Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!

Since being back in Stratford I’ve been to see many shows at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. My first introduction to this season was Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Cabaret staring Bruce Dow as the Emcee and Trish Lindstrom as Sally Bowles. Since being home I’ve already watched Cabaret twice. Needless to say I loved the show from Wilkommen to the finale.

This is not the Cabaret of Liza Minnelli this is a Cabaret that is both fresh and exciting.  It’s a show full of energy and sexuality.  And it’s the kind of musical that I love, one that makes you think.  Not many musicals are thought provoking, they are rather a toothy all is happy and wonderful with the world.  It’s not very often that you see Natzis in a musical.  The Stratford Shakespeare Festival has done a wonderful job bring the pre-Nazi era to it’s stage.  The Nazis are even more disturbing in this production as you cannot see their faces, they covered with a black cloth.

I cannot leave this post without talking about another amazing set design by Douglas Paraschuk.  Every time he does a design you know you’re in for a treat and have a lot to take in.  With the simple yet complex design of Cabaret Paraschuk has out done himself.

Cabaret is an amazing production and it was an amazing way to start the start my first season at Stratford. It’s true what the Emcee says to open the show, ” So - life is disappointing? Forget it!  We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful…The girls are beautiful…Even the orchestra is beautiful”

Non-Fiction Five - Book One

As part of the Non-Fiction Five Challenge I decided to start with my latest book obsession…graphic novels.  And my “first selection” was actually it was two books that I read and will be reviewing as one.  Art Spiegelman has been talked about for some time now and particularly his Maus books.  I must add to the growing list of admirers of the Maus stories.

The first book Maus A survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History introduces the reader to the Spiegelman clan and the unique way of tell the story of World War Two.  As many of you are already aware, I’m sure, the Jewish community is represented by mice and the Germans are represented by cats.  With a host of other animals including frogs and pigs.  This first part is all about the Spiegelman’s rise and fall from wealthy shop owners just prior to the second world war.

The second book Maus A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began starts where the second book ends with there entrance into the concentration camps started by the Nazis.  There are parts of the story I found necessary but disturbing.  I don’t there is a better way to tell the story and make it accessible to the masses.  I think this way of telling the story of a Jewish family during the second world war to younger generations because it’s told in a way that they would enjoy.

The World War Two story is intertwined with stories of Art Spiegelman obtaining the details of his mother from his elderly father.  I found the interaction between him and his father just as interesting as the bits about the war.  The starkness of the black and white images are perfect for this tale.  I like to find colour in graphic novels (part of the reason I loved Fables: Legends in Exile so much) because too many of them use only black and white when colour would work just as well.  But for Maus I think the use of colour would be a flaw as you wouldn’t get the same contrast as you do with simple black and white images.

I adored these books so much and would strongly suggest that you read them.  I think this may even be the best graphic novel I’ve read, or it’s at least tied for first with Fables.  The fact that this is really the story of Art Spiegelman’s father helps to make this the splendid story it is.  This is one book, and I don’t usually do this, that is a must read.  Take the first opportunity you can to read these two Maus graphic novels, you won’t regret it.

Even though I don’t usually give a must read to a book I’m sure some of you have a book you would say are must reads, what book would you say is a must read?  Also I want to remind you that if you have read these books please send me an email (thatsthebook@gmail.com) letting me know you’ve read these books and have posted a review of them and the link.  I’ll place the link at the end of this post once I’ve received your email.

The Classics Challenge

Well, I’m so excited about The Classics Challenge I have a few books that I’ve been wanting to read and need to get to. This will definitely help me dive back into the classical book world. I decided not to go into this challenge with a list but let the list build as I go along. There are a couple books that I will definitely read for this challenge. I’ve been reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for a while now and will be using it as one of the books for this challenge. I also plan to read String of Pearls for this challenge. String of Pearls was a find while in Korea, I did talk about it in an earlier post. It’s the story that helped to propel the Sweeney Todd story, it’s actually the first story about Todd that later because a musical, which in turn became a movie staring Depp. Finally I plan to read Moby Dick by Herman Melville the reason I’ve selected this novel is because Stratford Shakespeare Festival is putting on a production of Moby Dick by the same people that did The Overcoat. The other two books will come as I go along.

In the next little while I plan to post reviews on this site of the productions at the Festival as something a little different. I’m a huge fan of the theatre and have read many plays and I thought this would be a way to bring my love of theatre and love of books together.

