You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Our theme for February is Globe Trotting. Find a book on your TBR shelf that fits the theme in whatever way you interpret it.

You may indicate the book you intend to read, explaining why you think it fits the theme. When you are finished reading the book, come back and report that you have finished it.

Discuss your book and/or link to your review. Some things you might want to discuss could be things you learned about another country, insights into the human condition, favorite quotes, and anything else you might want to share.

I am reading/going to read The Orphan Master's Son. I just started it yesterday and it's a really great peek into North Korea in the present day. I'm about 100 pages in and there's are already a couple of great moments. In one, the main character Jun Do is a radio operator on a fishing vessel and the ship comes across a bay where a cargo container has obviously fallen off of cargo ship and the contents of the container - Nike shoes - are floating in the water and the crew of the fishing vessel scoops them up in their nets. Later, guys on the crew are debating FedEx and whether it's really possible for a company to send a package across the world in 24 hours.

Kate wrote: "I am reading/going to read The Orphan Master's Son. I just started it yesterday and it's a really great peek into North Korea in the present day. I'm about 100 pages in and there'..."

I will also be reading The Orphan Master's Son this month.

MintyMedley wrote:

I thought about re-reading one of my favorites for this one but then found a book at the library that I didn't know existed and had to read. I own a copy of Holly Claus: The Christmas Princess that I read every Christmas. It is a wonderful new imagining with amazing paintings. I have just loved it for the last 5 years. So... while browsing at the library, I found out that there is much more to the story The Legend of Holly Claus I believe this one will work nicely for Globetrotting. Father Christmas travels the entire world every year. I know from the story book version that his daughter has her own adventure here. We shall see what kind of internal monologue and delicious description Brittney Ryan has spun in this 544 page version.
...and in case you were wondering and if you are having trouble choosing a novel for this topic... I was going to re-read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is wonderful and tearful and you will want to read it again when you finish it. You will miss these characters like they are your own good friends.

In case anyone wants the links that didn't copy/paste:

Thanks Mintymedley, and others, for ideas already - it's going to be a fun month sharing this theme with you-all.

I'm thinking of reading The Incredible Journey for this one. I think it fits my definition of globe"trotting" sure it takes place in Canada where I live but it takes place in the wilderness from the animals perspectives.

Anne wrote: "Kate wrote: "I am reading/going to read The Orphan Master's Son. I just started it yesterday and it's a really great peek into North Korea in the present day. I'm about 100 pages ..."

I have been wondering about this book. I will be looking forward to your reviews.

I am going to read Eleniand I think this book fits in with Feb theme Globe Trotting as it is the story of Eleni Gatzoyianis who was a victim of the Greek Civil War. I like this Feb Theme as it has helped me to take this book off my to read bookshelf as otherwise may have remained there for some time.

Dem wrote: "I am going to read Eleniand I think this book fits in with Feb theme Globe Trotting as it is the story of Eleni Gatzoyianis who was a victim of the Greek Civil War. I like this Feb T..."

I'm also looking forward to reading Eleni, tho I don't know if I will get to it in February. Maybe.

I am also currently reading The Orphan Master's son. Lucky enough to have gotten it out of my library. So far I'm really enjoying it and it may be the first book that I have read that is mainly set in No. Korea.

I'm not promising that I will get to it - (short busy month at work mean too many books, not enough time) - but I have earmarked The World's Most Haunted Places, Revised Edition: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com. I thought reading about reported ghosts around the world would be a fun interpretation of globe trotting.

I need a bit of a change.

I've got The One-Straw Revolution pulled off my shelf - Japanese farming & philosophy, if I recall correctly from when I put it on... I'll try to read it after the Toppler!

Kate wrote: "I am reading/going to read The Orphan Master's Son. "

I read it last month and it was really fascinating. Actually, in January I also read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and A Discovery of Witches, both of which have international travel.

This month I think I'll read one the books I received through the First Reads program, Mr. Kill, which takes place in South Korea. Two US Army investigators must investigate a brutal rape, deal with anti-US sentiment, travel around the country, and deal with a South Korean homicide reputation with a scary reputation. It's a sequel (#7) and I haven't read any of the prior books. However, I'm hoping that I won't feel that I've missed anything.

I'll be reading The Absentee

(With this, I kill three birds with one stone!

- Toppler's Time Traveler badge, 19th century
- My name is Maria, thus I get the Yearly Challenge Author Name bit out of the way
- Travel!

You should never actually kill birds, though.)

The main character, Lord Colambre, travels from London to Ireland, incognito to learn about his cousin Grace's origins, and about his tenants.

AND... if that's not enough, there's a forbidden love story in it, which will stop me from finding a romance novel to lose myself in during the month. I hope.

If people think that isn't close enough, I've also got Alice in Wonderland and The Count of Monte Cristo, both of which feature traveling, either by thought or by sea.

Okay, here is one of my books for this month's theme (not sure if this is strictly legal since I started the audiobook in January).

