Around the World discussion

This list is still under construction. Any suggestions welcome.

To be honest I don't think I'll be able to do 52 books. I'm hoping for 30. With a baby due halfway through the year I doubt I'll make a book a week, but I loved this concept and wanted to join in!

I picked books that either take place in the country, or whose author is from that country.

1) Afghanistan The Kite Runner
2) Austria The Bells
3) Bangladesh The Good Muslim
4) Bosnia People of the Book
5) Brazil State of Wonder
6) Cambodia When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge
7) Chile The House of the Spirits
8) China Reamde
9) Columbia One Hundred Years of Solitude
10) Czech Republic Zoli
11) Denmark The Keeper of Lost Causes
12) Dominican Republic In the Time of the Butterflies
13) Ecuador Galápagos
14) England Murder at the Vicarage
15) France My Life in France
16) Germany Half Blood Blues
17) Hungary The Invisible Bridge
18) India Sea of Poppies
19) Ireland A Long Long Way
20) Italy The Name of the Rose
21) Jamaica The Long Song
22) Japan Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
23) Mexico The Hummingbird's Daughter
24) New Zealand The Bone People
25) Nigeria Half of a Yellow Sun
26) Norway The Snowman
27) Poland Night
28) Russia Doctor Zhivago
29) South Africa Agaat
30) Spain The Alchemist
31) Sweden Pippi Longstocking
32) United States Freedom
33) Vietnam The Lotus Eaters
34) Canada The Handmaid's Tale

I don't have a baby coming, but I'm in the same boat with not being able to read a book a week. I think there are a few of us who will be doing a two year journey. :)

Your list looks great! We've got a number of overlaps. Looking forward to The Kite Runner and The Lotus Eaters! I have One Hundred Years of Solitude on my list as well, but two people have suggested Love in the Time of Cholera instead, so I'll decide when it comes time to read.

I think I actually got the idea for Lotus Eaters from your list!
Right now I'm kind of looking for a new Canada book or a new country altogether... I chose that book because it's been on my to read list for a while, but therein lies the problem. I have never felt that inspired to actually read the book. So either this will give me the motivation to read it or I might relegate it back to the some day in the unknown future list.

You don't have a book for Sweden - how about The Darkest Room or something by Astrid Lindgren?

Thanks Judy - I hope to do at least some of the group reads - though I'm a little doubtful on getting to Dr. Zhivago in January - but you never know!

Louise - I like the idea of something by Astrid Lindgren for Sweden as I've never read Pippi Longstocking and plus its good to have some light reads on the list.

Kirsten, remembering my early months as a parent, you are going to have a lot of time feeding and holding and not doing much. I would vote that you get a subscription for audio books and you will find that you get a TON read that way.

I never really thought of audiobooks, but that is a good idea - I'll have to look into that one.

Oooh audiobooks, if that works for you that sounds like a good idea. I added your selections to the master list, and we're glad for however much you can participate.

I'm reading 1Q84 right now and it is fantastic.

Kirsten, I have just begun listening to audios. They are fantastic. I can recommend The Hummingbird's Daughter for Mexico. I plan on listening to The Chateau for France. I have heard it is so good, I am having difficulty saving it and not just reading it NOW;

The only thing it..... You might have your head on that cute little bundle in your arms rather than in the words being spoken. But that is not so bad either. Good luck!

Kirsten, that is a Swedish name. Are you Swedish? Heck, I will go check. Nope! You must have Swedish heritage! Or Scandinavian of some sort. I have spent most of my life in Sweden.

Hey, Kirsten. Great list there. Hope to see you in some discussions. :)

Chrissie - thanks for the Mexico suggestion - I'm adding it to my list. Since I've been good in December starting early and already have read 2 books on my list I figure I can be ambitious and add more.

I actually am not at all Scandinavian - my mother just liked the name I think. Though when I went to college in Minnesota where there are a lot more people with Scandinavian heritage I had a lot fewer people calling me Kristen - that was nice ;)

Well, you have a pretty neame. What a pain when people continually pronounce it incorrectly.

Okay I officially need a new Italy book. I wanted to read The Name of the Rose, but I just can't. I have heard people rave about Umberto Eco, and I liked the movie haha, so I figured it would be a good book to go for. But I basically skimmed the first 50 pages because I find the writing style a little dry for my tastes I guess. And I just decided that glossing over the next 300 pages or so is a waste of time, and not really "reading" anyway. So we'll see...

Oh no. I've picked it for my Italy book, so now a bit nervous about facing it. I'd hate to get mired in something dry and unreadable in the middle of this challenge.

Kirsten and Starfish, I stuck it through with The Name of the Rose but I will not read anything else by Eco. I don't like his attitude. I have a review written which explains my problems with this book.

@Starfish - I feel like it must be me? This is supposed to be one of his most "accessible" books and I feel like the style was appropriate for the medieval setting. Maybe I needed to give it more than 50 pages? Yet the idea of picking it up again isn't very appealing either...

Chrissie - thanks for your insight. I read your review and it's good to know that you were glad that you stuck it out in the end. It gives me some inspiration like "maybe it will be worth it". Or maybe I should pick an Eco book that I don't already know what happens from seeing the movie so I might feel more motivated by anticipation of what will happen. It's good food for thought.

Chrissie wrote: "Kirsten and Starfish, I stuck it through with The Name of the Rose but I will not read anything else by Eco. I don't like his attitude. I have a review written which explains my probl..."

I love Eco, especially The Name of the Rose... but it does help if you know Latin.

Genia, I also think it helps to loke mysteries. There is a lot to be learned from the book. I was just very annoyed at the author's attitude of superiority. I am glad you liked it. Mzny do. Just not me.

It does help, I guess. It's one of these clear homages to Sherlock Homes (William of Baskerville? Cough, cough). And I didn't really see Eco's attitude as superiority. In our world, it's almost considered shameful if you know a great deal to display that knowledge. Eco simply doesn't care: he knows things, and he will write what he knows in the way he knows.

Or maybe I'm just a snob. That's eminently possible too.

No, Genia, it has nothing to do with anyone being a snob. People have different tastes. It is that simple!

What annoyed me was that Eco was against the publishing of an abridged version. ( BTW I did not read the abridged version.) His reason for this was that he felt those people not willing to invest all their efforts in the book could, as far as he was concerned, skip the book completely. How he expressed himself annoyed me. It was on the basis of this that I refer to his sense of superiority. I believe that a person who really knows what he is talking about can explain even difficult subjects very simply. Of course, something shaved down to the basics can become boring. It is all a matter of balance. Somehow his writing did not enchant me.

I must say that in the beginning I loved the detailed description of the tower and the buildings' configuration. I found myself trying to draw it all on a piece of paper.

I do like mysteries which is why I thought this might be a good choice. Also - Genia mentioned about Latin -I don't know any Latin except for some basic Latin roots etc that I know as they relate to English words. I am reading it on ebook and I thought at first that maybe if I had a real copy there would be some sort of appendix that translates the Latin passages, but I guess not.

Well with all the discussion I'm thinking I'll give it another chance and try to get through some more of it - since I'm ahead of the game anyway and starting early.

Kirsten wrote: "I do like mysteries which is why I thought this might be a good choice. Also - Genia mentioned about Latin -I don't know any Latin except for some basic Latin roots etc that I know as they relate t..."

There's actually another book to help you with the Latin. It's The Key to The Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages. When some members of the James Mason Book Club were reading The Name of the Rose as a buddy read, I got it out of the library to help with the discussion.