Hi Pedln,

When I went back to school, to college and received my degree, as soon as I could I took two African-American Literature classes. I felt so happy to see those courses offered. In these classes, I read Richard Wright's books, some Jean Toomer and other authors. Thank you for the compliment.

Foreign authors are a weak point at my local library, except for those that become well know and popular here, like Allende. Of the three writers HATS just discussed, I find only Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Ah, well, if I find others I really, really want to read, I can go farther afield or try interlibrary loans. Libraries are so helpful that way.

Babi

I've read "Things fall apart" and it is a good book. But it is about an Africa that is gone now. Since I know so little about Africa, I would rather read a more modern book.

I agree with Traude re. he importance of the work of Richard Wright and James Baldwin. Wright's NATIVE SON gave me needed insights into what it was like growing up AA in America. Baldwin's THE FIRE NEXT TIME was downright scary to me...a wake-up call like Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech.

Babi

Yes, Coetzee did move to live here in Australia in 2002. He lives and works in Adelaide, South Aust. and is associated with the university there as an Honorary Research Fellow in the English Dept.

Am not sure what the initial 'M' stands for - Michael Maxwell and Maximillian? - I've seen them all, but I rather think it is Michael.

He has a broad background not only in the writing and teaching of English Literature but in Maths and Computer Studies as well - he once worked for IBM in London.

He has an Afrikaaner heritage. His first novella (published with another as 'Dusklands') deals with one of his 18th century forebears, a Boer pioneer named Jacobus Coetzee. It's about exploration and conquest and their inherent agression and resulting imperialism.

J.M. Coetzee is a great read, very compelling, very moving. Love him.

Traude and Gumtree, thank you!

Traude Yes Maxwell is favoured by most sources though the Cambridge Guide to Lit in English goes with Michael as do a couple of other refs I've seen. Wonder if it matters???

Haitian author

Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat sounds like a remarkable young woman, HATS. Most of her themes, tho', sound difficult to read, ..that is, featuring sad and horrible events. Which ones have you read, and what did you think of them?

Babi

I have read Breath, Eyes and Memory. Babi, I think most of the book themes from third world countries are sad simply because of the poverty, dictatorships, lack of education. It takes a stalwart spirit to decide reading about these countries, not always pretty stories. The people living in these countries, like the people living through war in Iraq, are true survivors. They have great lessons to give to us.

I have read many books of that type, HATS, most of them when I was younger. I am less likely to do so now. I often feel there is so much tragedy these days just in the daily news, that I don't really want to read about more. Which may be why I read so much 'escapist' literature, the mysteries and sci-fi, and the period pieces.

Babi

Babi, I see what you are saying. It's a matter of where we are in life. In my earlier life, I loved escapist literature. Now, I like a different type of material. We are all gaining from what we choose to read just in different ways and maybe different ideas that we wish to gain.

I recently read the house of paper by Uruguayian author Carolos Maria Dominguez.

the house of paper

Amazon is cool because you can look inside the book.

Also just today finished Depths by Henninng Mankell,trans the Swedish author & translator, Laurie Thomson. This was absolutely riveting. I've enjoyed his other novels/detective stories.

Depths

Notable is his detective series featuring Kurt Wallender.

I really liked it, thought is was a very unique novel. Very short. I don't think it would merit a whole month's discussion - probably a week's discussion would serve it well.

Mrs. Sherlock, I have started Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It's a wonderful book. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie owns a powerful talent. She is so young, twenty nine years old.

Dear friends, when you recommend a writer from another country, culture, language, would you please identify the place of the writer's origin? It helps in various ways, for instance makes it easier to figure out which is the first name, which is the family name, as the order varies from one culture to another.

I am glad there are other admirers of Edwidge Danticat here -- I've been a devoted reader of her work since "Breath, Eyes, Memory", each new novel still better than the previous one. I think she should be a nominee for a Nobel Prize in Literature, young though she is.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria, Africa.

Nigeria

Africa is much in my thoughts these days. I am enjoying the African stories I have read and want to read more.

Mrs. Sherlock, I have an intense interest in Africa too. I am being drawn to it. I feel much of my summer is going to be spent in Africa.

I am very new to SeniorNet and just happened upon this discussion group. I looked at the map at the top of the page and I have read several of the books listed there and would love to discuss them. How does this group work? Do you do one book at a time beginning with Afghanistan. Where are you now? I read the posts but they did not seem to provide any answer to how this discussion group works. Thank you.

Lizabeth

WELCOME, ELIZABETH!

