Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

This one will be harder for some than for others. My Scottish/German background should be easy, but if you are struggling to find something reach out to the group! We are a good at researching!

My grandfather did some genealogy awhile back and it turns out our family is related to Lady Godiva. Guess I find a biography. XD

Nothing interesting going on in my ancestry. I'm German, my parents are German and my grandparents etc. I guess I'll just read How German is It :D

I just got back my Ancestry.com DNA results.....and it turned out that I'm (or my genes) are 67% British..... which I had no clue about. But I read some more and learned that of course, the Anglos and Saxons came to Britain from the parts of France and Germany that I DID know about. So, finding a British author to honor my new found heritage will be easy-peasy.

Whatever that means... Yet another prompt I don't care for too much.

I do like this prompt as it requires a little more digging.

I am of Norwegian and Japanese descent. I don't know of any famous historical figures in my family tree, but I'm sure I can find books featuring Japanese and Norwegian immigrants. 3/4 of my grandparents immigrated to America after WWII.

I am adopted so I may do that. It would be way to find a book about someone adopted and seeking their roots or something. Either that or just go with my family roots which aren't genetic but who cares lol

I don't quite know how to pick a book for this one, but I'm part Irish so I'm gonna try reading Ulysses.

Hm... I'm half Czech - any suggestions?

Chrissy wrote: "Hm... I'm half Czech - any suggestions?"

Franz Kafka, Jaroslav Hašek, Milan Kundera?

I also read Prague, My Love before visiting the town, it was pretty interesting but might not be easy to find.

The unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera is set in Prague

One of my ancestors (English) was the secretary to Governor John Winthrop, 1st Gov of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, formed in 1630. So I will likely read a book about that group of Puritans and life in that colony. There are several. I've been doing genealogy research for 40 years, so I know lots about my family.

For those who are Irish, there are some great books available about the Irish immigrant experience. My great-great-great-great-grandfather, Henry McKinney, came from Ireland to Philadelphia and then Cecil County, Maryland where he married and move up the Susquehanna River, almost all the way to New York.

The Irish in America
The Irish Americans: A History

I read the first this year and plan the second for 2018.

I called and spoke to my father, and he said "we're english, most of our descendants came from England".
Any suggestions?

I'm also British and I'm not sure what this means for me... I think I've got an Irish great-great grandmother..? Possibly some French folks way back in my grandad's family? But I wouldn't consider myself French or Irish, it was a long time ago o.O

I think the closest I can get is probably something historical set in a place my ancestors would've hung out in. My father's side of the family was from Scotland until my great-grandad moved down South, so I think I'll do something Scottish and historical and call that a win.

Pretty easy one for me, since I'm only second/third generation American, depending on the side of the family.

And I already had How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It on my TBR shelf!

If I want something different, the other side is Irish - too bad the Irish don't produce much literature. Hahahahahahaha.

Chrissy wrote: "Hm... I'm half Czech - any suggestions?"

My plan is to focus on my Czech side because my paternal Grandmother was Czech. She died almost 20 years ago and I still miss her.

I'm trying to fill my original plan with books I already own so sometimes I'll stretch a prompt to make something fit. Googled Czech folklore and found a strong Czech link to the Golem so right now I'm going with The Golem and the Jinni. Even though the Golem in this book is from Poland, there's suppose to be a lot of history in the story and I'll still get origin info.

There's a strong Czech/Bohemian link so I'll head that direction if I decide my other choice isn't close enough.

There's also The Golem.

Maternal Grandmother = 100% German
Maternal Grandfather = 100% Danish
Paternal Grandmother = 100% Irish
Paternal Grandfather = Mutt

I'd be interested to read anything connected to any of those nationalities, or of the dozen from my grandfather. However, I think I'll use this opportunity to explore the nation of my great great great grandmother ...Potawatomi

Marilyn wrote: "One of my ancestors was the secretary to Governor John Winthrop, 1st Gov of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, formed in 1630. So I will likely read a book about that group.

