pickI knew so little about Liberia, its past and its customs. This was an enlightening memoir that is infused with the history of both the author and the country. Highly recommend.
#ReadtheWorld2025 #Liberia
so-soAfter 9/11 the narrator of this book moves from NYC to Lisbon to wait for the end of the world. He‘s waiting for his partner Cecilia in his new apartment, that very much resembles the NY one.
Described as a psychological thriller the book is much more a stream of conscience novel and I have to say I got very confused at the end. Just like the narrator. Not sure what to think.
📸 Lille, France
#ReadTheWorld2025 #31 #Portugal
so-soRead on the recommendation of my friend‘s mom. An extensive memoir on Betancourt‘s time in captivity with the FARC. At times it felt a bit sanitized (she seemed to have more issues with fellow hostages than her captors), but I also can‘t imagine enduring what she did.
*small pot in pic is from Cartagena, Colombia.
#ReadtheWorld2025 #Colombia
pickSuch an enjoyable, short, coming-of-age novel. I feel like every girl growing up has a piece of Annie in her. I loved Annie‘s contradictory nature and the simple sentences structure.
#ReadtheWorld2025 #AntiguaandBarbuda
so-so#BookerLonglist #6
A highly original novel about 3 Ukrainian women on a road trip with some men they keep captive while Russia invades their country. Also, they are looking for a special kind of snail. I loved the fist half and the part which is an interlude by the author herself. Then however I lost interest a bit. So many super interesting story lines and yet I felt like nothing much happened. A so-so for me.
#ReadTheWorld2025 #28 #Albania
GatheringBooks, AnneCecilie, TheKidUpstairs, Chelsea.Poole, rmaclean4, squirrelbrain, Graywacke, ImperfectCJ, Mattsbookaday
pickWell-written, informative, upsetting, and inspiring. A wonderful memoir.
#ReadtheWorld2025 #Afghanistan
pick#BookerLonglist #5
Very elegantly written, I became engaged in the book immediately I enjoyed following the narrator‘s struggle to live in NYC while she‘s still strongly rooted in the Albania she left behind. Het empathy for other refugees jeopardizes her mental wellbeing as well as her closest relationships. She moves between this empathy and self-preservation and there seems no closure. An impressive read.
#ReadTheWorld2025 #27 #Albania
GatheringBooks, AnneCecilie, TheKidUpstairs, Chelsea.Poole, rmaclean4, squirrelbrain, Graywacke, ImperfectCJ, Mattsbookaday
Adding some new countries to #ReadTheWorld2025 in July and August: #NewZealand, #Finland, #Peru, #Pakistan, #SriLanka, #Hungary and #Sweden.
I now have covered 26 countries!
pickWow, this is a what you call #NordicNoir! A fire and a murder in a small Swedish village continue to have effect on the village for years to come. A former police officer can‘t let go and neither does the nephew of the man convicted for the crimes.
In the mean time the book sketches a pretty good picture of the political and social circumstances of the country during the 90s and the 00s. ⬇️
#ReadTheWorld2025 #26 #Sweden
so-so#BookerLonglist #3
I really liked Szalay‘s other books but I can‘t make much of this one.
István doesn‘t live his life, it just happens to him. He doesn‘t make choices or decisions. He just says okay to everything that is decided for him. There‘s just one time he does takes action, and it changes the course of his life. Yet it doesn‘t have any real impact on him or on me as a reader. So. Not very impressed.
And can someone explain the title?