PEDLIN, the discussion leader here, will be along shortly to explain all. Meanwhile, I will simply remark that books from authors around the world are propsed for discussion here, and if enough persons are interested, a separate location is set up for the discussion itself. The discussions, IMO, add so much to my understanding and pleasure in the books.

Babi

Thank you.

WELCOME, WELCOME LIZABETH. Which books have you read? Would you like to recommend one?

When I checked out previous books that you have discussed, I saw that you had discussed the books I have already read: My Name is Red, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and The Kite Runner. Oh well...So no recommendations because I don't know any of the others. By the way, I adored My Name is Red.

Thanks for asking.

Lizabeth

"My Name is Red" was very popular here, Lizsabeth. Most of the previous discussions are on file, if you would like to read them. Pedlin can tell you where to find them; I'm not sure myself.

Babi

The book discussions that have been completed are in the Archives.

Here are the links to those you've mentioned:

"Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie 1/06

The Bone People by Keri Hulme 6/05

The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri 8/06

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 4/05

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco 8/05

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 10/05

My Name is Red by Orham Pamuk 3/06

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry 10/06

Jane, thank you so much for the links. The discussions were in such depth that I would have to reread the book to be able to truly appreciate them. I am delighted to see evidence of the quality of the conversations here. Often what I see in book clubs is more of the "I liked this book because..." variety. That is obviously not the case here.

What book will you be discussing next? Or is a conversation going on and I am missing it somewhere on the site?

Lizabeth

Lizabeth: If you go out to the Main Books menu page,

Books and Literature Main Menu page click here

you'll see the current discussions that are underway. They are:

Brideshead Revisited click here which is now finishing up the book and then will discuss the DVD for about a week

The Red and the Black click here that is continuing from our Great Books area

Story of Civilization click here that has been an ongoing project to work through the Durant volumes.

Coming on June 4 is a new discussion: Seven Sisters click here by Margaret Drabble.

Since this one will be beginning next Monday, you might wish to get the book at your Library and come join us there for a discussion from the beginning. You can read the "prediscussion" at the link I gave above.

We have one book that is up as "proposed" for August. [It's awaiting people to commit to the discussion so that we know there's a group who wants to discuss it before we say there will be a book discussion.

That's here: "Luncheon Of The Boating Party by Susan Vreeland ~ Proposed for August 1" click here which I believe you've already found.

There is also another in the works, probably for July, but it hasn't been put out yet as a proposed. Keep tuned to that main Books page above for its appearance.

jane

Welcome, Lisabeth. We're glad to have you here. And thank you Jane and Babi, for answering Lisabeth's questions about Read ARound the World. Jane, your links are helpful to all of us. Many thanks.

Lisabeth, you asked, in another discussion, how we go about choosing books to discuss on Seniornet, and Joan Grimes very aptly explained-- In the heading of a propsed book discussion you will find at the bottom in small print the process -- To be scheduled for discussion on SeniorNet's Books, a book must have a Books Discussion Leader who has committed to leading the discussion and a quorum (minimum of 3 although the Discussion Leader may ask for a higher number.) And that's the way it is for any book, whether it is one suggested in the Book Nook, or one that has been voted on here at RATW or in Great Books or Houseboat, etc.

RATW came into being a few years ago as a discussion that would alert us to books written and published in other countries that we might not hear about in the US or Great Britain. At the time we developed some rather ambitious, perhaps restrictive, guidelines, which may need some revision (see the link in the heading.) But the main purpose has certainly been achieved, as I think we have become acquainted with a variety of writers which we may not have met otherwise.

My apologies in being so late in welcoming you. I've just returned from a visit to a daughter in Manhattan and am slowly recouping. It must have been all those stairs to her 3rd floor apartment. . A wonderful visit, including a big screen foreign film (rare in my town) -- German --Lives of Others. I believe it recently received an Oscar as Best Foreign FIlm. Well worth it. It's a little slow in the beginning, but then becomes very engrossing.

LIZABETH: yes, reading archived discussions is nothing like participating live. Nothing new is proposed for June, but a July book is going up under "proposed" in a few days. If you're interested in "The Boating Party" join the pre-discussion. they are often as interesting as the discussion.

If you like history or art, join us in "The Story of Civilization". We are talking about Italian rulers and art.

To join a discussion in the middle, go into it, read the heading, then click "last" in the line that contains "next" and "previous". You'll get the last few posts. Don't hesitate to jump right in -- people do it all the time.

Pedin writes: I've just returned from a visit to a daughter in Manhattan and am slowly recouping. It must have been all those stairs to her 3rd floor apartment

How very funny. I live in Manhattan on the third floor of a walk-up too!!!

