Around the World discussion

Of the below, 22 come from The Ultimate Reading List. I've been making my way through the fiction portion, and by the beginning of the new year I should be ready for the non-fiction part. Four others below have been on my bookshelves for years unread. This list may change depending upon availability of the books in my neighborhood bookstore and the public library.

AFRICA
Botswana - Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency review
Congo - Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost review
Egypt - Naguib Mahfouz, Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth review
Kenya - Isak Dinesen, Out of Africa review
Nigeria - Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart review
Rwanda - Dian Fossey, Gorillas in the Mist review
Sierra Leone - Greg Campbell, Blood Diamonds review
Somalia - Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down review
South Africa - J.M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians review
Zimbabwe - Alexandra Fuller, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight review

ANTARCTICA
Antarctica - Roland Huntford, The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole review

ASIA
Afghanistan - Rory Stewart, The Places in Between review
Burma (Myanmar) - Daniel Mason, The Piano Tuner review
Cambodia - Vaddy Ratner, In the Shadow of the Banyan review
China - Irish Chang, The Rape of Nanking review
India - Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children review
Indonesia - Simon Winchester, Krakatoa review
Iran - Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood review
Iraq - C. Leonard Woolley, The Sumerians review
Israel - Clysta Kinstler, The Moon Under Her Feet review
Japan - Shusaku Endo, Silence review
Korea - Victor Cha, The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future review
Mongolia - Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World review
Nepal - Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard review
Saudi Arabia - Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 review
Turkey - Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle review
Vietnam - Moore, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam review

AUSTRALIA
Australia - Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country review

EUROPE
Austria - Alfred Einstein, Mozart: His Character, His Work review
England - Amanda Foreman, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire review
France - Peter Mayle, A Year in Provence review
Germany - Markus Zusak, The Book Thief review
Greece - John Fowles, The Magus review
Ireland - Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization review
Italy - Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun review
Netherlands - Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel review
Norway - Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter 1 review
Poland - Thomas Keneally, Schindler's Ark review
Russia - Robert K. Massie, Nicholas and Alexandra review
Scotland - Jane Dunn, Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens review
Spain - Chris Stewart, Driving Over Lemons review
Sweden - John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In review

NORTH AMERICA
Canada - Yann Martel, Life of Pi, review
Mexico - Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen review
United States - Kathryn Stockett, The Help review

SOUTH AMERICA and the CARIBBEAN
Argentina - Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones review
Brazil - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist review
Columbia - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude review
Haiti - Tom Reiss, The Black Count review
Jamaica - Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea review
Panama - David McCullough, The Path Between the Seas review
Peru - Mario Vargas Llosa, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter review

Hi Harmony, welcome!!!

I really enjoyed Smilla's Sense of Snow and others.... Isn't it fun comparing lists and getting ideas?!

Chrissie wrote: "Hi Harmony, welcome!!!

I really enjoyed Smilla's Sense of Snow and others.... Isn't it fun comparing lists and getting ideas?!"

Yes indeed! I've been shamelessly pilfering other folks ideas for books, especially about the countries I know very little about. You've got some great picks here Harmony: Kristin Lavransdatter, Nicholas and Alexandra, Schindler's List, Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire are all excellent choices.

Hi Harmony. You've got an interesting list. I know some of the titles and will check out the Ultimate Reading List.

The Canadian selection link is broken. I did a search for it and it does sound interesting. I have to admit that as a Canadian, I had never heard of Thomas King. But that doesn't mean that he's not a best-selling author, just that he hasn't come under my radar.

Janice wrote: The Canadian selection link is broken. I did a search for it and it does sou..."

None of the links are working--and I don't know why. I've even checked source code on others' lists. Mine use the URL mark-up of < a href > and < / a> which should make the links work, and the URL matches that on the page for the book, but it doesn't want to work for me.

*continues to fiddle*

I had never heard of Thomas King. But that doesn't mean that he's not a best-selling author, just that he hasn't come under my radar.

Knowing my Canadian friend who gave me the rec, he's probably not a bestselling author. She's a budding academic, and her tastes can be esoteric. But when I told her that since I've read Margaret Atwood I couldn't choose her, this is what she came up with. She said it was a great novel about the Native American experience, with touches of magical realism and IIRC, she said it was LOL funny.

Chrissie wrote: "Hi Harmony, welcome!!!

I really enjoyed Smilla's Sense of Snow and others.... Isn't it fun comparing lists and getting ideas?!"

It is. As I said above, about half of my choices come from either The Ultimate Reading List or my bookshelf. Others (like Salman Rushdie and Ngaio Marsh) I've been meaning to read for a long time. But several I got my taking a look at other lists for steals :-)

Rebecca wrote: "Yes indeed! I've been shamelessly pilfering other folks ideas for books, especially about the countries I know very little about. You've got some great picks here Harmony: Kristin Lavransdatter, Nicholas and Alexandra, Schindler's List, Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire are all excellent choices. "

I take it you read them and liked them? *rubs hands with anticipation* And yeah, several on my list are the result of pilfering.

