Around the World in 80 Books discussion
ATW in 80 Books World Challenge
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Laurie's 2016 Tourist Challenge
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Laurie, so happy you are touring the world with us again this year!
Book 6:North America:
Honduras
Jungleland: A Mysterious Lost City, a WWII Spy, and a True Story of Deadly Adventure by Christopher S. Stewart
6 countries, 3 regions
Book 10: 10 countries, 4 regionsAfrica
Sierra Leone
Radiance of Tomorrow by Ishmael Beah
4 stars for the first fiction novel from this author. I haven't read his memoir which is about his experience in the civil war of Sierra Leone and is highly acclaimed. This story of people who return to their village after 7 years of war and devastation is captivating.
Book 11: 11 countries, 4 regionsAfrica
Cape Verde
The Last Will & Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo by Germano Almeida
A nice book for a group read and worth reading overall. A solid 3 stars.
Book 12: 12 countries 4 regionsNorth America
Canada
Girl Runner by Carrie Snyder
3 stars because the story was good overall but the end had a surprise that I thought was too cliched and so somewhat of a disappointing ending.
Book 13: 13 countries, 5 regionsThe Caribbean
Antigua
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid 3.5 stars. While I enjoyed this coming of age story, I wasn't blown away. I could certainly relate to some of the alienation from her mother as she became a young woman since that can become a time of real struggle between mothers and daughters in any society.
Book 14: 14 countries, 6 regionsThe Middle East
Turkey
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
This was a 3 star book for me because you need to be a much bigger fan than I of art during the middle ages, specifically art of the Ottoman empire to love the terribly long descriptions in this novel. This is purportedly a mystery novel but the murder mystery is really a side story. Illustrations and in what style they should be performed is the real story. While I found the arguments interesting and the history of the different styles was completely unknown to me, I would have preferred less verbosity.
Book 15: 15 countries, 7 regionsAsia:
Japan
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
A definite 3 star for me. It's hard to rate a book that you feel as if you have no real idea what really happened when you finish. This has an unreliable narrator, and I think you could argue endlessly with other readers about the correct interpretation of what really happens in this story. It's interesting to read but kind of infuriating to feel so clueless about what actually happened.
Book 16: 16 countries, 8 regionsOceania:
New Zealand
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
3.5 stars - Such a hard book to review since the primary topic is so distasteful. If I had known that child abuse plays a large role in this novel, I would not have read it since I find reading about abuse of any kind to be almost more than I can stand. And when I got to the critical chapters of this book, I wanted to cry and stop reading. But I didn't because I was already caught in the thrall of Simon Gillayley, the child in question. I needed to know what ultimately happened to him.
Book 18: 18 countries, 8 regionsEurope:
Russia
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov 3.5 stars for what is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. A Russian classic that satirizes the Soviet system. Much of the satire was lost on me, but I am glad that I read the book. Not an easy book by any means but never boring either.
Book 19: 19 countries, 8 regionsAfrica:
Zimbabwe
The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing 4 stars A slow but compelling story of a woman caught in life without hope which precipitates her descent into madness.
Book 20: 20 countries, 8 regionsOceania:
Australia
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. I enjoyed this classic of Australia very much. The novel has very strong characters and a compelling story. This author is new to me, but I will definitely check out more of his novels.
Book 21: 21 countries, 8 regionsAfrica:
Ghana
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 5 star debut novel which is about two half sisters in late 18th century Ghana. One sister stays in Ghana and the other is sent to the US as a slave. The story continues with each chapter about a descendant of each sister. Powerful and moving and well worth reading.
Laurie wrote: "Book 21: 21 countries, 8 regionsAfrica:
Ghana
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 5 star debut novel which is about two half sisters in late 18th century Ghana. One sister st..."
I just got this book. I don't know if I will get to it this year or not. Sounds good.
Diane wrote: "Laurie wrote: "Book 21: 21 countries, 8 regionsAfrica:
Ghana
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 5 star debut novel which is about two half sisters in late 18th century Ghana..."
Whenever you get to it, I bet you'll enjoy it. It truly is very good
Book 23: 23 countries, 8 regionsThe Middle East
Iraq
The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon
Very good novel. My review
Book 24: 24 countries, 8 regionsAsia
Vietnam
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
I've completed my challenge, but I'll keep going and see how many countries I can get. And I might come back and post the books from countries that I duplicated.
Congrats on reaching 24 books!
Book 25: 24 countries, 8 regionsRevisited England
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
4 stars - My review
I decided to add the books for countries that I've duplicated or left out earlier this year.Books read total: 61
26 countries, 8 regions
England:
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Wakefield
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy
My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece by Annabel Pitcher
France:
Tartuffe by Moliere
USA:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Native Son by Richard Wright
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Anna Christie by Eugene O'Neill
Spoon River Anthology Edgar by Lee Masters
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
So Big by Edna Ferber
The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville
Yugoslavia:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
No specific country or setting:
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
What I Think About When I Think About Running by Haruki Murakami
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria
All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith (multiple countries in South America)
Old Age: A Beginner's Guide by Michael Kinsley
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli
Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
Books read: 6326 countries, 8 regions
Revisited England
62. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Revisited France
63. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Books read: 6830 countries, 8 regions
Book 67: No specific setting
Against Football: One Fan's Reluctant Manifesto by Steve Almond
Book 68:
Europe:
Norway
The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
Books read: 7131 countries, 8 regions
No specific setting
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
Books read: 7331 countries, 8 regions
Book 72:
No setting:
How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen
Book 73:
Asia
Revisiting Japan
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
Books read: 7432 countries, 8 regions
Asia
Cambodia
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
Books read: 7532 countries, 8 regions
North America
Revisiting USA
The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Books read: 7632 countries, 8 regions
North America
Revisiting Canada
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Books read: 7832 countries, 8 regions
Book 77:
North America
Revisiting USA
Stranger than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
Book 78:
Europe
Revisiting England
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
I like your description of the location of The Restaurant at the end of the Universe.
Rosemarie wrote: "I like your description of the location of The Restaurant at the end of the Universe."That's the best way I know to describe being in a spaceship, on a couple of different planets, and in the restaurant at the end of the universe
Books read: 80Book 79
Europe
Revisiting England
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Book 80
Asia
South Korea
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
Book 81No specific setting
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
Book 82
Europe
Revisiting England
A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George
Book 83
Europe
Revisiting England
The Birds by Daphne du Maurier
Book 8434 countries, 8 regions
North America
Costa Rica
At the Bottom: A Woman's Life in Central America by Luisa Gonzalez
Around the World in 80 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
At the Bottom: A Woman's Life in Central America (other topics)The Birds (other topics)
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (other topics)
A Banquet of Consequences (other topics)
Lady Susan (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Luisa González (other topics)Daphne du Maurier (other topics)
Elizabeth Kolbert (other topics)
Elizabeth George (other topics)
Jane Austen (other topics)
More...
Books Completed: 84
34 countries, 8 regions
North America:
USA
Honduras
Canada
Mexico
The Caribbean:
Antigua
Latin America:
Chile
Costa Rica
Europe:
Switzerland
Sweden
England
Finland
Russia
Latvia
Albania
France
(former) Yugoslavia
Norway
Africa:
Mauritania
Nigeria
Morocco
Sierra Leone
Cape Verde
Zimbabwe
Ghana
The Middle East:
Turkey
Iraq
Asia:
Japan
Vietnam
China
Kazakhstan
Cambodia
South Korea
Oceania:
New Zealand
Australia