The Armchair Traveler's Club discussion

Hello, my name is Ruth and I'm the group moderator. I've spent some years traveling and have always loved immersing myself in foreign cultures. When on the road reading local literature, viewing local movies, and listening to local music have helped me to relate to the mindset of people in the area. Now I'm not traveling as much, but still love to learn about people in other places.

I live in the Caribbean. I have a bookshop. But I used to be (among other things) a World music journalist in London and NY. That's why I'm intrigued by this group :-)

It will be great to have you in the group Ms Bubbles SockieP! I will enjoy hearing your input and comments about our selections.

Check out the music video challenge if you want to post some videos of your favorite Caribbean music! We would love to hear it.

Also there is a poll at the bottom of the page if you want to vote on the books and movies for this month - we are doing the Caribbean this month! Feel free to write in something if it's not on the list.

Hi, my name is Jason Smart, and I live in the Middle East with my wife. So if anyone wants the lowdown on Qatar, then let me know.

I've also been to over 100 countries, and have written a few books about them. (Sorry for the shameless plug - but I couldn't resist!)

But for a recommendation of a recent travel book I read, pick up or download a copy of The Ringtone and the Drum: Travels in the World's Poorest Countries by Mark Weston. It's one of the best travel books I've read in ages.

Hi! I'm Louise Lague and I love to travel. Fortunately six years ago I met a man who also loves to travel, so in our sixth decade we've been to Europe and Central America several times. Just finished a Senior Year Abroad which involved de-homing, selling it all, and going away for an unforeseen amount of time. Our blog turned into a book (sorry about this) called The Expat Almanac.
Looking for info for our next trip: a drive around Ireland. Anyone?

Hello everyone. I've written a story that encompasses a unique journey. My great grandparents immigrated to Argentina prior the Russian revolution. In 1962,the year of my birth, my parents immigrated to the United States fleeing a Peronista government and raging antisemitism. When my dad lands a job with Pan American Airlines, we become jet-setters; crisscrossing the continents for our summer vacations, not to mention Spring Breaks, Winter breaks and even Thanksgiving weekends.

This is a story about a young, immigrant girl on a journey; how she finds a place for herself and comes to terms with her heritage and culture.

The 21st Annual Writer's Digest Awards provided the following review: "...The elegant and detailed writing brings the family to life. The mix of cultures is also captured well; the author shows a good grasp of history and the ability to draw a reader right into the heart of the family. Delightful and nicely written book."

I hope you take a quick peek:With Love, The Argentina Family: Memories of Tango and Kugel; Mate with Knishes

Hello all -
I'm Alice, and (surprisingly?) I have not written a book I want to promote - I just love reading them! I'm also in the middle of a challenge to read a book set in every country (loosely defined) around the world - I'm on country 186 right now! I love that this group is also bringing in music, movies, and food. I wish I could really travel to all the countries I've read about - but this seems like the next best thing!

Wow - I didn't realize that this website would be such a good place to meet authors! I hope that you will read and comment in our forums - you would certainly all add unique perspectives to the mix.

Alice- I'm impressed at the number of countries that you have read already! Which ones do you have left? If you get a minute, perhaps you could share with us your favorite reads, watches and listens for the places we have not covered yet. (The forum sections that have no dates have not been covered yet.)

Welcome to the club!

Hi, I'm Alex. This looks like a very interesting group. I have two published books in both print & digital formats that may be of particular interest to members: Glimpses of Guatemala published in mid 2012 and Guises of Guyana published in mid 2013. I have also just released a short story collection Impromptu Scribe as a Kindle edition (November 2014) with stories from all around the world. 'Words in the Wind' - one such story set in Guatemala was recently published in the November edition of 'Revue' magazine. It is accessible via the 'Read Excerpt' icon beneath my book's cover image. I look forward to participating and meeting more of you. Thanks.

Ruth wrote: "Wow - I didn't realize that this website would be such a good place to meet authors! I hope that you will read and comment in our forums - you would certainly all add unique perspectives to the mix..."

Hi Ruth - Believe it or not, I have too many countries left (about 51) to list here. Mostly in the Caribbean and Oceania. It's too hard to list my favorites, but I'm hoping the group picks are stuff I wouldn't otherwise try - I tend to be cautious with fiction and need a reason to challenge myself more! Looking forward to seeing what the group comes up with.

Hi, I'm Talia. I live in the United States. I've done some traveling abroad and hope to do more in the future. I'm an avid reader and want to expand my scope beyond American authors. I look forward to participating in this group.

Welcome Talia! This month we will be reading about Japan & Korea. Vote for your favorite read in the poll.

Welcome Krishna! It will be great to hear your point of view on our readings.

Currently we are voting on which book to read next - I will send you the link so that you can get your vote in.

Hello everyone!

