Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Post your nominations here for the May group reads. A significant portion of the book must be set in the featured location. We will be reading a selection set in the Dominican Republic, a translated book from a female writer, and a memoir from a writer from Eastern Europe.

Dominican Republic*:
Nominate a book set in the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic Book List: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Dominican Republic Bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

Women in Translation
Nominate a translated book from non-English Germanic or Uralic languages that is written by a female author. Examples of some of the more common Germanic or Uralic languages include Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Erzya, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, Frisian, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Komi, Limburgish, Low German, Luxembourgish, Mari, Moksha, Norwegian, Swedish, Udmurt, and Yiddish

World Memoirs
Nominate a memoir or autobiography from one of the following countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. The book must be a non-fiction memoir and set in one of these countries/regions.

For a list of books we have read in previous months, click here: Previously Read Group Read Books

*For our featured world country selection (this month it is the Dominican Republic): If the book selected by popular vote is not written by a native or resident author of at least 1 year, the book written by a native/resident author with the highest votes will also be selected, resulting in two book selections for that country.

For translation I nominate The Museum of Abandoned Secrets by Oksana Zabuzhko.



Spanning sixty tumultuous years of Ukrainian history, this multigenerational saga weaves a dramatic and intricate web of love, sex, friendship, and death. At its center: three women linked by the abandoned secrets of the past—secrets that refuse to remain hidden.

For Women in Translation, I nominate Ice by Ulla-Lena Lundberg. Winner of the 2016 Finlandia Prize.

For World Memoirs, I nominate Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968 by Heda Margolius Kovály. (Czech Republic)

For Dominican Republic: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.

For Women in Translation, I nominate Purge by Sofi Oksanen. Originally in Estonian.

For Women in Translation, I nominate Fair Play by Tove Jansson written in Swedish by member of Swedish-speaking minority of Finland.

For Women in Translation, I nominate My First Murder by Leena Lehtolainen, written first in Finnish.

For World Memoirs, I nominate Burying the Typewriter: A Memoir by Carmen Bugan set in Romania.

Carla wrote: "For Women in Translation, I nominate Fair Play by Tove Jansson written in Swedish by member of Swedish-speaking minority of Finland."

Fair Play doesn't qualify since we already read it as a group read.

Dominican Republic: Tentacle by Rita Indiana

We have also already read the book Purge by Sofi Oksanen when we visited Estonia in February 2014. It was a great book.

Dominical Republic: I'd love to read something by Julia Alvarez. 'The Woman I Kept to Myself' or 'In the Time of the Butterflies' would be my pick. Which ever one gets more votes.

For Dominican Republic, I nominate Song of the Water Saints by Nelly Rosario.

World Memoirs- Diary of a Political Idiot: Normal Life in Belgrade

Carla wrote: "For Women in Translation, I nominate Fair Play by Tove Jansson written in Swedish by member of Swedish-speaking minority of Finland."

Carla, I included other books from Jansson and Oksanen since we have already read the two you nominated.