Lizabeth

Very funny, Lizabeth. In another discussion you mentioned having been that week to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and I wondered if you lived in NY. I was there the week before you were, but only in the new Greek and Roman galleries. My last NY visit was 41 years ago, when I was pregnant with the daughter who now lives there -- on the lower East Side, just south of Houston.

I was just there for my second visit on Wednesday. I was fortunate enough to hear a wonderful gallery talk. The first time I was a bit overwhelmed by the exhibit and used the audioguide to get me focused. There is an amazing article in the NY Times which provides a multimedia tour of the exhibit on the second page of the article. I tried to post the link into the message here a few minutes agao and then lost the message. I am going to try again. It is so worth it.

The Greek and Roman Galleries -- Classical Treasures, Bathed in a New Light
Made into a link.

I hope it works this time.

Lizabeth

A great link, LIZABETH. It allows one to move around and explore w/o all the walking.

Babi

Lizabeth, great article. I just finished reading it. I intend to reread it. Thank you for sharing it. What a wonderful exhibit to visit. I would love to visit the Met. I imagine it's very, very huge. How long did it take just to go through the Greek and Roman exhibits?

That article is a keeper, Lizabeth. Thanks for putting it up. Hats, when I went to the Metropolitan with my daughters two weeks ago we got there just a little over two hours before closing. I spent the whole time in the Greek and Roman galleries, and I know I didn't do justice to them.. Some places I lingered, but others I passed too quickly. I took a lot of pictures, but could find only a small piece of paper in my purse to write what I was photographing, and have yet to match up the words and photos.

Pedln, I bet you had a wonderful time. I would love to see the Greek and Roman exhibit. Some museums won't allow photographing. I guess you should ask before going. It's good you were able to take photographs. I hope you can show the photos to us.

First of all is there a book pick for this group for June?

Secondly, I am currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. Is it permissible to discuss it here?

I am still learning the rules since I am new.

Lizabeth

I can't wait to read this book. I would love to read it in a group discussion. I will never forget The Kite Runner. I have heard this book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is just as memorable.

I think A Thousand Splendid Suns would be a wonderful book to read with this group!

Hi Laura D.

Summer is not yet official, but many of us are already feeling the heat and are well-aware that lazy days are just ahead. This is not an international best seller or a RATW selection, but JoanK and I hope that you will join us in July as we relax and read a proposed novel that cuts across countries and cultures in many ways.

What can feel more like summer than lying in a hammock or sitting on the front porch with a tall glass of lemonade, leisurely reading a good book. JoanK and I have found one that's perfect for those lazy afternoons -- Anne Tyler's Digging to America -- her delightful novel about two families who each adopt a baby girl from Korea. One family is Iranian-American, the other borderline supermom (and dad)-American, who, along with their extended families find that they all have many cultural likenesses and differences. We both hope you'll come by and say you'll join us in July for this fun read. Digging to America

So far, I'm enjoying "Digging to America" a lot. The early part says a lot about friendship across cultural lines, and trying to adapt to a strange culture. But it's light enough that if you're going to travel in July, you can miss some and catch up easily.

Hi Hats! I think I am following you around!

I read Digging to America about a year ago and loved it. I won't be available for book discussions in July, but I encourage all interested to read the book. You will not be disappointed!

I have read it too. I loved it. I will not join the discussion. If I have read a book too long ago, I feel discomfort in a discussion. I love Anne Tyler.

"I was brought up on the farm in the bush, which was the best thing that happened, it was just a wonderful childhood. One of my most formative experiences was listening to my mother playing Beethoven and Chopin on the piano and listening to the drums playing in the compound: two kinds of music playing together. And as a child I didn't see any reason why they shouldn't be played together, you had to be much older to understand that African drums and Chopin weren't really a part of the same phenomenon"

Doris Lessing

So I guess my question has been answered. The next read for this group is Digging to America. Thank you. I think I should be able to do this. I have to be careful not to sign on for too many books. I am in another book club, my "home group" and also participate in some of the Barnes & Noble forums, so I sometimes overwhelm myself inadvertently.

Lizabeth

Lizabeth, don't worry. We have something very much in common. I always overwhelm myself here at Seniornet. It is a joy. Just stay the way you are with "so many books and so little time."

Lizabeth, the proposed book for July is not a Read Around the World Selection or a Houseboat selection or Great Books or any specific selection. It just evolved (as do many proposed books) as a lazy light summer read, to relieve the summer doldrums (so to speak). I hope you will join us. And in the meantime, please continue to share with us the books you have been reading around the world.

What an interesting quote (Lessing), Hats. You have a real knack for picking up on things that get right to the point.

