Around the World discussion
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2012-2024 Discussions
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Where in the World Have You Been?!?! (Book Finished and Review Linked)
I have been in Mexico at the border with the US... with Carlos Fuentes. My full review of THE CRYSTAL FRONTIER is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I just spent an interesting time in Venice getting to know The Glassblower of Murano.My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
FRANCE. The Devil and Miss Prym. Part fable and part fantasy, whose setting is the rural village of Viscos. A Devil has taken hold of a stranger's soul after his family was murdered, and he chose Viscos to discover whether the essence of men is evil. Review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Just left, well, ok it is complicated, but I am calling it Korea for the time being, with Cloud Atlas. If you haven't had the pleasure, try it. And it is also good for various South Pacific locales, Hawaii, Britain, Belgium, and CA. Here's my review: http://bethslistlove.wordpress.com/20...
Janice wrote: "I was at Beautiful Bay in Vanuatu for the last week or so reading Fishing for Stars.My Review"
OOH. Next year's Oceania list is starting....
Beth wrote: "Janice wrote: "I was at Beautiful Bay in Vanuatu for the last week or so reading Fishing for Stars.My Review"
OOH. Next year's Oceania list is starting...."
Make sure you read The Persimmon Tree first. It is set in Indonesia and Australia. Fishing for Stars is the sequel.
Janice wrote: "Make sure you read The Persimmon Tree first. It is set in Indonesia and Australia. Fishing for Stars is the sequel. "And with that, two Oceania selections out of six taken care of...
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This reminds me! Chelsea (why can't I tag people in posts?!), if you are looking for someone else to beef up your states/territories of Australia list, Bryce Courtenay lives in the ACT now days. Apparently us Canberrans don't leave him alone while he shops for groceries... oops.
Just left Lesotho with Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman by Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya. Great quick non-fiction account of a woman's life there. Here is my review: http://bethslistlove.wordpress.com/20...
Judy wrote: "I am disappointed that my library doesn't have this book. :-("Want me to mail you mine?
Beth wrote: "Just left Lesotho with Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman by Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya. Great quick non-fiction account of a woman's life there. Here is my review: http://be..."Too bad I've already read a book for South Africa, but I'm going to add this to my library list so I will read it in the future.
Sue wrote: "Too bad I've already read a book for South Africa, but I'm going to add this to my library list so I will read it in the future. "It's Lesotho, not S. Africa (well a little is in S. Africa, but mostly it is Lesotho), so you can still use it this year. I'm sending my copy on to Judy, but I bet she'd send it to you next if you asked....
Thanks Beth. I actually just looked up Lesotho. I thought it was a section of South Africa, didn't know it was an independent country within South Africa. So now it's good to go.this is in my library system so I'm all set. Enjoy Judy! and thanks again Beth.
Thanks Judy. If I have any problem, I'll let you know.
I have just left the middle east and The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, where I was profoundly moved by the story of Bashir and Dalia, the house they grew up in, and the lemon tree which symbolized all the comfort and security that home and homeland has to offer. A profoundly wonderful book, that will have me pondering and thinking for years to come. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15...
I remember the challenge of this group, that was so tempting and valuable for me, was to read books from Many Different Countries, instead of reading books from the same area--as I tend to do. Well, that hasn't worked for me this summer since I have found myself accidentally in Berlin over and over again. But they have been great books so I will recommend them here--and hope that I'll travel a bit more, as was my intention. Have a look at my reviews for:
City of Women
Kino
All That I Am: A Novel
The History of History
Ack, GoodReads encountering an e-mail snafu coincided with my two busiest weeks of the year, so I didn't even notice I wasn't getting updates. I've missed weeks of them!Anyway, I just read The Forrests by Emily Perkins, which I'm counting for New Zealand despite there not really being much about New Zealand in there! (My review is here.)
I have traveled Angola with Barroco Tropical. I loved the authors style and would have read the book in a day, if I hadn't had other obligations and chores. Read the review of the Dutch translation
Trying to catch up with my reviews... Read Penelope Lively's HOW IT ALL BEGAN while on vacation in England, here is my review:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Finally on the boat out of Myanmar with The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.This is a beautiful country, but I'm ready to move on, it really took me too long. My review here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
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It's over, and this review contains language. Not just my usual rambling English, but some choice words about the author and this book. http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/2012/...
(Spoiler: I didn't like it. At all)
Just finished Enchantment which partially takes place in medieval Ukraine, and uses some local folklore. It was just blah. Here is the review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I may need to read another Ukraine book, this one left me a bit unsatisfied. Any recommendations?
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I personally don't have a Ukrainian book on this particular tour, but I remember reading this review a few months ago and it intrigued me. No idea if it is good or not but a suggestion none-the-less. http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/201...
My pick for Belgium, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa could also have been a book for The Congo/Zaire. It was excellent, well-researched, albeit a sad story about how truly terrible humans can be to each other. My review is here:http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/08...
I personally don't have a Ukrainian book on this particular tour, but I remembe..."Thanks Rusalka! This book looks really interesting.
I was in Tasmania last week in Wildflower Hill and I loved it there. It's one of my favourite books of the year.Here's my review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Just left Rwanda with Immaculee Ilibagiza's uplifting memoir, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. After all the heartbreaking stories I've read about Africa, it's nice to read one filled with hope! My review is here:http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/09...