For those who are Irish, th..."

Maybe you could do a story from a different part of England, if someone in your family comes from a different city. My family is just norwegian som I am planning to read about Lillehammer where my grandfather was from.

Tytti wrote: "There's also The Golem."

I think I was put off my the cover:)

My first thought was King Rufus: The Life and Mysterious Death of William II of England or something similar. One of my ancestors is supposed to have fired the arrow that killed William II and there has always been a murder or accident mystery around the event.

Ed wrote: "I just got back my Ancestry.com DNA results.....and it turned out that I'm (or my genes) are 67% British..... which I had no clue about. But I read some more and learned that of course, the Anglos ..."

Very interesting... I really want to do the DNA thing on Ancestory, but I keep hoping it will get cheaper. The cheapest I've ever seen it is $69 (it's currently at $79), so I think I'll wait until it gets down to at least $69 again & then go for it. I really don't know much about my family's ancestry. My dad and his parents have all died, and my mom is the only one left on that side of the family, and she doesn't really know, either, so I would love to get the DNA results to see where my family is from. We're guessing mostly just the England/Ireland/Scotland area, with maybe some German and/or French mixed in, but we don't really know.

I am rethinking, and might look for something (fiction or non-fiction) about immigrants from central Europe, fleeing conscription and war during the 1860s, and/or people settling in Iowa/Minnesota during that time as farmers. I have already read My Antonia (and hated it), but there must be other options out there!

Kenya wrote: "My grandfather did some genealogy awhile back and it turns out our family is related to Lady Godiva. Guess I find a biography. XD"

Fun! My great-grandfather owned the Lady Godiva bar in San Francisco, but it was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.

In the last few years of my mother's life she became very interested in how her mother, at the tender age of 19, made it from England to California all by herself. I did some research and found the ship manifest (she was listed as a "spinster"!) and learned that after her boat docked on the east coast she traveled across the US by train. It turns out there is a young adult book about Robert Louis Stevenson's train trip across the US 20 years earlier. He moved to Monterey, where my grandmother also settled (and in fact she dated his son for awhile). I bought the book for my mother but I haven't read it yet. Oddly, it's not on Goodreads but it is on Amazon. I'll have to add it to GR. If anyone else has a forebear who crossed the US by train in the late 19th century, you might also be interested in this book. It's:
Across America on an Immigrant Train by Jim Murphy.
Here's the Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/Across-America...

Edit: Oops -- it's EMigrant, not IMMigrant, and with the correct spelling, I found it on GR: Across America on an Emigrant Train

I’m of Irish/English/Scottish background, mostly. So, something from one of those countries or perhaps something about early settlement of Ontario, since some of them go really far back.

This is another category I'm sad I've already read a really great book that would work perfectly. The ship of Brides. I'm not of Australian descent but my grandmother was a war bride and came to Canada on a ship like that, so "ties into" my ancestry in an interesting way.

I guess this prompt is very American. Americans tend to have ancestors from different places. My family has lived in the same country for at least 250 years. Most of them were farmers, nothing else of interest. Sigh.

Can these DNA things really tell you that you're xx% British or something? I understand that they can say Caucasian etc. But how is British or French or Italian DNA specific?

Reenah wrote: "I guess this prompt is very American. Americans tend to have ancestors from different places. My family has lived in the same country for at least 250 years. Most of them were farmers, nothing else..."

Maybe Americans are more interested in ancestry, but you still have one - maybe read a book about the history of that place? historical fiction?

Reenah wrote: "My family has lived in the same country for at least 250 years. Most of them were farmers, nothing else of interest."

The same, the ancestors of my maternal grandfather had lived in the same parish area since the 17th century (that's as far as the church records go) before being forced out by Stalin in 1940 and again in 1944. I doubt my other ancestors have travelled much, either, but I haven't researched them. Unfortunately they were also from the wrong side of Lake Ladoga, as most of the authors and books come from the Karelian Isthmus, from the southern side of the lake. Probably plenty of books about the evacuees, though, but I am not sure I want to read them.