I am an avid reader and traveler. I grew up in the United States and have lived in Burundi and India. I currently live in Mali. I've traveled through out Europe, Asia, and Africa.

I am looking for beta readers for the introduction and first chapter of my memoir of my time living in Burundi. They are still in first draft form but I'm seeking some input to see if I'm going in the right direction or not. Please send me a message if you are interested.

I look forward to sharing books with everyone here! I've already downloaded quite a few samples to my kindle of recommendations I've seen in the discussions. :)

Best,
Stephanie

Hi! My name is also Alex - hopefully there's room in this group for more than one guy named Alex. Though new to Goodreads, I used to be in two, in-person book groups but recently moved (from Alaska to Ojai, CA) and miss talking about books and reading books I wouldn't normally find on my own. Anyway, looking forward to participating...

best,

Alex

Welcome to the club Stephanie and Alex! We are learning about Japan and Korea this month. Check out the book selections as well as the music, food and movie challenges!

Hi! I'm Judit from Hungary living in London now! I love travelling and I do as much as possible. Recently I decided to do less and more flexible works and more backpacking.
Last winter I went to the Caribbeans and to Central America with my brother. That was my very first long trip (4 months) and it was amazing. It's addictive. I'll go to Kashmir very soon for 2 months.
I wrote a blog during my trip in Central America and it became an e-book now called Skipping the Winter.
Any member of this group can get a free copy if you drop me a line with your e-mail address. I'll send you a dropbox link to download it.
As I'll travel to Kashmir soon, I would love to get any recommendations about it.
Many thanks and enjoy reading! :-)
judit

Hi! I'm Mélodie from France.
I enjoy travel and use my trip to discover new authors and food especially (tea and pastry). I lived in Australia, Spain and now I am in England. Looking forward to try new book.

It's great to have you in the club Melodie!

We are reading about central asia now. Check out the extra challenges on the discussion boards as well.

Can't wait to see what you think of the books!

I'm a new member and I love to travel and love to read. Not sure which I prefer.

Welcome Marianne, you have great timing. We are just starting our Southern Africa reads.

Hello! I'm Lianne, and I'm Canadian. I'm not well-travelled or anything (I once went on a school trip to Italy, Vatican City, Monaco, and France). I just love books and am interested in learning about different cultures through their literature.

I'm currently studying to be a librarian, and as part of that I'm trying to read lots of different things, like genres I don't normally read. I also do lots of reading challenges every year, and just started my third attempt at the Canadian Book Challenge.

Welcome Lianne! I envy your trip to Italy; it's a country that I want to go to.

You will definitely get to read books that you probably wouldn't normally read with us. Most of the books we read are by authors from the area we're reading about. We're starting the first of three India sections on Monday.

Good luck with the Canadian Book Challenge!

hello all, I'm iggy and live/from Toronto. I travel when I can mainly seems to be around Europe. when I can't in try to find books on the places I have yet to see to try and decide where's next togo. looks forward to seeing what suggestions come out of this group.

Hi I'm Robyn I'm from Sydney in Australia I love to read
Lately for some reason I have read a lot of books about Aspergers and autism ,not in a bad way but The Rosie project Started it off for me Edward Adrift the list goes on
I am not happy unless I have a book on the go
Travel is a huge passion for me as is food
I love reading book reviews I always go to Goodreads and see the comments and ratings before I purchase a book I'm a mother and a grandmother I'm an interior designer and I love animals and people

Robyn wrote: "Hi I'm Robyn I'm from Sydney in Australia I love to read
Lately for some reason I have read a lot of books about Aspergers and autism ,not in a bad way but The Rosie project Started it off for ..."

Welcome, Robyn!

Have you read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? They have characters that land on the Autism spectrum. They're very good.

If you haven't already, check out our food challenge and thread for India. You may enjoy doing them.

Hi, I'm Crystal! Currently I live in California. I've been fortunate enough to have traveled to Europe several times. I think Venice is my favorite city to wake up before dawn and get lost in. I usually have a paperback with me on my travels (even camping); sometimes I read it, other times I just leave it for other travelers.

Primarily I read for pleasure (yes, happy things and suspenseful gripping mystery rrrromances). However I've been a member of a book club for the past year that has expanded my reading repertoire and I love it (even if I don't always enjoy the books). So I have decided to join you guys and travel the world! :D

Hello Crystal, welcome to the club! I would love to get lost in Venice, sigh... so many places to go, so little time!

We are reading about India right now. Check out the India challenge, there's still time to win one a bookmark made in India, handpainted on a palm leaf.

I am currently collecting suggestions for our Polynesia, Micronesia & Antarctica reads. Let me know if you have any books set in those places on your 'to read' list. I hope to get polls posted tonight. You can always write it in if you think of something later.

