Around the World discussion

Epic Fail for 2013 . . . trying again in 2014. I'll make my goal smaller, for 24 books from countries outside the U.S. I'll post them as I read them.

January 1 - December 31, 2014

14/24 as of 10/04/14

Countries Visited:
Italy
China
England
Canada
Botswana
Cuba
France, South Africa
Brazil
Ireland
Sweden
Spain
India

1. Italy: Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren, 4/5 stars (05/28/2014)

A time-travel novel that takes place in Italy. Target audience is Young Adult. Although I probably don't qualify, I enjoyed the story.

If you enjoyed the book, I'd say you are the perfect audience ;)

Rusalka wrote: "If you enjoyed the book, I'd say you are the perfect audience ;)"

Rusalka, "they" do say you are only as old as you feel. Maybe the truth is, you are only as old as what you enjoy reading!

2. China: Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn, 4/5 stars (06/16/14).

This novel is about the persecuted Christian church in China. Written from a Christian perspective.

3. England: Cloche and Dagger by Jenn McKinlay, 4/5 stars (06/21/14).

I loved this romp that takes place on Notting Hill, in London. Very amusing characters made this so much fun to read!

4. England: Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin 4/5 stars (07/12/14)

and

5. England: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories by Lewis Carroll, 5/5 stars (07/31/14)

These two take place in and around Oxford of the past - which is quite different from the Notting Hill setting of Cloche and Dagger that I read earlier this year. I found the story of Alice Liddell's life fascinating, as well as the life of Charles Dodson (aka Lewis Carroll). I do not agree with all of the conclusions Melanie Benjamin reached about those two people . . . but reading her book did inspire me to do some extended research and to finally read "Alice". Reading Ms. Benjamin's book plus the research I did into the era and the lives of Alice Liddell and Charles Dodson/Lewis Carroll made the reading of the children's book very enjoyable. I laughed out loud quite often. I doubt as a child I would have understood the humor. But I sure did as an adult!

6. Canada (Quebec): Still Life by Louise Penny, 4/5 stars (07/10/14)

This was the author's debut novel . . . I enjoyed the characters she created very much.

I agree Karol - I enjoy Louise Penny's writing style and her characters. I've read three in the series -- not in order though. Should probably read the first one next.

Lilisa wrote: "I agree Karol - I enjoy Louise Penny's writing style and her characters. I've read three in the series -- not in order though. Should probably read the first one next."

Lilisa, I'm really interested in reading more in the series. I did like this novel - and yet, I felt there could be a little more character development. Sometimes, an author really hits a strong pace with the 2nd or 3rd book in a series, so I am looking forward to continuing on.

7. Botswana: The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith, 5/5 stars (07/23/14)

I've read 11 books in this series now (in order) and I continue to love it. A lot!

They're very cozy reads :-) I love their many subtleties :-)

8. Cuba: Hostage in Havana by Noel Hynd, 3/5 stars (07/26/14)

An OK story . . . I did learn some history, about the 1959 revolution in Cuba.

9. India, France, South Africa (plus opening scene in Brazil): Eye of the God by Ariel Allison, 3/5 stars (08/09/14).

The history of the Hope Diamond . . . and a group of mysterious art (and apparently jewelry) thieves made for an interesting read.

10. Brazil: Toward the Goal: The Kaka Story, by Jeremy V. Jones, 4/5 stars (08/25/14).

It's kind of hard to rate this book, as I believe it was aimed for 10 - 12 year-old readers. And also, it's about soccer of which I know little. Still, the story was interesting and I did learn some things about Brazil's history and culture. So for that, I'm giving it a rather generous rating.

Hi Karol,
I stopped by to check out your books. You have an interesting list and I like your book comments.

I read the #1 Ladies too. I am behind and don't think I read #10 yet. I have a couple more at home but haven't bought the latest one. I also read his 44 Scotland Street books. I have your Canada book on my TBR list. :)
Cherie

Cherie wrote: "Hi Karol,
I stopped by to check out your books. You have an interesting list and I like your book comments.

I read the #1 Ladies too. I am behind and don't think I read #10 yet. I also read his 44 Scotland Street books..."

Cherie, thanks for your comment. I need to get to those 44 Scotland Street books. I would probably enjoy them. I love the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books for their setting and how the way the author writes he seems to reflect the rhythm of daily life in Botswana. And of course also for their character development and story lines. It's a great series, maybe my favorite.

