August–Wrapping up with Mozambique, Belgium, Sudan + Panama

It’s hard to believe this is my final post–but here we are! 2 years and 8 months later, I’ve officially read books set in 80 different countries. This is an accomplishment that has seen me through many chapters of my own life and many actual travels around the world.

When I first began this blog in 2016, I was an unmarried gal who had just moved in with her boyfriend. I had recently relocated back to Arizona from Louisiana, and I was trying to find my footing professionally at a local nonprofit. Flash forward to now–I am married to said boyfriend, I now own a home in Arizona, and I am back in the classroom seeking a Master’s degree and feeling increasingly at-home and empowered in my job. And there is no doubt that the books that I carried through these beautiful, important life changes found me exactly when I needed them to, and were crucial parts of my personal growth over the past two and a half years.

I read so many things I had no idea I’d love. I discovered I really enjoy nautical history. I realized some of my all-time favorite authors are Nigerian. I delved into my passion for magical realism. These books took me to all seven continents, to countries I’ve dreamt about my whole life and to countries I hadn’t thought much about before. Below are some of my big takeaways from this reading challenge (Fun fact: I unknowingly read the same amount of female authors as I did male authors!):

To dig into this past month, this final month of #AroundTheWorldin80Books reading, I’ll start with The Girl Who Smiled Beads, a book I finished in the first few days of August. I ended up grabbing this book because it fit in my purse, and I wanted to make sure I had a book with me after a quick trip to California with my in-laws. I had to fly out straight from Disneyland in order to make it back in time for my first day of school. My flight ended up getting delayed, so I was very happy to have tucked this story into my bag. As it turns out, this was the perfect book for the start of the school year, as well. My first unit in 8th grade is centered around Elie Wiesel’s Night, and this book made a bunch of salient connections between the Holocaust and the author’s own experiences in the Rwandan genocide (she even met Elie Wiesel on a number of occasions, and rose to fame initially because she won an essay contest about his book). As my students are getting ready to finish the book this month and transition to projects investigating other incidences of genocide, I’m looking forward to sharing excerpts from this succinct and poignant volume with my students to help them build their own connections.

Next was All That Man Is, a glimpse into the experiences and challenges of the modern man. I struggle to find balances each school year as I transition from summer break to the schedule of a full-time teacher, and I read this book just as I was trying to find the compromise between leisure and being a responsible educator. Consequently, I don’t know if I made enough time or mental effort for this book, but I didn’t find myself enjoying it quite as much as I hoped to. However, a huge part of starting a new school year with 60 new people from different backgrounds and world views is suspending judgment and seeking to understand–so I guess this book was a good reminder of that, of the fact that I don’t know everything about everyone I encounter and that there’s always room to consider things from a different point of view.

The third book was Who Fears Death, a book totally unlike most books that I read. I frequently toted this book to school to read during my students’ independent reading, and carried it so many places that my dog ended up finding it one day and tearing the back few pages up (she only ate the first paragraph or so on each page–so it was still readable!). I loved that I enjoyed a story that was not my typical cup of tea, and I loved the passionate and brave protagonist who frequently shot down those who doubted her worthiness just because she’s female. I am really looking forward to HBO’s adaptation, especially since our society is already embracing powerful feminist stories like The Handmaid’s Tale.

Last, I closed out this month (and this challenge!) with The World in Half, about a girl who goes to Panama to find herself. My husband and I recently booked our super belated honeymoon to New Zealand, a trip we’ve both dreamt about, and I’ve spent a lot of time the past few weeks perusing hotels and making plans for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. In fact, I finished this book on the same day I finally finished the paperwork for renewing my passport with my married name. I could definitely relate to Mira’s nervous excitement and her desire to see the world in a new way. Additionally, I loved the note this book ends on. Not to spoil it, but she offers some thoughts on how this book isn’t the end–that life and the universe go on endlessly, and who knows what that time will hold for us. I like to think of my favorite book characters continuing on with their lives, existing in their fictional worlds, even after I’ve closed the cover on them, and in a lot of ways, this blog is similar. I don’t plan to continue tracking my books and their settings here, but at the end of the day, this is a lovely catalog of my last few years, and I’ll still be out there, exploring the world with a few good books.

Happy reading, folks!

Panama with The World in Half

“Some people are true adventurers. But many more are adventurers by circumstance, adventurous only because their goal requires them to be.”–Miraflores, The World in Half

• Here’s what happens:
  • Mira has played it safe most of her life, but when she unexpectedly stumbles upon a letter from her biological father, whom her mother has hidden from Mira her whole life, she can’t help but throw caution to the wind and embark on an adventure to finally discover who he is. She jets off to Panama, without her mother knowing, and learns more about her parents, herself, and her heritage than she ever could have predicted.
• It’s good because:
  • I read this book quickly, like it was a piece of chick-lit book candy. It wasn’t until I finished it that I realized how much more there was to this story than the fluffy flirtation between the protagonist and the friendly local she meets in Panama. Instead this book is about true friendship, undying love, being out of your comfort zone, and the infinite memory of the universe.
• Read if:
  • Again, this was a quick and fun read–but also not a guilty pleasure. It snuck in some pretty profound ideas without me even knowing it!

Up next: Who knows?! I finished this challenge. (But probably some textbooks for my graduate school courses).

Stay tuned for my final wrap-up coming at the end of the month.

