Play Book Tag discussion

Use this thread to post reviews.

Spin #1 - Direction - SE

Depart Phoenix, Arizona
Destination: New Iberia, Louisiana

Straight line distance: 1211.9 miles

Heaven's Prisoners - James Lee Burke - 4 Stars - 1/1/24
p2 - "Now I owned a bait and boat rental business on the bayou south of New Iberia"

Review

Tagged Louisiana 21 times

Points - 1 + 2 = 3

Spin #1 = East

Depart - San Antonio, Texas
Destination - Galveston, Texas
Distance - 211 miles

The Medicine Woman of Galveston - Amanda Skenandore
4 stars
1/1/25

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

1 + 2 = 3 points
Tagged Texas 14 times

Olivermagnus wrote: "Spin #1 - SE

Depart Phoenix, Arizona
Destination: New Iberia, Louisiana

Straight line distance: 1211.9 miles

Heaven's Prisoners - James Lee Burke - 4 Stars - 1/1/24
p2..."

Is this your first time reading this series? I read a number of them years ago, but got off track.

Ellen wrote: "Spin #1 = East

Depart - San Antonio, Texas
Destination - Galveston, Texas
Distance - 211 miles

The Medicine Woman of Galveston - Amanda Skenandore
4 stars
1/1/25

..."

OK, i learned something I was imagining Galveston to be south of San Antonio, but bringing it up on the map I can see it is due east.

Booknblues wrote: " Olivermagnus wrote: "Spin #1 - SE

Heaven's Prisoners - James Lee Burke..."Is this your first time reading this series? I read a number of them years ago, but got off track.

I think I read a couple back in the 80's, and read the first one last year. I spent the 80's working, taking classes, and child rearing, so probably only read Silhouette romances during those years. Lol

Compass book #1. Direction NW
Buffalo NY to Toronto Canada.
“Your flight direction from Buffalo, NY to Toronto, Canada is Northwest (-26 degrees from North).”

Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory by Sarah Polley. 4 stars.
Location Validation: 47 Canada tags, 5 Toronto tags. Toronto is the author’s home and is mentioned throughout the book.[41 times from page 11 to 257, Kindle edition]

Points= 1+2+3

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

This was a great choice for my first book of the year. I want to read more meaningful books this year, and this is a great start. This is a memoir composed of well written essays on a variety of topics by the Canadian actress, director and activist, Sarah Polley. I chose the book primarily for the content about concussions and memory, and it was well worth the purchase for those insights. One section brought me to tears, but it inspired me as well. She covered several other interesting topics, including the beginning of the me-too movement, movie making, family experiences, and health care. I first noticed her in The Sweet Hereafter, and I really liked Away from Her (her directing debut) based on an Alice Munro story, I never saw the series Avonlea, or the film Baron Munchausen (which was a harrowing experience for her as a young child). As a follow up to this book, I plan to finish/reread Women Talking and watch the film adaptation she directed. I will also look for the Alice Munro story, and follow up on something from the concussion chapter.


From travel math:
The total driving distance from Buffalo, NY to Toronto, Canada is 98 miles or 158 kilometers.
The total straight line flight distance from Buffalo, NY to Toronto, Canada is 59 miles.
Your flight direction from Buffalo, NY to Toronto, Canada is Northwest (-26 degrees from North).

Compass Trip One

Depart: Newton, MA
Arrival: Lake Marie, NH
Direction; North
Miles: 93
Matches Tag for New Hampshire (6 tags)
1 + 2 = 3 points, 3 points to date

Book The President's Daughter - Clinton/Patterson
Link to Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Compass Spin #1: NW
Starting Point: Reno, Nevada
Destination: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia

Heading: The initial heading from Reno, Nevada (39.5° N, 119.8° W) to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia (53.0° N, 158.7° E) is approximately 317 degrees Northwest.

Straight Line Distance Traveled: 3,785 miles (using the distance calculator: https://www.mapdevelopers.com/distanc...)

