Around the World discussion

Hard to believe we only have a couple of weeks to go in 2017! What have been your favorite reads in 2017? What have been your worst reads? If you're like me, I was waiting in anticipation for a few books to be published in 2017 - I was wowed by some but disappointed by others. Then there were some I read that I didn't think I would enjoy, but loved! In other words, share your 2017 reading experience here. Cheers!

The books selected for the Booker International list were all good this year, I rated them all three stars or above. My favourite from the list was The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen.

Another book I really liked was The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam.


The worst 'around the world' book was The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. It is not terrible, but it not particularly exciting or gripping either.
(She is usually a pretty good crime novelist, but this is not her best book.)

Uh oh! Danger Will Robinson!

Added Val's two!

International Favorites Unusual selling points!


The Sea Detective
Mark Douglas-Home
Scotland

The Rat Catchers' Olympics
Colin Cotterill
Russia, Afghanistan, Laos

Spill Simmer Falter Wither
Sara Baume
Ireland

The Reader
Bernhard Schlink
Germany

The Chalk Circle Man
Fred Vargas
France

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Brian Selznick
France

Two Stars

The Tin Drum
Günter Grass
Germany

Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist
Erich Kästner
Germany

The Black Book
Orhan Pamuk
Turkey

So hard, but here goes:

BEST:
- Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
- About the Night
- From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey
- The Pecan Man
- Claire of the Sea Light
- Home Fire
- Embers
- Pachinko
- Glass Houses
- The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between
The Red-Haired Woman

DISAPPOINTMENTS:
- Lincoln in the Bardo
- A Very Long Engagement
- Dark at the Crossing
- The Locust and the Bird: My Mother's Story
- The Sea
- The Painted Veil

While I gave The Lost History of Stars 3 stars, it was a major disappointment. I loved Dave Boling's Guernica and I was so looking forward to reading TLHofS - I thought I'd be wowed again, not so.

Val wrote: "The books selected for the Booker International list were all good this year, I rated them all three stars or above. My favourite from the list was The Unseen by [author:Roy Jacobse..."

Uhhh, had to add The Unseen. I enjoyed The Golden Legend too.

Almeta wrote: "International Favorites Unusual selling points!


The Sea Detective
Mark Douglas-Home
Scotland

The Rat Catchers' Olympics
Colin Cotterill
Russia, Afghanistan, Laos..."

Some interesting ones there. Have to check them out!

My standout for this year was unquestionably The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Months later I still find myself thinking of it quite often. I just wish I'd read it sooner.

Worst - no contest - was the vanity project of never-meant-to-be-a-writer Roger Keays, 100% Love Guaranteed (Ecuador). Ugh. The only book this year that I could not finish, which is why it doesn't appear on my ATW shelf. I just wish I'd stopped reading sooner.

Of all those I did finish, a minor disappointment was Irène by Pierre Lemaitre. It didn't stand up to comparisons to its sequel, which I had read earlier.

I have read a few of those Almeta and Lilisa, so I will take a look at your others.

Lilisa wrote: "So hard, but here goes:
...
- From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey"

This one was surprisingly fantastic.

Andrea wrote: "My standout for this year was unquestionably The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Months later I still find myself thinking of it quite often. I just wish I'd read it sooner...."

I didn't think I would enjoy it either and surprised myself. I did the audio and I think that made it an even better experience - 4 stars.

Rusalka wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "So hard, but here goes:
...
- From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey"

This one was surprisingly fantastic."

Have you read Miss Burma?

Lilisa wrote: "Have you read Miss Burma? "

I have not. Shall I add to my list?

Rusalka wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Have you read Miss Burma? "

I have not. Shall I add to my list?"

Yes! Historical fiction based on the author's family - gave it 4 stars.

Lots of favourites for me, only a couple of disappointments thankfully:

Top Reads
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Favourite of 2017)
All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan
Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera
The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omomtoso
The Story of the Cannibal Woman by Maryse Condé

Disappointed
Blue Nights by Joan Didion
Ladivine: A Novel by Marie Ndiaye

Claire wrote: "Lots of favourites for me, only a couple of disappointments thankfully: Top Reads Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Favourite of 2017)
All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan..."

Ah, see that's what I mean! I bought Homegoing months ago, but still haven't got around to reading it. Something to look forward to in 2018.

Favorites:
The Light Between Oceans - Australia
The Lost Wife - Czech Republic

Least Favorite:
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
The Things They Carried

Lilisa wrote: "Yes! Historical fiction based on the author's family - gave it 4 stars."

Done!

Best I read this year, and on of the best I have ever read - The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. I had a weird year this year, and abandoned 3 books in a row, which I have never done before Modern Romance, Funny Girl, and Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things.

So my best and worst reads of 2017, the Around the World version was:

Best:
Moral Panic 101: Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal Wasn't AtW for me, but was a topical Aussie read, so could be for others.
Burial Rites
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea


Worst: (Only two stars this year)
The Historian
Bone Ash Sky
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
Pietr the Latvian
The Dogs of Riga (this was probably the closest borderline with a 3. But I was not impressed)

Love seeing the Best and Worst for folks. Will have to check out some of the Best ones and for some of the Worst, can't help but go "yes!"

Always makes you feel better when you know someone else has shared your pain. Not that we wish bad reads on one another, but do you feel a little bit of relief.

I love this idea!

Best: (all books rated 5 stars)
August by Romina Paula (Argentina)
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
The Leavers by Lisa Ko (China and USA)
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn (Jamaica)
Juventud by Vanessa Blakeslee (Colombia)
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan (Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon)
Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman (Italy, audio recommended)
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (Japan)
The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran by Jennifer Klinec (Iran)
Island Home by Tim Winton (Australia)
Eve out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi (Mauritius)

Worst: (all books rated 2 stars)
Once We Were Sisters: A Memoir by Sheila Kohler (South Africa)
Unreconciled: Poems 1991-2013 by Michel Houellebecq (France)

Worst of worst: (books I bailed on)
The Consequences by Nina Weijers


I had a lot of great 4-star reads that were decent and I'd recommend but these represent the best and worst.