Around the World discussion

Welcome! At Around the World we love to travel and experience new places or visit familiar haunts. Feel free to introduce yourself - we love hearing from people around the world! Which part of the world are you in/from? What do you enjoy reading? What’s your favorite book(s), and anything else you'd like to add.

Hello, I have just joined and I am in England. My first read this year is set in Ireland so, not far from here. I love reading books set there as I spent many childhood holidays visiting family in Ireland. My reading tastes are fairly broad so it is easier to say what I do not enjoy reading: romance / chick-lit, si-fi and horror.

Theresa wrote: "Hello, I have just joined and I am in England. My first read this year is set in Ireland so, not far from here. I love reading books set there as I spent many childhood holidays visiting family in ..."

Hi Theresa and welcome to the Group. It sounds like you and I have similar tastes when it comes to genre, and as it happens, Ireland is one of my comfort destinations for reading.

Andrea wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Hello, I have just joined and I am in England. My first read this year is set in Ireland so, not far from here. I love reading books set there as I spent many childhood holidays vis..."

Thank you for the welcome. It’s nice to find a kindred spirit.

Welcome Theresa and good to have you here. Hope you’re enjoying your first book of the year set in Ireland. May there be many more!

I was thinking, I usually write about the same things in this thread each year, but 2022 has changed me (a little). Yes, I still gravitate to India, Ireland and France, but it's been a while since I've binged on China*. Last year my ATW challenge saw me reading my way north through the African continent and I really enjoyed the discovery. Two of my favourite reads of 2022 were by African authors, set in African countries. This year my reading plans are not as structured and I feel like I'm in the mood to travel by whim, so let's see where that takes me! More of Africa, I hope.

(*But just yesterday I had a strong rush of nostalgia for China. I'm so excited that IRL travel options are opening up again.)

Such a pleasure to be orbiting Around the World, indeed.
I have travelled and lived in many countries, hence my reading reflects on exploring cultural anthropology, travelogue, post-colonialism, cosmology, philosophy, history, social-political and critical thought. I fancy fiction, nonfiction, poetry, world literature, biography, etcetera etc. My bookshelf can be referenced.

I hail from Tanzania, East Africa. Currently living in Toronto, Canada.

Looking forward to engage with fellow travellers!

Cheers, Shaheen

Welcome Shaheen! Sounds like you have wide array of real-life and armchair travel - perfect for ATW. Will have to take a peek at your bookshelves. Happy traveling!

Lilisa wrote: "Welcome Shaheen! Sounds like you have wide array of real-life and armchair travel - perfect for ATW.

Thank you, dear Lilisa !
Ah, yes, the real-life travel due to work in International Relations, hence when i chanced upon ATW, I knew that I had to enter this realm!

Make yourself a pot of Buna (Ethiopian coffee) and take a peek at my bookshelf !
Cheers

Shaheen wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Welcome Shaheen! Sounds like you have wide array of real-life and armchair travel - perfect for ATW.

Thank you, dear Lilisa !
Ah, yes, the real-life travel due to work in Internat..."

Lol, will do!

Hi, I live in Melbourne, Australia.
I'd like to broaden the range of books I read. At the moment I read a lot of French translations and Japanese crime and whimsy. I am pretty eclectic with what I will read but my favourite genres are memoir and narrative non fiction.
I'll look forward to finding books from a greater diversity of countries and authors.

Diana wrote: "Hi, I live in Melbourne, Australia.
I'd like to broaden the range of books I read. At the moment I read a lot of French translations and Japanese crime and whimsy. I am pretty eclectic with what I ..."

Welcome aboard Diana! I’ve already benefited from some of your French and Japanese titles over the years, so will be interested to see where else your explorations take you. In case you haven’t discovered them already, we have a few discussion threads covering specialty themes. One I know you will love is our Food topic, which includes a bit of memoir and narrative non-fiction. Happy browsing.

