Around the World in 80 Books discussion

When I took a look at the map to figure out what route I wanted to take across the world I couldn't decide which countries to drop from my route... So I decided to visit all the independent countries, or at least try.

I made a route to follow in 2011 when I started this challenge, but then I got stuck in a book I didn't like, gave up and lost my original plans... But I've decided to pick my challenge up again (2023). I've printed a world map and will figure out a route on the go. I will read other books in between so I will definitely go slow! I hope it's ok to update this old tread for my travels around the world.

Starting Point: the Netherlands

COUNTRIES VISITED
Africa:
Asia:
Caribbean:
Europe: the Netherlands (1), Germany (2), Denmark (3), Sweden (4), Norway (5)
Latin America:
Middle East:
North America:
Oceania:

Continents Visited: 1
Countries Visited: 4
Route traveled: the Netherlands > Germany > Denmark > Sweden > Norway

https://map1.maploco.com/visited-coun...

So far:
1. Girl with a pearl earring by Tracy Chevalier. (★★★)
Country: the Netherlands
Region: Europe

The book is well written and easy to read but still tells a detailed story which at the same time leaves enough blanks to fill with your own interpretation/imagination. I think I would have appreciated this more if I hadn't seen the movie first (years ago). Somehow the (vague) memory of the movie interfered with the way I experienced Griet and her relationship with Vermeer, although I find it hard to explain how. I still like the way you experience the Vermeer household, and the relationships with all the different people in the house, through Griet her eyes. But maybe I would have liked to hear a little more about Vermeer's site of the story.

Tracy Chevalier did make me feel as if I was listening to a girl from the 1600's who took me with her everywhere she went in Delft (although I have know idea how Delft really was in the 1600's) with detailed descriptions about ordinary things, which I really liked.

Girl with a pearl earring is a nice interpretation of what could have been the story behind the painting!

2. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. (★★★★)
Country: Germany
Region: Europe

memorable quote:
''Or is there no such thing as 'too late'? Is there only 'late' and is 'late' always better than 'never'? I don't know.''

3. Leugenaars by Ida Jessen. (★★)
Country: Denmark
Region: Europe

The original title of this books is 'Den der lyver' but in English you might know it as 'The Liar'.
I didn’t really love this book. It is set in a small Danish countryside village. I don't know how it is to live there but I think it gives a good view into the village life of Hvium and it’s inhabitants. I liked that about the book. The first part about the story was nice to, where Christian moves to Hvium to become a countryside physician and the story develops as expected after reading the description of the book. Although it took me by surprise that the narrator of the book turns out to be Christian's sister, which I found a little strange at some points...

In the middle part of the book a few different story lines developed of which I didn't really get the point... one of them contains some (graphic) sex scenes that where not really necessary in my opinion. In the end the book gets back to (what I think is) the main storyline, which makes the end more interesting than the middle part. Although I new the book is part of a series I was a little surprised by the "open" ending. It made me curious to see if the next book continues with the same story? (but then again, maybe I just didn't get the ending...)

All in all it was not really a book for me.

4. Gerechtigheid by Stieg Larsson. (★★★)
Country: Sweden
Region: Europe

I was a little disappointed when I finished the second book of the trilogy to discover that the story did not stand more on it's own as the first one had, I felt a little forced to continue reading in the third book.

I'm glad I did, because I liked the way the story unfolds (all the conspiracy, the twists and ends) and you get to see all the different perspectives from the different characters. But this same slow paste and very detailed story telling annoyed me a little as I came closer to the end of the book (that's why I rated it 3 in stead of 4 stars). I admit that this might have something to do with the fact that I read all three books in a very short time span or that the second "story" is very long (since in my opinion book 2 and 3 tell one story), but either way, in the end I just wanted to finish it.

I came across this link about Stieg Larsson's style and it made me laugh.

I watched the movies as well and I like them all very much! Very well made and even though a lot of (sub)plots where just eliminated from the storyline and they have taken great liberty in creating the movies I would rate the first one with 5 stars and the other two with at least 4 stars.

5. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley. (★★★)
Country: Norway
Region: Europe

I didn't start this series sooner because it didn't feel like my thing. But then more and more people around me started reading and enjoying it, so I decided to give it a try. It turned out I really liked the first book and wanted to know how the series would continue, so I kept on reading. It's easy to read and compelling.
Only thing I don't really like/had to get used to was the way a lot of the conversations set in the present feel a bit dated in choice of words. I'm not sure if this is Riley's writing style or the was it was translated, because I read it in Dutch.