Book #1: Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips - 1/6/25 - 4* - My Review

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

Quote confirming location: P. 9 – “Once the two of them got there, they could turn away from the bay to look onto the beaten grass of the city’s main pedestrian square. Past that, and the lines of traffic, were a statue of Lenin, a sign for Gazprom, and a broad government building topped with flags. Alyona and Sofia would be standing in Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky’s heart, and seeing on either side the swing, of the city’s hills, it’s long ribs. A volcano’s blue top beyond.”

Points - 1 + 2 = 3

Spin #2 = West
Depart: Galveston, Texas
Destination: San Antonio, Texas
Distance: 211 miles

Big Red Tequila by Rick Riordan
4 stars
1/6/25
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
"Jackson "Tres" Navarre and his enchilada-eating cat, Robert Johnson, pull into San Antonio and find nothing waiting but trouble. Ten years ago Navarre lefttown and the memory of his father's murder behind him. Now he's back, looking for answers."
From the GR book description

1 + 2 = 3 points
Tagged Texas 14 times
Total points = 6

Spin #1: NE
Depart: Tifton, Georgia
Destination: Vatnsdalshólar in Austur-Húnavatnssýsla
Straightline Distance: 3504.92 miles
Tag: Iceland (451) (view spoiler)[Vatnsdalshólar in Austur-Húnavatnssýsla is the is the site of the execution (hide spoiler)]
Points-1+2=3 (3)

Burial Rites - Hannah Kent
My review

Spin/Direction 1: North
Departure Location: Oregon
Arrival Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
The Glass Hotel, read 1/6
Straight Line Distance: 402 miles

My Review

Points: 3 (book + tagged Vancouver 6 times + matches Canada January tag (237 times) )

Spin #2 - SW

Depart New Iberia, Louisiana
Destination: Melbourne, Australia

Your flight direction from New Iberia, LA to Melbourne, Australia is Southwest (-115 degrees from North).

Straight line distance: 9185 miles

Resurrection Bay - Emma Viskic - 3.5 Stars - 1/8/24 - this book is set in Melbourne Australia

Review

Tagged Melbourne 5 times and Australia 54 times

Points - 1 + 2 = 3

Spin #1: East

Depart: Washington, DC
Destination: Lisbon, Portugal
Both on 39th parallel

Straight Line Distance: 3565.20 miles

Book: The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
Tagged: Portugal x 101; Canada x 28
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Points: 1+2+3= 6

Spin#2 Southwest
From Toronto Canada
To Makatea, French Polynesia

Distance: 5,737.62 mi (9,233.80 km)
The shortest distance (air line) between Toronto, ON, CAN and Makatea, Rangi-roa, Îles-Tuamotu-Gambier, PYF is 5,737.62 mi (9,233.80 km).
Bearing: 221.21° (SW)

Playground by Richard Powers
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Setting: from the book’s blurb: “They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world.”

Spin #1 - NE
Departure: New York City
Destination: Reykjavik, Iceland

Distance: 2,615 miles

Reykjavík: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jónasson
My Review

Location confirmation:
Title
It meant he would be bareheaded for his visit to the little island of Videy, just off the coast near Reykjavík, but what did that matter, when the whole thing was bound to be a waste of time anyway?
Sunna had borrowed a car, an old Skoda, from a friend, for the driver north to Husavik. It was on the other side of the country from Reykjavik, and flying was expensive.

Read Crime Fiction Goal: Definitely met as this involved solving a 30 year old cold case.

Tagged Iceland 65x
Points: 3

Spin # 1 - West

Departure: Cleveland, Ohio
Arrival: Rome, Italy
(I'm not recording distance.)

My Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Quote for Location: "At night Rome bangs, roars, peals. (I hear) car alarms, the shunting of a distant train, back-firing Fiats... " Page 24

Tagged Italy 221 X
- does not meet monthly tag

Points: 1 + 2 = 3

Goal: To explore at least 2 cultural aspects of each country, corresponding with the book.

1. When I go to a city, I often visit their gardens. Here is the link to photos of the Villa Borghese Museum's gardens, full of statuary, pruned trees and architectural wonders that date back centuries. https://borghese.gallery/villa-borghe...