I look forward to reading these books and the adventures that come with them. Because this is a new foray into literature for me it would be interested to hear from you any books that would be good for me to look into.

Orbis Terrarum Challenge - Germany

Well, this has been long in the works, thanks for everyone that gave me the tips on how to over come my writers block. It feels good to finally be able to sit down and update this site again. I’m almost as behind in my reading as I am in my writing but I hope that will turn around soon.

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is the second novel I read for the Orbis Terarrum Challenge. I’m still really excited about this challenge and it really is helping me to expand my reading, in that I typically only read novels from Canada or America. It was a lot of fun reading something from Germany and reading a genre that I typically don’t read.

This is the story of your typical bluebear growing up in a not so typical way.  Each chapter is dedicated to one of Captain Bluebear’s lives.  The art work by Walter Moers adds to the story, this isn’t a graphic novel but author added his drawings to enhance the tale being told.  The story is full of fanciful characters and the time could be used to describe them is shorted because of the drawings.

The story was good but became very predictable after the first few chapters.  Bluebear would get into difficult situations and when it looked like he wasn’t going to get out of them he did exactly that.  And the escapes were not very practical and made to sound like a simple solution.  Aside from this little fault the book was quite good.  Throughout his travels Bluebear is guided by the Encyclopedia of the Marvels, Life Forms and Other Phenomena of Zamonia and its Environs’ which is being relayed to him in some telepathic way.

In Need of Help!

So, it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted anything here and believe me it’s not for lack of trying.  I seem to have hit a rather large and hard mental block.  I have a lot that I would like to write about it just not coming out.  This is where you can step in and be a hero!  I don’t know how to break this mental block so I would to get ideas of from you.  What do you do when you experience mental blockage?  All you’re tips will of great asset, not only to me but others when they have the same difficulty.

