Around the World in 80 Books discussion
ATW in 80 Books World Challenge
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Pepita Circumnavigator 2012 - 2023
1.Oceania Australia Judgement Rock by Joanna Murray-Smith2.North America Mexico Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3.North America U.S.A The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
4. Middle East United Arab Emirates Burqalicious: The Dubai Diaries by Becky Wicks
5. Europe Sweden Woman with Birthmark by Håkan Nesser6. Europe England Jump! by Jilly Cooper.....so much fun with larger than life characters and clever wordplay!
7. Europe Greece Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels.....what beautiful writing and an amazingly accomplished story (could also be Canada)
8. Europe Luxembourg The Lazarus Vault by Tom Harper....bit of a stretch to claim this for Luxembourg but several significant events in the book take place here so am taking advantage of that to claim a new country (for me)9. Africa Malawi The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis....a children's book with a great insight to the issue of Aids/HIV in Africa
10. Europe Finland The Burnt-out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen.....first time I have read anything to do with Russian invasion of Finland...interesting
11. Europe France The Middle Parts of Fortune by Frederic Manning (later published under the title 'Her Privates We').....another war story, similar to 'All quiet on the Western Front' but veiwpoint from the other side.
12. Europe Italy The Biographer by Virginia Duigan.....started in Australia but moved to Tuscany; the twist was a bit laboured but the feel of the setting wrapped around you
13. Europe Iceland Voices by Arnaldur Indriðason.....great writing reminded me of Australia's Peter Temple14. Europe Ireland PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern.....a real tear jerker
15. Europe Russia Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva16. Asia Japan The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
17. Africa Sudan Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
19. Africa Kenya Tears of the Maasai by Frank Coates20. Middle East Turkey River of the Dead by Barbara Nadel
21. Latin America Argentina The Forget-me-not Sonata by Santa Montefiore
24. Oceania New Zealand Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame25. Latin America Colombia One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
26. Caribbean Jamaica Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
27. Middle East Palestine The Bethlehem Murders by Matt Rees28. Africa Somalia Dead Centre by Andy McNab
29. Asia Indonesia The Persimmon Tree by Bryce Courtenay
30. Europe Greenland East of Desolation by Jack Higgins31. Africa Cameroon Overloaded Ark by Gerald Durrell
32. Africa Tunisia The Immoralist by André Gide
33. Europe Romania On His Majesty's Service by Allan Mallinson ....I thought this was going to be Bulgaria but notes say Romania so hope that's right..
34. Africa Namibia Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler
35. Asia Thailand Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle by Dorothy Gilman
36. Caribbean Trinidad & Tobago The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
37. Europe Kosovo The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson38. Asia Burma(Myanmar) The Monsoon Bride by Michelle Aung Thin
39. Europe Slovakia Zoli by Colum McCann
40. Europe Poland Nocturne by Diane Armstrong41. Africa Botswana Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
42. Europe The Netherlands The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer ....probably aimed at a younger audience but still thought provoking
44. Asia Vietnam The Quiet American by Graham Greene45. Europe Estonia Purge by Sofi Oksanen
46. Latin America Guatemala Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs
47. Latin America Chile The Butterfly Box by Santa Montefiore
49. Asia India The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga50. Asia Laos Slash And Burn by Colin Cotterill
51. Africa Algeria The Plague by Albert Camus
52. Europe Switzerland A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway .....a little bit of a stretch, but last 40 odd pages and dramatic conclusion took place in Switzerland53. Africa Equatorial Guinea The Informationist by Taylor Stevens
54. Oceania Papua New Guinea The White Mary: A Novel by Kira Salak55. Africa Southern Sudan A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park
56. Middle East Afghanistan The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari
57. Asia Hong Kong The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard ....also Japan and momentarily, towards the end, New Zealand58. Asia Cambodia One crowded hour: by Tim Bowden .....also Vietnam and other war zones covered by photographer/correspondent Neil Davies
59. Asia Bangladesh White Teeth by Zadie Smith .....have to confess this is a bit of a stretch to claim as Bangladesh as primary location throughout the book is England but with lots of cultural exchange from expats and son being sent back to Bangladesh to connect with his home country and culture I'm hoping I can include (besides I want to also add it to my 1001 list!)
60. Asia China Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie ...could be seen as double dipping as I have just claimed Hong Kong but it has been accepted before.
61. Middle East Iran The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther
62. Africa South Africa Tandia by Bryce Courtenay
63. Europe Croatia The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
65. Middle East Iraq Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie66. Middle East Israel The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich
67. Europe Serbia Orient Express by Graham Greene ....obviously this book takes place on the move from Ostend to Istanboul but significant action takes place off the train in Subotica which I discovered is in Serbia so I am claiming Serbia!
68. Asia East Timor Islands of Gold by Grant Hyde69. Africa Mozambique Chronicler of the Winds: A Novel by Henning Mankell
70. Europe Austria Funeral in Blue by Anne Perry....largely in UK but significant scenes set in Austria
71. Europe Kazakstan One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn72. Africa Sierra Leone The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
Chelsea wrote: "Pepita, I love your list. Will you continue with it in 2013?"Thanks Chelsea...what is it about it that you love? very random selections from highbrow to westerns in order to tick off another place!!!? I probably will continue next year because I feel it adds another dimension to my choices (I work in a public library so it helps me to help others with what to read next...)
