Around the World discussion

Previous 2023 Topic closed due to major Goodreads technical issue.

When our bookish friend and former moderator, Jenny Colvin, passed away in May 2022, she still had 51 places left to complete the first full Around the World reading challenge that she had started in 2012. As a tribute to Jenny and the inspiration she provided to many of us, we thought it only fitting to attempt to finish Jenny's list in 2023.

Rules:
1. Anyone can participate by pledging to read one or more books for the places on Jenny's list. Although the challenge begins on 1 January 2023, you can join at any time during the year.

2. The book/s can be set there, the author can be from there, or the author can live there.

3. Books can be in any format or genre, and there are no page limits.

4. Double-ups are allowed. That is, just because I want to read a book set in Tibet, doesn't mean that you can't also include a book for Tibet.

5. Nominations and progress reports should be posted in this Challenge thread so that we can keep Jenny's list up to date.

6. Jenny was considering recommendations from friends and followers for some places. This might help to choose a book, but it is not expected that you rely on them.

Have fun and read widely!

The list will be maintained in the next post. Comment to make your pledge, seek recommendations, make suggestions, and most importantly - report your progress throughout the year.

ASIA
✅ Afghanistan

- Recommendation Dancing in the Mosque
- Recommendation The Kite Runner
✔️ Read Dancing in the Mosque (Lilisa)

Macau

- Recommendation Pilgrimages: Memories of Colonial Macau and Hong Kong

✅ Maldives

✔️ Read On the Island (Lilisa)

Paracel Islands

Spratly Islands

✅ Tajikistan

✔️ Read Tajikistan (Lilisa)
✔️ Read The City Where Dreams Come True (Rachel)

✅Tibet

✔️ Read Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents (Lilisa)

✅ Turkmenistan

✔️ Read The Tale of Aypi (Rachel)

AFRICA
✅ Burkina Faso

- Recommendation So Distant From My Life
- Pledge American Spy (Rusalka)
✔️ Read Proverbs & Tales from Burkina Faso (Catherine)

✅ Burundi

- Recommendation Small Country
✔️ Read Baho! (Rusalka)
✔️ Read Small Country (Catherine & Rachel)

✅ Central African Republic

- Pledge Co-wives, Co-widows (Catherine)
✔️ Read No Good Deed (Andrea)

✅ Chad

✔️ Read Told by Starlight in Chad (Catherine)

✅ Comoros

✔️ Read A Girl Called Eel (Rachel)
- Pledge The Kaffir of Karthala (Catherine)

✅ Cote d’Ivoire

- Recommendation The Bitter Side of Sweet
✔️ Read The Bitter Side of Sweet (Andrea)
✔️ Read A Gazelle Ate My Homework: A Journey from Ivory Coast to America, from African to Black, and from Undocumented to Doctor (Catherine)
✔️ Read Aya: Love in Yop City (Rachel)

✅ Guinea

- Recommendation The King of Kahel
✔️ Read In the Company of Men (Rachel)

✅ Guinea-Bissau

✔️ Read The Ultimate Tragedy (Rusalka)

✅ Mayotte

✔️ Read Tropic of Violence (Catherine)

Sao Tome and Principe

✅ Seychelles

✔️ Read Voices: Short stories from the Seychelles Islands (Catherine)

✅ Togo

- Recommendation An African in Greenland
✔️ Read An African in Greenland (Catherine)

✅ Western Sahara

✔️ Read Stories of the Sahara (Lilisa)

CARIBBEAN
✅ Antigua and Barbuda

- Recommendation At the Bottom of the River
- Recommendation Annie John
✔️ Read At the Bottom of the River (Lilisa)

✅ Costa Rica

✔️ Read The Adventurer's Son (Andrea)

Grenada

- Pledge Crystal Rain (Rusalka)

Nicaragua

- Recommendation The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
- Recommendation The Inhabited Woman
- Recommendation Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea
- Pledge The Ladies of Managua (Andrea)

✅ Saint Kitts and Nevis

- Pledge Rivers of Time: Why is Everyone Talking to Philippa? (Karen)
✔️ Read The Final Passage (Rusalka)

✅ Saint Lucia

- Recommendation Walcott (poetry)
✔️ Read The Prodigal: A Poem (Lilisa)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

- Pledge Windward Family: An atlas of love, loss and belonging (Andrea)

EUROPE
✅ Belgium

- Recommendation War and Turpentine
✔️ Read War and Turpentine (Rachel)