Welcome Diana! Glad you've joined us, and I look forward to hearing about your reads as well - so I can also pinch them ;)

This group and pushing myself to read more than just UK/US/Aussie (although I do not read as much of those as I should) authors really broadened my horizons. One of my top books this year is a poetry book. Poetry! I hate poetry! lol

Autumn wrote: "Hello!

My name is Autumn Carolynn and I wanted to introduce myself! I had a goal to visit 30 countries in 30 years! I was a previous flight attendant, travel agent, and I am a travel photographer..."

Welcome to the Group, Autumn. We have a specific folder for author promotions, which you are free to use. Good luck in finding your early readers.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hello all,

I'm a student from Britain. I've never been overseas and I'm wanting to read about life at all points of the compass.

Mandy wrote: "Hello all,

I'm a student from Britain. I've never been overseas and I'm wanting to read about life at all points of the compass."

Welcome to the Group, Mandy! Sounds like you’ve come to the right place. Do you have any genre preferences?

Welcome Mandy! Armchair overseas traveling is a great option 😊 - join the club!

Hi! I’ve just joined, from the UK. I go through phases with reading where I will read for months and then go in a slump for a while, come back to reading for months and repeat. I think a community will help me get out of slumps quicker or even help me stay on track when I am on a roll. I enjoy thrillers, self-help books, and honestly anything with a good storyline. I love a good cry too, and who doesn’t love a bit of romance books? I am quite diverse with my reading. I think thrillers is my favourite genre right now.

Hi ree, and welcome to the group. When I experienced a major slump in 2020 it was advice from this group that helped me to pull myself out of it. (Take a look at 'A Little Off Topic' page 2 if you're interested.) Apart from that, I love to see what everyone else is reading, as I find it so inspiring. In recent years I've also turned to thrillers more and more, although I don't often bring my reviews on them back here because I mainly read Australian and British thrillers. But feel free to add me as a Friend if you'd like to see everything I read.

Hi ree! Welcome to Around the World! Hope we help and give you some ideas of things to read. We are pretty eclectic in what we read so hoping there are some things around that get you inspired :D

hi guys thank you for your encouragement! I look forward to finding new ideas and hopefully giving some too. i’ve added you as a friend Andrea:)
thank you dolls x

Look forward to pinching some reads, ree!

Hey guys! Eleftheria from Greece here! Since 2025 started I’ve mainly been gravitating towards works of Asian writers (Japan, China). The books I’ve read thus far are very interesting! Looking forward to getting some new recommendations from you guys and sharing my own <3

Eleftheria wrote: "Hey guys! Eleftheria from Greece here! Since 2025 started I’ve mainly been gravitating towards works of Asian writers (Japan, China). The books I’ve read thus far are very interesting! Looking forw..."

Welcome to the group Eleftheria! Japanese literature is really hot right now, isn’t it? I can’t keep up with it, but have enjoyed a few titles. Do you have any favourites to share?

Andrea wrote: "Eleftheria wrote: "Hey guys! Eleftheria from Greece here! Since 2025 started I’ve mainly been gravitating towards works of Asian writers (Japan, China). The books I’ve read thus far are very intere..."

Yes, it's really taking off and I'm very happy to see that. The books I've read so far add a very nuanced perspective on everyday themes. My absolute favourite so far is The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. Diary of a Void is also a nice one.

Welcome to ATW, Eleftheria - looking forward to checking out some of your recommendations!

A belated welcome to Ree as well - apologies didn’t see your post earlier. Hope you have conquered your reading slump and you’re traveling around the world in 2025!

Hi to everyone,

I'm from the UK and I've recently arrived in the US of A (Boston: of Boston Globe fame). Daddy works for a bank. I had a choice of staying, but we were living in London (a very unsafe city for women) and I like the idea of a policed city. I'm a newcomer to Goodreads. I'd love some recommendations. I don't do Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror.

I've recently read the second in the Harriet Gordon mysteries by AM Stuart which I really enjoyed! Set in Singapore during the early part of last century. I am going to start reading The Feng Shui Detective series soon.