Around the World discussion

It’s that time of the year already! What were your best and worse reads of 2023? This thread is fodder for some of us as we plan for next year.

Sometimes one’s best “read” turns out to be someone else’s “worst” read and vice versa. No judgement here - it’s all about different perspectives and sharing our diverse thoughts about reading books from around the world.

Here are my “best” reads of 2023 - all five-star reads:

- I Am My Country: And Other Stories by Kenan Orhan
- Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent by Dipo Faloyin
- Boxed Wine at Sunset by Judy Beaudoin
- The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon
- Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario
- The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan by Mitchell Zuckoff
- Imagine a City: A Pilot's Journey Across the Urban World by Mark Vanhoenacker

Here are my “worst” reads of 2023 - all two-star reads:
- Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents by Amy Yee
- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
- Passport to Spy by Nancy Cole Silverman
- Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu by J. Maarten Troost
- Longbourn by Jo Baker
- At the Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid

Some of my five-star reads have low GR ratings and some of my two-star reads have high GR ratings!

Wow, looking back I'm surprised to see how many hits I've had this year compared to misses! Fingers crossed the trend continues in 2024.

Best
Italy -The Eight Mountains (review coming soon)
Georgia - The Eighth Life
USSR/Australia - Invented Lives
Italy -Return to Valetto
India - The Bandit Queens
China - Lady Tan's Circle of Women
Ireland - The Queen of Dirt Island
Timor Leste - The Canal House
Siberia - Tiger
Bosnia - Black Butterflies



Worst
(To be fair, my worst were DNF - these ones were at least ok to read.)

England - Wakenhyrst
Syria - The Map of Salt and Stars
Eritrea - Black Foam
Solomon Islands - Devil-Devil
New Caledonia - Miss Benson's Beetle

Too funny, Andrea - The Map of Salt and Stars is one of my all-time favorites 😊.

Lilisa wrote: "Too funny, Andrea - The Map of Salt and Stars is one of my all-time favorites 😊."

It proves your point :-)

*As you're thinking about your best ATW reads of 2023, please don't forget to add them to the Group bookshelf if they're not already listed. It's a great resource, but will only improve if we maintain it.*