73. Asia South Korea The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble 74. Middle East Saudi Arabia Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks .....this book could also have been claimed for Jordan and possibly Eritrea and other countries as the commentry covers islamic beliefs and the differences of interpretation from culture to culture.
75. Europe The Vatican Day Of Confession by Allan Folsom
76. Africa Ghana Children of the Street: An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery by Kwei Quartey
So the New Year has found me short of my 80 by 4 books. I did get distracted by some new releases, other book club reads and following some favourite characters in other series so have decided to continue as a Circumnavigator for 2013 to take a bit of pressure off........
Great job all the same!
81. Middle East Lebanon The Locust and the Bird: My Mother's Story by Hanan Al-Shaykh 17/11/201382. Antarctica Beneath the Dark Ice by Greig Beck 28/11/2013
Welcome back, Pepita! I look forward to seeing what you are reading.
Thanks Diane.......as you can see I didn't make much progress in this arena in 2013! Maybe more this year. I have just finished reading 'Barracuda' by Christos Tsiolkas author of The Slap mostly set in Melbourne, Australia. It generated a lot of discussion in my local book group, as did The slap when we read that. Compelling....dark....ultimately hopeful.
83. Africa Djibouti Djibouti by Elmore Leonard28/2/201484. Africa Ethiopia Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 18/5/2014
85. Europe Montenegro Secrets of the Dead by Tom Harper 18/7/2014 ...only briefly went to Montenegro at the beginning of the book and jumped around Europe after that.86. Latin America Paraguay This Green Hell by Greig Beck23/11/2014
87. Caribbean Dominican Republic The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz by Steve Martini21/1/2015 .....just touched down in Puerto Rico briefly! Europe Croatia again....(so not an additional country) with The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna27/5/2015
89. Europe Belarus Gingerbread by Robert Dinsdale 4/5/201690. Caribbean Haiti God Loves Haiti: A Novel by Dimitry Elias Léger 15/5/2016 and also in Haiti An Untamed State by Roxane Gay 24/12/2016
92. Oceania Fiji Pieces of Happiness: A Novel of Friendship, Hope and Chocolate by Anne Østby 27/1/201893. Asia Philippines The Blue by Lucy Clarke 12/3/2018
94. Africa Uganda My Driver by Maggie Gee 18/3/2018
95. Africa Togo Almost Sleeping My Way to Timbuktu by Sihle Khumalo 24/3/2018
96. Africa Angola A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa 27/3/2018
98. Asia Mongolia Khan: Empire of Silver by Conn Iggulden ....I know not really a country but as I read for my Random Countries have included here too.
99. Europe Ukraine The Child Thief by Dan Smith 7/6/2019100. Caribbean Belize After the Storm by Jane Lythell 3/7/2019 ...only a very small part of the start is actually set in Belize
101. Europe Monaco Research by Philip Kerr 9/7/2019
Congrats on passing the 100 mark, Pepita!
Diane wrote: "Congrats on passing the 100 mark, Pepita!"Thanks Diane...it has taken me awhile hasn't it! I am continuing to enjoy the challenge and slowly adding to my journey.
102. Oceania Micronesia The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara 10/2/2019103. Africa Mauritius My Love Must Wait by Ernestine Hill 27/4/2019
104. Middle East Jordan The Confusion of Languages by Siobhan Fallon 2/8/2019
105. Middle East Oman celestial bodies by jokan alharthi 5/10/2019
106. Middle East Syria The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar 10/4/2020107. Africa Burundi The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen 6/5/2020 .....this book moves between UK, Spain and a little of Burundi....
108. Caribbean Grenada Sugar Money by Jane Harris 7/5/2020
109. Latin America Costa Rica Love Her Madly by M. Elizabeth Lee 22/5/2020
110. Europe Moldova Silencer by Andy McNab 28/11/2020
111. Latin America Guatemala In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende 21/5/2020.......also includes Chile and USA
Around the World in 80 Books
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The Strode Venturer (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Robyn Harbour (other topics)Eric Van Lustbader (other topics)
Hammond Innes (other topics)
Anna Ramsay (other topics)
Robyn Harbour (other topics)
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Australia, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Algeria, Afghanistan, Austria, Antarctica, Angola, Albania
Burma (Myanmar), Botswana, Bangaladesh, Belarus, Belize, Burundi, Burkino Faso
Colombia, Cameroon, Chile, Croatia, Cambodia, China, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba
Djibouti, Dominican Republic
England, Estonia, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, East Timor, Ethiopia
Finland, France, Fiji
Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Ghana, Grenada, Georgia
(Hong Kong), Haiti
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Indonesia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel
Japan, Jamaica, Jordan
Kenya, Kosovo, Kazakstan, Korea South, Kuwait
Laos, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Liechtenstein
Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Malaysia, Montenegro, (Mongolia), Monaco, Micronesia, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Moldova, Maldives
New Zealand, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway
Oman
Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Panama, Philippines
Russia, Romania, Rwanda
Sudan, Sweden, Spain, Somalia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Southern Sudan, South Africa, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Syria
Turkey, Tunisia, Trinidad & Tobago, Thailand, Togo, Tanzania
United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uganda, Ukraine
Vietnam, The Vatican, Vanuatu
Zimbabwe