Hi Ruth! Thanks for the welcome. I've already checked out the India Challenge, I'll see what I can do. :)

As far as September book suggestions, nothing on my to-read is set in either of those places. All that comes to mind are 2 that I've already read. Atlantis Found - not very imaginative on my part, based on the really different books I've seen listed of past months reads, but very adventurous. Moloka'i was very good, I read it for another book club earlier this year.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi Ruth. Hi All.

I am a New Zealander, and I have published one book. A character study of a young woman from Belgium sharing a road journey through New Zealand from south to north with a young man from New Zealand.

While on the one hand I'm keen to promote my book; I on the other am also keen to see how other writers deal with landscape / travel / culture /cultural differences in their narratives.

I am especially keen to read examples of narrative where the character/narrator does not have English as a first language. I'd welcome any suggestions.

Hi Jamie!

Hmmm... I feel like I should have many suggestions, but many of the books we read have been translated.

We did read Ascian and the Portal of The Tribes Realm by Ronnan Tristan. The author/narrator/character speaks Tagalog as his first language but wrote this book in English.

I'm guessing you are looking for an English author writing a character whose second language is English - so a foreign accent is protrayed, right?

Yeah, not so much accent, more appreciation. I like the 'fish out of water' aspect of fiction. But much of it is "us" going to some where "foreign." whereas I like the idea of "us" being foreign!

Hi I'm Hinke, I am from Holland, currently living in Australia. With a young family we don't get to travel as much as we used to but I love reading and travelling in your mind is the next best thing. Look forward to exploring the world in this group.

Hi everybody! My name is Miquel Reina and I justjoined this magnific group because I love readig travelling and adventure books. Hope we all share our literature treasures!

Welcome 2 new members from London - Mike and Anthony.

Mike has done a lot of traveling, working and volunteering. Get to know him better on his blog: http://www.mikerobbinsnyc.blogspot.com/
He is currently seeking reviewers for his newly released novella Dog! :a powerful story of love and loss, sin, redemption and dog mess.

Anthony has also led an adventurous life of travel and work in the arts. He lives part time on an island in Croatia and has written a book about Vis: Notes From a Very Small Island.

Welcome to the club gentlemen!

Thank you Ruth! Delighted to meet everyone.

Hi folks,

My name is Robin and although I currently live in the northern reaches of Canada, I've traveled and lived in many parts of the USA and Africa. In fact, I just wrote a book on my 3 years in Africa, Trials Elsewhere Trials Elsewhere: Stories of Life and Development in West Africa. I love travel writing and look forward to reading more!

Best,
Robin

Hi! My name's Mike Coppin and I have a close connection with Indonesia. I lived in Java for five years, have a Balinese wife and visit Bali every couple of years. I'm pretty familiar with Southeast Asia and have studied its colonial history.

You can check out my blog, ASIA PACIFIC FOCUS, at mikecoppin.wordpress.com or see my novel's website at http://www.shadow-chase.com, which has interesting articles, pics and short stories.

Mike Coppin

Welcome! :)

Hello, my name is Kathy. I read and travel a lot. I'm from the United States but currently live and work in Irkutsk, Russia.

Lately I've been drawn to more nonfiction and travel related texts, although I'm a sucker for fiction as well. The latest fiction I've read is Anthony Marra's The God of Love and Techno, which was phenomenal. As for travel books, I'm currently reading Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad and Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon.

Looking forward to meeting other other lovers of travel and books, and discover new titles and authors along the way.

Happy armchair travels, all!

Irkutsk? Wow! You must be getting a lot of new impressions. Love to hear some!
Welcome!

Irkutsk is great! It's been sunny and gorgeous all winter. I have to admit I'm excited to experience the city in the summer, too, when I don't have to keep my eyes peeled on the ground in front of me.

What do you do there, if I may ask?

Hi Everyone,
I'm Diana from SW Texas. I love to read all types of genres. I love armchair traveling. One of my local book club will be armchair traveling to Japan in July. :)
Besides reading, I'm in a self-defense class and play percussion with a Samba group.
I'm looking forward to the future reads in this group. :)

Hi everyone! I've wanted to read more world literature, and once I read more about this month's fiction selection (River of Fire), I knew this was the group for me. I've just ordered the book and plan to start reading as soon as it arrives. I'm looking forward to much armchair traveling with you all.

Fantastic Wendy - welcome and let us know what you think of the book!

Hi everyone,

I have travelled through Europe and Asia extensively (18 countries). As many good stories as I have, every one who travels tends to have a good one. Since I can't experience everything that other people do, I am interested in reading about more places.

Best, Chris

Hi everyone, I'm so glad I found this group because I love travelling and reading world literature. River of Fire just caught my eye and I think that it's the sort of book I will love. I'm looking forward to getting more great reading ideas from this group.

Best, Anne

Hello, my name is Elyse. I am 23 and living in Tennessee. I am working at the moment in order to save money for college.