Around the World discussion

Yay, another chance to create a new list (I love creating lists) and browse for more books to make my TBR shelf burst. Books to be read might still be changed during the challenge though.
Here we go:

1. Afghanistan The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns

2. Australia Diary of a Wombat finished 25/02/13

3. Bahamas The Kill Room finished 22/09/13

4. Belgium On Black Sisters Street: A Novel finished 01/09/13

5. Bosnia People of the Book finished 17/10/13

6. Botswana The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency finished 04/08/13

7. Brazil The War of the End of the World finished 21/03/13

8. Cambodia The Map of Lost Memories: A Novel finished 07/04/13

9. Canada Still Life finished 04/05/13

10. Chile Easter Island finished 06/03/13

11. China Miss Chopsticks finished 11/10/13

12. Cuba Our Man in Havana finished 25/11/13

13. Czech Republic Daughter of Smoke & Bone finished 16/04/13

14. Denmark Smilla's Sense of Snow finished 11/03/13

15. Egypt The Last Camel Died at Noon finished 18/03/13

16. England The Other Boleyn Girl finished 19/03/13

17. Ethiopia Cutting for Stone finished 2/09/13

18. France A Year in Provence finished 19/04/13

19. Germany The Book Thief finished 18/11/13

20. Greece ]Iphigenia in Tauris, a Tragedy finished 19/08/13

21. Honduras The Codex finished 11/06/13

22. Iceland House of Evidence finished 07/07/13

23. India The God of Small Things finihed 06/07/13

24. Indonesia A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul finished 03/10/13

25. Iran The House of the Mosque finished 10/07/13

26. Ireland Haunted Ground finished 20/03/13

27. Italy Inferno finished 25/05/13

28. Jamaica Pirate Latitudes finished 08/12/13

29. Japan Geisha finished 31/03/13

30. Kenya Out of Africa finished 10/11/13

31. Malaysia A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder finished 22/03/13

32. Mexico Like Water for Chocolate

33. Morocco Hideous Kinky

34. New Zealand Tamar

35. Nigeria Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

36. Norway Sophie's World finished 14/03/13

37. Pakistan The Dancing Girls of Lahore: Selling Love and Saving Dreams in Pakistan's Pleasure District finished 31/01/2013

38. Palestine (ancient) The Red Tent finished 30/04/13

39. Poland The History of Love finished 03/05/13

40. Russia Anna Karenina finished 23/08/13

41. Singapore The Singapore School of Villainy finished 22/12/2013

42. Somalia Infidel finished 20/11/13

43. Spain Don Quixote finished 12/03/13

44. Sweden The Girl Who Played with Fire finished 13/05/13

45. Switzerland Fast ein bißchen Frühling finished 03/03/13

46. Syria Der Lilith Code

47. Tibet Seven Years in Tibet finished 24/03/13

48. Turkey My Name is Red finished 27/02/13

49. USA Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close finished 06/03/13

50. Vatican City The Third Secret finished 03/09/13

51. Wales A Morbid Taste for Bones finished 14/07/13

52. Yemen The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia

53. Zimbabwe The Hairdresser of Harare

Welcome Alexandra. Nice start on your list. I've had the Other Boleyn girl on my list for years. One day I'll get to it.

Hi Rusalka, thank you. This is a great way to combine the Alphabet Challenge with the TBR-shelf... As this is your "territory", can you recommend something for Australia?

Thank you, Judy! I suspect that I will end up with an even fuller TBR shelf than before but let´s hope for the best :-)

I can definitely help there. My to read list is much longer than my read, but I will pass on what I know of.
Contemp Lit - The Book Thief I know it's set in Germany but he's an Aussie and I like him. Cloudstreet is considered one of the best contemp Aussie lit (haven't read it yet but first on my list once I ärrive back home"). Again, haven't read but a marmite book is The Slap. Peter Carey is an option. Judy and Co read The Thorn Birds. Indigenous fiction winner is Carpentaria.

