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Discussion Forums - Travel, Adventure
Topic: the armchair traveler "reads" the world - my reading goal
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I am going to try to read at least one travelogue/essay from every country in the world. According to Google there are currently 257 of them. I'm not going to put any kind of time limit on this. But I am going to list them all here and if I am having trouble finding a book set in a specific country, I would love suggestions! If I put a yes next to a country, I already have books about it. If there is nothing next to a country, I don't currently own any books about it. Once I figure out which books I am going to read for each country, I will list them.
Last Edited on: 8/24/10 4:38 PM ET - Total times edited: 2 |
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Holy crap! That's awesome! Last year I read through the 50 states. This year I am reading 12 countries in 12 months. |
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Ambitious! Best of luck. |
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For Mexico, one of my favorite books is A Village in the Sun by Dane Chandos, and also its sequel, A House in the Sun. They're about a British expatriate who goes to live in a tiny Mexican rural community on the shore of Lake Chapala and eventually builds a house there. Or for something by a noted Mexican author, try anything by Octavio Paz or Carlos Fuentes. Or you might like Tony Cohan's two books about living in San Miguel de Allende. For a historical perspective, there's Frances Calderon de la Barca's Life in Mexico. She was the Scots wife of the first Spanish ambassador to Mexico after Mexico gained its independence from Spain. She wrote detailed letters to her family at home - very candid and not intended for publication, but the historian Prescott, who was a friend of the family, thought the letters were so wonderful that he urged their publication. It's a large book, but I've found that you can either read the letters in sequence or sample them at any point.
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Very cool reading idea!!!
This one's on one of my reading lists...
Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart
Author:
Last Edited on: 5/29/11 2:50 PM ET - Total times edited: 1 |
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(Read these years ago & enjoyed them.) Savages by Joe Kane Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
Last Edited on: 5/29/11 2:54 PM ET - Total times edited: 2 |
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So envious! Maybe, I'll tackle the more do-able goal of 12 countries in 12 months for my New Year's resolution. Or... to revisit vacations past. Keep us posted with your progress! Last Edited on: 11/28/11 11:21 AM ET - Total times edited: 1 |
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You haven't really made any guidelines here -- are you looking for travel narratives only? For novels set in X country? For books written by an author from X country? So, I'll offer some good books set in different countries. For #30, Bosnia, I'd recommend People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. For Japan, I recommend Hiroshima by John Hersey or The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima. For Norway, Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset is a classic of Norwegian literature. Out Stealing Horses by Per Peterson is a more contemporary Norwegian prize-winning novel. For Poland, James Michener's Poland or Push Not the River by James Conroyd Martin. For Romania, Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca. Also, in case it is helpful, over in the Historical Fiction section we've made a list of useful tags, many of which are geographical in nature -- there are links for tags to places like Denmark and Wales and South Africa, among others. They're not limited to Historical Fiction titles, since any member can use any tag. http://www.paperbackswap.com/TAG-Ging-Historical-Fiction/topic/76801/ Last Edited on: 1/3/13 11:49 AM ET - Total times edited: 1 |
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For No.104 Haiti, I suggest Breath, Eyes, Memory, by Edwige Danticat, or another title by her. |
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These are classic travel narratives.
Update:
Another Update. I made this list for somebody who wanted to know travel books by female writers. Last Edited on: 8/8/13 12:59 PM ET - Total times edited: 5 |
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Matt, Thanks for this helpful list. Most of these titles are new to me. Valerie
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There are some single books that touch on several countries. Sailing Alone around the World by Joshua Slocum. this book will deal with several island countries. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux. actually several of Theroux's travel narratives will deal with various countries. The Old Patagonian Express deals with central America and several countries in South America. Dark Star Safari goes from Egypt to S Africa overland. |
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