Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Let´s see how many countries I visit this way!

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Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan

Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi

Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (CAR)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic

Denmark:
We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic

Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia

Fiji
Finland
France

Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana

Haiti
Honduras
Hungary

Iceland:
Islantilainen voittaa aina – elämää hurmaavien harhojen maassa by Satu Rämö
India:
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy

Jamaica
Japan
Jordan

Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan

Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg

Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar (Burma)

Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands:
The Twins by Tessa de Loo
Avoimien ikkunoiden kaupunki. Amsterdamin sivukujilla by Sakari Fen
New Zealand:
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria:
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
North Korea
Norway

Oman

Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal

Qatar

Romania
Russia
Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria

Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu

Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
United Kingdom (UK): The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
United States of America (USA)
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

Uruguay
Uzbekistan

Vanuatu
Vatican City (Holy See)
Venezuela
Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia
Zimbabwe

Planing...

Russia: War and Peace
Iceland: Independent people
Denmark: We, the Drowned
Scotland: The Stornaway Way

Interesting plan! Have fun!

I love this idea. It really does feel almost like visiting a place when you read a good book about it.

Thanks! I really try to find books that reflects the country somehow, but it might be difficult. But this don´t have any time limit, so I just take with time.

I also plan to read Independent People, I have high hopes for this one,

As for myself I prefer to go deeper into a country before skipping to another place. But I do chose my books according to the landscape I wish for.

Desertorum, are you reading books by authors who were born in these countries, or books that are set in these countries, or both?

Best of luck on your journeys! :-)

Emerson wrote: "I also plan to read Independent People, I have high hopes for this one,

As for myself I prefer to go deeper into a country before skipping to another place. But I do chose my books according to th..."

I have high hopes for it also! Are you planning it for this year or just whenever?

Cleo wrote: "Desertorum, are you reading books by authors who were born in these countries, or books that are set in these countries, or both?

Best of luck on your journeys! :-)"

I´m not actually sure, I think it might dependent on the book. But mostly I would like it to be written by an author from the country and situated also there. But I don´t want to be too strict about it, so I go with feeling. Needs to be fun still!

No, definitely this year and I would prefer within few months, just after a few Nabokov's, but I don't know that I'm dependable enough for a buddy read. What of you?

Emerson wrote: "No, definitely this year and I would prefer within few months, just after a few Nabokov's, but I don't know that I'm dependable enough for a buddy read. What of you?"

I´m not very dependable myself so buddy read might not be the best, but I will try to follow how you did like it!

Sure!

I just checked We, the Drowned, I'll be waiting for your thoughts on this one. I hesitate, given it is more recent than what I'm used to, but it sounds great.

Desertorum wrote: "Planing...

Russia: War and Peace
Iceland: Independent people
Denmark: We, the Drowned
Scotland: The Stornaway Way"

I loved Independent People, even though I found the main character so frustrating that I wanted to beat the book on the desk.

Haha, I'll soon find out why you felt that!

My first book to this challenge is The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. It is a book situated in New Zealand by author who has lived there (and parents are from there) even though she is not born there.
I think the book did give some insight to New Zealand in that time period (gold rush).
I did enjoy the book even though it was sometimes infuriatingly slow and complex. But it was worth all and I appreciate it more for not letting me go too easily.

And I actually going to add two books in the USA: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Big Sleep.

I´m still not sure how to handle USA in this challenge. Only one book is kind of little I feel but I´m not sure I want to do all the states. It´s also sometime difficult to choose in which state to put the book, like with the Big Sleep. Need to think about that.

I went with On The Road for America in my around the world challenge. That covers a lot of states. But it was hard to get through. There were some interesting bits, but the characters are so despicable and pathetic.

I finally finished We, the Drowned and it was situated mostly in Denmark, Marstal. It was very well written and I loved the nautical stuff (which I know nothing about). And I think Carsten Jensen is very good at building and portraying characters. I gave it 3 stars. And reason I did´t give more, is the underlaying darkness which was sometimes difficult to handle and also I don´t like reading about war. So it´s me not the book!

I'm glad to have learned of this book, it looks interesting, another for my TBR. Thanks

Bob wrote: "I'm glad to have learned of this book, it looks interesting, another for my TBR. Thanks"

Glad to hear Bob! This was really different from anything I have read and it was very well written. I hope to hear your thought whenever you get to it!

My next book was The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy which has won the Booker prize (1997?).
Very rich language and beautiful, yet haunting. I think Roy describes the feelings of the children very well.

And something from the South; The Prince of Tides. I actually haven´t read this or seen the movie. I was waiting for something very different, more of a love story. This was not my favourite. It was just so hard to read everything that happened and how people reacted. Maybe it was too raw for me.

For the UK slot I put some Agatha Christie; The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Any book of hers would do. There is something very english about them, at least in my opinion. And I truly like them and read them all over again.