Around the World discussion

Getting the list together is fun! I have no doubt that this will continue to be edited regularly ... particularly when I try and track some of these down. I'm hoping natural attrition because of unavailability will drop the list to something closer to 52.

I've been fairly flexible with my definition of 'country', and have a mix of things from resident (or exile) authors as well as by setting. My main 'rule' is nothing from an author I have already read, and fiction (preferably plot driven) first.

Would love to recieve any thoughts / comments.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/c...

Asia
India A Fine Balance O
Indonesia Child of All Nations W
Japan The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle O OR Norwegian Wood
Kazakhstan The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years
South Korea Your Republic Is Calling You W
Malaysia The Harmony Silk Factory OL
Mongolia All This Belongs to Me: A Novel W
Myanmar The Lizard Cage L or The Road to Wanting L
Philippines The Last Time I Saw MotherL
Sri Lanka Reef W
Tajikistan Hurramabad W
Vietnam The Tapestries OR The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir L

Middle East & North Africa
Afghanistan The Kite Runner O
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns 28.12.11
Algeria The Watchers W
Azerbaijan Ali and Nino: A Love Story L
Egypt The Harafish W
2. Ethiopia Sweetness in the Belly 28.12.11
Iran The Blood of Flowers O
Jordan Pillars of Salt W
Libya In the Country of Men W
Morocco The Sand Child (The Last Friend W)
Pakistan Moth Smoke W or The Wandering Falcon L
Somalia Secrets
Turkey The Prophet Murders

Europe
Albania The Ghost Rider W
Armenia Passage to Ararat W
Croatia The Tiger's Wife L
Finland The Priest of Evil W
France The Crimson Rivers
Germany The Sinner W
Hungary Under the Frog
4. Iceland: Last Rituals 10.1.12
Italy A Walk in the Dark
Poland The Phantoms of Breslau L
Russia Shadow Prowler L
Spain The Angel's Game O
3. Sweden The Dogs of Riga 1.1.12
The Water's Edge

The Americas
Cuba Havana Red W
El Salvador The Weight of All Things: A Novel
Jamaica The Long Song L
Trinidad & Tobago Valmiki's Daughter L
Brazil The Alchemist O
Colombia One Hundred Years of Solitude or Love in the time of Cholera O
Peru Red April L

Sub-Saharan Africa
Angola The Book of Chameleons W
Republic of the Congo African PsychoW
Ethiopia Sweetness in the Belly L
Ivory Coast Aya L
Liberia The House at Sugar Beach W
Mozambique The Word Tree W
Senegal God's Bits of Wood
Sierra Leone White Man's Grave: A Novel
5. South Africa Zoo City 11.1.12
Tanzania Paradise
Togo An African in Greenland W
6. Uganda The Last King of Scotland 17.1.12

Oceania
Samoa Leaves of the Banyan Tree
Samoa Where We Once Belonged
New Zealand Behind the Hood
Solomon Islands Two Times Resurrection, Rexford T Orotaloa
Tonga Kisses in the Nederends W
PNG: Kokoda L or Kokoda)O or Angel of Kokoda L

Fine list, Tanya. Passage to Ararat was instructive and I'm glad to have read it and to have written a review. A Fine Balance and The Alchemist are fine as well. Your list has several books I'd like to read, too.

I too would like to read.All This Belongs to Me: A Novel. I have added it to my GR shelves. Thank you.

Ali and Nino: A Love Story is wonderful. After you have read that I would also recommend reading The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life. This is about the author of Ali and Nino. The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life.

If you are interested in my reviews:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... for Ali and Nino

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... and for the book about the author.

Gosh, I also have to add The Last Time I Saw Mother.

I personally preferred The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood over the author's The Tapestries

You have mentioned so many absolutely intriguing books!!!

Tanya, I added your books to the master lists. You had four countries that nobody had yet, hooray!

Asmah - thanks for that. I'll check out your review. I've had the The Alchemist and A Fine Balance hanging around on the shelves for ages, so am looking forward to a push to get them read.

Chrissie - thanks also for the reviews. I'll check out the The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood, but I think the reason I chose the other is that its hanging around on my shelves. I tossed up including All This Belongs to Me: A Novel because the author is Czech - which seemed a little odd, but it looked good so I went with it. That is, providing I can track down a copy ...

Judy - I know what you mean. I made a conscious effort not to look too closely at anyones elses list before compiling mine. I had enough trouble keeping to a reasonable number without adding extras.

Jenny - woohoo! Although I can't really claim Myanmar as a new country as you have it listed as Burma as well ...

Tanya wrote: "Jenny - woohoo! Although I can't really claim Myanmar as a new country as you have it listed as Burma as well ... ..."
Haha, whoops. I'll fix it, which name does it go by now?

