Constant Reader discussion

Here's a story about a woman who read one book from each country in the world--in one year!

http://www.theatlantic.com/internatio...

Doesn't she have a full list? I am obviously curious what did she choose to read from the literature of my country... (And I guess I'm not the only one here with this curiosity)

Edit: Nevermind, I found out, she picked from Romania... this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

The list: http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/the...

This is a fascinating list! And a great challenge. There's no way I could do it in a year, but maybe spread out over several?

I am so inspired! I'm going to go back and figure out which counties my recent books are from. I have been trying to get my hands on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in French but have been unsuccessful.

I'm saving this list for ideas for future Reading List nominations. I'm been motivated for a while to read books from other, non-Anglo, countries.

I am hooked on books from other countries also , Barb.

Carol just because I can't get to other countries I do too, love to read culture.

Connie, do you mean "Papillon" by Henry Charriere?? Have you read it in english? I've read it in portuguese and found it awesome and very addictive! Loved the story!

Wow , I had forgot about Papillon. I read it many years ago, I think about 1973 and I still recall the main story line.

I saw the movie Papillion, too. The book I' m trying to get is (in English) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The movie is phenomenal, based on the biography of the former editor of Elle magazine who had a stroke at a pretty young age then wrote his autobiography while suffering from locked in syndrome by eye blinking letter by letter to an assistant. An interesting continuity prolly
Em in the film is the fact that he is spelling words in French but the version I watched was in English so the eye links didn't match the English words.

Browsing I saw a couple of copies of Le scaphandre et le papillon at the US amazon and at a-libris. There aren't a lot of them, but it should be possible to order one. Just check the book description to make sure the text is actually in French, since the title doesn't always quite match. :)

I love to read about other cultures. My college major was Cultural Anthropology. I had a professor who said "Wear old tattered clothes if you have to, but SAVE YOUR MONEY AND TRAVEL!" I took his advice and thankfully was able to do a lot of world traveling.

Thanks for the Amazon tip. I tried that a year or so ago and the cheapest copy I could find was $50.

Connie, you can buy it online in French from Powell's book for $19.95. Shipping is $3.99, but if you buy a couple more books and get your total up to $50, shipping is free.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-97822...

Connie,
I have seen the movie and read the book of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death. The movie is beautiful. The book is also very interesting, largely because of how it was written - by a man who could old communicate by blinking his eyes.

I know folks here tend to read literary fiction, but would mystery novels "count" in your estimations?

I read mystery novels all the time. I think they should count.

Great! Any thoughts on non-fiction that focuses on a country (for example: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea)?

John wrote: "Great! Any thoughts on non-fiction that focuses on a country (for example: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea)?"

There's Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity for India, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World for Haiti, The Road from Coorain for Australia. I probably have more on my shelves, some straight non-fiction, some memoir, but fiction is mixed in with the country lists. Ive read the first 2 of the above and thought they were excellent. If I think of others I'll try to let you know.

For memoir, I would think most Constant Readers would really like Isabel Allende's My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile.

A while back, I read All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane, and while I had some issues with the book, the author made a point of asking about who she should read as notable authors from each country.

I loved The Road from Coorain.

Ann wrote: "I loved The Road from Coorain."

That's on my own book list too.

Ann wrote: "I loved The Road from Coorain."

Me, too.

I also loved The Road from Coorain.

Jan wrote: "I also loved The Road from Coorain."

I read her next book, forgot the True North, didn't like it nearly as much.

I guess I really should move this one up!

I am doing a thing this year (which will obviously take several years based on my list of books) where I want to read books that take place in different countries. Here is my list of ideas:
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

Julie wrote: "I am doing a thing this year (which will obviously take several years based on my list of books) where I want to read books that take place in different countries. Here is my list of ideas:
https:/..."

Very ambitious, Julie.

Yeah....probably too ambitious! :-)

Are you interested in mystery stories at all?

What a wonderful list! I haven't read many of these but 3 books that I did read are 5 star in my opinion: Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and A Fine Balance.

A great one for China is Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. It's a multi-generational memoir. Highly recommended. I also recommend Wolf Totem with the caveat that it is sometimes a difficult read but has some absolutely beautiful writing. This is historical fiction but has some elements of memoir in it. (another China book)

I definitely agree re A Fine Balance.

Ann, I'm glad to hear you liked Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory. None of my GR friends have read it.

Sue, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China was on my potential list. I had way too many China books to choose from. :-)

John...maybe. Do you have something specific in mind?

Ghana might prove tricky, and I liked this one: Wife of the Gods.

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng is from Malayasia and was 2012 winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize. It's a beautiful book with exceptional atmosphere and quality of writing.