Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Place your reading plans here (optional).

When I took a look at the map to figure out what route I wanted to take across the world I couldn't decide which countries to drop from my route... So I decided to visit all the independent countries (according to this list). I've added Tibet, Taiwan, Antarctica, Greenland and Kosovo. Maybe I'll even visit French Guiana, Puerto Rico and Western Sahara. There are only 6 countries that I'll visit twice before I'm back in the Netherlands and I'll visit Italy 4 times.

This is my route around the world in 211 books
I haven't planned all the books yet, I will do that along the way...

don't have any official plans, but looking at the countries I hit last year - my plan is to aim for Africa, Asia and Caribbean countries

Last year I really pushed because I wanted to see how far I could get in my trek. Now, I think I want to meander around the world in a more leisurely fashion. I think I'll just grab a choice of 5 or 6 books and which ever one the library has will be my next choice.

I'm going to continue adding countries and states to the challenge I started this year. Because I belong to several library book groups, I find that I've read lots of books situated in England and France. Living in Connecticut, we also get a lot of press for books published in New York City and Boston with the setting in NY and MA.

I'm going to look for books in some Western states, and Latin America next year.

My goal this year is to read at least 25 new countries and revisit previously read countries for the rest. Very subject to change, but here are some contenders for the unvisited countries using books I already own:

Andorra: The Road to Andorra

Anguilla: A Trip to the Beach

Armenia: Armenia: Portraits of Survival and Hope or Efronia: An Armenian Love Story

Bhutan: Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan

Bolivia: I Am a Taxi

Brunei: Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

Burkina Faso: Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman

Chad: Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad

Ecuador: Bruna and Her Sisters in the Sleeping City

Equatorial Guinea: Tropical Gangsters or The Wonga Coup: Guns, Thugs and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an Oil-Rich Corner of Africa

Eritrea: My Fathers' Daughter: A Story of Family and Belonging

Gambia: Reading the Ceiling

Grenada: Under the Silk Cotton Tree: A Novel

Guam: And No Birds Sing: A True Ecological Thriller Set in a Tropical Paradise

Guatemala: I, Rigoberta Menchu or Rattlesnake

Guinea-Bissau: Fighting Two Colonialisms: Women in Guinea-Bissau

Iceland: The Fish Can Sing

Ivory Coast: Whiteman or Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village

Kiribati: The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific

Kosovo: The Day of the Pelican or The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan: The Place of the Skull

Laos: The Coroner's Lunch

Latvia: Fragments or A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile

Lebanon: Little Mountain

Liechtenstein: Stamping Grounds: Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream

Lithuania: Thanks to My Mother

Luxembourg: The Meeting of Anni Adams: The Butterfly of Luxembourg

Macedonia: The Internationals

Madagascar: Return to Treasure Island and the Search for Captain Kidd or The Fugitives: The Tyrant Queen Of Madagascar

Malaysia: Evening Is the Whole Day

Maldives: The Maldive Mystery

Marshall Islands: Mutiny on the Globe: The Fatal Voyage of Samuel Comstock

Martinique: Solibo Magnificent

Mauritius: Darwin's Wink: A Novel of Nature and Love

Micronesia: Island of the Sequined Love Nun or The Island of the Colorblind

Montenegro: The Land Of The Black Mountain

Mozambique: Under the Frangipani

Nauru: Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature

Niger: Still Waters in Niger or Disturbance-Loving Species

Panama: The World in Half or The Tailor of Panama

Philippines: Dream Jungle or Orchid House

Saint Lucia: Omeros or Collected Poems, 1948-1984

Sao Tome: Sao Tome-- Journey to the Abyss-- Portugal's Stolen Children

Saudi Arabia: Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia or Finding Nouf

Slovakia: Katarina

Solomon Islands: Solomon Time: An Unlikely Quest in the South Pacific

Swaziland: Palace of Gold

Togo: Letters from Togo or Do They Hear You When You Cry

Turkmenistan: Sacred Horses: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy or Turkmeniscam

Tuvalu: The People's Lawyer or Unity of Heart: Culture and Change in a Polynesian Atoll Society

United Arab Emirates: The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai

Uzbekistan: The Dancer from Khiva: One Muslim Woman's Quest for Freedom

At this point my only goal is to Trek my way to the Czech Republic by November (in time to read Umberto Eco's new novel The Prague Cemetery ).

I do have a question...if you're starting in the US do you need to travel through states to get to the coast?

I'm so looking forward to beginning this!

Tara wrote: "At this point my only goal is to Trek my way to the Czech Republic by November (in time to read Umberto Eco's new novel The Prague Cemetery ).

I do have a question...if you're star..."

No, you don't need to travel through the states. Welcome to the challenge Tara!