Jenny wrote: "Tanya wrote: "Jenny - woohoo! Although I can't really claim Myanmar as a new country as you have it listed as Burma as well ... ..."
Haha, whoops. I'll fix it, which name does it go by now?"

Burma ... although technically, Burma is the old name, and Myanmar is the current one even though some countries refuse to recognise it, and still call it Burma.

Jenny and Tanya, re Burma/Myanmar - it is the old story of who do you ask?! My atlas has Myanmar, My shelf used to be called Myanmar, but then I figured whose side am I on, which side do I support, so I changed it back to Burma again. I was wondering if you choice, Tanya, was a political statemùent.... Probably not, just the name used in the country today by the authoities in power. And as we all know they also found it necessary to change the capital.Anybody interested in a very good book by Amitav Ghosh, check out Dancing in Cambodia, at Large in Burma. My absolute favorite by this author is The Shadow Lines , set in Kolkata and Dhaka region. Forget Sea of Poppies! Just my view .....

Chrissie wrote: "Jenny and Tanya, re Burma/Myanmar - it is the old story of who do you ask?! My atlas has Myanmar, My shelf used to be called Myanmar, but then I figured whose side am I on, which side do I support,..."

No, not a political statement - Myanmar is fairly common in the Australian media, and I have a friend living in Yangon (previously Rangoon), and mail often gets returned if addressed to 'Burma', so have got in the habit of referring to it as Myanmar.

That makes me laugh - the letter is returned if you write Burma! That is really not so surprising.

I'm like Judy and want to read several of the books on your list. Ahhh, so many books; never enough time.

Sounds good to me. :)

This is terrible - I keep finding new additions, but can't find any to cross off the list. I'm starting to wonder whether I need to take my long service leave just to stay at home and read ...

I've added:

Spain: The Angel's Game, because I found it at a flea market on the weekend
Ivory Coast: Aya - graphic novel, so probably doesn't count ...
Russia: Shadow Prowler - I'm looking forward to this - it seems to have all of the necessary elements of good epic fantasy.
Samoa / New Zealand: Where We Once Belonged
PNG: Kokoda or Kokoda, because I've had them both on my shelves forever

Who says graphic novels don't count?! If that is what YOU want to read, read it!

Chrissie wrote: "Who says graphic novels don't count?! If that is what YOU want to read, read it!"

Oh, I'm definitly counting it ... just trying to talk myself out of adding yet more books to the list!

Don't say that to me. My list is breaking with its weight, but I KNOW I cannot read all the books. It is merely my list of alternatives.

Tanya, I updated the master list(s). I loved The Angel's Game, and I'm probably going to break my "read only new-to-me authors" rule to read Shadow of the Wind as my Spain book.

Judy wrote: "Tanya, I've pilfered Kokoda from you. Glad to find another New Guinea book even if it is WWII. :-)"

glad I could help. a few of my more active friends have 'done Kokoda, so it should be interesting to learn more and Peter FitzSimons is generally fairly readable for an old rugby player.

Jenny wrote: "Tanya, I updated the master list(s). I loved The Angel's Game, and I'm probably going to break my "read only new-to-me authors" rule to read Shadow of the Wind as my Spain book."

thanks Jenny - the master list rocks! and it's nice to know angels game is worth the 50c I paid for it.

Jenny - I've added the following to my list

New Zealand: Behind the Hood
Burma: The Road to Wanting
PNG: Angel of Kokoda (Judy - you might like this one? Its a little less about war and more about the experience of the locals)

Got it! With all the titles with Kokoda in the name, is that what residents call the island?

Jenny wrote: "Got it! With all the titles with Kokoda in the name, is that what residents call the island?"

the Kokoda trail was a battle field ( or a series of running battles) during wwii, where the Australians fought the japanese, and it's a now part of the Anzac legend. the terrain was pretty gruesome, and the australians depended heavily on the locals who were dubbed the fuzzy wuzzy angels hence the name of this book. terribly fit people now trek the kokoda trail as a sort of pilgrimage. I'm interested in this period as I had family who flew (and crashed) there in the RAF, and then my mum was a nurse in the same highland region in the sixties.

Judy - thanks. I picked up on your interest :-), it's a fascinating part of the world. the language is so cool! my favorite pidgin expression is for helicopters - 'mix master bilong Jesus christ'. I'm quite jealous as my parents are going to raboul and moresby on holiday next year, and I've always wanted to go. I went to school with a number of locals who've promised to show me around ... but until I get there, I'll have to rely on the books!