Fantasy - The Rook set in London but written by a guy who lives in my city. i have a gifted copy from him. Obernewtyn is *the* fantasy book by an aussie author apparently.

Classics - Picnic at Hanging Rock

YA - Tomorrow, When the War Began is a great story about kids who go camping in the bush and come back to find Aus invaded.Looking for Alibrandi Italian-Aussie girl's coming of age story. Classic ones are Playing Beatie Bow or The Harp In The South by Ruth Park. Haven't read Harp.

Kids - The Magic Pudding. You cannot go wrong.

Non-fiction - The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir is my H read. A comedian who came to Aus as a Vietnamese boat person. A Fortunate Life is supposed to be very powerful.

Mysteries - The Phyrne Fishers with Cocaine Blues

Theres a start ;)

Oh my, thanks a lot, this is great and I think I´ve found something already :-), I think I´ll go with Cloudstreet.
Thanks again!!!

Welcome Alexandra! :)

Thank you Janice!

I´ve read Diary of a Wombat and absolutely fell in love with the main character. It´s brilliant and oh so cute.

Finished My Name is Red, did not like it too much. Moving on to the USA and Jonathan Safran Foer...

Jackie French is fantastic. She lies around here and was a fixture in both mine and my partner's childhood.

I will never forget the story I heard her tell about her adopted/rescued wombat. Jackie would wake up in the middle of the night to a rhythmic *bang bang bang bang bang* then silence for a while, then it would happen again. And again.

She went out one night to find out what it was and found their wombat climbing the stairs and then throwing itself down them, banging on each step, only to get up and do it all again. Hilarious.

Rusalka wrote: "Jackie French is fantastic. She lies around here and was a fixture in both mine and my partner's childhood.

I will never forget the story I heard her tell about her adopted/rescued wombat. Jackie ..."

That is so funny! I´ve seen a documentary once about a wombat living in a German zoo. This little guy was called Ralph and somehow he was mad about broomsticks. So whenever the zookeeper would enter Ralph´s territory with a broom, Ralph attacked and tackled the broom until he would be seperated from it - just so cute.
I seriously loved this book and hey, how much more "Aussie" could a book be than one about a wombat, right? :-)

:-)

I´ve finished Fast ein bißchen Frühling. It was ok... Now moving on to Spain with Don Quixote.

I missed this. I want my own Ralph!

I saw this today and thought this may be a good source of Aussie suggestions for you too if you're interested still http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/...

Rusalka wrote: "I saw this today and thought this may be a good source of Aussie suggestions for you too if you're interested still http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/......"

This is quite interesting, thank you very much. It is actually true that I could not name any "classic" Australian literature though I am sure there is some...

Judy wrote: "I bet DQ going to be your read for Neglected Classics, also, Alexandra. Isn't double-dipping wonderful?"

It is indeed, Judy. Double-dipping feels great even though I don´t know why it does. My master plan is to rad Haunted Ground this March which I could use for three challenges at the same time... This must be how it feels if you win the lottery, right?

Rusalka wrote: "I missed this. I want my own Ralph!"

Me, too. These little guys seem to be so much fun!

Judy wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "Judy wrote: "I bet DQ going to be your read for Neglected Classics, also, Alexandra. Isn't double-dipping wonderful?"

It is indeed, Judy. Double-dipping feels great even though I..."

No, me neither. But until then we can do double-dipping :-)

I´ve finished Sophie's World. Wow! Moving on from Norway to England and then Ireland...

Finished The Other Boleyn Girl. Now moving on from England to Ireland, reading Haunted Ground.

I was fascinated how the historical background that was presented in such an enjoyable way - it was almost a pageturner. The harshness of the Howard/Boleyn-family made me gasp sometimes and I am pretty sure that this is the way they saw their daughters - as a tool to reach for more power. The poor girls had nothing to say for themselves. On the other hand I always regarded Anne Boleyn as a poor victim of the unpredictable Henry, the first wife who got beheaded. I never knew that she was this cold, calculating and even cruel.
To sum it up: Those were rough times for women and I am glad that I was born almost half a millenium later...
What did you think, Judy?

