Around the World discussion

So my goal this year is to read 52 books, so far my list is:


China: Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love
Rwanda: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
Israel/Palestine: Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers' Testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010
Russia (Caucasus): Let our fame be great: journeys among the defiant people of the Caucasus
Iraq: To Be a Friend Is Fatal: The Fight to Save the Iraqis America Left Behind
USA: One Summer: America, 1927

I have that Bill Bryson on my wishlist as well. I will look forward to hearing what you think!

Hi guys! So here is an update on where I've been, sorry in advance for the long list.

China - Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love: this book was an easy read, but more of a personal account on the author, Xinran, personal experiences with the infanticide problem in China. I was hoping for more depth about the families interviewed. But altogether it was a fairly quick read and even though it described many different situations, taking place in China, Xinran tied the stories together quite neatly.

Israel - Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers' Testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010: wow, so i still have mixed feelings about this book. It is written in an interview format, which I disliked greatly. It also has been translated from Hebrew to English and is in desperate need of a better translator and editor. That being said the actual context of the book is thought provoking. It contains about 50 different interviews with Israeli soldiers describing the atrocities and human rights violations they saw happen against the Palestinian population.

Rwanda - We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: the title says it all. Philip Gourevitch the author describes his time as a reporter in Rwanda during the Genocide. He is able to find a perfect balance of describing the atrocities while not making the reader sick to their stomach. I also enjoyed that he explained much of the history of Rwanda and the lead up to the genocide as well as the aftermath of the genocide.

Russia/the caucasus - Let Our Fame Be Great: Journeys Among the Defiant People of the Caucasus: while I loved this book and found it very informative, I wouldn't recommend it to a reader who doesn't have an interest in this area of the world. Oliver Bullough truly devolves into the history of the Caucasus region and explains from the beginning the animosity between Russia and the people of the Caucasus. Its hard not to sympathize with the Chechens, Caucasians, and Ingush just to name a few groups of people after living through the trauma and horrors of Russian occupations and imperialism.

Iraq - To Be a Friend Is Fatal: The Fight to Save the Iraqis America Left Behind: I'd recommend this book to EVERYBODY of course it does not shine a great light on the US state dept but it does explain what happened to the countless Iraqis who joined with the American soldiers to translate and help out as contract workers on bases and of course what happened to them once the Americans left. This book truly got my blood boiling, it amazed me that after having given asylum to translators and their families in other wars, albeit not Vietnam, we could not protect or give sanctuary to the Iraqi translators for fear of the media portraying these translators as potential terrorist due to the immense fear most Americans have towards Muslims.

United States - One Summer: America, 1927: I was looking forward to this book, but it disappointed on numerous occasions. I did get through the whole book, hoping it would get better but it didn't. Bill Bryson just wasn't able to connect the stories well, he seemed to be stretching details to fill space and whenever he got stuck in a hole he'd jump back to Lindbergh. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed parts of this book, but he was not able to hold my attention throughout the entire book.

Germany - The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust: a short and great read! I felt like I was rooting for Edith beers’ happiness and wanted to yell at her lover myself. It was definitely a different holocaust read then what I was used to and this lady had a TON of luck on her side

Israel - The Hill of Evil Counsel: one of the most confusing books I've ever read. I still don't quite understand what I read. Each of the five short stories were supposed to mesh together, I tried to find the link that connected these stories and couldn't find one. The first story was interesting after that though I felt like this book was a chore to get through.

Saudi Arabia - Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia I don't know how accurate this book is, I don't even know if I truly like this book. It was a guilty pleasure read, and a fairly accurate count of life in Saudi Arabia for women. But outside of that it really didn't teach me much, I just got to listen to a supposed Saudi princess whine about her life.

North Korea- The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag: I'm on the fence about this book. I have no doubt that north Korean gulags are horrific places to be, but the author of this book was one of the leading people to help guide President Bush to add North Korea to his list of axis of evil countries. So sometimes I feel, primarily at the end of the book once he's out of North Korea, he's not writing a memoir but more of a "this is why you should intervene" op-ed. Also once you get out of the Gulag part of the book, the book becomes a little dull in my opinion. Outside of that this book is another fairly easy read and describe life in a North Korean gulag system.

Spain - Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree: I absolutely loved this book!!! It is one of a five part series by Tariq Ali and takes place in Moorish Spain. I loved the characters, I also loved how Tariq Ali was able to write in such a way that I thought I was actually in Spain sharing a dinner with the family and I was heartbroken at the end and wished the book could continue on.

Germany - Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall: this book didn't quite grab my attention. It's about East Germany and their secret police the Stasi before the Berlin Wall. Not much else to say in the he book other than its a little bit of a memoir of the authors time living and working in the newly unified Germany and wanting to learn more about the Stasi and what happened behind the wall, she interviews both former Statsi police and prisoners of the Statsi. I felt like I learned a lot from this book, but at times it was a tedious read to get through.

Bosnia - S. : this is a hard book to read content wise, but is a fairly easy read. It's about the rape camps during the Bosnian war. It is based off of actual events, but is fictional in the nature of the author wanting to mesh different stories from different women and give them new names as to protect their identity. This Definitely was a slow read since I had to constantly put it down and try not to cry over what these women had to go through. But all in all a good read. The author wasn’t too detailed or graphic, she relied on the description of emotions these women went through more than the actual detail of what happened.


My to read list is as follow:
Australia: Unpolished Gem
Egypt: The Book of Saladin
China: Pearl of China
Italy: The Midwife of Venice
Columbia: Love in the Time of Cholera
Germany: The Book Thief
Japan: Memoirs of a Geisha
Hungry: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts
Korea: The Calligrapher's Daughter
Saudi Arabia: Arabian Sands
Spain: The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
Afghanistan: The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan
Croatia: People of the Book
United States: Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
Iran: Children of the Jacaranda Tree
France: The Painted Girls, Paris to the Moon, and Suite Française,


Currently reading:

France: A Year in Provence
England: North and South
USA: The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education


Both the North and South and The Death and Life of the Great American School System are hard to get through. North and South just hasn’t been able to grab my attention, I don’t know why. I feel like I should like it, I do like it when I read it but I just can’t come back to it once I put it down.

The Death and Life of the Great American School System, is an academic book on the education system of America. Not the most entertaining read, but definitely informative but a tedious and in-depth read.

Wow! What a list! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of those.

Jacqueline - no apologies necessary at all -- you have been awfully busy - nice going. I'm sure folks will be cribbing off your list. A nice mix of interesting and diverse books. I will have to check them out. Happy reading with your current batch.

Interesting books and countries you have picked Jacqueline!

Some interesting and thought provoking books there. I'm was very interested to read your views on the North Korea book as it is one I have on my TBR. I'm currently reading Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea which you might find of interest.

Thanks for your list and comments! I also enjoyed The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust, and I have a couple of books you reviewed on my TBR list. I'll have to check into Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree. It looks really good! Looking forward to your future reviews...

Hi Jacqueline,
I just dropped by to check out your book list and say hello. You have some wonderful books and I immediately stole your Australia title from your to be read list and added it to my Australia shelf (I am just tooling around the country in my challenge). I read through all your comments. You have read some very hard books. Bill Bryson can be hit and miss, I think.
Cherie