Weekly Geeks #8 - Scavenger Hunt

I’m really excited about this weeks Weekly Geeks challenge. This week we are having a scavenger hunt, what could be more exciting? This is going to take a while to finish this so be sure to keep checking back for updates on the words I’ve found. The link to location of the given word is provided just below the the word. Then the actual sentence with the word(s) is posted below the link and the actual word(s) are bolded in red. 1. (THE PRIZE. Did you find it?)
http://deweymonster.com/?p=771 OhbythewaytheprizeisasubscriptiontoBookmarksmagazinesogolistthatasnumberonenow! AlsothewinnerwillbefeaturedinWeeklyGeeks#10.
2. youtube
http://bybeebooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekly-geeks-5-ive-got-story.html I don’t know who invented youtube, but I like to think that the Universe sat down one day, chin in hand and asked itself: What can I come up with that would make Susan Jackson Bybee deliriously happy? Nice job, Universe…My thank-you note’s in the cosmic mail.
3. war
http://bookworship.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekly-geeks-4-social-issues.html From the cold war to the height of today’s war on terror, groups as dissimilar as armies, religious cults, and advertising agencies have been accused of brainwashing. But what does this mean?
4. Sunday Salon
http://smallworldreads.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekly-geeks-childhood-favorites.html This is a repost of a Sunday Salon post, but it seems appropriate for this week’s Weekly Geeks theme (my first): fond memories of childhood books
5. Buy a Friend a Book
http://melissasbookreviews.blogspot.com/2007/10/hoppin-october.html
If that isn’t enough for you to do… this week is BOTH Buy a Friend a Book Week and Banned Books Week.
6. BTT (or Booking Through Thursday)
http://justaddbooks.blogspot.com/2008/06/whew-catch-up-on-reviews-week-was-hard.html If you would like to see all of our cats, they’re in this post here: http://justaddbooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/booking-through-thursday.html
7. omnibus
http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/weekly-geeks-and-a-blogging-meme/ I just spent ten minutes doing an internet search, and it turns out it’s a trilogy called The Year of the Cat by Zoe Daniels; my friend had an omnibus edition.
8. Speculative fiction
http://eft.fabglitter.org/blog/?p=114 I tend to like chick lit, funny fiction, speculative fiction, very personal fiction, and adult non-fiction the best - which is to say that I want things that are either relaxing or exciting to read.
9. Short stories
http://readingandmorereading.blogspot.com/2008/06/weekly-geeks-7-posting-pictures.html I have found many a poetrt books from here along with history, short stories etc etc.
10. Ani Difranco (or just Ani)
http://boldblueadventure.blogspot.com/2008/05/goose-girl.html Ani is the crown princess of Kildenree.
11. Printz
http://tinyreadingroom.blogspot.com/2008/02/review-looking-for-alaska.html
From the very first page, tension fills John Green’s Michael L. Printz Award-winning novel (Dutton, 2005).
12. Man Booker Prize (or just Booker)
http://rhinoasramblings.blogspot.com/2008/04/blind-assassin-margaret-atwood.html Reason for Reading : Chunkster Challenge, Book Awards Reading Challenge, Man Booker Challenge, I love her other books that I have read
13. Newbery
http://pagenumbered.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/because-im-bored/ Kira-Kira. It won the Newberry one year but I’m not sure who wrote it.
14. Mother Talk
http://deweymonster.com/?p=773
Donated by: Mother Talk
15. interview
http://armenianodar.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/iran-awakening-by-shirin-ebadi/ When I watched that broadcast [an interview Ebadi gave on CNN], aware that it was being beamed around the world, I also realized for the first time that I had become what you might call famous.
16. history
http://www.randomwonder.com/2008/06/black-tower-by-louis-bayard-book.html The Black Toweris both an alternate history and suspense story, spinning an imagined tale where France’s lost dauphin, Louis XVII, survived his tower imprisonment.
17. glbt (or any other arrangement of those letters, or with a q in there)
http://karinlibrarian.wordpress.com/triple-8-reading-challenge/
8 GLBT Teen Novels
18. fantasy
http://jlshall.blogspot.com/2008/06/grannys-wonderful-fairy-tales.html And one thing my home library tour has made me realize is just how much my youthful reading was dominated by fantasy and folk or fairy tales.
19. film
http://www.caribousmom.com/2008/06/14/the-kite-runner-book-review/ The Kite Runner has been banned by the Afghan government because of a rape scene of a young boy and the ethnic tensions that the film highlights. 20. giraffe
http://blog.mawbooks.com/2008/02/23/the-no-1-ladies-detective-agency-by-alexander-mccall-smith/ This is the first book in the series and I plan on reading the rest of the titles which are (mainly for my benefit): Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, The Full Cupboard of Life, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Blue Shoes and Happiness, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, and The Miracle at Speedy Motors.
21. biography
http://notenoughbookshelves.blogspot.com/2008/06/thirteeth-tale.html Vida hires Margaret to write her official biography, an event the world has been waiting for as Vida is incredible secretive about her past, telling different tales to a variety of interviews.
22. Geraldine Brooks
http://bottle-of-shine.livejournal.com/279973.html The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year went to March, a novel by Geraldine Brooks, published by Viking.
23. graphic novels
http://chainletters.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/the-sandman-the-dolls-house/ As part of the Graphic Novels Challenge, this post was cross-blogged here.
24. classics
http://katrinasreads.blogspot.com/2008/05/classics-challenge-july-dec-2008.html Trish has set up The Classics Challenge - yet another challenge that I can’t resist!
25. faerie
http://justareadingfool.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/stardust/ The catch: he has to cross a stone barrier into the land of Faerie and battle others, including a witch, who believes the heart of the star will give her and her sisters their youth back, and brothers, who believe that whichever gets the star will become lord of the kingdom in which they live.
26. Amelie
http://karinlibrarian.wordpress.com/2007/09/18/midnight-alley-by-rachel-caine/ Everyone should be safe now that she has signed a contract with Amelie.
27. doo doo doo
28. 24 Hour Read-a-thon
http://joystory.blogspot.com/2008/06/lets-get-together-read-read-read.html Dewey has scheduled another 24 Hour Read-a-thon! 29. etsy
http://www.clareswindlehurst.com/bookreviews/2008/04/26/weekly-geeks-discover-new-blogs-week/ Chris writes her blog at book-a-rama and it’s full of great reviews and cute etsy finds.
30. poetry
http://justareadingfool.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/weekly-geeks-7-part-1/ Top shelves are mostly hardcovers with a few exceptions; second shelves, American authors; third shelves, poetry; fourth shelves, international authors (primarily though British) and bottom left shelf where cat (who looks sort of demonic with the flash in his eyes, doesn’t he?) is is nonfiction of various kinds.
31. Bookmooch
http://stuffasdreamsaremadeon.com/2008/06/07/weekly-geeks-7-and-stuff/ The other six all came from bookmooch and quite a few have been recommended by you bloggers!
32. del.icio.us
33. R.E.M.
34. Bookworms Carnival
http://armenianodar.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/may-bookworms-carnival-and-some-more/ The May edition of the Bookworms Carnival is up over at Scooter Chronicles.
35. library
http://web.mac.com/cymraeg_ddewines/Welsh_Witch/Merry_Meet.html The Library holds a complete list of the books I read and review while embarking on my wonderful journey into the great book.
36. Lost (must refer to the TV series)
http://jellyjules.com/?p=515 But when Lost is on, I must watch, no matter how dumb it gets.
37. Six Feet Under
http://jellyjules.com/?p=515
That’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weeds, Six Feet Under, Dead Like Me, so many great shows on HBO or Showtime, that we watch at our leisure, because we don’t have to watch them on TV.
38. ReadingAnimals (I’m featuring her because I feel bad that I can’t figure out how to comment at her blog.)
http://readinganimals.com/
39. hedgehog
http://blbooks.blogspot.com/2007/12/picture-book-parade.html
Anderson, Lena. 2007. Hedgehog, Pig, and the Sweet Little Friend.
40. pregnant
http://thewrittenword.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/the-friday-night-knitting-club-a-giveaway/ Having had her heart broken by Dakota’s father James while still pregnant, Georgia was left to find her own way to make a living and support her family.
41. nosebleed (or nose bleed)
http://estellasrevenge.blogspot.com/2006/06/happy-belated-birthday-hugh-and-one.html “The problem is one part of the brain is doing it, and the other part is listening all the time. Something like ‘coronary artery’ gives me a nosebleed.
42. 42 (No, that’s not a mistake; number 42 is to find the digit 42.)
http://the-iceberg.blogspot.com/2008/05/challenges-progress.html 5 / 12 titles. 42% done!
43. herding cats
http://jlshall.blogspot.com/2008/04/another-challenge-342745-ways-to-herd.html
LABELS: HERDING CATS CHALLENGE, READING, READING CHALLENGES
44. Django Reinhardt
45. A.S. Byatt
http://stuffasdreamsaremadeon.com/2008/06/07/weekly-geeks-7-and-stuff/ Possession by A.S. Byatt - Nymeth is the main reason for me getting this one though I know that many have read and loved this one.
46. Homer
http://bookchronicle.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/the-penelopiad-by-margaret-atwood/ I was particularly interested in this one as my own experience with Homer’s The Odyssey left much to be desired. (The next three are suggestions from my son.)
47. ROFL
48. cheezburger (must be spelled with Z!)
http://the-iceberg.blogspot.com/2008/06/cat-etiquette.html For your Monday enjoyment from I Can Has Cheezburger.
49. d20
http://deweymonster.com/?page_id=686
http://lh5.ggpht.com/dewpie/SBvIuGHlY5I/AAAAAAAABq0/eLWd20mjJs0