Liechtenstein

✅ Malta

✔️ Read Ironfire (Lilisa)

✅Man, Isle of

✔️ Read The Crafternoon Sewcial Club (Rachel)

San Marino

MIDDLE EAST
✅ Bahrain

✔️ Read Bahrain (Lilisa)

PACIFIC
✅ Cook Islands

✔️ Read Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka: The Autobiography of a Sea Trader's Daughter (Rachel)

✅ Timor

✔️ Read The Canal House (Andrea)

✅ Fiji

- Recommendation (author) Epeli Hauʻofa
✔️ Read Getting Stoned with Savages (Lilisa)

✅ Marshall Islands

✔️ Read Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter (Rusalka)

Micronesia, Federated States

Nauru

✅ New Caledonia

✔️ Read Miss Benson's Beetle (Andrea)

Niue

✔️ Read So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific (Lilisa)
- Pledge Niue Rising (Andrea)

✅ Northern Mariana Islands

✔️ Read Turtle Under Ice (Lilisa)

✅ Solomon Islands

✔️ Read Devil-Devil (Andrea)

✅Tonga

- Recommendation (author) Epeli Hauʻofa
✔️ Read Island Girl to Airline Pilot: A story of love, sacrifice and taking flight (Andrea)

✅Tuvalu

✔️ Read Where the Hell Is Tuvalu? (Rachel)

✅ Vanuatu

✔️ Read Boxed Wine at Sunset (Lilisa)
✔️ Read Sista, Stanap Strong! A Vanuatu Women's Anthology (Rachel)

SOUTH AMERICA
✅ Bolivia

- Recommendation The Puma Years
✔️ Read The Puma Years (Jorah)

✅ Easter Island

- Recommendation Easter Island
✔️ ReadEaster Island (Andrea)

French Guiana

✅ Suriname

- Recommendation The Cost of Sugar
- Recommendation The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname
✔️ Read The Cost of Sugar (Lilisa)

Hi Andrea - and All

I am still planning to complete in this month of October 2023 my pledge for Saint Kitts and Nevis Rivers of Time: Why is Everyone Talking to Philippa? by June Goodfield.

Also have a volume of Derek Walcott poetry coming for Saint Lucia, and an idea for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - something on the Garifuna. Still reading your posts...

Karen wrote: "Hi Andrea - and All

I am still planning to complete in this month of October 2023 my pledge for Saint Kitts and Nevis Rivers of Time: Why is Everyone Talking to Philippa? by ..."

That’s great to hear, Karen - no pressure!

I’m also looking for another title or two to complete before the end of the year.

I finished a bit ago Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter (Volume 80) for the Marshall Islands, but just finished my review.

If you wish to go to the Marshall Islands, I whole heartedly recommend this poetry collection. And I don't do poetry!!

I sadly know that Jenny would have really enjoyed this collection :( Would have been right up her alley.

Oh I didn't realise no one had recommended books for Micronesia.

I have read two books set here because of randomisers, I am not sure there are many other options after these two.

Another poetry collection My Urohs which I didn't quite connect with, but my Marshallese poet cited as an inspiration and dedicated one poem too... so I think this is a not them, but me issue.

And the contentious one, The People in the Trees
I can't recommend this but I still think about it years on. I have feelings about this book, and I am still working through them. Jenny gave it 4 stars though

Does anyone object to me counting Taste Tibet: Family Recipes from the Himalayas for this challenge? We said any genre. I read it pretty much cover to cover and we all know Jenny was quite partial to cookbooks, herself.

Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Even when I travelled to Tibet in 2018, I found my most memorable food experiences were at Nepali-run Tibetan restaurants, and that's kind of how I felt about the recipes in this book. A lot sounded quite bland, but included the recommendation to add the Taste Tibet Sepen (chilli paste) to liven things up. (The recipe for the sepen was also included.) It was a gorgeous looking book, but not one I could add to my collection, for that reason.

I just realised my last ATW read was on the list, so I’ve updated it to tick off Central African Republic with No Good Deed.

Finished Ironfire for Malta - last of my pledged read for 2023.

Hello! I read The Puma Years (Bolivia) this year and can't recommend it enough. a wonderful memoir/adventure. I know I am not the pledge-r /haven't been involved before, but I've been following this group and wanted to share in case that counts for Jenny!