Tanya, just checked the master list. I saw you have The Weight of All Things: A Novel on your list. I just read it (whole thing) last night and found it very moving. If you would like my copy, shoot me a message with your address and I will mail it out to you. It is a pre-publication reading copy, but if that doesn't bother you... And have you actually got your hands on Where We Once Belonged? If you would be willing to loan it, it is one I'm hoping to read, but haven't got yet!

So, I've started a week early to take advantage of the reading time allowed by a couple of days off work, and have managed to read 2 books that weren't on my original list, Sweetness in the Belly and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Theoretically, I will post a review for each when I get the chance ... but until then, I enjoyed both.

I'm not doing very well at keeping to my list ... I've just found and read a new addition for Sweden - The Dogs of Riga 1.1.12

Tanya wrote: "I'm not doing very well at keeping to my list ... I've just found and read a new addition for Sweden - The Dogs of Riga 1.1.12"

Tanya, you crack me up. I was wondering if I should count the things that aren't on my list that I end up reading too. But then that might make my map really messy. If you knew me, could see my kitchen, etc., you would find this concern very ironic!

Beth wrote: "I was wondering if I should count the things that aren't on my list that I end up reading too ..."

I reckon as long as its not a duplicate for a country, I can replace any of my picks ... particularly as I'm now addicted to finding new authors / countries in second hand bookshops ... which is a problem as I've promised the family to restrict my book buying habits to space saving ebooks ...

Iceland: Last Rituals 10.1.12

Yet another new addition, not on my original list ... am now moving on to Zoo City which I'm reading for South Africa.

Tanya wrote: "Iceland: Last Rituals 10.1.12

Yet another new addition, not on my original list ... am now moving on to Zoo City which I'm reading for South Africa."

Ooh can't wait to hear what you think - I have two Beukes books on audio to try for the challenge.

Jenny wrote: "Tanya wrote: "Iceland: Last Rituals 10.1.12

Yet another new addition, not on my original list ... am now moving on to Zoo City which I'm reading for South Africa."

..."

Am loving it so far ... stayed up late reading it which is normally a good sign, although does leave me a little under the weather this morning. Will post a review when finished.

South Africa Zoo City 11.1.12

I really enjoyed this one.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Another idea for Iceland are the mystery novels by Arnaldur Indridason. The setting couldn't be anywhere else. I am going to add this for a pleasant break from some of my heavier choices.

That's a good list.

6. Uganda The Last King of Scotland 17.1.12

7. Samoa Where We Once Belonged 29.1.12
I've been reading this for the last month. Its a series of short pieces and poetry centred around a young girl in 1970's Samoa. The author uses a lot of Samoan language and the glossary didn't cover them all. I prefer a book with a plot, hence the time its taken me to finish this.

8. Pakistan The Wandering Falcon 29.1.12
This one, also was a series of loosely related stories of the nomadic tribesmen travelling through Afghanistan and Pakistan, and their laws, customs and traditions. Really interesting, well written stories.

9. Lithuania Between Shades of Gray 31.1.12
Quick read; Lithuanian family deported to Siberia in Stalin's time.

10. Romania The Land of Green Plums 6.2.12
Set in Ceausescu' Romania. A difficult read by a Nobel prize winning author with an unusual writing style.

11. Hungary The Rebels 15.2.11

12. Saudi Arabia The Consequences Of Love 26.2.12
Eritrean immigrant living in Jedda who falls in love with a woman based on her pink shoes. Really interesting insight into life in Saudi for those without money.

13. Russia. Child 44 27.2.12

14. Guyana The Sly Company of People Who Care: A Novel 15.3.12
Indian cricket journalist spends a year in Guyana ... it had me listening to Soca and roots reggae all week long!

15. Kenya Last Orders at Harrods: An African Tale 15.3.12
Very entertaining tale of a 'cafe and night spot' in a slum fighting English lawyers for the right to call their cafe 'Harrods'.

16. Zimbabwe. The Cry of the Go-Away Bird 18.3.12
young girl in white farming family during the expulsions. good story

Judy wrote: "You're boogying right along, Tanya. :-)"
yep! I'm a bit scared to lose my momentum!

Don't think about it, just keep turning those pages!

Tanya, I like how you're keeping a separate list of actual books read; it will be interesting to compare to your original. I might copy your idea!

Tanya, your Zimbabwe read looks good - might keep an eye out for it - thanks.

Mikki - it will be interestnig - I'm so far off my original list at the moment. I keep coming across things that look more interesting, which makes tracking down some of my original selections a bit of a chore.

Lesley - I really enjoyed it. It was a suprisingly light read for the subject matter.

17. Palestine Mornings in Jenin 27.3.12

18. Tanzania Exile. by Jakob Ejersbo 28.3.12
First book in a trilogy by Danish author. Cynical story of young, privileged expats at an international school.