fmgee's travels

I have had a lot of fun going through my books to fit them into countries. I still have a little work to do but as it stands I have read books from 29 countries totaling 64 points.

Afghanistan: I was surprised that I already have read 4 books set here and have more on my TBR plan
I if for Infadel
The Kite Runner
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Places in Between

Australia: As this is my country of birth and I have been trying to read a lot more from here. There are so many books I could list. Here are the five I chose to represent Australia
1. The Harp in the South by Ruth Park set in a poor suburb of Sydney with wonderful characters
2. Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Winton at his best
3. Road to Coorain by Jill Ker Conway. A wonderful biography that described Australian culture better than anything else I have read
4. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey. Perhaps my favourite book of all time!. Not a happy read but incredibly powerful.
5. Choosing a 5th book was hard as there were so many left. I have carried The Pizzey Field Guide to Australian Birds further than any other book I own (sewage works to mountain tops) and read every word multiple times so it was worth a mention but for a recommendation I will say My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Two great books
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks





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Brazil
To See Every Bird on Earth by Dan Koppell

Bulgaria
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Canada: Again I had a few books to choose from. Here is my chosen representatives
1: Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
2: There Against the Wilderness by Eric Collier. An awesome NF book set in the wilds of British Columbia
3: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnson. A wonderful novel set in Newfoundland
4: Northern Nurse by Elliot Merrick
5: Lament for an Ocean about the collapse of the cod fishery

Cuba
1: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Czech Republic
The Amber Room by Steve Berry

Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

Just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to add country Sweden as the 30th country on my list

Ethiopia
The Garden of Eden by Sharon Butala

France
1: The Short Reign of Pippin the IV by John Steinbeck
2: The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland
3: Passionate Minds by David Bodains
4: Chitty, Chitty, Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
5: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
India:
1: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
2: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
3: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
4: Chef by Jaspreet Singh

Indonesia
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Iraq
1: Birding Babylon by Jonathan Trouern-Trend
2: Honor Among Thieves by Jeffery Archer

Ireland
1: The Law Of Dreams by Peter Behrens
2: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Italy
1: Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
2: The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry
3: Galileo's Daugther by Dava Sobel

Jamaica
Pirate's Latitudes by Michael Crichton

Just finished Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang by Ian Fleming which I will count for my 4th book for France and brings me to 66 points

Just finished The Last of the Curlews by Fred Bodsworth which I am going to count for Argentina. This and some homework on other books puts me at 75 points.

Lebanon: The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury

Malta: The Religion by Tim Willocks

Mexico: Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufmann

Myanmar: Burmese Days by George Orwell

New Zealand: Tommo and Hawk by Bryce Courtney

Pakiston:
1:Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to promote peace by Greg Mortenson
2: Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace by Greg Mortenson
3: Pakistan by Mary Anne Weaver

Papua New Guinea
1: Birding on Borrowed Time by Phoebe Snetsinger
2: Life List: A Woman's Quest for the world's most amazing birds by Olivia Gentile

Portugal: The Third Secret by Steve Berry

Russian Federation:
1: The Death of Ivan Illych By Leo Tolstoy
2: Vodka by Boris Starling
3: A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich By Alexander Solzhenitsyn
4: Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Sierra Leone: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Spain: Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Sweden: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larson

Switzerland:
1: I am David by Anne Holm
2: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Thailand: The Beach by Alex Garland

Turkey: The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury

last but not least

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1: Thirty-nine steps by John Buchman
2: The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emilin
3: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
4: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
5: A mind to Murder by PD James

United States of America
1: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen
2: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
3: The Big Year by Mark Obmascik
4: Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5: True North by Jill Ker Conway

I still have a few books that I need to assign to a country but there are not many more of them

Just finished The Bells: A Novel by Richard Harvell. It starts in Switzerland and moves into Austria and at the very end Italy. I am counting it for Austria as it spends most of its time there I have no books from there.

A new one for Turkey: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

A first for Poland Three Seconds went there briefly. This puts me at 37 countries and 78 points

A first for Grenada

1: The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

and a second for Sweden

2: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson

A first for Kenya: A Guide to the Birds of East Africa A novel by Nicholas Drayson. A wonderful little book and not what I was expecting.