2. Of course, since I love art, I had to go inside of the museum and look at their collection. Here is the link. https://borghese.gallery/collection/ I looked at art work by Caravaggio, Titian, and Raphael among others. Doerr mentions going to see a huge canvass by Caravaggio, hung in a church, which made me curious... I also saw a famous statue of David on my virtual tour.

3. Here are other famous sights that Doerr described, including a photo of Trastavere, where he lived. https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/13...

4. Here is the website of the American Academy in Rome, where Doerr had his fellowship. Within the website, Doerr reflects back on his time in Rome in an interview. https://aarome.org/news/features/thin...

Spin #2 on 1/8 - NE

Depart from: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia
Destination: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

From Travelmath:
- The total straight line flight distance from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia to Yellowknife, Canada is 3,030 miles.
- Your flight direction from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia to Yellowknife, Canada is Northeast (42 degrees from North)

Book: Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay - 1/13/25 - 4* - My Review

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

Quote for location: “Yellowknife had only one high-rise and it wasn’t on Main Street, it was a lonely apartment building in the southeastern part of town. A rudimentary place of ten thousand people named after an indigenous tribe that used knives made of copper... It was north of the sixtieth parallel and shared in the romance of the North, emanating not mystery but uniqueness.” (p.190)

Tagged Canada x103 for tag of the month & tagged Northwest Territories x9 for location:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...

Points: 1 (location) + 2 (tag for location - Northwest Territories) + 3 (tag of the month - Canada) = 6

Spin #3 = Southeast
Depart: San Antonio, Texas
Destination: Corpus Christi, Texas
143 miles

Zara Hossain Is Here - Sabine Khan
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
4 stars
1/13/25
From the GR description:
"Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician."
Tagged Texas by 5 people

1 + 2 = 3 points
(9 points total going forward)
(565 miles total)

Spin#3 SE
From: Makatea, French Polynesia
To: Antarctica

From Distance-to

Distance: 4,693.28 mi (7,553.10 km)
The shortest distance (air line) between Makatea, Tuamotu-Gambier, PYF and Livingston-Island, ATA is 4,693.28 mi (7,553.10 km).
(Flight route: 4,959.48 mi)

Bearing: 128.08° (SE)
The initial bearing on the course from Makatea, Rangi-roa, Îles-Tuamotu-Gambier, PYF to Cape-Shirreff-Field-Station, Livingston-Island, ATA is 128.08° and the compass direction is SE.

Book 3 :
The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica by Naira de Gracie, 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Location: 6 Antarctica tags, Antarctica is in the title of the book. Livingston Island is mentioned frequently from the first page.
Points = 1+2=3

Spin #3 - SW

Depart - Melbourne, Australia
Destination - Nelspruit, South Africa

Your flight direction from Melbourne, Australia to Nelspruit, South Africa is Southwest (-124 degrees from North).

Straight line distance: 6,335 miles

A Beautiful Place to Die - Malla Nunn - 4.5 Stars - 1/13/25
Review

The book is set in a fictional town called Jacob's Rest located close to the Mozambique and Swaziland border. I chose Nelspruit because it was close to the border where all three countries converged.

Page 191 - "Our border location makes Swaziland and Mozambique the offenders most likely place of origin."

Tagged South Africa 66 times

Points - 1 + 2 = 3

Cum Points Total = 9

Olivermagnus wrote: "Spin #3 - SW

Depart - Melbourne, Australia
Destination - Nelspruit, South Africa

Your flight direction from Melbourne, Australia to Nelspruit, South Africa is Southwest (-124 degrees from North)...."

Lynda, how did you arrive at the directional conclusion? That part of South Africa is North of Melbourne.

I used Travel math.

"The total straight line flight distance from Melbourne, Australia to Nelspruit, South Africa is 6,335 miles.

This is equivalent to 10 195 kilometers or 5,505 nautical miles.

Your trip begins in Melbourne, Australia. It ends in Nelspruit, South Africa.

Your flight direction from Melbourne, Australia to Nelspruit, South Africa is Southwest (-124 degrees from North).

The distance calculator helps you figure out how far it is to get from Melbourne, Australia to Nelspruit, South Africa. It does this by computing the straight line flying distance ("as the crow flies") and the driving distance if the route is drivable. It uses all this data to compute the total travel mileage"

Olivermagnus wrote: "I used Travel math.

