Around the World discussion

Welcome! Feel free to introduce yourself and share what types of book you like to read, your favorite country settings, your favorite books, etc.

Hi everyone,

In case you don't already know me, I'm Andrea and I'm part of the large Downunder contingent in this group! Most of the time I live in Melbourne, Australia, but once or twice a year I head off to my second home in Pokhara, Nepal, where I teach at a village school.

My reading tastes are varied, but I've noticed in recent years that I've begun to favour fiction over non-fiction. I still love a good memoir or travelogue though. I read a lot of Australian fiction, although I don't tend to bring those titles to this group unless there's something really special or different about the locale. With my ATW fiction it seems I can't resist India, France and Ireland, along with the usual suspects of UK and USA. I do try to mix it up though, which is why I love planning ahead.

One of my favourite ATW reads would have to be Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by British chef Fuchsia Dunlop. It's been a few years since I first read it, but I'm going to try to sneak a re-read in to my food themed challenge for 2020!

Yeah, we love the Aussie contingent here! I’m Lilisa in the U.S. and love reading/listening to books from around the world - windows into people, cultures, travel, and food - the essence of life. I seem to end up in Europe, Asia and U.S. a lot with occasional trips to Africa. I’d like to get to South and Central America, Australia, and countries less travelled to a bit more in 2020.

If there’s one country I have a soft spot for — it’s Turkey. I’ll read anything set there! The last read from Turkey I found to be an absolute stunner is Dawn: Stories. I’m going to have to check out Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China!

Feeling the Aussie love, I'm Rusalka. I'm from the nation's capital Canberra, Australia. This was the first ever group I joined in Goodreads, and from memory, the reason I discovered Goodreads through a random night googling.

My around the world trip, and reading in general, has had a couple of drought years. But that happens, and 2020 is a new year! Who knows what could happen!! I record reads from all over the world besides UK, US, and Aus as I find they tend to dominate my reading if I don't pay attention.

I'm terrible at reporting my reads, but am always lurking the background. I am regularly looking in the what you are reading/reporting threads, because, options! But I'm always up for a discussion :D

I'm an annoying one with too many favourites, but I have an Around the World shelf on my profile if you ever want to explore my favourites. I don't give out 5 stars easily!

Hello Everyone -- I'm Karen - a woman in her seventh decade living in the USA - I believe I was a member here years ago and rejoined in December 2019. (This is a repositioning of that intro) I am generally terrible with Challenges and Groups, but do wish to read widely in terms of world geography and culture. My 10 year plan is to read a great deal of what used to be called The Western Canon in literature -- a goal since childhood, but one that is insufficient for the modern world. So I am challenging myself to read books from 15 other countries per year -- places not Great Britain or the US. You have such great ideas here, I know you will help me along. I read a lot of Children's Picture Books and Food Writing, as well as novels, memoirs, social sciences, poetry, plays.... I enjoy lists. I'm planning to read the January group selection and just ordered a book of fairy tales from Tadjikhistan that I came across here.

2020 Strands of Reading:

1. Literary Canon - Antiquity to 1960
2. Contemporary/ Post-Colonial/Women 1960 - Present
3. Nonfiction - Science and Social Sciences
4. Women's Prize - Previous, Current, Upcoming
5. Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2020
5. Children/Juvenile
6. Cookery and Food Writing/Memoir
(less)

Postscript: Seeing dreadful news reports from Australia here in the States - hope all is well with all of you there.

Hi everyone! I'm Catherine, another Melbournite. I'm currently reading Africa, travelling left to right starting at the top. I've read some African countries previous to starting this book trip, and was intrigued. I'm also interested in this continent because my husband lived in Kenya, Nairobi and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) when he was a child.

I'm not good with challenges with a time period, but sometimes I do them anyway. Before I met my husband, I didn't read any Nth American authors - it was all UK or Australian. How my reading habits have changed!

As well as challenges, I am also collecting all the new translations of the Maigret books. And so is a new found London relative (Iain Sinclair - an author who my sis and I met last year). I've also discovered that as I get older, I am reading more memoir/autobiographies, biographies, and non-fiction.

Re the fires: I work for a metropolitan hospital close to the CBD and we just got a warning about smoke haze. We are located 100s of kilometres from the fires.

Yrinsyde wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Catherine, another Melbournite. I'm currently reading Africa, travelling left to right starting at the top. I've read some African countries previous to starting this book trip, an..."

Stay safe Catherine and all our Aussie friends.

Karen wrote: "Postscript: Seeing dreadful news reports from Australia here in the States - hope all is well with all of you there."

Thanks for asking :D

Here in Canberra we have been under hazardous smoke haze for 6 weeks. On NYD the air quality hit 1140+, on a scale that was designed to only go to 500. Tomorrow is extreme fire caution here, high temps, and strong winds. We don't have any fires here at the moment (thank god), but if any start, we are a bit stuffed.

YAY summer! However, compared to the Snowy Mountains (on fire) or the South Coast (which was on fire on NYE) which are on either side of the city, we are okay comparatively.