Thank you! Looks like I'm flying straight out of JFK airport then. :-)

I was going to be a trekker but I finished mapping my trip out and I've only got 60 countries down. I'm sure I can add some, especially since in the beginning I didn't have any idea how the trip would turn out, but I don't think I can add 20! I may just do it anyway with however many countries I end up with. I like the structure of the trek since it gives me something to work toward (which means I might actually finish).

Diane - great list - I liked The cornoner's lunch that you have listed for Laos and Finding Nouf (Saudi Arabia) and i'm def. going to check some of those other books out for possible reads

here are my maps(subject to change):

I spent the last couple of days looking at books I'd like to read & adding them to bookshelf so I can remember what I've chosen. I work in a library so I've ordered a few to get me started. I tend to jump around a lot with my reading so like to have lots at home to choose from. Currently the top of my list is looking like this

Here Come the Girls by Millie Johnson- England
Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs - USA
The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson - Jamaica
The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin- Germany
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray- Ireland
Island Daze by Maxine Barry - Barbados
Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard - Costa Rica
Snow Angels by James Thompson - Finland

That should have me bouncing round the globe for a while

After I had found the 1001 list sorted by countries the mission was set: I'll try to read as many books from that list while doing the trekker style journey.
I spent many hours to come up with a believable travel (including going upstream a big river to get to Zimbabwe) and voilà! I didn't want to go through the countries region by region (well, at least not all the time), so I will sometimes leave a continent and return later on my journey (because travelling on a ship is much cooler than on a train, and I speak of experience here).
But I feel that I will definitely need more than a year for this!

I'm starting in the UK and going to Sweden, then over to Russia because those books are sitting in my TBR pile! Or I could stay in Europe and go to Russia from the Black Sea- hmmm

Trekker question: Do I need to read a book from EACH country I pass through? Or do I just need to be able to pass through them on foot or by boat?

Sarah wrote: "Trekker question: Do I need to read a book from EACH country I pass through? Or do I just need to be able to pass through them on foot or by boat?"

Yes, you would need to read a book from each country that you are passing through on your route (but not the adjacent countries that are not on your direct route).

Okay- Africa trek- Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria. This plan is because I already have books from Somalia, Kenya, and Nigeria-

this book: Beasts of No Nation
is an "unnamed west African country" Not sure where to put it, but it's in the TBR pile.

Sarah wrote: "Okay- Africa trek- Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria. This plan is because I already have books from Somalia, Kenya, and Nigeria-

this book: [book:Beasts o..."

It is most likely based on Nigeria, since the author is of Nigerian heritage and conducted his research for the book there. Nigeria also experienced a civil war in the late '60s to early '70s.

Here's what's left on my list from last year, in no particular order. Hopefully will get to some new countries this year.

Kenya: Out of Africa
Guatemala: Hummingbird House
Czech Republic: Prague or Hana's Suitcase
The Netherlands: The Diary of a Young Girl
Benin: Say You're One of Them
Ukraine: Ambassador of the Dead
Holland: The Hiding Place
St. Honore: A Caribbean Mystery
Argentina: Kamchatka
Slovakia: Requiem for a Gypsy: A Jana Matinova Investigation Set in Slovakia
Papua New Guinea: Mister Pip
Iraq: They Came to Baghdad
Israel: Exodus
Portugal: Night Train to Lisbon
Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Kiribati: The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
Uganda: The Last King of Scotland
Nigeria: Oil on Water: A Novel
Wales: The Welsh Girl
Tahiti & French Polynesia: Frangipani: A Novel
Germany: Those Who Save Us
Albania: Chronicle in Stone: A Novel
Indonesia: Lost in Shangri-la
Tunisia: Conditions of Faith
East Timor: The Canal House
Solomon Islands: Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
Vanatu: Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
Fiji: The Madman and the Pirate free google ebook
Morocco: Hideous Kinky
Georgia: A Hero of Our Time free google ebook
Guinea: The King of Kahel
Ghana: Wife of the Gods
Djibouti: Djibouti
Kurdistan: A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan
Turkmenistan: Sacred Horses: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy
Somalia: The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World
Zimbabwe: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
Greenland: Smilla's Sense of Snow
The Congo: Swimming in the Congo
Guadeloupe: Crossing the Mangrove
Oman: Sandstorm
Qatar: My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
Equador: The Queen of Water or The Evolution of Jane
South Africa: Invictus
Mongolia: Treasure Of Khan
Barbados: Captain Blood free google ebook
Bulgaria: The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax
Singapore: The Singapore Grip

I decided it would be more manageable to set myself quarterly goals, and since my other big challenge starts on the 1st - i'm trying to fit in as many books as possible, so far I have:

Algeria - I, Nadia, Wife of a Terrorist
Honduaras - Breaking Daylight
Venezuela - Hush
Bhutan - Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon: A Journey Through Bhutan
Vanuatu - Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
Turkey - Iron Earth, Copper Sky
Sri Lanka - Mosquito
Panama - The World in Half
Bulgaria - East of the West
Samoa - Black Coconuts, Brown Magic
Czechoslovakia - Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Guatemala - Stone of Kings: In Search of the Lost Jade of the Maya
Djibouti - Djibouti

Here's my plan; we'll see how far I get!