Hanging out in Germany for a bit. My review of Judith Hermann's Alice is here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Jenny Erpenbeck's new Aller Tage Abend will be reviewed shortly
I just posted the review of my Cuba book at http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com . I'm both behind on this challenge and behind on my blog posts because I just started blogging my August reads.My Cuba book, The Messengerby Mayra Montero was quite good. I learned a good deal about Cuban history and culture.
HUNGARY. A German author gives an Hungarian setting to the story The Swimmer. Never had read this wonderful author Zsuzsa Bánk. My review @ http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Rusalka wrote: "Brazil read The Zahir which was set in France /sigh.It's over, and this review contains language. Not just my usual rambling English, but some choice words about the author and this book. http://r..."
I totally despised that book.
I finished my stay in Paraguay with The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch , who was the mistress of the 2nd President of Paraguay. It wasn't a very nice stay ... And I'm in the last pages of The History of Reading which I am counting for Argentina because the author recounts anecdotes of his time in Argentina, including his assistant work for Borges. Onward to Robinson Crusoe Island!
Just departed from Austria after being bored to tears with Marrying Mozart. My review is here:http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/09...
Luckily, I know I'm going to like the next book on my list:)
Suzanne wrote: "Just departed from Austria after being bored to tears with Marrying Mozart. My review is here:http://coldread.wordpress.com/2012/09...
Luckily, I know I'm goi..."
Today I left Prague, Czechoslovakia in a hurry myself when Daughter of Smoke and Boneproved to have what I considered to be an immature and vindictive protagonist.
I just left Austria with Measuring the World and would probably be an easier book to read on paper than on audio and then quickly moved to Aruba and got done there. I'm sad to leave Aruba, I really enjoyed the book An Island Away, http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Barbarac wrote: "I just left Austria with Measuring the World and would probably be an easier book to read on paper than on audio and then quickly moved to Aruba and got done there. I'm sad to leave Aruba, I reall..."I read "Measuring the World" a while ago and really enjoyed the story with the traveling partners in exotic parts of the world.
I've cheated a little and read a book in Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, and now England, and I'm counting them all separately! I just finished Bring Up the Bodies set in the roving world of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Thomas Cromwell. This is also on the longlist for the Booker this year, and since I always read those books, this did double duty! My review is here.
Jenny wrote: "I've cheated a little and read a book in Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, and now England, and I'm counting them all separately! I just finished Bring Up the Bodies set in the roving world of Henry VIII..."Jenny, I also split Scotland, Wales and England. But hadn't thought of Guernsey...mmmm, that's a thought.
Asma wrote: Asma, I put this on my re-read pile. I think I would probably enjoy it a lot more if on paper. It was not "exciting" enough to keep my attention as an audiobook and I kept daydreaming over large parts of the book.
I can't remember whether I was in Germany before, but this novel is a book set in Galicia, Soviet Union and Germany anyway. Jenny Erpenbeck's ALLER TAGE ABEND. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Barbarac wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I've cheated a little and read a book in Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, and now England, and I'm counting them all separately! I just finished Bring Up the Bodies set in the roving world..."I sometimes wish that I utilized more flexibility in my routines like you two readers :)
Asma wrote: "Barbarac wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I've cheated a little and read a book in Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, and now England, and I'm counting them all separately! I just finished Bring Up the Bodies set in..."The only rule is that you don't actually have to follow any rules, in the end. Except to be nice. :)
Respectful of our and others' comments!
I have just finished Brazil where I visited the Piraha indians on the Maici river.Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle'
Now I'm skipping to the end of my list to visit my beloved Zimbabwe and start:
The Fear: The Last Days of Robert Mugabe
Sometimes there are books that you sit down and before you know it, you are reading the last page. My friend recommended The Taste of a Man to me. My review is here, but you need to know that it includes cannibalism, and would not be for everyone!! I counted it for Poland since the main character is headed back to Warsaw, and there was a good bit in the novel about her home country, although it is set in NYC.I just hope I can bleach it out of my head....
I was just in 1970s Cambodia, though the eyes of a young girl trying to survive the Khmer Rouge as told in In the Shadow of the Banyan. The story really pulled me in. Harrowing and brutal as parts are, and filled with tragedy, somehow it doesn't come across as bleak, but leaves you with hope. The author herself is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge. She was only five years old when they came to power. She says in an author's note the story of the narrator is "essentially" her own. My full review is below:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Czechoslovakia. The Meowmorphosis by a famous author writing under the pen name of Cook Coleridge, not to mention the play on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis in which Gregor Samsa woke up one morning, changed from a human to a giant insect. In Meow... Gregor is similarly transformed after his dreaming one night into a furry, kitten.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
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Around the World
Books mentioned in this topic
The Orphan Master's Son (other topics)Kino: A Novel (other topics)
True: A Novel (other topics)
Secretum (other topics)
Secretum (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Eduardo Galeano (other topics)Coleridge Cook (other topics)
Tomas Tranströmer (other topics)
Gloria Whelan (other topics)
Michael Morpurgo (other topics)
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Now back to Anna beeping Karenina.