The Next Best Book Club discussion

Brenda wrote: "Hello Diane: I've never done any kind of challenge on GR. I'm a very slow reader, but I jumped into this because it looked like a fantastic way to read more books I wouldn't normally read. I join..."

Welcome aboard! Read at your own pace, enjoy your reading travels, and have fun! It really doesn't matter how many books you finish as long as you are enjoying yourself!

Diane wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Hello Diane: I've never done any kind of challenge on GR. I'm a very slow reader, but I jumped into this because it looked like a fantastic way to read more books I wouldn't normall..."

Thanks Diane: This will be a real challenge for me. I'm probably more interested in challenging myself anyway and also looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading (and what they think of the their chosen books). Thanks for "hosting" this.

sorry to be a nerd, but I'm really enjoying everyone's questions! And Diane's answers, of course.

is mexico considered north america or latin america? I'm going for latin america unless you say otherwise.

Cynthia wrote: "is mexico considered north america or latin america? I'm going for latin america unless you say otherwise."

I put it under North America.

I'm already jetlagged and I've not started the challenge yet! Even still, it sounds like fun. :D

This is a wonderful challenge, and I'm going to give it a try as a frequent flyer. Sheila

What a cool challenge! I'm IN! Thanks for thinking of this.

This is neat! I really like the idea of the trekker track of the challenge... wow!

Question: (I just reminded myself of Dwight from the office) I just finished reading Cat's Cradle, which is set in the fictional Caribbean island of San Lorenzo. Would I be able to count this, or does the place in question have to be real?

Cait wrote: "Question: (I just reminded myself of Dwight from the office) I just finished reading Cat's Cradle, which is set in the fictional Caribbean island of San Lorenzo. Would I be able to count this, or..."

Cait, it counts. Even though it takes place on a fictional island, it still takes place in a real part of the world.

Oh I'm so happy to know that! Thanks for asking Cait. It really opens up the possible reading!

Diane, is turkey the middle east or asia?

Hi there - I apologize if this has already been asked, but I can't seem to find the answer. What do you do about countries that no longer exist? For example, Yugoslavia no longer exists. If I read a book set in Yugoslavia, do I count it as such, or can I count it as Serbia? I'm reading Dracula now, partially set in Transylvania, which is in Romania now. Can I count it as Romania? How about something set in Persia, which is now Iraq?

Cynthia wrote: "Diane, is turkey the middle east or asia?"

I put Turkey in the Middle East region.

Diane wrote: "Cait wrote: "Question: (I just reminded myself of Dwight from the office) I just finished reading Cat's Cradle, which is set in the fictional Caribbean island of San Lorenzo. Would I be able to c..."

Wonderful, thank you!

Miss GP wrote: "Hi there - I apologize if this has already been asked, but I can't seem to find the answer. What do you do about countries that no longer exist? For example, Yugoslavia no longer exists. If I re..."

Try to put it in it's present day country, if you can. I know this can be difficult with countries that have split into several countries or been renamed a few times. For Yugoslavia, if you are unable to determine which present day country the book fits into, I will accept as just "Yugoslavia". For Korea, it can be either counted as North Korea, South Korea, or just Korea since the demarcation may not be clear on older books or historical fiction. There are also two Congos. I will accept Congo, Zaire, Belgian Congo, Republic of the Congo, or Democratic Republic of the Congo for those. Persia is technically Iran, not Iraq (formerly Mesopotamia).

Thanks for the clarification, Diane. That makes sense.

Is it too late to join? This sounds like so much fun!

Oh, nevermind...I read the rules again and it's open ended. Yay! I guess I have some planning to do.

Do essays fit? I read Margaret Atwood's Writing with Intent Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose--1983-2005 and The Tent. Some of the essays are about Canadian authors, books, culture, history, etc. What do you think?

pjreads wrote: "Do essays fit? I read Margaret Atwood's Writing with Intent Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose--1983-2005 and The Tent. Some of the essays are about Canadian a..."

Absolutely

I'm not sure if this was asked or not...but are Graphic Novels ok as long as they meet the over 100 pages requirement?

Elizabeth wrote: "I'm not sure if this was asked or not...but are Graphic Novels ok as long as they meet the over 100 pages requirement?"

Yes, graphic novels are acceptable.

Cool! Thanks for the quick response! This is so much fun!

Diane,
Too Loud a Solitude - Bohumil Hrabal

I just realized that this book did not make the 100 page rule. It was only 98 pages! Sorry, it took so long for me to slog through that I didn't notice it was so short. (or remember that there was a 100 page minimum). If you've been tracking this on a spreadsheet or something, you'll need to edit it for me. I'll delete it from my list. Sorry for any extra work I've created for you.