USA: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
Russia: Travels in Siberia
Japan: The Makioka Sisters
South Korea: The Red Queen
North Korea: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
China: In the Lap of the Gods
Vietnam: Paradise of the Blind
Cambodia: When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge
Australia: In a Sunburned Country
Indonesia: Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded
Malaysia: The Rice Mother
Thailand: Sightseeing
Burma: The Piano Tuner
Tibet: Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World
Bhutan: Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in the Happiest Kingdom on Earth
India: City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
Pakistan: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Afghanistan: The Patience Stone
Iran: The Blood of Flowers
Saudi Arabia: In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom
Iraq: Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam
Syria: The Calligrapher's Secret
Lebanon: Beirut Blues
Israel: Mornings in Jenin
Egypt: The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam
Sudan: Lyrics Alley
Ethiopia: Beneath the Lion's Gaze: A Novel
Djibouti: Djibouti
Somalia: Sweet and Sour Milk
Kenya: One Day I Will Write About This Place
Uganda: The Last King of Scotland
Rwanda: Baking Cakes in Kigali
Tanzania: Paradise
Zambia: Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People
Zimbabwe: The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe
Botswana: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide
South Africa: Waiting for the Barbarians
Namibia: Soul of a Lion
Nigeria: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives: A Novel
Morocco: The Storyteller of Marrakesh
Algeria: Algerian White
Tunisia: Pillar of Salt
Libya: In the Country of Men
Turkey: A Fez of the Heart: Travels Around Turkey in Search of a Hat
Greece: The Messenger of Athens
Albania: Broken April
Croatia: Croatia: Travels in Undiscovered Country
Italy: City of Fallen Angels
Spain: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist In Andalucڳia
France: The Black Tower
England: The Hand That First Held Mine
Ireland: The Princes of Ireland
Scotland: An Innocent in Scotland: More Curious Rambles and Singular Encounters
Germany: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Poland: Marie Curie: A Life
Denmark: The Royal Physician's Visit
Sweden: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Finland: Snow Angels
Norway: Kristin Lavransdatter
Iceland: Iceland: Land of the Sagas
Greenland: This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
Canada: The Birth House
Cuba: Finding Manana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus
Haiti: The Farming of Bones
Dominican Republic: The Feast Of The Goat
Jamaica: The Pirate's Daughter
Nicaragua: The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
Costa Rica: Midnight Rainbow
Panama: The Tailor of Panama
Columbia: Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
Venezuela: The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos
Brazil: Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon
Uruguay: The House of Paper
Argentina: The Tango Singer: A Novel
Chile: Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile
Bolivia: I Am a Taxi
Easter Island: Easter Island
Samoa: Where We Once Belonged
Fiji: Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
New Zealand: Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand

Alice wrote: "Here's my plan; we'll see how far I get!

USA: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
Russia: Travels in Siberia
Japan: The Makioka Sisters
South Korea: The Red Queen
North Korea: Nothing to Envy
Chin..."

Awesome list, Alice!

Alice, you're going to have fun reading from that list. I wish I was that organized!

Alice - you have some great books on your list - I would recommend adding The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific before you do Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu becasue it actually takes place 2 years previously and is referred to a lot during GSWS

Dee wrote: "Alice - you have some great books on your list - I would recommend adding The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific before you do [book:Getting Stoned with Savages: ..."

Great - thanks for the advice. I'll switch the book.

Sex Lives actually takes place on Kiribati, so its a whole other country you can hit

Dee wrote: "Sex Lives actually takes place on Kiribati, so its a whole other country you can hit"

That's great - I'll leave both in to offer some flexibility. I'm worried I'll be stuck waiting for a popular book at the library and have to skip one. This will be my "spare", just in case.

that's what i've done...I have books I own/ picked up for cheap for random places and then more popular ones I get from the library

Oops - Bolivia's landlocked, can't get to Easter Island directly. Oh well, the list will need some adjustment. Any good Peru suggestions?

I read Bel Canto - technically its an un-named south american country, but the events in it, mimic what happened at the embassy there, so that is where i counted it

Alice wrote: "Oops - Bolivia's landlocked, can't get to Easter Island directly. Oh well, the list will need some adjustment. Any good Peru suggestions?"

I also have 2 other books on my Peru list - Lima Nights and The Bridge of San Luis Rey

I did not know that about the Troost books. They are both on my tbr shelf. I'll be sure to read them in the right order.