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough.

This is globetrotting in its most basic sense. The book tells about Americans who traveled to Paris in the 1800's when Paris, besides being, well, Paris, was the center of the cultural and medical(!) world. When the first adventuresome Americans, such as famed American novelist James Fennimore Cooper, artist and inventor Samuel Morse, medical student Oliver Wendell Holmes, and portrait painter George Healy ventured across the Atlantic, there were no steam ships or even passenger ships. As the century progressed travel by ship became a bit easier and more predictable. Some American families, such as those of artist Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent, chose to live in Europe because it was cheaper and traveled about from country to country. In fact, John Singer Sargent, although considering himself an American, was born in Europe and never went to America until he was an adult. A very entertaining and informative book about Paris, as seen and experienced by Americans.

I don't know if there are any questions I am supposed to answer specifically.

In the first topic, Janice posted the guidelines "explain... why you think it fits the theme" and "Discuss your book and/or link to your review. Some things you might want to discuss could be things you learned about another country, insights into the human condition, favorite quotes, and anything else you might want to share."

So, Susan, I'd be interested to know what you learned about Paris and about these people that you think is interesting, that you think says something about the human condition.

I'm intrigued by what you said about Paris then being the center of the cultural and medical world, and at the same time Europe being a cheaper place to live and travel, relatively speaking. How exciting it must have been to be a creative & energetic person then! Is the book strictly non-fiction?

I'm actually reading two books for the theme is the second one.

Im thinking about reading .. a traveling carnival has to have some kind of globetrotting i imagaine..

Autumn wrote: "Im thinking about reading .. a traveling carnival has to have some kind of globetrotting i imagaine.."

Not to mention that the performers most likely would come from different places around the world.

You just have to give a plausible interpretation of how it fits the theme. :)

I started the month reading A Fine Balance, a book set in India but I have given it up. It wasn't for me (and a few folks here on Goodreads are a bit upset that I gave it a negative review.) We'll see...I own the book so I may still give it a chance. It focused on the caste system which was just so awful to read about and I just wasn't enjoying it.
So now I am reading The Tiger's Wife, which also qualifies for this month's theme of globetrotting since it is set somewhere in the Balkans. I am about 1/3 - 1/2 way through and am still working out in my mind what it's all about. I see this book also gets a wide range of reviews here on GR. But I am enjoying it thus far.

Michelle wrote: "I started the month reading A Fine Balance, a book set in India but I have given it up. It wasn't for me (and a few folks here on Goodreads are a bit upset that I gave it a negative re..."

It sounds like a very emotionally charged book, Michelle. I'm not sure I'm in the space right now to read such a heavy book. If you prefer to read for entertainment and to feel good when you finish reading a book, I say more power to you. I'm still reeling from Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur and don't care to read such books for entertainment.

I just finished The Orphan Master's Son for this challenge. Link to my (still partial) review is here:

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

This book ended up fitting the theme more than I expected. As I wrote in my review, my final impression was more one of a travel narrative - not because it so clearly explained the various customs and geography of North Korea (although it did a decent job of that too), but in the way that a great travel narrative ends up being as much of a mirror to your own culture and customs as it is a window to others.

The book addresses several American stereotypes and behaviors through the lens of North Korea. I didn't think we (meaning America) always ended up looking like the superior culture. Interesting commentary on prisons and domesticated animals.

I have more to say on Orphan Master but for now I need to go get started on The House of Mirth for the classics toppler so if you are interested in The Orphan Master's Son check back in a day or so for an updated, more complete review.

Kate, I was interested in your comment about books set in specific countries being "(literary) fashionable". It does seem to be the case. I recall how, after 911, there seemed to be a lot of books about the Middle East.

Super review! And you say you have more to write. I'm a bit envious of people who can write such indepth reviews.

For me, reading books and writing down my thoughts/reviews has become my kind of "nothing place" (a la Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old and I find that I need a somewhat healthy habit that is mine alone.

I've added a little bit to the review today but there is more to say about the ending.

Reading is definitely a healthy habit, Kate. :)

Janice wrote: "Reading is definitely a healthy habit, Kate. :)"

Not for eyes it's not.

I have -4.5 vision. But that could also be genetics...

You have a point there, Maria. After reading for about an hour or more, my eyes won't focus on distance. I walk around for a while with everything blurry. My ex-optomitrist thinks that's "weird". I'm hoping a new doctor will offer a better explanation.

Janice wrote: "You have a point there, Maria. After reading for about an hour or more, my eyes won't focus on distance. I walk around for a while with everything blurry. My ex-optomitrist thinks that's "weird"..."

I don't have that problem yet. It's probably why everyone says-- look away from your computer screen and INTO THE DISTANCE every 10-30 minutes.

It's good advice, but at times I just want to say... "Puh-LEASE."

I think as you get older, your eye muscles get older. They take more time to contract. Because they're 'stuck' in one position for so long, it takes a while for them to unstiffen.