"The total straight line flight distance from Melbourne, Australia to Nelspruit, South Africa is 6,335 miles.

This is equivalent to 10 195 kilometers or 5,505 nautical miles.
..."

Hmm...I'm not sure why it gave you incorrect information, but Nelspruit is north of Melbourne if you check latitude. Maps that I'm viewing show South Africa as NW of Melbourne.

The next time you may use a free ticket.

Oh my goodness, my first book is expected to arrive on Thursday in the post, and a bunch of you have already finished three! Living in Alaska and getting NE for my first spin is killing me from the jump.

Saorse wrote: "Oh my goodness, my first book is expected to arrive on Thursday in the post, and a bunch of you have already finished three! Living in Alaska and getting NE for my first spin is killing me from the..."

I am in NYC and had NE as first spin and only finished the book a couple days ago! There are many of us just drifting slowly along. We have some jack rabbits though who always leave us in the dust.

Hey everyone, I found another distance calculator that I like better so far.

www.distance.to

The bearings are more accurate and it has locations that travelmath doesn’t recognize. It shows the latitude and longitude of both locations so it’s easier to catch inaccurate bearings.

I tried using it but looks like it only has cities with airports. Did you try any without?

Spin #1 - North

Depart: Webster, NY
Destination: Fictional Taararmiut Island off Greenland's northwest coast (p. 7) about 6 degrees off due north from Webster, NY

Distance Traveled: = 2391 miles (using last airport on NW of Greenland)

Book Read: Girl in Ice - Erica Ferencik - 4 stars - 1/14/25

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

Country/Book: (1 pt @) = 1
Country tagged >5x: (2 pts @) = 2 (tagged Greenland 6x)
Book Matched Monthly Tag (>5x): (3 pts @) = No
Points: 3

Secondary Goals: On TBR Pile - date added: 6/6/24; Author not Greenlander

Joy D wrote: "I tried using it but looks like it only has cities with airports. Did you try any without?"

Edit

Yes. This is different from the other map developer site, though it seems to be connected. It’s finding very remote locations that travelmath couldn’t find at all, including small towns and small islands. I didn’t notice before, but it does appear to be finding the closest airports, even if they’re very small. The flight distance is different from the straight line distance, so I’ll have to go back and see what I used on my tracking page.

I entered Indian Ocean and it gave me a spot in the middle of the ocean. (For Pod) The latitude and longitude makes sense for the middle. It also shows me the closest airport which shows a latitude and longitude significantly North and West of the spot it gave me on the map. It shows different values for flight distance and straight line distance.

I’m mainly interested in getting an accurate bearing, and so far I like this one better. It doesn’t hurt to check other resources though. Travelmath gave me a few obviously incorrect bearings, especially going from North America to Asia.

I’m not trying to get the longest distance. If it seems like I have a shot, I’ll go back later to find multiple sources for all my distances.

Spin 1 Southwest

Note: Fran you checked this one yourself here: Post # 49
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


Depart: Clarkston (Detroit),Michigan -Detroit is where our Airport is.
Destination: Ho Chi Minh City ,Vietnam

Straight line distance: 8,722 miles

You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
Moderators Confirmation of direction: Post # 49 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Tagged Vietnam 15 times

Monthly Tag Match: No
Location Tag: Yes

Book points 1
Locale points 2
Total Points 3
Total Miles 8,722

Compass Spin #1: NE

Starting: Damascus, MD
Travel to : Bronx, NY

Start in Maryland and head NE to Bronx, NY

Burn Down, Rise Up - Vincent Tirado

1 point --> book location
2 points --> Tagged New York (8 times)
0 points --> not tagged with monthly tag

Total Points = 3

207.18 miles travelled

Interesting Character --> Raquel is a strong black eighteen year old girl. While she is dealing with crushes and high school, she is also strong enough to go looking for answers when her mom gets sick and she was able to destroy monsters. She is smart and brave and never backed down.

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

Had this in the wrong spot, sorry about that!