It's a lazy day here -- still in pj's and know I must get out to clean up the front porch. (Don't count on it.) But with no real demands it's fun to browse through the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Cynthia Crossen is on my WSJ personal page and she has just finished saying that summer is the time to read multi-paged classics; leave beach books for the winter. (Don't pay any attention to her ) But I love this quote -- from her and Emily Dickinson.

Summer is the season when you can travel through time and space while sitting still. As Emily Dickinson wrote, "There is no Frigate like a Book/To take us Lands away." I'm off to Russia.

Crossen plans to read Tolstoy's War and Peace

For those of you who subscribe to the WSJ, here is the link to her article. Cythina Crossen

Pedln, I don't subscribe to Wall Street Journal. I am anxious to read the article you have linked us to by Cythina Crossen. I love that quote from Emily Dickinson's poem. It is another one of my favorites about books. Thanks for sharing it.

By the way, there is nothing like a day or so in pj's with no thoughts of responsibilities or thoughts of responsibilities we choose to ignore. Enjoy.

Cythina Crossen' article is great. It's very inspiring making me want to reach higher in my reading goals.

I have finished Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. It is a book filled with people I will never forget. I know the characters are only falsely named for "real" people in Biafra/Nigeria during 1967-70. These people lived under unhumane conditions. The horrors are unbelievable and yet true. I will remember the people because of their will to survive, their great and everlasting love for one another and because of their love of Africa. Great thanks to Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche.

LIZABETH: if you're interested in "Digging to America", come on to the "proposed discussion" website and let us know. Click here:

DIGGING TO AMERICA PROPOSED FOR JULY

We put up a proposal a month before, and see if enough people are interested to make a good discussion.

It's hard to plan for serious books in the Summer, because so many people have vacation plans. That's why the upcoming books are all on the light side. A RATW book (written by someone who is not American) will probably be proposed sometime in the fall, depending on the Discussion leaders' schedule. Meanwhile, Ann Tyler is married to an Iranian, so we hope her description of Iranian-Americans and intercultural friendships are based on experience.

Lizabeth--I'm waiting to hear if "Suns" is any good. Could you just kind of whisper it?

I am having some problems with it. I think I can say this without spoiling it. It is about life in Afghanistan. I guess that is general enough. It is filled with unrelenting violence. I am not sure that much violence is necessary for the author to make his point. I think it becomes numbing after a while.I would therefore recommend it with reservation.

Lizabeth

I think I need to qualify my previous post.

The ending of the book is very hopeful and uplifting...if you can get through all the violence.

Lizabeth, my understanding, and you probably know more about it, is that the author wrote this title after a recent visit to Afghanistan, whereas he had written The Kite Runner before travelling to the country of his youth.

Thank you, L. I'd purchased a number of used popular detective mysteries in a series (by Jas W. Hall) highly recommended in a local paper. When I read the first quarter of one, I realized I'd made a mistake because of the "unrelenting" violence, to borrow your word.

I'm sure many women are attracted to the lovely title "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and then dislike the violence, especially now that it's in the big box stores.

I'll cross that off my list. Thank you.

I'm not interested in reading another book about Afghanistan right now. I was hoping we could decide on a book about Africa; there is such a rich store to choose from. Or South America which I have read little of.

Oh I don't think this group is considering reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was just reading it and shared that and then I received some posts asking my opinion. I know Barnes & Noble is featuring it in their book forums I believe for September with the author present. (Or is it for August? Not sure.

I agree with Mrs. Sherlock. Why is it so difficult to come up with a titled book about Africa? There are so many books to choose from about that continent. By not reading about certain countries, in our minds we deny their existence.

I think the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns will be at the B&N on line book forums in August.

I would have to nominate Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for an African book. I have it, but haven't read it yet. I know Hats has finished it. It is supposed to be very good.

Libya is another country we haven't read about yet. I posted an interview with the author writing the Libyian novel. No one posted about it. It might have been missed. I know it's easy to miss every link placed here. I think the book is A Country of Old Men. I might have the title wrong. It is a very interesting interview.

I know it's hard for the DL's to get to every country. It takes time. We, the readers, get excited. It just takes time. We will get to Guatemala and all the other countries. I am sure of it. We just have to stick around and not forget our Read Around The World goal. It's such a great goal learning about other cultures realizing that no culture is superior to the other culture. Each country is just progressing at a different rate of speed.

Hats: You've stated it very nicely: Each country is just progressing at a different rate of speed. Reminds me of the saying about immigrants: America's population is all immigrants; they just came here on different boats.

Mrs. Sherlock, I love that quote. I am going to write it down.