Karen

Too Loud a Solitude - Bohumil Hrabal (Czech Republic)

Karen wrote: "Diane,
Too Loud a Solitude - Bohumil Hrabal

I just realized that this book did not make the 100 page rule. It was only 98 pages! Sorry, it took so long for me to slog through that I didn't noti..."

Close enough :)

Diane wrote: "Karen wrote: "Diane,
Too Loud a Solitude - Bohumil Hrabal

I just realized that this book did not make the 100 page rule. It was only 98 pages! Sorry, it took so long for me to slog through ..."

Thanks, Diane. I'll pay better attention in the future. K

Hi,

I've just got a quick question. I'm currently reading a book set in Hong Kong. For the sake of this challenge are you regarding Hong Kong as a separate country or as part of China?

Cheers!

Alice

Alice wrote: "Hi,

I've just got a quick question. I'm currently reading a book set in Hong Kong. For the sake of this challenge are you regarding Hong Kong as a separate country or as part of China?

Cheers..."

I was initially going to count it just as part of China since it has never been an independent nation. However, since it is semi-autonomous and was previously independent of China, I will count is as a country under either China or Hong Kong.

Ok thanks!

Diane,

What's your ruling on books where the author disguises his native country under a different name?

In Wizard of the Crow A novel by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, the country is called the Free Republic of Aburiria, but is widely interpreted as Kenya.

pjreads wrote: "Diane,

What's your ruling on books where the author disguises his native country under a different name?

In Wizard of the Crow A novel by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, the ..."

I'll accept that.

Diane wrote: "pjreads wrote: "Diane,

What's your ruling on books where the author disguises his native country under a different name?

In Wizard of the Crow A novel by [author:Ngũgĩ wa Thion...
I'll accept that."

Great ... thanks! (I hope it's as good as advertised since it's almost 800 pages!!)

Oh this sounds like so much fun!!! Since it goes over a year time period, I would love to do this.... I may not be able to read alot, since I am also in grad school right now, but I will give it a try as a "frequent flyer"!

What a fun idea!

I'm reading The hunger games which takes place in the fictional country Panem, in North America. Do I count it as a post-apocalyptical USA or as a fictional country in North America?

I would consider it as being post-apocalyptical USA.

That's what I thought too, thank you.

Hi there from a Trekker
I'm attempting a similar journey - though will be visiting a few 'unofficial' countries, as well as every recognised Sovereign State in the World. Started in London and am currently in Turkey.. my planned route is at:

http://www.webspinners.org.uk/roundth...

This also has a link to my blogspot from there.
Am limiting myself to indigenous authors (where possible) and written post-1990. May be quite a challenge! Any suggestions for the gaps more than welcome!!

John wrote: "Hi there from a Trekker
I'm attempting a similar journey - though will be visiting a few 'unofficial' countries, as well as every recognised Sovereign State in the World. Started in London and am c..."

Wow! Awesome!

My mum has come up with an interesting way to read something that would count for the letter x (since there are no x countries) for a challenge like this. She thinks the x should stand for eXtra-terrestrial and that you could additionally read one book set in outer space.

Now I certainly don't expect to adopt this in our challenge... but I thought it was an interesting idea that I should share with you all!!

Tanya wrote: "My mum has come up with an interesting way to read something that would count for the letter x (since there are no x countries) for a challenge like this. She thinks the x should stand for eXtra-te..."

What a great idea, Tanya and Mum!

This sounds like real great idea :)
I feel pity that I didn't found it out earlier but still it's not late to join. I think I'll enjoy this challenge, which will be my first ever.

Well, if we're not stuck with the Roman alphabet, you actually do have countries that start with "x".

In Chinese Pinyin (the romanized way of spelling Chinese characters), Singapore is Xinjiapo.

In Catalan:
Xina (China), Xile (Chile), Xipre (Cyprus)
*apparently the x sounds like "sh" like shoe but many people pronounce it like the Spanish "ch".

Tanya wrote: "My mum has come up with an interesting way to read something that would count for the letter x (since there are no x countries) for a challenge like this. She thinks the x should stand for eXtra-te..."

I was thinking that, too! LOL

Meghan wrote: "Well, if we're not stuck with the Roman alphabet, you actually do have countries that start with "x".

In Chinese Pinyin (the romanized way of spelling Chinese characters), Singapore is Xinjiapo...."

I like that idea!

Meghan wrote: "Well, if we're not stuck with the Roman alphabet, you actually do have countries that start with "x".

In Chinese Pinyin (the romanized way of spelling Chinese characters), Singapore is Xinjiapo...."

Great ideas!

I'd like to participate too!

I am interested in this challenge as well. My local book club already does a version of this. We pick a country, read a selected book set in that country and watch movies, eat the cuisine, etc - one country for two months as we meet every other month. If I decide to join this challenge, could I count the ones already read in September and November of this year?