Then again, I'm still in high school and can't even remember what an eye looks like.

LOL! That's a plausible explanation, Maria!

I'm going to listen to Down and Out in Paris and London byGeorge Orwell. Globe trotting to and from Paris and London really!

It's a cobbling-together of what the optometrist told my dad as an explanation to why he doesn't see very well in the morning and common sense.

Hmmm...I started with A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail...Liked the suggestion of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

no no, not global enough.

So focus on Globe Trotting... What about The Memory of Running...no!

How about the basketball players? Get a grip!☻

Ah, the moon trots around the globe...
To The Moon and Back

Wait didn't Jules Vern write something like that? Well yes he did but look at this one staring you in the face!!!

Around the World in Eighty Days

So there it is. I'm sticking to it.

Maria wrote: "Janice wrote: "You have a point there, Maria. After reading for about an hour or more, my eyes won't focus on distance. I walk around for a while with everything blurry. My ex-optomitrist thinks..."

I have those "progressive" lineless bifocals, which means that I can't see properly no matter what part of the lens I look through.

Almeta wrote: "Hmmm...I started with A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail...Liked the suggestion of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

n..."

Almeda, I think that, technically, the moon would be Off-the-Globe-Trotting. But, that's just my take on it.

Susan wrote: "I have those "progressive" lineless bifocals, which means that I can't see properly no matter what part of the lens I look through."

I do too and tend to hold my glasses up so that I'm reading out of the bottom of the lenses. That's a good indication that it's time for a checkup.

I love my progressive bifocals, but I do take them off to read.

Almeta, you slay me. I'm reading Verne's novella for Let's Go the Movies. I think we could still set up a buddy read, and start next week after the Toppler. Do you want to?

Susan wrote: "Almeda, I think that, technically, the moon would be Off-the-Globe-Trotting. ..."

Whew, good thing that I didn't pick that one! ;o}

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "I'm reading Verne's novella for Let's Go the Movies. I think we could still set up a buddy read, and start next week after the Toppler. Do you want to? ..."

Great! I'd love to.

I'm reading The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa. It's starts in Peru and then moves to Paris and London (so far).

Susan wrote: "Almeda, I think that, technically, the moon would be Off-the-Globe-Trotting. But, that's just my take on it."

Actually, I think it would fit. The themes allow you to interpret them however you see fit. The earth is a globe. The moon is a globe. Interplanetary travel could be considered globe trotting. As long as you can justify your interpretation, you're okay.

Janice wrote: "Actually, I think it would fit. The themes allow you to interpret them however you see fit. The earth is a globe. The moon is a globe. ..."

In the end the moon thing didn't grab me anyway. I'll stick with Around the World.☺

Janice wrote: "Susan wrote: "Almeda, I think that, technically, the moon would be Off-the-Globe-Trotting. But, that's just my take on it."

Actually, I think it would fit. The themes allow you to interpret the..."

Janice, you're 100% right; I did not think the phrase all the way through. However, I do have something of a problem with the "trotting" part. Perhaps if you went from planet to planet like the Little Prince that would be trotting (how did he travel from planet to planet?) but if you go in a rocket ship that doesn't sound like "trotting" to me. Now, in the book I read,
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, the people traveled from the US to Paris in ships, and most of them got very seasick. My father, alluding to the days before indoor plumbing, always referred to someone who was sick and in need of a lot of use of the bathroom facilities as having the "backdoor trot." So, I figured my people were probably trotting to the side of ship a lot, and "Globetrotting" really fit their mode of travel. Sorry, I'm in a silly mood. X-)

Hehehe! Just remember, it's all in the interpretation. :)

I have been visiting Singapore by reading

Once a jolly hangman : Singapore justice in the dock by Alan Shadrake

This is non-fiction - Singapore has one of the highest execution rates per capita in the world. The government says hanging keeps crime rates down but Alan Shadrake investigates the claims that the death penalty is more political and is often applied with a hidden agenda – and that there is one rule for locals and another for foreigners.

Hubby and I are going to travel to Singapore for a week in April - so is one of a few Singapore based books I have planned to read. I like to read books that are either set in the country I am about to visit, or written by a local author.

Susan wrote: "Maria wrote: "Janice wrote: "I have those "progressive" lineless bifocals, which means that I can't see properly no matter what part of the lens I look through. ..."

Debra took this picture of me in my bifocals, she apparently thinks it's funny that this is my method of seeing!

Top for reading my far away computer screen, bottom for close up reading.



When they are not over my eyes they are on top of my head...even though I often forget where I put them!☻

ROFL! I love your "bifocals", Almeta! I need to get a pair.

Janice wrote: "ROFL! I love your "bifocals", Almeta! I need to get a pair."

You can get them at the Dollar Store. Of course you will have to pay two dollars for them!

And they're so becoming, Almeta!

(ok, that was, of course, a joke. You're a lovely lady with or without them.)