Around the World discussion

Suzanne's World Reading Tour 2016

AFRICA
Botswana – A Far Off Place by Laurens Vander Post completed 03/12/16
Congo – Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason Stearns completed 07/23/16
Nigeria – Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
South Africa – The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay completed 08/31/16
Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) –Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm by Lauren St. John completed 03/08/16

ASIA
Burma – The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker completed 10/09/16
book:A Well-Tempered Heart|17857684] by Jan-Philipp Sendker completed 11/02/16
China – The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall completed 01/19/16
The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China from the Bottom Up by Liao Yiwu completed 01/24/16
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro completed 01/31/16
The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell completed 09/14/16
Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang
Journeys on the Silk Road: A Desert Explorer, Buddha's Secret Library, and the Unearthing of the World's Oldest Printed Book by Joyce Morgan completed 09/28/16
Japan -A Year in Japan by Kate Williamson completed 09/18/16
Malaysia – The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka completed 08/07/16
North Korea – The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson completed 11/12/16
Thailand – The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley completed 01/14/16

AUSTRALIA/SOUTH PACIFIC
Antarctica - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple completed 06/03/16
Australia –A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey completed 09/07/16
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton completed 03/01/16
New Guinea – Euphoria by Lily King completed 12/04/16

EUROPE
Travels on the Continent – Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
Austria – The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss by Edmund de Waal completed 01/19/16
Belgium – Dear Enemy by Jack Cavanaugh
Bosnia – Final Harvest by Wayne Weible
England – Life After Life by Kate Atkinson completed 02/28/16
A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman completed 03/14/16
After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England by Leanda de Lisle completed 04/01/16
A Maggot by John Fowles completed 04/07/16
Harvest by Jim Crace completed 04/12/16
Persuasion by Jane Austen completed 05/08/16
Life Mask by Emma Donaghue completed 10/04/16
The Quality of Mercy by Barry Unsworth completed 10/12/16
A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss completed 10/12/16
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt completed 02/16/16
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen completed 02/22/16
The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince by Jane Ridley
Emma by Jane Austen
The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory
Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello
France – The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan completed 05/16/16
A Case of Curiosities by Allen Kurzwell completed 08/17/16
Napoleon: A Life by Paul Johnson
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr completed 02/02/16
Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson completed 05/24/16
Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland completed 11/14/16
Half Blood Blues by Edi Edugyan completed 11/18/16
Germany – Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William Shirer completed 04/07/16
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos completed 04/20/16
City of Women by David R. Gillham completed 04/27/16
The Life of Objects by Susanna Moore completed 05/16/16
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Greenland – This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland by Gretel Ehrlich completed 05/28/16
Hungary - Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman completed 05/09/16
Ireland – The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey completed 12/23/16
Because They Never Do by Patrick Erin Monoghan completed 12/28/16
Italy –Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant completed 12/13/16
The Venus Fixers: The Remarkable Story of the Allied Soldiers Who Saved Italy's Art During World War II by Ilaria Dagnini Brey
A Month of Italy: Rediscovering the Art of Vacation by Chris Brady
Poland – The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45 by Wladysaw Szpelman
Spain - The Olive Tree by Carol Drinkwater completed 11/29/16
Russia – Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith completed 02/21/16
Heimat by Shirley Wegner Nitschke completed 05/28/16
Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison completed 06/01/16
Misha: The Mikhail Baryshnikov Story by Barbara Aria completed 06/12/16
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay completed 08/05/16
The Child Thief by Dan Smith completed 11/29/16
Slovakia – The Luck of the Weissensteiners by Christoph Fischer

THE MIDDLE EAST
Afghanistan – The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Iraq – The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers completed 06/17/16
Lebanon – House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid completed 09/20/16
Syria – The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

NORTH AMERICA
Cuba – No Way Home: A Dancer's Journey from the Streets of Havana to the Stages of the World by Carlos Acosta


SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil – The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles completed 04/27/16
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett completed 12/14/16

Some great ones on your list, Suzanne - undoubtedly, some will make it to my list. Happy traveling!

Lilisa wrote: "Some great ones on your list, Suzanne - undoubtedly, some will make it to my list. Happy traveling!"

Thanks, Lilisa!

I've been ogling your list too Suzanne!

I have a rec for various war-torn places: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Oh my poor to read list.

Yrinsyde wrote: "I've been ogling your list too Suzanne!

I have a rec for various war-torn places: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."

That sounds right up my alley! I just added it to my TBR list. Have you ever read The Zanzibar Chest? It's similar and one of my favorites! (Lots of African places for your Around the World list)

Rusalka wrote: "Oh my poor to read list."

LOL! That's how I feel every time I peek at your list and also a few other friends on this site!

Suzanne wrote: "Have you ever read The Zanzibar Chest?"

No I haven't but sounds intriguing! Will be adding it to my list!

I'm making good progress on my list! I've read 23 books now. Here are my latest: I loved Jane Austen's Persuasion. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I gave 3 1/2 stars to Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman. It's a interesting perspective on the holocaust as the protagonist searches for the owner of a pendant discovered on board the Hungarian Gold Train. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've knocked off three more by traveling to France, Greenland and Russia.

Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson - I gave this 4 stars and it was my favorite of the three books.
This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland - I gave this 3 stars, but it was a bit of a bore.
Heimat: Steppes of Russia My Country, My Home - another three star book, but due to the writing, not the content. I really enjoyed this one.

I've travelled to Russia and Antarctica in the past few days!

Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison - I gave this 3 1/2 stars and it was an interesting work of historical fiction about the last days of the Romanovs.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - this one deserved 4 1/2 stars! Very entertaining novel about a crazy, but heartwarming family who embark on a trip to Antarctica.

I did enjoy WYGB as well, Suzanne - it was a fun read and in Antarctica too. You're making great progress, I'm a bit behind!

I had a quick trip to Russia with Misha: The Mikhail Baryshnikov Story. I'm managing to read a little bit in spite of spending the majority of my time packing my house for our move next month. I can't wait until we're all settled so I can get back to my regular (reading) routine!

I just finished reading The Power of One, set in South Africa. If you haven't read this book, you definitely need to add it to your TBR list. 5 stars and worth every one!

As we're nearing the end of the year, I've still got 22 books to go and i doubt I'll be able to read that many. Still, I've made great progress and will keep reading into 2017 to finish this list!

I've finished 58 books from this challenge - which is slightly more than my goal. I think I'll manage one more yet this year, for a total of 59 books!