50.-?: Each participant gets to put one keyword in the comments, so keep coming back to check on them if you’re trying for the prize!

51. Little Critter
http://blog.mawbooks.com/2008/06/20/our-trip-to-the-hospital-book-recommendations-for-kids-headed-there/
When Little Critter breaks his leg in a soccer game, he has to make his first trip to the hospital.
52. translation or translated
http://age30books.blogspot.com/2008/04/suite-francaise.html
It could be the translation, or it could be how it was written, I can’t say either way. But it didn’t keep my attention the way I hoped it would.
53. dumpster(s)
http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2008/05/felicity-young-west-australian-author.html
The disappearance of an 11 year old girl, and the eventual finding of her body in a dumpster, brings Monty and Stevie, already lovers and parents of six year old Izzy, together into a joint operation directed by Monty.
54. Orson Scott Card
http://stuffasdreamsaremadeon.com/2008/03/29/the-blue-girl-by-charles-de-lint/
I’m beginning to put Charles de Lint right up there with Orson Scott Card and Neil Gaiman as one of my favorite authors after reading The Blue Girl.
55. tite kubo
56. Pavement!
http://writingchaosthatisme.blogspot.com/2008/02/so-melancholly-grows.html
Lets walk again our promised road,
yellow pavement we forever followed sedated,
but look the color is gone, the yellow has faded
along with our dreams on pages outdated.
57. magic realism
http://alessandrasplace.blogspot.com/2008/05/book-review-garden-spells.html
This was an enchanting book–full of magical realism.
58. search - and the search bar login thingy that every blog has doesn’t count.
http://www.literaryescapism.com/2008/03/09/90/
I know it’s fairly easy to find them since all you have to do is type their name in the search bar, but my list is there for people who are maybe trying to find someone new or can’t remember how to spell someone’s name.
59. nerdfighter(s)
http://confuzzledbooks.blogspot.com/2008/06/claudia-and-sad-good-bye-babysitters.html
This was done last year of course and they still vlog at the Nerdfighters Site.
60. summer
http://zetor-mogsblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/month-of-june.html
“It’s beautiful the Summer month of June
When all of God’s own wildflowers are in bloom
And sun shines brightly most part of the day
And butterflies o’er lush green meadows play.
61. Amish
http://smallworldreads.blogspot.com/2008/06/booking-through-thursday-clubbing.html
We were discussing the most dreadful book: Crossing Over: One Woman’s Escape from the Amish Life.
62. ARC
http://agirlwalksintoabookstore.blogspot.com/2008/06/review-tea-rose-by-jennifer-donnelly.html
(we do find out in the next book, but it won’t be published until next year; I only know because I’ve been reading an ARC of The Winter Rose).

