveyards were filled and the various tactics used to empty them. Gruesome but fascinating bits of history!

[Sue]

Yrinsyde wrote: "Finished with my macabre stay in London with Catharine Arnold's Necropolis - London and its Dead. I'm going to London next month and this interesting read has inspired me to plan a visit Highgate C..."

Highgate sounds fascinating. It was a major presence in a book I read about a year ago...sadly the title escapes me at present.

I just looked it up...Her Fearful Symmetry. Don't know if this would be of interest though as it's not about the cemetery itself.

[Lisa (Harmonybites)]

I've just returned from a visit to 19th century Indonesia in the time of the eruption of Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester is a solid writer, his scientific explanations are lucid, I learned a lot I didn't know about Indonesia, and he touches on a lot of fascinating subjects. It's a good book--although not a great one. It's missing a sense of awe I think. My review here:

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/25...#

[Daisy]

I just finished The Twin from Holland. I liked it so much I could hardly write a review except to say it's quiet and gorgeous.

[Sylvia]

I've finished Irish Legends and reviewed it, then I listened to Lenin en Stalin: een hoorcollege over de leiders van revolutionair Rusland for a visit to Russia and an introduction to the Russian Revolution and the founding of the Sovjet Union. My review is a bit short, but the audiobook requires further reading.

[Friederike]

I have finished my visit to South Vietnam. My review of Vincent Lam's The Headmaster's Wager is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Rusalka]

Just finished Purge in Estonia. Long rambling review can be found here http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/2012/...
However, in a nutshell, it was great and you should all read it. Now.

[Sylvia]

Rusalka wrote: "Just finished Purge in Estonia. Long rambling review can be found here http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/2012/...
However, in a nutshell, it was great and you should all read it. Now."

Fine review, I'm going to read it for certain.

[Sylvia]

Friederike wrote: "I have finished my visit to South Vietnam. My review of Vincent Lam's The Headmaster's Wager is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..."

A very extensive review. I put the book on my TBR list and see if there's a Dutch translation of the book.

[Suzanne]

I just left Jordan and Queen Noor with Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good (or terribly authentic) experience. My review is here:
http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/05...

[Lisa (Harmonybites)]

Just left 17th Century Japan, guided by Shusaku Endo's Silence about the persecution of Christians in Japan. It's short, stylistically spare, and a powerful and at times moving meditation on faith under pressure by an author that's been called "the Japanese Graham Greene" Review here:

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

[mussolet]

I left Ghandi's India, where Keeping Corner takes place (4.5-star-review here), for Brazil, the home of Paulo Coelho. I wish I'd picked another book than The Alchemist. 2.5-star-review here.

[Lisa (Harmonybites)]

I was just trekking along the Himalayas in Nepal--gorgeous scenery, but with unfortunately what I found a very annoying companion who couldn't stop his all-about-me chatter so I could take in the view. I found The Snow Leopard about a two-month trek in search of the Himalayan blue sheep and the snow leopard ultimately disappointing. There were passages of great beauty, but this seemed in the end more about the author's very hippie musings than the nature and people around him. Review here:

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