Around the World discussion

I've coasted in at the 11th hour to recording a world tour in 2019. I usually try to read widely and particularly would like to read more books by women who have written in a language other than English and been translated into English. I'll be setting my sights on doing more of that next year. Even so I thought it would be fun to see where I went in my reading travels this year.

Australia- The Yield by Tara June Winch (2019) 5★
Canada - The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie (2019) 4★
China - The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Columbia - Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (2018) 4★
Czech Republic - There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett (2019) 4★
France - The Blue Rose by Kate Forsyth (2019) 4★
Germany - At the Wolf's Table by Rosella Postorino (2019) 4★
Greece - A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes (2019) 4★
Indonesia - The Fish Girl by Mirandi Riwoe (2017) 4★
Iran - The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (2019) 4★
Ireland - Normal People by Sally Rooney (2019) 3★
Italy - The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman (2018) 2★ DNF
Ivory Coast Aya by Marguerite Abouet
Jamaica Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke (2014) 4★
Japan - Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa (2017) 5★
Korea - The Vegetarian by Han Kang (2019) 3★
Nepal - The Accidental Tour Guide (2019) 4★
New Zealand - The Nancys by R.W.R. Mcdonald (2019) 4★
Nigeria - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2019) 4★
Norfolk Island Esther - The extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became First Lady of the colony by Jessica North (2019) 4★
Russia - Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips (2019) 4★
Russia - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2018) 5★
Scandinavia (Denmark and Sweden) Beowulf 4★
Singapore - Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan 4★
Spain - Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry (2019) 4★
Turkey - 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak (2019) 4★
Ukraine - The House with the Stained-Glass Window by Żanna Słoniowska 4★
United Kingdom - Lanny by Max Porter (2019) 4★
USA - Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander (2019) 4★
Zambia The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell (2019) 4★

Note: Date in brackets is publication date.

That's about 27 different destinations, so far. Hope to put in more of an effort to coast around the world next year.

Currently doing a non-fiction road trip around Australia. Reading some 2019 newly published memoirs at the moment.
NSW - Night Fishing by Vicki Hastrich AA 5★
VIC - This House of Grief by Helen Garner AA 4★
QLD - The Tall Man by Chloe HooperAA
TAS - Bridget Crack by Rachel LearyAA 4★
S.A. - Miss Muriel Matters: The Australian Actress Who Became One of London's Most Famous Suffragists by Robert WainwrightAA
W.A. - Skins by Sarah HayAA
N.T. - We Of The Never-Never by Jeannie Gunn AA
A.C.T. - Canberry Tales: An Informal History by Mawer, G.A.AA

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Welcome to the 2019 challenge, Kim! I’m stealing a few titles from your list; in particular Norfolk Island and Zambia both look great. I’ll be checking out the rest later.

Andrea wrote: "Welcome to the 2019 challenge, Kim! I’m stealing a few titles from your list; in particular Norfolk Island and Zambia both look great. I’ll be checking out the rest later."
Oh yes, Old Drift is a huge tomb but such an original saga. Very well done.
I have cheated a bit with the setting of Norfolk Island being the setting for Esther but she was there and at the same time as my first fleet ancestor. My ancestor obtained his ticket of leave for being one of the convicts who went out to rescue provisions from the wreaked ship The Sirius which Esther witnessed in the book. It's a great read. Enjoy Andrea :D

Kim wrote: "she was there and at the same time as my first fleet ancestor. My ancestor obtained his ticket of leave for being one of the convicts who went out to rescue provisions from the wreaked ship The Sirius which Esther witnessed in the book. ..."

I don't suppose you are one of the Nathaniel Lucas / Olivia Gascoigne descendants?

Andrea wrote: "Kim wrote: "she was there and at the same time as my first fleet ancestor. My ancestor obtained his ticket of leave for being one of the convicts who went out to rescue provisions from the wreaked ..." No John Ryan/Sarah Wooley https://www.ourfamilypast.com/article...

Welcome Kim! I'm going to have a good dig through your list above, looks like you've had some great reads this year. And welcome to another Canberran ;)

Nawww... I would have loved an random ancestor connection on Goodreads. I do love being able to read Australian HF and being able to connect events or places with our own personal histories.

Rusalka wrote: "Welcome Kim! I'm going to have a good dig through your list above, looks like you've had some great reads this year. And welcome to another Canberran ;)

Nawww... I would have loved an random ances..."

Thanks for the welcome Rusalka! Are you a Canberran too? Small world! :D
I tend to read a bit along family history lines so I see the connections with Australian history and family history quite a bit :D
My ancestor isn't mentioned by name in the Esther book but he crops up a couple of times. Not surprisingly, he was known to be a "bit troublesome at times" (A quote from the records in the Norfolk Island museum) :D
I've had a great year of reading, thoroughly enjoyed it. Lucky to have had the time to read as much as I have.

Rusalka wrote: "Nawww... I would have loved an random ancestor connection on Goodreads..."

Would have been funny, and apparently not such a long shot 😆

Andrea wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "Nawww... I would have loved an random ancestor connection on Goodreads..."

Would have been funny, and apparently not such a long shot 😆"

They were probably neighbours at the very least, lol.

I'm enjoying this idea so much that I'm thinking about books already on my shelves and on my reserve list at the library that will fit into this reading project. Might list them here so I have a head start on 2020.
Algeria The Bridges of Constantine (2013) S
Argentina Fever Dream (2017) LL
Canada Good to a Fault (2008) S
Chile The Remainder (2018) LL
China Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) S
Congo Heart of Darkness classic (1899) S
Bangladesh Brick Lane (2007) S
France The Elegance of the Hedgehog (2008) S
Finland The Summer Book (2003) LL
Germany/Yugoslavia The Museum of Unconditional Surrender (1998) S
India The Inheritance of Loss (2005) S
Iran The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree (2017) LL
Ireland The Good People (2016) S
Italy In Other Words (2016) LL
Japan Convenience Store Woman (2018) LL
New Zealand Stonefish (2004) S
Oman Middle East Celestial Bodies (2018) LL
Poland Flights (2018) LL
Singapore Ponti (2018) S
Sri LankaThe Life to Come (2017) S
Trinidad The White Woman on the Green Bicycle (2009) S
Turkey Snow (2002) S




S=Bookshelf
LL= Local Library

Welcome Kim! Love your lists. I. Am. So. Stealing...:-)

Lilisa wrote: "Welcome Kim! Love your lists. I. Am. So. Stealing...:-)"
Thanks for the Welcome Lilisa, happy reading :D

Spent last night briefly with these two hilarious, crazy, criminal Irish blokes waiting for Night Boat to Tangier in a terminal in the port of Algeciras on the Spanish coast.

Total Read for the Challenge 28/30

Yesterday spent a couple of hours in The Ivory Coast in the 1970s with a bunch of young people, Aya was trying to study to become a doctor despite her father's protests and a couple of others were partying on and then dealing with the consequences in their own ways. An excellent graphic novel and the only one I've added on this around the world list.
Might end up in a China Dream next with Ma Jian

Total Read for the Challenge 29/30

I ended up back in Japan with the Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (pub. 2018) to take me to the end of this years challenge. Looking forward to reading around the world in 2020!

Total Read for the Challenge 30/30