Have any of you read 'Anil's Ghost' by Michael Ondaatje? I haven't read it. Any recommendations?

Anil's Ghost"

Just finished "Thousand Suns" and enjoyed it more than the "Kite Runner." Afghanistan is a violent country especially for women. I believe it is a story of survival -- the story of many women who have lived with war in their country.

Has anyone read Andre Brink's books?

Cindy

ANDRE BRINK - No I haven't read him but I did TRY recently to read his Devil's Valley but didn't finish it. It deals with an isolated community where religion & depravity flourish side by side,and where inbreeding takes a heavy toll. It no doubt has profound things to say but was not for me. Has put me off trying anything else by him although I probably will. In some ways his writing is very compelling.

No, I haven't read Andre Brink's books either. Are there any recommended titles?

I found the comment about enjoying A Thousand Splendid Suns interesting. I felt the book was very difficult to read. The violence was relentless. Now I have just finished reading Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian which is also very violent but the violence in A Thousand Splendid Suns is of a totally different nature. I found it and therefore the book really upsetting. I read The Kite Runner also but it was not upsetting in the same way. I know the author wanted to make a point about the lives of women in Afghanistan but I thought he made it with a hammar,

Lizabeth, I haven't heard about Blood Meridian. You seem to think it's worth reading. I think 'The Kite Runner' is an unforgettable book. I had to keep reminding myself it wasn't nonfiction. I haven't read A Thousand Splendid Suns yet.

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns today. Couldn't put it down. I must say, the characters and story, although filled with violence, seemed very realistic to me considering what we have seen on the news about Afghanistan.

Thanks, Hats. I'm looking forward to that movie. What a story! I will never forget the character Sohrab. I don't think I've ever cried as much over a book as I did while reading Kite Runner. I wonder if the movie will do the book justice.

Marni, I hope the movie is good. I believe it's going to be very difficult for the movie to surpass the book. I can't wait to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. You really beat me to the punch there.

I'm wanting to read the Kite Runner however there are many holds on it before me........same with his Suns.

I have Kite Runner now - what an astounding novel and then filled with ugly/sad events in addition to the beauty. Glad y'all spoke of it.

Hats, thanks for the link to Andre Brink. I'd never heard of him before, but had heard of the movie A Dry White Season, although I haven't seen it. He appears to be very respected in the literary world.

And thanks, too, for that great CSM about the Kite Runner actress. I'm really looking forward to the film (release date Nov. 2), and just hope it doesn't get to be a political issue. It seems unbelievable that the Afghan performers were paid so little, and I can understand why they could be upset. That issue seems like a "no win" for Dreamworks -- they'd be accused of flaunting Western greed if they paid going American wages, yet highly critizised if they don't.

Have you all been to the New SeniorNet Site ?

HOld you mouse over Community and click on Discussions. That will get you into the practice sites, in preparation for the actual move to the New SItes on Sept. 1. This site will be part of the new site, a book discussion, just like it is now -- Read Around the World. What we may want to discuss between now and then, and also when we open afresh, is the direction we want RATW to take.

More on that later. In the meantime, please do visit the new site. I know many of you have already been there.

I'm so glad you've posted the link about the movie the Kite Runner. Now that I see the movie won't be out until November I'll have time to read the book first. MarjV let us know how you find the book too, please.

Marni, I'll have to read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" after Kite...I am really interested in Afghanistan--and these books, although painful to the readers, keep us aware of the pain of the Afghan people. Allie (a.k.a. Alliemae)

Hi, Allie! I like your new name! You will love these Hosseini books. But, have a kleenex handy. I cried my eyes out.

Sniff, sniff!

Allie, I like your new name, too. You will like Kite Runner, but as you say, it will be painful. My 14-year-old granddaughter just finished it -- she had to read one "international" book for her summer reading, and that was her choice.

JoanK -- Happy Birthday to you and your twin. And sniff, sniff, too, because we have to wait until November for the Kite Runner movie. And even longer for The Namesake. That release date hasn't even been announced.

But was has been announced and is ready and waiting for us is the new site for this discussion. So please click the link below and let's all get together at the new site.

Read Around the World

Yes, as I worked on even more 'becoming' of myself over the summer, I refined my love of languages, thus the name.

I do want to thank whoever posted the link "A movie star rises from ruins of war" about Grandma Hamida. I can't find the post now but the article was so interesting.

Thanks to all for the nice comments about my new name. So great to see all of you again!!

Pedln, the movie The Namesake is out. My parents have seen it and now my mother is reading the book. I don't think it is out on DVD yet though. I am waiting for that.

Yes, Laura, I was a little mixed up about Namesake --