11. Ireland: Ireland Rose by Patricia Strefling, 2/5 stars (09/01/14)

Meh. But then "romance" novels aren't my cup of tea. I thought more of the book would take place in Ireland, but about two-thirds of it took place in the south shortly after the Civil War as a Yankee woman tried to take care of African orphans. That part was interesting.

12. Sweden: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, 4/5 stars (09/02/14).

I usually do not read books with terrible language and graphically described abuse. I guess it's all in how it is presented. When it's constant, without character development or a story line that brings me in - I mean, really - why should I subject myself to all that? Once in a while I will find a book that delivers a story that I want to read despite things that would otherwise cause me to stop reading immediately. This was one of those books. I simply could not put it down. I found the characters and the story intriguing.

Karol - Are you planning to read the other two books in the series - The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest? I enjoyed the series.

Lilisa wrote: "Karol - Are you planning to read the other two books in the series - The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest? I enjoyed the series."

I agree with Lilisa, Karol. I cannot see how you could stop with the first if you could not put it down. I devoured them and then I started looking for more of his books and found out he was dead. I wanted to cry!

Karol wrote: "Cherie wrote: "Hi Karol,
I stopped by to check out your books. You have an interesting list and I like your book comments.

I read the #1 Ladies too. I am behind and don't think I read #10 yet. ..."

I ordered the next five Scotland Street books but I have not had a chance to read the next one since they were delivered to my front poarch a couple of weeks ago. After spending the time to read the first book and get to know the characters, I decided I needed to know what happened to them.

Lilisa wrote: "Karol - Are you planning to read the other two books in the series - The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest? I enjoyed the series."

Lilisa and Cherie, not sure if I'll read the others but only because I have so many books on my to read list to get through!

Karol wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Karol - Are you planning to read the other two books in the series - The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest? I enjoyed ..."

We're all in the same boat Karol.

13. Spain: The Prisoner of Heaven byCarlos Ruiz Zafón, 5/5 stars (09/15/14)

I didn't realize this was the third book in a series until after I read it. This book was quite good as a stand-alone, although I didn't quite get the ending - which, as it turns out, is a cliff-hanger for the 4th book. Despite that, though, it was a satisfying story - although the portion of the book describing life as a political prisoner in Spain in the 1940's (under the evil Franco government) was stark and difficult to read.

14. India: Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig, 2/5 stars (10/04/14)

This book was rather exciting at the beginning, but I soon tired of it. It was an espionage-type "thriller", but somehow, it got old as Shiloh got herself into one life-threatening situation after another and the hero Reece continued to rescue her. I might have liked the book a lot better if it were half as long. As it was, I found myself just wishing the story would wrap up instead of repeating the same scenario over and over again in a multitude of places.

I have read a few thrillers like that, and completely agree.

Rusalka wrote: "I have read a few thrillers like that, and completely agree."

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

15. Papua New Guinea: Monday Morning Faith by Lori Copeland, 3/5 stars (11/01/14)

I liked the book fairly well, although the main character's self-deprecating humor was not very funny or convincing. And then the ending kind of killed it for me, making the seemingly stable and determined romantic interest seem suddenly flighty. I did like, however, the description of Papua New Guinea and the remote tribal village - very much like what I've heard from a family I knew well who lived there, working with a tiny and remote village for a long time.

Karol wrote: "15. Papua New Guinea: Monday Morning Faith by Lori Copeland, 3/5 stars (11/01/14)

I liked the book fairly well, although the main character's self-deprecating humor wa..."

Seems like you just have to wade your way around the stuff that is not interesting to find the bits that you really wanted to know about. Glad you found those bits in this one, Karol.

Thanks, Cherie. I've not done very well on this challenge, but I guess that's one reason I joined it. My reading tends to be U.S. centric and I need to expand my horizons!

16. Iceland: The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indriðason, 5/5 stars (12/16/15)

LOVED this book. The author wove in a present-day cold case investigation with a story told separately with what happened. The story lines converge as the inspector nears the end of his investigation. A fascinating read about the impact of the 1950's cold war in a place that was largely removed from it all . . . or so it seemed.

17. Antarctica: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, 5/5 stars.

This was a most intriguing read as a teen-aged girl dug deep to learn not just where her mother might be, but who she was. There were some outrageous and tangled events to be sure. Underlying it all was the mutual love and respect of mother and daughter.

(As a bonus, I learned some things about Antarctica that I did not know).

Karol wrote: "17. Antarctica: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, 5/5 stars.

This was a most intriguing read as a teen-aged girl dug deep to learn not just where her mot..."

Karol - I was surprised that I enjoyed the book as much as I did as well. It was well done. I really liked Bee!