Hi Jorah, it definitely counts! And would be great for you to join in :)
So glad you enjoyed the book as well!

(...not to mention I think I was overzealous with my pledging hehe)

Jorah wrote: "Hello! I read The Puma Years (Bolivia) this year and can't recommend it enough. a wonderful memoir/adventure. I know I am not the pledge-r /haven't been involved before, but I've been following thi..."

I really loved that book too - might read it again one day. Thanks for helping out and feel free to read more!

Thank you Jorah - great to check off Bolivia! I haven’t read The Puma Years - sounds interesting, adding to my list.

OK, I've been working on plans for 2024 and have settled on 3 more this challenge:

Nicaragua - The Ladies of Managua
Easter Island - Easter Island
Tonga - Island Girl to Airline Pilot: A story of love, sacrifice and taking flight

Plus I still aim to read The Bitter Side of Sweet for Cote d'Ivoire, which I was supposed to read in 2023.

I've been a little slack here, but I do aim to finish. I'm currently reading Tropic of Violence for Mayotte.

I completed The Ultimate Tragedy for Guinea-Bissau

I’ve made a start on Easter Island and it seems very promising so far. Even better, I’ve got a feeling that Jenny would have liked it too.

Andrea wrote: "I’ve made a start on Easter Island and it seems very promising so far. Even better, I’ve got a feeling that Jenny would have liked it too."

Uuuhhh, interested to hear more after you finish it.

I've ticked Easter Island off the list now. It was a quicker read than it seems - had to set it aside to meet a couple of reviewing deadlines. Overall I'm glad I read it, but it won't be in my top reads of the year. I'd say it was overwhelming in detail at the expense of narrative tension.

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

Andrea wrote: "I've ticked Easter Island off the list now. It was a quicker read than it seems - had to set it aside to meet a couple of reviewing deadlines. Overall I'm glad I read it, but it won't ..."

Thanks for the review. Adding as I haven’t read a book set on Easter Island and my library has it!

I finally got around to Isle of Man!
The Crafternoon Sewcial Club by J.C. Williams* (Isle of Man) 28 Jul 2024 ⭐⭐⭐ my review

Rachel wrote: "I finally got around to Isle of Man! The Crafternoon Sewcial Club by J.C. Williams* (Isle of Man) 28 Jul 2024 ⭐⭐⭐ ..."

Yay! I actually love the sound of that one, Rachel LOL

I read Island Girl to Airline Pilot for Tonga. While it was good on location and culture, I can't recommend it because the writing really wasn't great. I gave it 2 stars.

Andrea wrote: "I read Island Girl to Airline Pilot for Tonga. While it was good on location and culture, I can't recommend it because the writing really wasn't great. I gave it 2 stars.

[bookcove..."

Too bad Andrea. Thanks for checking it off the list and taking one for the team! I’m going to go through the list and see if I can check off a few more.

So, I read Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents in October last year and didn’t realize we had it on the list for Jenny’s challenge. I’d like to use it here to check Tibet off the list. Would that work?

I’ll take Maldives - I found On the Island - not my usual cup of tea but it has the highest ratings of books listed for Maldives - we’ll see.

Lilisa wrote: "So, I read Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents in October last year and didn’t realize we had it on the list for Jenny’s challenge...."

Thanks Lilisa, I've updated the main list. We're slowly getting there.

I’ll take:


- St. Lucia and read The Prodigal: A Poem and

- Niue and read So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific - there’s a short story on Niue included. There’s also a story on St. Vincent and Grenadines, so if anyone else wants to read the book, we could use it for St. V&G.

Or there’s another option for St. Vincent and Grenadines. In 2022 I read Windward Family: An atlas of love, loss and belonging by Alexis Keir. He was born and raised as a kid in St. Vincent. He lives in the U.K. and returned to the island 20 years later to rediscover his roots. His family was part of the Windrush generation where people from the Caribbean were brought to the U.K. to help rebuild post-war Britain. It was interesting and I would recommend it.

Lilisa wrote: "I’ll take:- St. Lucia and read The Prodigal: A Poem and - Niue and read So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific - ther..."

I like the sound of Windward Family: An atlas of love, loss and belonging, so I’ll read that one if I can find a copy.

(Edit - my library has it!)

Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "I’ll take:- St. Lucia and read The Prodigal: A Poem and - Niue and read [book:So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific|36962..."

Awesome - I hope you find it interesting!