I know what you mean :-). My problem is that because of all these challenges I´m participating in (and loving it) I become reluctant to read books that are longer than 400 pages as they consume so much time and there is so much to read and so little time...

Finished Haunted Ground. Moving now from cold Ireland to sunny Malaysia withA Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder...

Finished A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder. I really enjoyed it as a light read. A lot of things described in the book reminded me of my time in Singapore and brought fond memories. I can definietely recommend Inspector Singh as a "cozy read"! Now I´m moving on in Asia to Cambodia with The Map of Lost Memories: A Novel.

I´ve also finished reading Seven Years in Tibet this weekend. I quite enjoyed it as well. I´ve seen the movie before though, so the book was not "new" to me...

Judy wrote: "How was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?"

It was great. Jonathan Safran Foer writes with a certain melancholy that makes you want to cry and smile at the same time. His style of writing is so unique and beautiful. I can highly recommend it.

Judy wrote: "I have gotten to his books yet, but love it when contemporary writers have their own style. It will be something to look forward to reading. Thanks."

Most definitely :-). I hope you enjoy it!!!

I´ve completed reading Still Life and absolutely liked it. Makes me want to read more of Inspector Gamache. Definitely a cosy mystery. Now moving on to Sweden with The Girl Who Played with Fire.

Alexandra wrote: "I´ve completed reading Still Life and absolutely liked it. Makes me want to read more of Inspector Gamache. Definitely a cosy mystery. Now moving on to Sweden with The Girl Who Played with Fire."

Alexandra - have you read The Beautiful Mystery? I really enjoyed it - Penny's serene and hypnotic writing style there was well suited to to the setting and Gamache. I think it's #8 in the series.

No, I have not read it, yet. But I am planning to :-). I´ve ordered the second book already as I really loved the writing style and the characters... Do you think I shall read the series in its order or can I jump right to the one you are recommending?

Alexandra wrote: "No, I have not read it, yet. But I am planning to :-). I´ve ordered the second book already as I really loved the writing style and the characters... Do you think I shall read the series in its ord..."

Alexandra - I've only read two books and both out of order and had to figure out done things so probably read them in order if you can. Enjoy!

Wow...your list is amazing!! I'll have to do a thieving...thank you!

Maureen wrote: "Wow...your list is amazing!! I'll have to do a thieving...thank you!"

Thanks a lot, Maureen. You´re welcome to steal anything you like :-).

I´ve finished The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and I liked it so very much. Throughout my reading journey around the world, this book really gave me the feeling of having stepped into the country and learned something about it.

I´ve finished Anna Karenina. Moving on to Belgium now.

Finihsed On Black Sisters Street: A Novel, rated it 5 *. A beautiful story beautifully written.

Oh dear, I am already 6 books behind schedule. This thing that shows one´s progress in percent is a nasty little beast!

Thanks Judy :-). There is still some hope that I will make it until the end of the year... But if not, it´s jut as well. The books I read instead are worth it :-)

No one in their right mind looks at the counter ...

...

*sneaks off to check hers*

Rusalka wrote: "No one in their right mind looks at the counter ...

...

*sneaks off to check hers*"

I must admit that I would not consider myself as someone in the right mind anyway :-)

Honestly, neither do I :P

Oh. That could read very wrongly. I meant me, not you! Jeeez... I mean.. /sigh

Don´t worry, I did not get that wrong (and I am not easily offended anyway) :-)

lol *phew*

Finally finished The Dancing Girls of Lahore: Selling Love and Saving Dreams in Pakistan's Pleasure District literally the very last minute of 2013.
Did not manage to travel top all the countries I intended to visit in 2013 but am hopeful to make it in 2014...

I´m sure that´s what will happen but I don´t mind at all, this is too much fun :-)

Hear hear