Luggage tag #1: a lighthouse

Departing: San Francisco, California
Heading: North
Destination: Cape Disappointment, Washington
Distance: 738 miles


The Lightkeeper by Susan Wiggs. 3 stars, completed 1/17/2025

Quote:
"The morning had dawned like all the others - a chill haze with the feeble sun behind it, iron-colored swells gathering muscle far offshore, then hurling themselves against the huddled sharp rocks of Cape Disappointment." (pp.16)

(I think I'm going to play along without worrying about tracking points, if that's ok Fran? I'm going to get frazzled trying to remember everything otherwise.)

Jen wrote: "Had this in the wrong spot, sorry about that!

Luggage tag #1: a lighthouse

Departing: San Francisco, California
Heading: North
Destination: Cape Disappointment, Washington
Distance: 738 miles


T..."

Thanks, and it is fine if you do not want to track points. I'm cool with people doing the challenge just for the fun of it.

Spin #2 - SE

Depart: Thule, Greenland (closest airport)
Destination: Muscat, Oman (closest airport)

Distance Traveled: = 5147 miles (using travelmath)

Book Read: Celestial Bodies - Jokha Alharthi - 4 stars - 1/18/25

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

Country/Book: (1 pt @) = 1
Country tagged >5x: (2 pts @) = 2 (tagged Oman 149x)
Book Matched Monthly Tag (>5x): (3 pts @) = No
Points: 3

Secondary Goals: On TBR Pile - date added: 12/16/24; Author is Omani

Spin #1

direction SW

Depart: Detroit, MI
Destination: Dallas, TX

Distance traveled=999.34 miles

Book read: Whisper Network-Chandler Baker completed 1-19-25

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

Proof of location: pg 21 "Outside the sun had gone down. the Dallas skyline-its glittering orb and glowing suspension bridges-gradually gave way to the gaudy electronic billboard of the city's Omni Hotel.

1 pt for reading a book.

Hi, all. Just starting the shelving now.

The shelf is called "the compass" (since that is the full title of the challenge). I noticed someone must have set up a shelf called "compass", but I'm going to delete that one and use "the compass".

Thanks so much!

And shelving done to here, Jan 19/25

Spin #4 - NE

Depart - Nelspruit, South Africa
Destination- Tokyo, Japan

Your flight direction from Nelspruit, South Africa to Tokyo, Japan is Northeast (62 degrees from North).

The total straight line flight distance from Nelspruit, South Africa to Tokyo, Japan is 8,230 miles.

Blue Light Yokohama - Nicolás Obregón - 3 Stars - 1/20/25
Review

This book is set in Tokyo, Japan.

Tagged Japan 31 times

Points - Book - 1 point
Country Tag - 2 Points
Total = 3 Points

Cum Points Total = 12

Spin #5

Spin #3: 1/15 - NW

Depart from: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Destination: Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory, Canada
Ultimate Destination: Baker Lake, Nunavut - the book involves a journey of 4000 km

Straight line distance: 715 miles
https://www.distance.to/Yellowknife,N...
Journey straight-line distance: 1160 miles (note: actual distance was way longer since he was in canoe and on foot!)
https://www.distance.to/Eagle-Plains,...
Total distance: 1875 miles

The route primarily follows a northwesterly direction. The approximate direction is Northwest. The heading is around 300° to 320°, depending on the exact path taken. Checked with Fran beforehand and got it approved.

Book: Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic by Adam Shoalts - 1/20/25 - 4.5* - My Review

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

Quote for determining location (from the book’s description): “Between his starting point in Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory, to his destination in Baker Lake, Nunavut, lies a maze of obstacles: shifting ice floes, swollen rivers, fog-bound lakes, and gale-force storms. And Shoalts must time his departure by the breakup of the spring ice, then sprint across nearly 4,000 kilometers of rugged, wild terrain to arrive before winter closes in.”

Points: 1 (location) + 2 (tag for location - Canada) + 3 (tag of the month - Canada) = 6
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...

Joy D wrote: "Spin #3: 1/15 - NW

Depart from: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Destination: Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory, Canada
Ultimate Destination: Baker Lake, Nunavut - the book involves a journe..."