Hi, hope I’m not jumping into the wrong group here with my query. I’m trying to locate a book trilogy called “Kristen Larvansdatter” by Sigurd Undset. It’s set in Norway I believe. Has anyone read it and Is there anywhere in UK or Ireland that I can order it from? It was recommended by someone here on Goodreads last year and I can’t remember who that was. Hope someone here can point me in right direction. TIA.

Carol wrote: "Hi, hope I’m not jumping into the wrong group here with my query. I’m trying to locate a book trilogy called “Kristen Larvansdatter” by Sigurd Undset. It’s set in Norway I believe. Has anyone read ..."

I think you might just be spelling it wrong. A search for Sigrid Undset will bring up quite a few options. I have the beautiful Penguin Classics cover, but haven't read it!

Jenny, thank you for response. I am particularly looking for the trilogy in a slip cover. I’ve just seen a set on a site for £500 plus . It appears it’s a First Edition and therefore out of my league cost wise. I’m looking for pre owned copies and may have sourced one in USA at a reasonable cost. Thanks again.

Carol wrote: "Jenny, thank you for response. I am particularly looking for the trilogy in a slip cover. I’ve just seen a set on a site for £500 plus . It appears it’s a First Edition and therefore out of my leag..."

Sorry Carol, haven’t heard of it. That’s pretty steep - hope you’re able to find a lightly used copy - good luck! Sounds like it’s a special book.

Hi everyone,
I hope I'm not jumping in too late here. I'm only really using this site since march
I'm Morkus from Germany and I just stumbled upon this group and love the idea.
When it comes to reading I'm not as savy as others on this site (partly because I mostly read papers for university and not books) and I'm taking an effort to read more. So maybe my goal might seem low for you but what I'm aiming for is for something realistic from which I can improve.

Personally I am interested in books on LGBT characters around the world, how they differ and where they are similar.
I'm looking forward to go on this journey with all of you!

Morkus wrote: "Hi everyone,
I hope I'm not jumping in too late here. I'm only really using this site since march
I'm Morkus from Germany and I just stumbled upon this group and love the idea.
When it comes to rea..."

Hi Morkus, great to have you here! I hope we can help you to get some respite from your academic reading. I don’t read enough LGBT books to have a separate shelf for them, but I’ll have a think about what I’ve read and see if I can give you some recommendations. I’m sure there are plenty of others in the Group who will be only too willing to help, as well. Happy reading!

Edit: I’ve set up a new thread in our Resources folder for LGBTQI recommendations.

Welcome Markus - great to have you joining us! Hope you find some good reads here to intersperse with your other reading! I see that Andrea has set up an LGBTQ resource thread - thanks Andrea. I'll head over there a post a couple of titles. Welcome!

Hi. My name is Rachel. I love to read fantasy, science fiction, new adult books, historical fiction, and fiction that has facts incorporated in such as Dan Brown books (not sure what genre this is). I originally started reading Goodreads in Middle School but wasn't consisted and it became a bunch of gobble dee gook so I "updated" it by starting over. I've always loved expanding my mind and horizons by reading. Originally I did this by reading books above my lexile (no longer plausible) and for a few years I tried reading classics. However I recently decided to start my ATW journey because I love cultural anthropolgy/learning about other cultures.
Since I'm new to this group and haven't used Goodreads a ton I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions in relation to this group. Where is the best place to put these? The questions I have right now are:
1. I just signed up but I have read a couple of books from other countries besides my own since January 1st 2020. Am I able to add these books or do I start from today forward?
2. What counts as a country? Do places like Taiwan, Antarctica, and Tibet count as countries?
3. How do I know which country the book counts towards? Is it where the author was born, where they lived for the majority of their life, where the setting of the book is located, the author's ethnicity, or something else?
4. This question may or may not be answered by Q3. What country do I count a book towards that may have multiple authors from different countries, may have more than one country settting, or relates to a country that no longer exists such as the USSR?
5. Am I able to count books that I have/have to read for college or that I use in conjunction with another group? For example if I join another group that challenges members to read books from different era, certain books, classics, etc and they pertain to both groups does it count towards both?
6. How do I know which countries to read and in what order to read them? I originally started out by challenging myself to read a book from each continent but I'm not sure if this isa good idea or which country I should read from each continent. Any ideas?

Rachel wrote: "Hi. My name is Rachel. I love to read fantasy, science fiction, new adult books, historical fiction, and fiction that has facts incorporated in such as Dan Brown books (not sure what genre this is)..."
Update: I'll also need to be notified as to how one goes about adding a link to a book they read. I apologize for all of the questions, long post, and joining so late. Unfortunatley as I mentioned earlier I just started using Goodreads again so I'm not familiar with all the ins and outs. Also along those lines. Does anyone know if there is an article or video tutorial(s) for Goodreads? If so where? I'm aware of the help forum but it gets overwhelming looking at all of them for the one I am looking for.