I finished The Prodigal: A Poem by Derek Walcott for St. Lucia. I found it just okay and ended up giving it 3 stars.

I’ll need to scrap Niue. It turns out that in So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific Oceans there short stories and poems from various islands. For Niue, there was a short poem so I don’t feel it would qualify to check the box. 🙁

Lilisa wrote: "I’ll need to scrap Niue. It turns out that in So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific Oceans there short stories and poems from various islan..."

Oh well, never mind. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

It was okay, info on various islands - many we don’t hear about at all, so that was good. I was a bit taken aback when the book referenced that the prime minister of India in 2015 was Rajendra Modri - of course, it should be Narendra Modi! Something as blatantly wrong as that turned me off! 🙁

I finished The Final Passage for Saint Kitts and Nevis.

I wouldn't really recommend it. I liked the descriptions of island life, but couldn't understand the main character and despised other characters. He writes beautifully though, so maybe another book of his would be better. But done!

I think - some years ago - I had pledged to read Rivers of Time: Why is Everyone Talking to Philippa? for this island in the challenge. It was a DNF. Thanks for finishing your selection - lol. Those small islands are hard.

No worries at all. I agree, they are super hard. Particularly for the countries where English is not their primary language (not the case for St Kitts). We still have a few on our list. But we got there in this instance!

And as always, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. Some times I am a bit dense when it comes to the plot, and I get very set in my ways if I don't like a character :D

Rusalka wrote: "I finished The Final Passage for Saint Kitts and Nevis. ..."

Thanks for the update, Rusalka.

Am I imagining it, or did someone recently read The Maldives? I can’t see it in this thread.

I also read one from Vanuatu:
Sista, Stanap Strong! A Vanuatu Women's Anthology by Mikaela Nyman* 5 Dec 2024 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

Andrea wrote:

Am I imagining it, or did someone recently read The Maldives? I can’t se..."

Hi Andrea - I pledged to read On the Island for The Maldives. I haven’t read it yet.

Sorry for the late response, for some unknown reason I haven’t been getting Goodreads notifications for a few months even though I’ve triple checked my settings. I literally have to go into each group page to check new posts periodically. Wondering if anyone else is having a similar issue?

Lilisa wrote: "Hi Andrea - I pledged to read On the Island for The Maldives. I haven’t read it yet...."

Maybe that’s what I’m thinking of.

The notifications thing has been an ongoing issue for months now. There seems to have been constant complaints about it in the Moderator Support Group. Personally I don’t seem to be affected by it - but I almost exclusively use the GR website rather than the app. 🤷‍♀️

Notifications don’t work for both the app and website for me, oh well! I might end up reading On the Island by the end of the year as I just downloaded it from my library. I have two other books to finish - one of which is Shanghailanders, which I am surprisingly enjoying quite a bit.

Finished On the Island to check off the Maldives. It was ok - three stars.

Finally read Cook Islands!!!
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka: The Autobiography of a Sea Trader's Daughter by Florence (Johnny) Frisbie* (Cook Islands) 26 Feb 2025 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review

I'm not getting notifications now either. I have to check the website which I don't usually. I have restarted my African Journey and recently finished Voices: Short Stories from the Seychelles Islands. It was OK - a mix of autobiography, short stories, and creole folktales. Some stories were better than others.

I've also read Tropic of Violence by Nathacha Appanah for Mayotte and Told by Starlight in Chad by Joseph Brahim Seid for ... Chad. :)

Oh, and I've read An African in Greenland for Togo. I really enjoyed that one!

Thanks ladies, that has been a good start to the year! There really aren't that many left now.

If anyone else can find and read a book for Niue, that would be great.

If not, we may have to go with the book I read last year So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific - for Niue, there was a short poem. There doesn’t seem to be readily available books related to the island. The book is the #1 book on the list when searching for books related to Niue!

Lilisa wrote: "If anyone else can find and read a book for Niue, that would be great. If not, we may have to go with the book I read last year ..."

I’m surprised there isn’t at least some non-fiction. We can certainly make yours a provisional tick!

Lilisa wrote: "If anyone else can find and read a book for Niue, that would be great. ..."

I might have found something - just bought a copy of Niue Rising. Sounds like it might be an arduous (but short!) read, and quite subjective, but it fits the brief. During my search I've also reserved a cookbook called Eat Pacific: The Pacific Island Food Revolution Cookbook from my library LOL