Joy, do you plan your next departure from Eagle Plains or Baker Lake, Nunavut?

I plan to depart from Baker Lake, Nunavut. Let's hope I get something without an N in it! :-)

Joy D wrote: "I plan to depart from Baker Lake, Nunavut. Let's hope I get something without an N in it! :-)"
YOu are due for another direction.

Spin #4 = Northeast
Depart: Corpus Christi, Texas
Destination: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Distance 418 miles

A Flicker in the Dark - Stacy Willingham
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
From the GR description:
"Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding."

Tagged Louisiana by 47 people
1 + 2 = 3 points
1/21/25

Spin #1 - West

Starting location: Phoenix, AZ
Destination: Mumbai India
Straight line distance: 8,811 miles

The Siege: 68 Hours Inside The Taj Hotel by Adrian Levy, Cathy Scott-Clark

Review

Location from book blurb: "Mumbai, 2008. On the night of November 26, Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists attacked targets throughout the city, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of the world’s most exclusive luxury hotels."

Tagged "India" by 48 people
1 + 2 = 3 points

Spin #2 - SE
Departure: Reykjavik, Iceland
Destination: Bangelore, India

Distance: 5,695.48 miles

The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra

My Review

Location confirmation:
Title, various chapter headings, map of 1921 Bangalore, many references throughout the book.

Read Crime Fiction Goal: Not only solved the murders but also a blackmail scheme.

Tagged India 125x

Points: 3

Spin #4 (1/15/25) Northwest

Edited per our discussion

Spin #4 (1/15/25) Northwest
From Livingston Island Antarctica
To Tokyo Japan

9. A translation of a Japanese Detective Story - The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

From Distance.to
Distance: 10,385.64 mi (16,714.06 km)
The shortest distance (air line) between Livingston-Island, ATA and Tokyo, JPN is 10,385.64 mi (16,714.06 km).
Bearing: 306.70° (NW)
The initial bearing on the course from Livingston-Island, ATA to Tokyo, JPN is 306.70° and the compass direction is NW.

Location info:
626 Japan tags, 6 Tokyo tags. The entire book is set in Japan. Blurb: “When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day …”

Points 1+2=3

Book # 2 - Direction West

**I used a ticket to travel Northeast instead.

Departed: Italy
Arrived: Russia

Book: Disappearing Earth
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Quote: "Alyona and Sophia would be standing in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky's heart, and seeing on either side the swing of the city's hills, its long ribs." p. 9

Tagged Russia by 305 people

Points: 1 + 2 = 3
Running Tally: 6 points with 1 ticket used

Goal: To explore at least 2 cultural aspects of each country, corresponding with the book.

1. "A character in the story (Kyusha) is a 3rd year college student studying accounting. Her family lives up north and are members of the Even tribe. They are reindeer herders in Siberia. She is the first of her family to go to college. Sometimes, Kyusha is made fun of for her ethnic looks. I was curious and so, looked up her ethnicity in Wikipedia. Here is the article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evens

2. Here are photos of Petropavlovsk - Kamchatka where the novel takes place. https://www.shutterstock.com/search/p...

3. Here is the author discussing her book. She had lived in Kamchatka for a year and a half and talks about her experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEScF...

4. This is the link to a video showing Koryak dance in Kamchatka. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzSI4...

Spin 5. West
From Tokyo Japan
To Xian, China (Shaanxi)

Bearing: 266.94° (W)
The initial bearing on the course from Tokyo, JPN to Xi’an, Shaanxi, CHN is 266.94° and the compass direction is W.
Distance: 1,735.81 mi (2,793.51 km)
The shortest distance (air line) between Tokyo, JPN and Xi’an, Shaanxi, CHN is 1,735.81 mi (2,793.51 km).
Location validation: The tour group made several stops but the most significant time was spent near Xi’an China, where they saw the terra-cotta army, a drum tower, and the end of the Silk Road.
30 China Tags

1+2=3

Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Holly R W wrote: "Book # 2 - Direction West

**I used a ticket to travel Northeast instead.

Departed: Italy
Arrived: Russia

Book: Disappearing Earth
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71..."

Awesome. I had fun researching this setting when I read this book too!