Hi Rachel,

I joined this particular group to encourage myself to read more widely and to have a place to keep track of those books. The first thing I did was go to the topic thread on the Group Home Page. There are many topics but there is one called " 2020 Personal Lists" where you can see the active members and how they are structuring their reading plans. Most people make a list by starting a new topic in that thread. I copied and pasted in a list of countries: https://textlists.info/geography/coun... and then used the "Edit" feature to add book titles. Feel free to browse through the members' lists for ideas.

To Q2 and Q3 of your original questions: I think it is entirely up to you. I am reading a book set in Nigeria, but written by an Irish writer - Girl by Edna O'Brien -- I think I will count it for Nigeria.

I do count special geographical zones -- Tibet, Antarctica, Tahiti on their own, but that is up to you.

Karen wrote: "To Q2 and Q3 of your original questions: I think it is entirely up to you. I am reading a book set in Nigeria, but written by an Irish writer - Girl by Edna O'Brien --..."

Thanks Karen for the suggestions and the help. I think that I will get a lot of great ideas that way. Are you able to search for a certain person's posts such as yours or my own within the 2020 personal lists? I'm interested in seeing your list and I think being able to search for my own would make it a lot easier to edit when I need to add a book. Although I think there is a way to go through my account tabs to see the posts I've made. Is this true? Thanks again.

Yes. Go to Around the World homepage here and you see the Discussion topic threads. Scroll down and click on "more discussions" --- I think the 2020 Personal Lists are on the second page. Some people add a post per country as they go, or pick 10 countries, or like me - want a whole list that can be added to over several years -- everyone organizes differently and shares ideas.

Rachel wrote: "Hi. My name is Rachel. I love to read fantasy, science fiction, new adult books, historical fiction, and fiction that has facts incorporated in such as Dan Brown books (not sure what genre this is)..."

Hi Rachel, sorry for the late reply. Welcome to the Group! I think the only one of your original questions that hasn't been covered off (thanks Karen!) is #5. The answer is Yes - you most certainly can count books that you've read for other Groups and other Challenges, and it doesn't matter whether you read them for study or leisure.

Basically, you make your own rules, and all we ask is that you report back - as you have already begun to do - so that we can enjoy your travels and find out about books that we may also like to read.

If you have an idea of how many books you'll read from your list (or would like to read) in 2020, you can pledge your goal towards our Group challenge here: https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...

Hello I am Hannah and I live in the UK. I love to read diverse female perspectives from around the world. I look forward to sharing our journeys together!

Hi Hannah -- reading your personal list now and enjoying your short reviews. You've warned me off a couple of titles - lol.

Hi Hannah - welcome and looking forward to you traveling around the world with us! We all go at our pace - great that you’re already on the go with your personal list. I’ll have to check it out.

Rachel wrote: "Hi. My name is Rachel. I love to read fantasy, science fiction, new adult books, historical fiction, and fiction that has facts incorporated in such as Dan Brown books (not sure what genre this is)..."

Hi Rachel - a belated welcome! I missed your post. Sounds like you’re well into your travels around the world - great to see your personal list. Like Karen and Andrea said, we each decide how we want to shelve books, where we want to travel, and pace at which we read (or listen). I’m sure we’ll be “stealing” some books off your list - happy traveling!

Hi Rachel - a belated welcome! I missed your post. Sounds like you’re well into your travels around the world - great to see your personal list. . . I’m sure we’ll be “stealing” some books off your list - happy traveling!

Hi Lilisa. Thanks for the welcome. I totally understand missing a post. While I have read a few books from or about other countries already and I'm super excited to read more. However, first I need to read some of the books I got from my public library in a mystery recommendation bag which I am also interested in reading.

Hannah wrote: "Hello I am Hannah and I live in the UK. I love to read diverse female perspectives from around the world. I look forward to sharing our journeys together!"

Hi Hannah. I apologize that I missed your first post. I know you joined our Baba Yaga group, but I didn't realize that you were a new member. Welcome! I'm looking forward to reading Baba Yaga with you and others in our group. It looks like you've got a great start already with 16 countries! I only have 9 countries that I've read in the past 4-5 years. Anyways, great job so far, keep up the great work, and welcome from another recent ATW group member addition. 🙂

Thanks Rachel!

Hi everyone! This group seems to be right up my alley! Can't believe I hadn't found it before. I've been a lone world traveller for the last 3 years, so I'm happy to have found my tribe.

I'm not following a strict itenerary, but I go wherever the wind blows me. Like Morkus, I'm interested in reading as much LGBT lit from around the world as possible and I'm trying to read a male and female author from each country as well.

The kinds of books I read vary a lot: I love literary fiction, but also crime fiction, graphic novels and creative non-fiction. I've also started reading poetry and science fiction/fantasy this year. I'm still finding my feet in those three genres, but I'm really enjoying figuring out what kinds of poetry/SSF I like.

Hi Sanne, and welcome aboard! Solo travel gets the job done, but being part of a group has its benefits. I see you’ve recommended a few titles in the LGBTQ thread, so I’m looking forward to browsing through them over the coming days.

Hi Sanne - welcome and great to have you traveling around the world with us! Looking forward to hearing more about what you’re reading and probably swiping some to add to my TBR list.