Mario Vargas Llosa is a prolific Peruvian author with some highly rated books, although I would not recommend The Cubs and Other Stories. The title story is very difficult to get through due to the writing style. The rest of the book is okay.

Alice, I think you may be disappointed with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - it's a lovely book, but I don't recall any part of it being set in Pakistan. All the characters live in England.

Diane - they can be read separately, but in GSwS he does refer back to their time on Kiribati (SLoC), which I why I recommend reading them that way

Thanks Rosemary -

I just went by the description. I'll find another Pakistan book.

I'm currently reading On Black Sisters Street. The parts that take place in the present take place in Antwerp, Belgium, however all of the characters have lengthy flashbacks to their former lives in Nigeria. I can't really decide if I should mark this as Belgium or Nigeria.

Next on my list are

Brick Lane by Monica Ali set in Bangladesh

When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe set in The Philippines

The New Year by Pearl S. Buck set in South Korea

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes set in Jamaica

The Commoner byJohn Burnham Schwartz set in Japan


Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende set in Haiti

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian set in Poland

The African Queen by C.S. Forester set in hmmm.. I think this story takes place in Tanzania, but I couldn't find out. I'm going by the fact that the river they sail down runs through Tanzania. Another big clue is that a German battleship is stationed there. During WW1 Tanzania was known as German East Africa, so it makes sense that German soldiers would be there.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder set in Peru, I can't wait to read this book. I've been wanting to read it for years now. Just found out my local library did have it despite it not showing on their catalogue!

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea set in Saudi Arabia

Jephte's Daughter by Naomi Ragen set in Israel

For Vietnam I debated on re-reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien because it's amazing, one of my top ten best books of my life (so far)
However I want to read something new, based on the reviews I think I'll read
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco set in Italy

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht set in Croatia

You've got a great list of books, Courtney. I want to read The Things They Carried soon.

Matterhorn was a great read - one of my top 20 last year - I felt like I was in Vietnam with them

Courtney wrote: "The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz set in Japan"

Oooh, this has been on my TBR list forever... glad to be reminded of it!

@ Connie I would definitely recommend it, the narration is really funky, but reading Obrien's other books you can tell that's just how he writes.

@Dee Actually I can't wait to read Matterhorn, I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it!

@Lavinia I can't wait to read this one either, I don't know much about The Commoner, like if it was based on a true story or not.

Any idea if Life of Pi by Yann Martel would count for India?

The book started with a setting in India so that would work. Most of the book is set in a boat in the ocean, and it's rather creative. (Life of Pi is one of the 1001 books if you're doing that challenge too.)

I mostly read mysteries and have no plan like many of you, but I do enjoy different settings.

Just did Death in Malta - while I was there that was fun.
Also God's Spy (Rome), nice suspense.
The Fencing Master (18th Century Madrid) good characterizations and surprises.
January Kills Me, set in LA. A light contemporary mystery that kept me entertained.
Where shall I go next?

Lynn Hamilton has some cozy mysteries set in various places around the world, there is also the Mrs. Pollifax series

Denise M. wrote: "I mostly read mysteries and have no plan like many of you, but I do enjoy different settings.

Just did Death in Malta - while I was there that was fun.
Also God's Spy (Rome), nice suspense.
The..."

Denise, there are lots of great mysteries and mystery series that take place all over the world. The two authors Dee mentioned, Lyn Hamilton and Dorothy Gilman, are excellent choices. Here are some authors to check out with mysteries in locations around the world:
Elizabeth Peters
Colin Cotterill
James Church
Shamini Flint
Boris Akunin
Henning Mankell
Arnaldur Indriðason
M.M. Kaye
Tarquin Hall
Alexander McCall Smith
Michael Genelin
Eliot Pattison
Maj Sjöwall
Qiu Xiaolong
Sujata Massey
John Burdett
Timothy Hallinan
Petros Markaris
Andrea Camilleri
Donna Leon
Jo Nesbø
Karin Fossum
Janwillem van de Wetering
Martin Cruz Smith
Stuart M. Kaminsky
R.N. Morris

A few of Agatha Christie's books are set in exotic places.

Connie wrote: "The book started with a setting in India so that would work. Most of the book is set in a boat in the ocean, and it's rather creative. (Life of Pi is one of the 1001 books if you're d..."

I've been wondering about Life of Pi. I'm reading it for school, yet I'm wondering if I could put it anywhere. I already have a book for India, even if I didn't much care for East of the Sun. Maybe Canada where Pi lives now, maybe Mexico where the raft ends up? I'll have to read more! Very good book by the way.

Courtney, he does spend some time on an island in the ocean, but I can't remember which country it was since I read the book about four years ago.

looks like most people have used it as India

Dee wrote: "looks like most people have used it as India"

Yep, I probably won't use it unless he spends some more time in Canada or Mexico