Around the World discussion

Here's my list (subject to change due to book availability and whether or not I find more interesting choices along the way...) as of December 1, 2011:

The Accident: A Novel--Albania
Some Dream for Fools--Algeria
Thursday Night Widows--Argentina
Dreams of Bread and Fire--Armenia
The Forgotten Garden--Australia
Ali and Nino: A Love Story--Azerbaijan
The Angel Maker--Belgium
The Bungalow: A Novel--Bora Bora
Twice Born--Bosnia
Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon--Brazil
Wunderkind--Bulgaria
Necessary Lies--Canada
The Absent Sea--Chile
The Informers--Colombia
Wide Sargasso Sea--Dominica
The Boy in the Suitcase--Denmark
Klar bin ich eine Ostfrau!--East Germany
The Queen of Water--Ecuador
Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes--Egypt
Treading Air--Estonia
Everything Beautiful Began After--Greece
The Twin--Holland
Last Rituals--Iceland
The Sandalwood Tree--India
The Septembers of Shiraz--Iran
Late for Tea at the Deer Palace--Iraq
The Gathering--Ireland
Every House Needs a Balcony: A Novel--Israel
From the Land of the Moon--Italy
Woman in Exile: My Life in Kazakhstan--Kazakhstan
Say You're One of Them--Kenya
Between Shades of Gray--Lithuania
House of Houses--Mexico
The Colour--New Zealand
Half of a Yellow Sun--Nigeria
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea--North Korea
The Last Fix--Norway
Burnt Shadows--Pakistan
Mornings in Jenin--Palestine
Dogeaters--Philippines
Miss Nobody--Poland
The Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy--Romania (Greece)
Finding Nouf--Saudi Arabia
The Flight of Gemma Hardy: A Novel--Scotland
The Mao Case--Shanghai
The Smell of Apples: A Novel--South Africa
The Time In Between--Spain
Wonderful Women by the Sea: A Novel--Sweden
The Museum of Innocence--Turkey
The Invisible Mountain--Uruguay
The Sickness--Venezuela
The Lotus Eaters--Vietnam
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood--Zimbabwe

Thanks.

My shelves are already organized mainly by country and there's tons I haven't read. I usually hang around Eastern Europe, literarily-speaking, so I'm looking forward to this.

Welcome Daisy. Look forward to seeing your list.

Hi Daisy, the group is great. Soon you will see for yourself! It is so fun that my friends interested in different cultures are all ending up in the same group! Every book is worth looking at.

I am not at all surprised Unit comes from the Sweden. It fits perfectly Swedsih trends. Do you know what I mean? After a while you recognize different common characteristics of a given country; you are not surprised that a given book comes from that particular culture.

Welcome Daisy! We DO have until January but I think you've stumbled into a group of people who just love books (and making lists, hehe).

Jenny wrote: "Welcome Daisy! We DO have until January but I think you've stumbled into a group of people who just love books (and making lists, hehe)."

Jenny, you are so right. I love working on my list. Finding and adding books.

Chrissie, you made this group sound welcoming and interesting and it is. I love lists too and I am sure I will be very busy compiling mine. I can't wait.

Daisy, cool that I influenced you! I had no idea! To tell you the truth, I love the group with all these interesting people and all their interesting books, but I am not sure I will be able to read 52 books on my list..... So thinking about the list almost makes me panic! I don't think about the list. I think about the great people here and the great books I am hearing about. I will read what I can on my list. I am so glad you joined Daisy.

Welcome, Daisy, The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (Holland) -- I like to read about Holland. Mind if it goes in my tbr list?

Isn't The Unit a lot like Never Let Me Go? I only saw the movie of the latter, but they seem very similar. Anyone read Never Let Me Go?

Anne wrote: "Isn't The Unit a lot like Never Let Me Go? I only saw the movie of the latter, but they seem very similar. Anyone read Never Let Me Go?"

I read Never Let Me Go but luckily I didn't know a thing about it when I started. I never read too much about a book before I read it. Sometimes the setting is all it takes to get me interested. With Never Let Me Go, which I liked very much, all I knew was "boarding school."

Chelsea wrote: "Welcome, Daisy. Yeah, I'm just here for the great lists and conversation. I may even read a couple of books! ;-)"

Good idea, Chelsea. The gathering part--but also, yeah, the reading part...

Have fun compiling your list. :)

P.S. I know you don't have your list all pulled together yet, but I did really enjoy The Rehearsal, good choice!

Judy wrote: "I took a look at the synopsis for The Unit. That does look like an interesting book."

I actually (cheated and) read it last weekend.

Daisy wrote: "I actually (cheated and) read it last weekend."

I noticed that you were reading one of the eight books on your list. No matter. You have enough books on your shelves to make up your 52 country list several times over. Which reminds me, when do we get to see your list? We are all waiting anxiously to see it.

My list is a work-in-progress (that's allowed, isn't it?). I added some more to it today in fact.

Everything and anything is allowed.

I'm trying to limit it to books I have, not books I'll have to get (even though I use my library a lot). That reminds me: I'll go look at your list...

Well, it looks like I might just have to transpose my own shelves as a list here in this thread now that I've seen your list and Chrissie's. I might organize it by country and include books I've already read so others can choose them too, if they want. Now I have a project.

I'm new here too and I just had a look at other people's lists. It seems very liberal and flexible and everyone likes to recommend things. So sharing is encouraged. I've peeked at my friends Chrissie's and Anne's lists so far. There are a lot of treasures to be found here.

Daisy, I too made my initial ist from books I have already purchased but not yet read. Then I added Kindle books. I still have not gone through many of my country shelves. I think I got through the countries that begine with A. But I have enough books anyhow. So slowly but surely I will add more as I go through my own shelves!. I was pretty lucky that I have always shelved my books by their setting!