Chelsea wrote: "Hi Harmony,

A warm welcome to our group. You've a great list!"

Thanks. I saw the group pop up when someone on my friend's list joined and couldn't resist :-)

Judy wrote: "Harmony, nice list! You have a nice variety of light and heavier reads. Glad to see The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency on the list. I find Alexander McCall's books a fun break from m..."

Given some are definitely on the heavy side, I'll be glad for some fun reads like McCall's book for sure. Thanks for the welcome!

Wait till you read Nicholas and Alexandra. You will be hooked on Massie. In November a new one is coming out: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. This one is on my list because I loved Nicholas and Alexandra and I am interested in Catherine the Great. Russian culture/literature always pulls me.

Janice wrote: The Canadian selection link is broken. I did a search for it and it does sou..."

I saw from one comment a different way of coding the books, and I used it and checked each link and they should all be fine now!

Harmonybites wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Yes indeed! I've been shamelessly pilfering other folks ideas for books, especially about the countries I know very little about. You've got some great picks here Harmony: Kristin L..."

Yes, I have read them all and they are very good.

Chrissie, I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of the Catherine the Great book, and yes, it is very good and very readable. So, if anyone is looking for a Russia read, that will do quite well.

Harmonybites wrote: "Janice wrote: The Canadian selection link is broken. I did a search for it and it does sou..."

I saw from one comment a different way of coding the books, and I used it and checked each link and ..."

The simplest way is to use the "add book/author" link that is right above the comment box in which you type your reponse.

When I looked at the book's page for Truth and Bright Water: A Novel, it said that he was a best selling author.

I may have to add this book to my wishlist as well. I grew up in Southern Alberta.

Chrissie wrote: "Wait till you read Nicholas and Alexandra. You will be hooked on Massie. In November a new one is coming out: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. This one is on my list because I loved Nicholas and Alexandra and I am interested in Catherine the Great. Russian culture/literature always pulls me. "

I'm ashamed to say I can count all the works of Russian literature I've read on one hand--and that includes everything ever assigned me in school. Anna Karenina, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and only recently Crime and Punishment. And for the life of me I can't recall one nonfiction book I've read on Russian history or a biography. But then, that's true for a lot of the countries on my list. Good reason for the group, no? To push one to correct that kind of parochialism. I'm looking forward to reading Massie.

Janice wrote: The simplest way is to use the "add book/author" link that is right above the comment box in which you type your reponse.

D'oh! *slaps head* Well, fixed now. Live and learn.

I may have to add this book to my wishlist as well. I grew up in Southern Alberta.

So did my friend. Well, Alberta, anyway. I don't remember exactly where. May be why that particular book stuck in her mind.

Rebecca, Sara offered to send me an arc, but the font was too little, so I will wait and order it in November on Kindle.

Harmony check out The House by the Dvina: A Russian Childhood and Olga's Story: Three Continents, Two World Wars and Revolution--One Woman's Epic Journey Through the Twentieth Century. Both are fabulous. I have read the Russian books you mention, but ages ago. I just like how Russians portray characters in a way that is so true. Nobody is simple - just as with real human beings.

Chrissie wrote: Harmony check out The House by the Dvina: A Russian Childhood and Olga's Story: Three Continents, Two World Wars and Revolution--One Woman's Epic Journey Through the Twentieth Century. Both are fabulous.

They look very interesting. Thanks for the recs!

Harmony, I adored these books, so I added them to the Russian Federation File of recommended books. My review links are there too, if you are interested. They are memoirs that read like novels.

Harmony - welcome! I have added your books to the master lists which can be a great place to see who else is thinking of reading what you are thinking of reading, or to get more ideas.

I have Kristin Lavransdatter on my list too, and I'm excited for it. I wish I could read The Magus again for the first time, loved it, and Infidel has really stuck with me for years since reading it. I also loved Midnight's Children, possibly my favorite of the Booker prize winners.

Jenny wrote: "I also loved Midnight's Children, possibly my favorite of the Booker prize winners.."

I've long wanted to read Salman Rushdie. Whenever I've heard what he's had to say, I really, really like him, you know? Which doesn't mean I'll like his books, but the group is a good nudge.

As for the Master List, I already used it to fill gaps--it was very helpful. :-)

I loved Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, brilliant book. I wasn't very keen on Shalimar the Clown, but I liked Midnight's Children.
I went to see him at a book thing, and he was great, he also took an amazing amount of time afterwards, to chat with his fans, sign books etc, and seemed very friendly.

Louise wrote: "I loved Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, brilliant book. I wasn't very keen on Shalimar the Clown, but I liked Midnight's Children.
I went to see him at a book thing, and he var..."

With so many authors, even ones I've loved, the more I hear about them, the more liking and respect I lose. With Rusdie it's the opposite--I just keep hearing good things about him as a person and writer. I'm so looking forward to reading him once the actual reading period kicks off.

I haven't read any Rushdie yet and hope to remedy this. I'm thinking of The Enchantress of Florence which appeals to me and Midnight's Children.