Booking Through Thursday #14 - Clubs

Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (ot, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?

Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?

These are some really great questions.  Heidi and Litlove have asked these questions.

I’ve been a member of a couple of book clubs.  The majority of books were selected by group consensus.  I’m also currently part of an online book club that I started that has the book selected by me with assistance from the other members which provide options for books they would like to group to read.  I have found that the discussion portion of the two “physical” book clubs were minimal, and that came about because there was really no distinct leader when it came to discussion.

The second part of this weeks Booking Through Thursday struck me as quite interesting.  I don’t find that my enjoyment of a book alters because it’s read as part of a group or because I selected it on my own free will.   It is the book that speaks for itself.  If the book is good I’ll enjoy it regardless of why it’s being read and the same with a bad book.  The reason I’m reading doesn’t affect my thoughts on the book.  On the other hand it will affect my finishing a book.  If I don’t enjoy a book I’m more likely to finish a book I’m not enjoying if I’m reading it for a book club or for one my book challenges.

Weekly Geeks #6 - Missed Reviews Part 1

Alright, as I mentioned in an earlier post this week I said I wanted to use this week to catch up on reviews. This is last weeks task for Weekly Geeks, as I’m sure you all know already, but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to do some reviews that I haven’t yet done. I will be doing these reviews individually, like I do all my reviews, I want to give each book is due. It is important to give each book the time it deserves and that is why I’m not about to group a bunch of books together in a single post, the books I have time to review will be reviewed individually. There are two books in particular that I want to review so I’ll start with one today and get to another at another date.

On the other hand I don’t think I’ll be getting this weeks (7) Weekly Geeks done as I don’t have a functioning camera right now. I left a vital cord in Korea so I won’t be able to put photos on my camera. If I can borrow a camera from someone I’ll do it but I’m not really expecting that to happen right now.

The first review I wanted to do was for The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn. This was a book that I wanted to read for an extremely long time, I already know what the scarlet letter was, but I never got around to it. I finally downloaded a mp3 audio-book and listened to it while still in Korea. There is something about listening to classics because they were written to be heard. I really enjoyed listening to the book on my new iPod touch.

I’m sure you all the story so I wont give you a synopsis of the book. There were a few things that I really loved about this book. The first was the glimpse into the past that it gives us. The concept of being forced to wear a letter on your clothing that identifies you as a criminal. Everyone in the two would know of the crime committed just because of that bright scarlet letter. The second aspect of the book I loved was how courageous Hester Prynne is. She could have tried to cover up her letter or move into seclusion because of it but she continued to be a functioning member of society.

The only downside that I found, and it could have been because I was listening to the book and not actually reading it, was that there was too much verbal diarrea. The copious amount of verbiage used instead of getting right to the point. It was easy to miss the point of what the author was trying to get across because of the amount of words used. And I find that that happens in many classics, at least the ones that I read. But this is not something that should discourage anyone from reading the book because the story is fascinating.

I’ll be publishing a review of Mail Order Bride by Mark Kalesniko. Also as a reminder to all reads of That’s the Book you can send an email to thatsthebook@gmail.com if you have reviewed this or anything else that I’ve reviewed on this site and I’ll post a link at the end of the post for others to see what you’ve said.

