Reading the World discussion

Nominations for July 2025 are open.

I nominate Potiki by Patricia Grace, who is a New Zealand Māori author. The book won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Fiction (NZ Book Awards), and the author herself won the the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, which is based on an author's body of work.

It is definitely available in eBook and paperback format through Barnes & Noble.

And I'll go for When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East for Mongolia. It is about 2 once estranged twin brothers reuniting for a journey across Mongolia as one, a Buddhist monk, seeks to find the reincarnation of the 'Great Lama'.

I found it at my family's local library and will be reading it for July. It is also available on audible and kindle.

Both of the nominated books sound great already. I am also readingMr. President by Nobel Prize winning author Miguel Angel Asturias. Inspired by the regime of President Manuel Estrada Cabrera of Guatemala. The author is also from Guatemala.

Mr. President is also on my to read list for Guatemala as well! I've read a few New Zealand books, but also want to read more Indigenous authors, so I might push in all three of these for July :)

We might all be having a wide-open month again in July!

GailW wrote: "I nominate Potiki by Patricia Grace, who is a New Zealand Māori author. The book won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for Fiction (NZ Book Awards), and the author ..." This is already on my TBR so thanks,sounds great.

I would vote for all three (i.e. the wide open month) if others are okay with that.

At my current reading rate I can’t fit in all 3, but I’m certainly okay with anyone who wants to do that! What does everyone else in our small but mighty and flexible group think?

I'd be down with that!

Celia, what's your opinion on this?

I like the idea of no poll and all three. Should we go for it?

I have read all three of these countires and still doing lots of catch up from previous months.

I found a book for Qatar and might nominate it next month if I like it.

Celia