Bee’s Comments (group member since May 20, 2013)

Bee’s comments from the #supporttranslatedbooks group.

I am glad I read this controversial book. I liked the story and found it gripping but I could not get as close to the characters as I did with the first two books. I had the same problem with the Avalon series: the later books were not written by M. Zimmer-Bradley and they just did not feel the same! Maybe you just can't finish someone else Story.

Hello out there, can you imagine? 2017 is nearly over and I am planning for our group reads in 2018. Sorry, that I have been a bit quiet here for a while but life has happened and I could not read or post as much as I would have liked to.

My idea for 2018 is to read translated books that are offered in our libraries to support them. The Norfolk, UK libraries have a vast offer on translated books and they are often happy to purchase new books too. I don't know how it is where you are but I hope you'll get the chance to support them too.

Are there any translated books you want to read in 2018? Please let me know here. Take good care of yourselves and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don't get the chance to come around again until 2018.

Bee

If you are looking to buy this month's read please have a look here besides the usual possibilities to buy books: "The Rabbit Back Literature Society" on Wordery

I have chosen "Fuchsia" a poetry book by Mahtem Shifferaw as the Group Read for July 2017. You can purchase the book via Amazon but also via Wordery where it is a little cheaper than on Amazon. You can find it here: Wordery Fuchsia by Mahtem Shiferraw.

Looks like this one is not translated either so I think I might have to change the title of the group ;-) to "read foreign authors!". Hope you enjoy it anyway

I already love this book: . He had a good understanding of history and knew that the future could be read much more clearly in the streets, factories, and barracks than in the morning press.....

A couple of years ago when I was a member of a reading group concentrating on translated fiction I have already read a book by Banana Yoshimoto called "Kitchen". It was a book that still resonates with me and therefore I chose this one to let you all have some insight too.

Banana
Yoshimoto on "Bookslut"
Banana Yoshimoto on "The Culture Trip
"Goodbye Tsugumi" in Publishers Weekly
"Goodbye Tsugumi" in The Japan Times
"Goodbye Tsugumi" on Tony's Reading List

Have Fun!

Now that sounds a very interesting read but I have to admit that I am very partial to Scandinavian authors :-). However, I have only read on other Finish author and am curious if Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen reads similar or totally different.

We will see :-):

"The Rabbit Back Literature Society"
in "Washington Independent Review of Books
"The Rabbit Back Literature Society" on Tor.com
Pasi Ilmaren Jaaskelainen's Homepage
Pasi Ilmaren Jaaskelainen on "Words Without Borders

Have Fun!

In recent weeks I have been watching Alex Polizzi's "Spectacular Spain" and thought it would be interesting to read a Spanish author. So I chose one of the books I had a look at for the recent polls: Carlos Ruiz Zafon's "The Shadow of the Wind". It is an intriguing story and I am looking forward to reading it in July. Here is some information both about the book and the author

Carlos Ruiz Zafon on Wikipedia
Homepage of Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Carlos Ruiz Zafon in The Inedpenedent
"The Shadow of the Wind" in The Guardian
"Shadow of the Wind" on Grumpy Old Book Man

Have fun!

Hello my dear fellow foreign fiction readers,

as I mentioned in my Group Read May 2017 post a new house and the beach have taken over my life and it is hard for me to find time to get online. Therefore the June 2017 read will be the last with a poll for you to choose from. Sorry for this "undemocratic" way of mine :-).

I took the time today to find some exciting reads for the rest of the year and will put out information about them as soon as I can. If you are curious about what to read then please go to our bookshelf and browse the To Read section.

Have fun!

Hello out there my fellow foreign fiction readers :-).

Sorry for being so late with information about this months read. Unfortunately, real life has taken over (we bought a house in autumn with a huge garden close to the sea so garden and beach combing has taken over a little. And there is the small topic of day job etc :-) ).

This month we are reading the short story collection "What is not yours is not yours" by Helen Oyeyemi. And again I did not do my research properly because the young lady is British and not a foreign language writer. Oh, dear!

Hopefully, you forgive me and enjoy the read anyway.

Wikipedia about Helen Oyeyemi
The Guardian on "What is not yours is not yours"
The British Council on Helen Oyeyemi
New York Times on "What is not yours is not yours"

Have fun reading :-)

Here some links to our April read "The Woman on the Stairs" by Bernhard Schlink:

Bernhard Schlink on Wikipedia
Article by Bernhard Schlink in The Guardian
"The Woman on the Stairs" on Penguin Random House
Bernhard Schlink on the Waterstones Homepage
"The Woman on the Stairs" on The National
"The Woman on the Stairs" in The Publishers Weekly

This is going to be interesting I think :-)!

Ok here some information about Eilif Shafak and her bestselling novel "The Bastard of Istanbul"

Eilif Shafak on Wikipedia
Eilif Shafak's Homepage
Eilif Shafak on Penguin Books
"The Bastard of Istanbul Review in The Guardian
"The Bastard of Istanbul" on Wikipedia

Have fun!

Looks like I haven't done my research properly. Apparently, "The Bastard of Istanbul" was originally written in English so it does not really account for a translated book. Well, as Eilif Shafak is a Turkish author I let myself get away with it ;-).

I hope you'll forgive me!!!!

Hi there, unfortunately, there have only been two votes for the Group read in March 2017. One was for Bernhard Schlinks "The Woman on the Stairs" the other for Eilif Shafak's "The Bastard of Istanbul".

So I decided the latter for our Group read in March and the former for our Group read in April. I will choose a Group read for May and for June we will have another poll which I will put up soon. Hope you enjoyed "Sophies World" and are going to enjoy the new reads too.

Ok, it is the end of January and the last day of reading "Five Spice Street" by Can Xue and I have to admit that I am rather disappointed. I have not managed to read the whole book yet because I found it rather boring and confusing.
If you have chosen to read some of the links and some reviews other people have written about the book then you know that many think her style "challenges" our reading habits, however, I cannot see how that makes me see novels in a new or more exciting way. I suppose I am rather old-fashioned when it comes to novels and reading.

I am much more open to challenging and new ways when it comes to reading poetry. Well, I will finish the book in the next few days and am looking forward to finishing the February read "Sophies World" by Jostein Gaarder too. A book much more to my liking :-).

I am also looking forward to hearing from you what you thought about the book. Take care all of you and read you soon

So for all those who are interested in "Sophie's World" and Jostein Gaarder here are some links for you:
Jostein Gaarder on Wikipedia
Jostein Gaarder on Famous Authors
An Interfview with Jostein Gaarder by Philosophy Now
Sophie's World on Wikipedia
Review of "Sophie's World" by Levity.com
"Sophie's World in The New York Times in 1994
Jostein Gaarder in The National
I hope you enjoy

For February there won't be a poll as I have chosen "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder for us to read.

I think a poll every two months will be more than enough. Am just preparing the poll for the March read :-). Any suggestions?

I am a little confused: the author says Madam X sometimes confides in a colleague. At the same time she says Madam X and her husband own a food shop but no employee is mentioned. And an employee isn't a colleague. Any ideas?

I am at 3% and am rather surprised how much you can write so entertainingly about gossip. And how much gossip reveals about those who spread it. And what about you? What do you think about "Five Spice Street"?

Hi There, I am wondering how your first impressions are of Five Spice Street