Christina from book-a-rama sent me this link:
http://chris-book-a-rama.blogspot.com/2008/01/scarlet-letter-review.htm

Booking Through Thursday #13 - Trends

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

The simple, and perhaps obvious answer, is yes!  My habits tend to fluctuate regularly, not only in what I read but in how much I read.  This past month has been a bad month, and I know I’ve said this time and time again on here but it’s here again.  I seem to have readers block now, for some reason i cannot get into anything I’m reading or try to read.  I hope this passes soon because it’s getting really annoying.

As for what I read I tend to go back and forth between fiction and non-fiction.  Right now I’m reading a lot of graphic novels, and loving them.  I’m not sure what it is about this genre but I cannot seem to get enough of them.  These are the only things I can seem to get read, maybe because they are quick.  I should also say that each one I pick up seems to be substantially greater than the last.

I generally read things that get me thinking but there are times, and I’m sure we all have them, that I need something that is mind numbing.  This happens every few months, it’s usually at this time that I read something easy and can get right back into my usual reading.  As I’ve said before, it’s not working this time around.

I keep trying to challenge myself to read something different to, because there is nothing I hate more than getting into a rut.  In my desire to push the so called envelope I’ve joined a number of challenges.  These often force me to keep me reading and finishes things I don’t even like.  so, I’m starting to feel the pull to get more read these days.  I hope things change soon.

Orbis Terrarum Challenge Meme

As part of the festivities for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge we’ve been asked to participate in this meme. I’ve had the chance to see what some others have had to say. I’m not really sure I have much I can say here because I’ve joined the challenge to help expand my reading of other nations, because I really haven’t done much of that.

1. What country do you always go back to in your travels (not just while reading for OT)?

Since taking Canadian Literature I’ve been fascinated with the writing from this country.  I’ve found that I want to read all I can from this country and as a result have participated in the Canadian Book Challenge.  Being involved in that particular challenge has helped me expand my CanLit knowledge.

2. If you could visit 4 of the countries you have read about in your life (that you haven’t been to yet), which would they be and why? (you can also include the book that makes you want to visit if you remember)

This is one of the more difficult questions, one I may have to return to after the challenge is over.  There are a number of countries I’d like to travel to but not because I’ve read any of their literature.  There are a couple of books that have helped to feed the travel bug.  An Appointment with my Brother by Yi Mun-Yol, despite that it takes place in China and South Korea has made me want to venture to the norther part of the the Korean peninsula.  The story is about the meeting two brothers meeting after having been separated by the Korean war.  I’ve already been to the Southern part but the north is of more interest and has been of more interest for quite sometime, the book has made the urges to visit that particular country stronger.

The other book that was What is the What by Dave Eggers.  I’ve always wanted to travel to the African continent but What is the What has encouraged it.  Africa has always ad a place in my heart and hope to travel there one day.  There are a few specific countries that I’d like to go to but given the number that I’d like to go to I wont list them here.

Australia is a country I’ve also wanted to travel to, I think this is the one place I’ve always wanted to travel to more than anything.  I’ve never read anything from here but would love to.  I think I get more enjoyment from reading something that is familiar to me though.  I find a book that talks about a place I’ve been more interesting because I can picture the places better.  The best example of this would be Spadework by Timothy Findley.

3. Have you ever dreamed about a country you have read about, that you have not actually traveled to - except in your dreams?

No, this has never happened.  Then again I don’t remember many of my dreams so I guess it could have happened but I don’t remember.

4. In what ways has reading about different countries opened up your perspective about global issues?

My perspective on global issues has dictated my reading habits sometimes but I cannot think of global issues being affected because of my reading.  If anything my reading of other countries has expanded my knowledge of a particular issue.  I’m not sure if this is due to my need to expand what I read or that I’m already quite aware of global issues.

5. What countries have you felt your judgment was off about - after reading about that nation?

I wouldn’t say my judgment of a nation has been altered because of what I’ve read.  Maybe my judgment of a writer or genre has changed.

6. Which is your favorite book that you would recommend for this challenge (you don’t have to read it during the challenge)?

The one book that I would recommend for this challenge would be Dave Eggers’ What is the What.  There are many aspects of the novel that I loved and I’ve already reviewed the book so I wont go a lot into a review.  The book is fascinating because it deals with the lost boys and the hardships they have gone through in order to get freedom and feel safe.  It’s a book that is very difficult to put down.

7. Anything else you’ve been wanting to tell us about? Let us have it!

I’ve enjoyed this challenge so far, it’s expanding what I read and I’m finding some great literature from other nations.  It’ll be interesting to do this meme again once the challenge is over to see how answers change due to the challenge.