A first for China with Ancient Tea Horse Road by Jeff Fuchs.

Also three for Greece by Sophocles

1: Oedipus the King
2: Oedipus at Colonus
3: Antigone

This takes my country count to 41 and a total of 85 books

Another new country with The Sign by Raymond Khoury for Egypt

Number 4 for Italy The Regiment by Farley Mowat

Takes my total to 87 points

Number 2 for China The Emperor's Tomb by Steve Berry

A first for Antigua The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville. Mostly this book is set in Australia but is in Antigua twice. It was a wonderful book

A new country, Zambia: How to be a Bad Birdwatcher by Simon Barnes.

And another new country with The Bishop's Man for Honduras.

I just finished Shantaram which was largely set in India but had moments in Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am going to count it for the very brief visit to Kinshasa in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) and this makes it the second book for me from that country.

a second book for Jamaica with Pao by Kerry Young. This puts me at 93 points.

A Brief History of Tea by Roy Moxham could be counted for several countries including India, China, Sri Lanka or Malawi. I cannot resist counting it for Malawi as a first book from there.

A third book for Papua New Guinea with My Brother Jack by George Johnston. Most of the book was set in Melbourne in Australia but small parts outside that country.

a second book for Mexico with Snakewoman of Little Egypt by Robert Hellenga. Most of the novel was set in Southern Illinois and it never really got to the Congo although there was talk of it so Mexico it is.

Just finished my fifth book for Italy And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat

I just finished a second book for Poland with A more perfect Heaven by Dava Sobel

A new country Solomon Islands with Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. What an amazing book, I really could not put it down. Most of it is set in Papua New Guinea with some in the Solomons, Australia and New Zealand.

It has been a while since I have updated here. New countries include Namibia with The Sheltering Desert by Henno Martin and Germany with Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan. A fifth and final book from India with Kim by Rudyard Kipling and a final for Russia with Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. The rest of my reading has centered around the USA, Canada, England and Australia.

A new country, Sri Lanka with The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje. The book traveled widely which is not a surprise as it was a boat journey from Sri Lanka to England.

A second book for Egypt with Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

A second book for Spain with The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Half the book was in Paris and good chunk of the second half was set in Pamploma, Spain during the bull fighting fiesta.

A first for Vietnam with The Buddha's Diamonds by Carolyn Marsden.

A first for Venezuela with Wherever I wind up by RA Dickey. Most of the book is set in north america but there is a tiny part set during winterball in Venezuela.

A First for Cuba with The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. It was a wonderful short novel.

A first for Peru with Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford
A first for Latvia with The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell
and a third for Jamaica with Small Island by Andrea Levy

A third book for Turkey with Greenmantle by John Buchann

a third book for Ireland Two Pints by Roddy Doyle

a third for Sweden with Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell. A Kurt Wallander mystery.

A second book for New Zealand with The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. Mostly a book set in Australia, New Zealand and a little bit of Italy and Greece.

It has been a while since I updated

A third book for Spain The Shadow of the Wind

A fourth for Sweden Return of the Dancing Master

A new country Yemen with Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. It is a bit of a stretch as it is all correspondence but I am going with it anyhow.

Another new country, Iceland with Jar City and Silence of the Grave the first two Reykjavik thrillers

Another new country, South Africa Blood Safari and The White Lioness.

A second for Germany All Quiet on the Western Front

I have decided not to count The Heart of the Matter for Sierra Leone because it never states it as actually being set there.

A third book for New Zealand with The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. It took me a while to get into the book but I really enjoyed it.

A first for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with The 100 year old man

Just realised I can add two more for Iceland with Voices and The Draining Lake taking it to 4

Ru is a second for Vietnam

The Balkan Escape is a second for Bulgaria

A new country with The Dinner for the Netherlands

A third and fourth book for Mexico with The Power and the Glory and The Devil's Elixir

and I think that puts me more of less up to date.

A first for Saint Lucia with A Pitying of Doves

Oh it has been a long time since I was here. I just finished The Leopard by Jo Nesbo for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.