I have no books on my lists that I have already read. I have my GR shelves organized that way. We all can look at each others' shelves anyway. I have decided to remove books from my shelves if I read them this year. I will probably have to remove Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris since I just downladed it from NetGalley. :0) I simply cannot wait that long. I also am now reading The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year. I was too curious about that too.

At first I thought I'd make my list strict: one book from each country that I'd be sure to read. Then I looked at these extensive, voluptuous lists that make me greedy to conquer them (yours is one, Chrissie) and now I don't know how I'll attack it. In any case, I'm so happy about all the recommendations.

Anne wrote: "Isn't The Unit a lot like Never Let Me Go? I only saw the movie of the latter, but they seem very similar. Anyone read Never Let Me Go?"

Yes I have. And it is chilling. I think I've got a review linked to it in my books.

Daisy, we are both on line!!! That always makes me happy. I had to do my list with alternatives. I know my own personality. I know that I cannot now determine what I will feel like reading next year. I do know for sure I will want to read about life in different countries If I make a strict list, I will never follow it. It will be doomed to failure. So I simply cannot make such a list! I am amazed that people can plan to read book X in June........ What if I am in a flurpy mood then and that book isn't flurpy?!

I agree, Chrissie. I never know what I'll want to read next or if I'll stick with the thing I start.

Daisy, I do understand.

Asmah wrote: "Welcome, Daisy, The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (Holland) -- I like to read about Holland. Mind if it goes in my tbr list?"

I didn't see this post earlier but please do put it on your list. These books are meant to be shared.

Judy wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Judy wrote: "I took a look at the synopsis for The Unit. That does look like an interesting book."

I actually (cheated and) read it last weekend."


And....? :-)"

Since I read it already I took it off the list so I can be faithful to 2012.

It was fine. An afternoon well-spent.

I really want to read "Late for tea at the deer palace" too. I think I'll just have to buy myself a copy and add to my Iraq selection...

I "completed" my list (subject to change...).

Muphyn wrote: "I really want to read "Late for tea at the deer palace" too. I think I'll just have to buy myself a copy and add to my Iraq selection..."

Muphyn, I'm planning to do Late for Tea at the Deer Palace for my Iraq pick too. Maybe we can coordinate when the time comes and read it together!

The "Tea Party"' is ot the top of my list for Iraq too!

I'm still adding more to bring it up to 52 and then I promise to alphabetize.

Daisy, I added your picks to the list. If you add anything, feel free to leave a comment here. I can't believe we didn't have Venezuela yet, but you seem to be the first.

And just FYI- I put Shanghai's pick under China, and Holland is listed under The Netherlands on the master list.

Thank you Jenny.

Some interesting books there, daisy :)

From the Land of the Moon seems very interesting. I might read it eventually :)

It is hard to pick just one from each country. Not everyone did that. Which is why my list will probably change throughout the challenge.

So true, I guess we all just have to wait and see at the end of year what we have read :D

Paras, I seem to be reacting differently from others.... I have listed more than one book for for several countries. That means that either I wait to read some of them for more than a year or I must read them now in the remaining days left of this month!! I am not calmly waiting. I am trying to read as much as I can now! I am having panice attacks when I realize that I simply cannot read fast enough.

The worst is that I keep finding more books that must be read!

Daisy, are you calm and waiting.... or are you having panic attacks like me?

Chrissie, I'm impatient to begin. I just have to finish a few library books before I can start this challenge. I'm pretty sure I can finish 52 books in 13 months and I'm really excited to visit parts of the world I don't yet know.

Jenny wrote: "Daisy, I added your picks to the list. If you add anything, feel free to leave a comment here. I can't believe we didn't have Venezuela yet, but you seem to be the first.

And just FYI- I put Sha..."

Jenny, if my list changes, are you up to altering your master list throughout the year? Should we (I) just let you know if something changes? Or does it even matter? I absolutely revere what you're doing, compiling such a seductive resource.
In fact, I just changed my Romania choice to Notes from the Other Side of Night. So I guess I've begun the challenge because I'm almost finished with this amazing book.

Chrissie wrote: "Paras, I seem to be reacting differently from others.... I have listed more than one book for for several countries. That means that either I wait to read some of them for more than a year or I mu..."

I wish you all the best. Dont we wish we could have read a bit faster. There is always so much to read :(

One of the reasons for my calm is that right now, I am tired of obsessive reading. And my eyes has started hurting. A month earlier, I would have been in panic too, so I guess I know what you mean.

The worst is that I keep finding more books that must be read!

oh so true that! I made the list and there are already books that I am finding interesting in other lists and recommendations. I think this is just a start, start with 52 books, after that, I see a huge vast collection that needs to be read.

Daisy and Paras, what is great is that we keep finding more and more books to read. Gosh, what a difference compared to the era before GR!

Daisy wrote: "It is hard to pick just one from each country. Not everyone did that. Which is why my list will probably change throughout the challenge."
I have multiple books for each country and so when I go to used bookstores I bring that list with me. My eventual list of books I actually read will be much slimmer, but I'm leaving it to whimsy and the universe.

Judy wrote: "Daisy, I believe Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood is set in Zimbabwe."

Thanks Judy. I figured I'd figure it out when I read it...

Since I read these 3 books before January, I'm going to replace them with something else to retain my list of 52:
Cracks
Tomorrow I'll Say, Enough (Discoveries
Notes from the Other Side of Night

My replacements are:
The Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy--Romania (Greece)
The Smell of Apples: A Novel--South Africa
The Bungalow: A Novel--Bora Bora