Nicole wrote: "Ed wrote: "I just got back my Ancestry.com DNA results.....and it turned out that I'm (or my genes) are 67% British..... which I had no clue about. But I read some more and learned that of course, ..."

Yes...my partner & I did it when it was $69. And for him it was even more specific...said he was 47% Native American and even identified the Mexican State that his father is from.

My family are all Scouse, not really sure of roots beyond that so I suppose I need to find a good book set in Liverpool.

I’ve been reading a lot about Palestine and Arab narratives so I think I’ll go with something French.

I might go for A Tale of Two Cities

Looks like I can get a copy of Ancient Samnium: Settlement, Culture, and Identity Between History and Archaeology through inter-library loan.

Might need some help with this one guys... My dad’s side is French Canadian and my mom’s side (I think) is British.

Dad's side in English/Irish and Mom is Norwegian.
Hmm.

some people (like my ex) may not know their ancestry at all.

I guess you can consider general books like Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Megan wrote: "Dad's side in English/Irish and Mom is Norwegian.
Hmm."

Have you read anything by Henrik Ibsen or Knut Hamsun before? They were both from Norway and have various books to choose from.

Megan wrote: "Might need some help with this one guys... My dad’s side is French Canadian and my mom’s side (I think) is British."

I really liked Émilie, which was a book about a young woman teaching in a rural Quebec area in a one-room schoolhouse. There was a tv miniseries as well. I read it back in 96 when it came out.

Thanks! I’ll have to check that out

Chinook wrote: "I read it back in 96 when it came out."

The book is older, though, and so is the miniseries. Not that many years, looks like from 1985 and 1990, but still. I know because the series made a star out of Roy Dupuis and I like his acting.

Megan wrote: "Might need some help with this one guys... My dad’s side is French Canadian and my mom’s side (I think) is British."

This isn't exactly French Canadian, but I read and LOVED Crow Lake this year, it's set in remote northern Ontario.

Can anyone recommend a book either on Robert the Bruce or on the viking invasion(s) of Scotland? I've read quite a few books set later in Scottish history, but I would love to dig a littler further back into the country's history.

Sara wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book either on Robert the Bruce or on the viking invasion(s) of Scotland? I've read quite a few books set later in Scottish history, but I would love to dig a littler further..."

Juliet Marillier has a YA fantasy series about Bridei, who was a Scottish king before the Viking invasion. It's definitely fantasy so maybe not what you're looking for, but it is based on a real Scottish king. First book is The Dark Mirror

As a German, my ancestry is also very, well, German :D My maternal grandmother's ancestors were Huguenots in France, though, and the line has been traced back to the 1600s or so (my uncle is very much into genealogical research), so I guess I should focus on that, as it is the most interesting aspect in my family tree :D My father's family stayed in the same region in upper eastern Germany for centuries, and my maternal grandfather's family were true-blue Bavarians, the whole bunch of 'em :D

Does anyone have any book recommendations that deal with Huguenots in France? I prefer novels over non-fiction and contemporary settings over historical ones, but I guess with that topic that's gonna be a bit hard^^ But if you know a really exciting, well-written, engaging book on that topic, do let me know :)

Conny wrote: "As a German, my ancestry is also very, well, German :D My maternal grandmother's ancestors were Huguenots in France, though, and the line has been traced back to the 1600s or so (my uncle is very m..."

You might like The Rhetoric of Death. It's a murder mystery featuring a Jesuit priest with Huguenot sympathies.

Any suggestions for New Zealand?

Everyone in my family is and was Indian so I guess this will be easier for me :P

Any recommendations for Italy? I prefer fiction if possible. Thanks in advance!

I'm taking a bit of different approach to this and reading White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America.