The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

25.3 - Jennifer N'S Task - Virtual Foreign Vacation
Summer is traditionally the time of year for family vacations. It is not always feasible to go to the places you wish to see, so for this task..

A. Read a fictional book that takes place in a country that you have always wanted to visit but have never had the chance to.
Example: If I have always wanted to visit France I could read The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
AND
B. Read a book that was originally written in a foreign language.
Example: My (Jennifer's) native language is English so I could read A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz which was originally written in Hebrew.

Part B does not have to be the language that is spoken in Part A.

If you need suggestions OR have suggestions for books to read for this task post them here.

I'm going to read

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, which takes place in the UK
and
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, translated from the French.

Both were on my Wish List, and my library has them both. Yippee!

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a great one, translated from French.

Yes!!! I've been looking for an excuse to read The Vanishing Act. Now I just have to come up with a book that was originally written in another language.

A book I'll use elsewhere is Fathers and Sons, translated from Russian.

Clarifying question...does the setting need to be a prominent feature? I was thinking Nick Hornby since I always wanted to go to London/England in general.

I'd like to read Hans Christian Anderson for the foreign lang. part. Does that work?

Nicole wrote: "Clarifying question...does the setting need to be a prominent feature? I was thinking Nick Hornby since I always wanted to go to London/England in general."

It doesn't have to be prominent. Nick Hornby would be fine.

Kathy wrote: "I'd like to read Hans Christian Anderson for the foreign lang. part. Does that work?"

Thats fine.

A. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - I've always wanted to go to England
B. The Shadow of the Wind - translated from Spanish

I love it :) Im going to read
a) Become Madame Mao by Anchee Min (set in China)
b) House of day, house of night by Olga Tokarczuk (translate from polish and probably read in polish. More easy for me to get this book)

Jennifer N. wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Clarifying question...does the setting need to be a prominent feature? I was thinking Nick Hornby since I always wanted to go to London/England in general."

It doesn't have to be ..."
YAY! I love Nick Hornby and though I normally avoid rereads, I keep wanting to reread his books!

I am either going with Murakami or one of the Russians for the second part!

I love this task - I had read a review of Out by Natsuo Kirino and was looking for a way to work that one in - and it will fit in either part of this task. The Stieg Larsson books would work, too.

Liz wrote: "A. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - I've always wanted to go to England
B. The Shadow of the Wind - translated from Spanish"

The Shadow of the Wind...Good one! I've got that on my TBR. :)

Book moving time! The Princes of Ireland was my SUMMER book, now I can move it to this and addThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest for the foreign language. Now to find a shorter SUMMER!!

Does the book have to take place in one country? I was thinking about Cutting for Stone but based on the description it sounds like it may cut between Africa and America.

Does anyone know if City of the Beasts takes place in Brazil or Peru? These are 2 places I would like to go to in south America.

Pollyanna wrote: "Does anyone know if City of the Beasts takes place in Brazil or Peru? These are 2 places I would like to go to in south America."

Pollyanna, I found this on Wikipedia:

City of the Beasts (La ciudad de las bestias in Spanish) is the first young adult novel by Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende, whose uncle is Salvador Allende, a former ruler of Chile. Published in 2002, the story is set in the Amazon rainforest. The novel was translated by Margaret Sayers Peden from Spanish to English. Walden Media is said to be producing a movie.

Angie wrote: "Does the book have to take place in one country? I was thinking about Cutting for Stone but based on the description it sounds like it may cut between Africa and America."

As long as half of the book takes place in Africa it will be fine.

Petra wrote: "Pollyanna wrote: "Does anyone know if City of the Beasts takes place in Brazil or Peru? These are 2 places I would like to go to in south America."

Pollyanna, I found this on Wikiped..."

Okay thanks :)

Anyone know if Cutting for Stone takes place in Africa at least 50%??

Thanks Jennifer for your quick response!! :o)

I love this task. For part B, can we read the book in the original language (I'm trying to practice my Spanish for a trip this summer) or is reading a translation the main point of the task? Thanks!

Colleen wrote: "I love this task. For part B, can we read the book in the original language (I'm trying to practice my Spanish for a trip this summer) or is reading a translation the main point of the task? Thanks!"

That's fine - Enjoy

Jennifer N. wrote: "Colleen wrote: "I love this task. For part B, can we read the book in the original language (I'm trying to practice my Spanish for a trip this summer) or is reading a translation the main point of ..."

Great, then I'm going to read Under the Tuscan Sun for Part A and The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel (El Pergamino de la Seduccion) for Part B.

Blindess would work for part B right? wasn't' originaly in portugeuse or something? I haven't been able to find it at the library, but i'll try to find it somewhere if that one works.

The original title of Blindness is Ensaio sobre a cegueira which means An essay on blindness :)

I LOVE this task-- I just won Every Man Dies Alone from FirstReads, and it's translated from German! I'm so happy I found a place for it, here for Part B! For Part A, I will look for something set in France--so many wonderful choices! :)

quick question - I know it says pick a place you'd like to visit, but being in the Navy there are lots of places that I have visited for brief periods (Oman, Jordan) that I would love to actually go back and spend time in...could I pick one of those, or does it need to be a place I have not been at all?

Tracey wrote: "Blindess would work for part B right? wasn't' originaly in portugeuse or something? I haven't been able to find it at the library, but i'll try to find it somewhere if that one works."

There are two books called Blindness. Blindness by José Saramago and Blindness by Henry Green. I plan on reading both books for the Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Task. The first book would work for this task but not the second I believe.

Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "quick question - I know it says pick a place you'd like to visit, but being in the Navy there are lots of places that I have visited for brief periods (Oman, Jordan) that I would love to actually g..."

That would be fine. If you haven't had the chance to visit the country as a tourist feel free to use it.

CaliAngie wrote: "Anyone know if Cutting for Stone takes place in Africa at least 50%??

Thanks Jennifer for your quick response!! :o)"

I don't know about 50% per page count, but I would definitely consider the Ethiopian part of Cutting for Stone to be more than half of the story.

Nancy wrote: "CaliAngie wrote: "Anyone know if Cutting for Stone takes place in Africa at least 50%??

Thanks Jennifer for your quick response!! :o)"

I don't know about 50% per page count, b..."

Thats fine then

Are there any sites or lists that have books that weren't originally published in English???

Sarah wrote: "Are there any sites or lists that have books that weren't originally published in English???"

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/278.Best_Foreign_Language_non_English_Book

http://nighthawknews.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/outside-the-modern-library-the-25-best-foreign-language-novels/

or, more work, but there's always wiki's lists by country:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_by_country

This is one of my favourite sites to find book ideas. It is all about translated literature. Here's their description "Three Percent launched in the summer of 2007 with the lofty goal of becoming a destination for readers, editors, and translators interested in finding out about modern and contemporary international literature." The title of Three Percent comes from the fact that only 3% of all books published in the US are translated literature.

http://www.rochester.edu/College/tran...

This is where I'll be getting my blog book as well!

I have been saving airline miles for five years to visit Prague and was wondering if I could use I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal for part A. The author is Czech and from all the descriptions I have read the story is set in WW11 Czechoslovakia. I read the first page and the setting is the Hotel Prague. However, the Goodreads book page states the story takes place in Italy. I think it's a mistake, but I wanted to check.
Thanks

Janice wrote: "I have been saving airline miles for five years to visit Prague and was wondering if I could use I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal for part A. The author i..."

Setting = Italy & Czechslovakia

Should be fine.

Janice CA wrote: "I have been saving airline miles for five years to visit Prague and was wondering if I could use I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal for part A. The author i..."

Sounds fine to me.