Goodreads Ireland discussion

Right We'll get the ball rolling on this.
Our first genre for the 2017 challenge will be Travel .
The time period to read will be the first 6 weeks of the year up to February 12th although people can jump in any time.
Any posts relating to this genre post here.
Any general posts on the challenge post in the main thread.
Best of luck to all in this years challenge and I hope everyone enjoys pushing their boundaries :-)

Well you're starting with the most challenging catagory for me! I'm going to listen to The Odyssey. Although I tend to struggle with translations I'm really looking forward to revisiting this one. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it's a good translation - but thanks to Sherry I have 2 to choose from ;-)

I chose travel as I thought it would push a few of us without being to out there like Scifi, not an easy start but not too extreme .
Loving the Oddysey as a choice.

I only hope I love it as much as I remember from my teens - a few years back lol

I won't ask how few ;-)

My choice for the first Genre will be the fun sounding Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
Basically its about a guy trying to win a bet by hitchhiking around Ireland carrying a fridge

I read that years ago Paul and really enjoyed it. My selection isThe Beach.

Margo wrote: "Well you're starting with the most challenging catagory for me! I'm going to listen to The Odyssey. Although I tend to struggle with translations I'm really looking forward to revisitin..."

Margo, I loved The Odyssey, hope you enjoy it!

I'm so excited for this challenge. I'm reading The Birthday Boys and can't wait to start :)

Kara wrote: "Margo wrote: "Well you're starting with the most challenging catagory for me! I'm going to listen to The Odyssey. Although I tend to struggle with translations I'm really looking forwar..."

Someone in the group, I can't remember who, read that one as a part of our continental challenge last year. It sounds really good ;-)

Donna I loved The Beach, great choice!

Paul - it's been more years than I care to remember!!

Trelawn read Birthday Boys last year for the continental challenge and loved it.

I know my Mom read it for the continental challenge as well and loved it. She recommended to me for this challenge. It looks like a great novel and I hope i love it as much as Trelawn and my Mom did.

If it has been asked before apologies, but who's your Mom. I do remember you saying you joined as she was a member

Paul wrote: "If it has been asked before apologies, but who's your Mom. I do remember you saying you joined as she was a member"

No apologies Paul, my Mom is Colleen,

I thought it was but didn't want to say something stupid :-).
Brilliant to see you jumping right into the challenge .

I was just about to ask if Colleen was your Mom ;-)

Yep Kara is my daughter :)

Nice to have families with common interests :-)

Great choice Kara, the birthday boys was a great read. I am being ambitious and am going to try read two books by the same author. Manhattan '45 and Oxford by Jan Morris.

I will be reading That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story, One of my friends said it's her favorite book and even lent me her copy so that's where I'll start .

Sounds like an interesting choice .
We've a great range of choices so far so it should prove an interesting first part to the challenge

I'm going to read Literary London by Eloise Millar and then if this doesn't get me in Himalaya by Michael Palin.

I have added Literary London to my TBR pile Marcia, it sounds like my sort of book.

Sounds like a great book.

We'd expect no less of you cphe :-). I'm sure we can expect very interesting selections the whole way through the challenge .

Seems like a good plan :-)

I always enjoy Bryson. Now you're adding to my tbr Emma ;-)

Well if you're going to read that Emma, stick the follow up The Road to Little Dribbling on your TBR as well. Just for good measure

I was messing, but I admire your enthusiasm :-)

I don't have a very wide selection of travel books at home but the ones I'm deciding between are Between the Woods & Water by Patrick Leigh Fermor, Pole to Pole and McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland.

I've read McCarthys Bar and its very good

Excellent. The more the merrier for the challenge .

Like Cphe, I put up on the other thread that I will read On a Shoestring to Coorg: An Experience of Southern India by Dervla Murphy. I know that I have read this author a fair bit before but this is one of her many books that I haven't read.

All good. :-) India will definitely be an interesting location to read on. My brother moved there just over a year ago.

Paul wrote: "All good. :-) India will definitely be an interesting location to read on. My brother moved there just over a year ago."

It will be interesting to see Dervla's thoughts on Southern India because she wasn't too enamoured of Northern India in her first book!

Well definitely an interesting prospect

Mydistracteduniverse wrote: "How very convenient! I had Homers Odysee on my list for next year. I guess I will be starting with that book :)"

Oh that's what I'm reading for this category too Dee - we can compare notes ;-)

Looking forward to hearing what you both think of it

Still thinking of reading New Europe by Michael Palin . I got it as a christmas present a few years ago.

Maria wrote: "Still thinking of reading New Europe by Michael Palin . I got it as a christmas present a few years ago."

I can't keep up with all the new countries in europe! It was so much simpler when I went to school and there was just Russia. I think I should read that one too ;-)

Margo wrote: "Maria wrote: "Still thinking of reading New Europe by Michael Palin . I got it as a christmas present a few years ago."

I can't keep up with all the new countries in ..."

Ha Ha - made it easier to learn the capitals in school etc :)

I hear it's already getting a bit out of date as it was written in 2006 or 2007 - when they were newly non communist. Still, that may be interesting to read about the point of history when it was all new.

This might be hard for me as I prefer to do it (Travel) than read about it..... have been meaning to read one of Tim Severin books about voyages after loving his Viking series Odinn's Child so perhaps i'll plump for one of them as a voyage IS a kinda travelling method..... still 2 weeks yet :)

Great choice Andy ;-)

The Brendan Voyage: A Leather Boat Tracks the Discovery of America by the Irish Sailor Saints & this HAS to be the one to choose as well!

Some great ideas there Andy

ta, Ive stood next to the kon-tiki raft which is jus jaw dropping.... They did it in that??? I laughs out! So be good to finally read about one of these style of adventures. Thanks for adding the challenge.

And thank you for joining it. The more we have the better it will be

That's really cool Andy - and Brendan is the patron saint of Birr, my home town ;-D

Funny how far Birr is from the sea then ;-)

Yeah, probably more than 1 st.brendan come to think of it ;-p

Very true