Sudan with Who Fears Death

“We never know exactly why we are what we are, and so on. All you can do is follow your path all the way to the wilderness, and then you continue along because that’s what must be.”–Aro, Who Fears Death

• Here’s what happens:
  • Onyesonwu is part of a marginalized class of people living in post-apocalyptic Sudan; she is the product of genocidal, inter-tribal rape, and is therefore classified an Ewu, a group deemed too violent to be part of normal society. However, this isn’t the only unseemly secret about her heritage. She learns she is also a powerful sorceress, with abilities beyond her wildest imagination. She is set upon a journey to understand her Fate, defeat her evil, Sorcerer rapist father, and set her polarized community on a path of peace.
• It’s good because:
  • This is a fantasy book, but somehow it is unlike any fantasy book I’ve ever read (I also don’t read too much fantasy, aside from the mainstream classics of Harry Potter and Game of Thrones–so take that statement with a grain of salt). First of all, this story is set in Africa, which gives the culture and interactions of this fictionalized society a whole different spin. Much of the world is imagined, but a good deal of it is based off communities of color, and that was insanely refreshing and fascinating. Additionally, much of Onye’s magic comes from her womanhood and femininity. At the heart of this story, it’s a standard hero’s journey; but because of its diverse perspective, this book is eye-openingly innovative.
• Read if:
  • I selected this book because I heard it had been optioned by HBO and George R.R. Martin for its own series, and I wanted to get ahead of the game. If you also like to read books before their on-screen debuts, give this one a try.

Up next (my LAST book!): Panama with The World in Half by Cristina Enriquez!

Belgium with All That Man Is

“Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.”–David Szalay, All That Man Is

• Here’s what happens:
  • We have 9 vignettes from men across the age spectrum, and across Europe. Each is confronted with some sort of personal dilemma–some type of reflection on their own virility and masculinity–and almost all involve some sort of weird sexual scenario.
• It’s good because:
  • The bizarre sexual tension Szalay builds with his characters was curious and compelling. I didn’t always feel like I understood the message at the end of each story–and maybe that was the point? Maybe each story was supposed to feel frustrating and confusing, which is kind of how life feels sometimes.
• Read if:
  • I think Szalay’s overall message–and i’m honestly not sure if I’m smart enough to have full understood this collection because I often felt perplexed at the end of each story–was that modern masculinity is unclear and unfulfilling. If that resonates with you, maybe you’ll get more out of this book than I did.

Up next: Sudan with Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor.

Mozambique with The Girl Who Smiled Beads

“That’s all a person can do, really: Let others live their lives on their own terms, and interrogate how you live your own. Insist on knowing the backstory to your gifts and your pain. Ask yourself how you came to have all the things you carry: your privilege, your philosophy, your nightmares, your faith, your sense of order and peace in the world.”–Clemantine Wamariya, The Girl Who Smiled Beads

• Here’s what happens:
  • Clemantine was four when the Rwandan genocide began and her grandmother sent her fleeing across a field with her older sister. Together with her sister Claire, Clemantine spends years–her entire childhood–traveling southern Africa as a displaced person looking for a sense of home, belonging and compassion. Her journey eventually takes her to the U.S., where she is presented with opportunities like an education and stability, but is also forced to confront her experiences as she is reunited with her family and becomes a major voice in the reconciliation effort in her native Rwanda.
• It’s good because:
  • I had no doubt I’d love this book, but I was surprised by all the ways I loved it. Clemantine’s sharp and direct writing, the clear and informative ways she explains her experiences with race, class and privilege, and the intimate details of her most personal struggles made this book so human and profound.  A lot of her writing addresses her reaction to Elie Wiesel’s Night, the first book we read in my 8th grade English class, and I can’t wait to include passages from The Girl Who Smiled Beads to help connect the Holocaust to current events.
• Read if:
  • You’d like to know more about the experiences of people seeking refuge. Clemantine says throughout the book that she isn’t special, that her story is no more different nor exceptional than the millions of other people who have been displaced by war and genocide, that she is writing just to give a glimpse into an experience that is far too common.

Up next: Belgium with All That Man Is by David Szalay!

July–Debriefing on South Africa, Russia + Greenland

I feel like I crammed all of summer break into the month of July–and I guess I did, in addition to also squeezing in the first day of school.

I kicked off the month of July by finishing the last few pages of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, a moving account about the hardships and hard work that went into transforming the racially-divided South Africa into a more equitable place. Ironically, I read this book when my life was noticeably devoid of hard work and hardships–reading in bed with a cup of coffee, running errands in the middle of the day on weekends, and staying up late playing with the dog. Nevertheless, I appreciated Mandela’s timeless messages on justice and freedom, especially given the political climate in our country.

Next, I luxuriated in The Revolution of Marina M., a decadent story of aristocracy, revolution, and romance. This was another long book, but despite the heavy historical context, I tore through this story like book candy. I loved passionate, resilient, and resourceful Marina, was enthralled by her love triangles, and enjoyed the colorful and challenging setting of revolutionary Russia. I brought this book on my trips of the summer–to Charleston for my old roommate’s wedding and to Chicago to visit my husband’s cousin–and this was the perfect juicy read for long plane rides and layovers.

Finally, I ended July with In the Kingdom of Ice, the backup book I brought with me on our trips in case I finished the 800-page Revolution of Marina M. early–which I did! I truly don’t why I love these nautical disaster stories so much, especially as someone who has never spent much time on the water, but I am fascinated by the battle against nature and the will of the human spirit. Especially amid post-travel jet lag and the chaos of starting a new school year (with a new organization) I was drawn by the adventurous and brave men that sought to find the North Pole aboard the Jeanette.

Starting the school year as a teacher is always exhausting–learning new names, teaching new procedures, getting used to not sleeping in till 9am on a Monday. My reading usually slows down a bit once the kids return, but I’m so close to finishing my journey with this challenge–and I start school as a student in just a couple weeks–so I’m looking forward to exploring a few new books in August!

Greenland with In the Kingdom of Ice

“We face the future with the firm hope of doing something worthy of ourselves, and worthy of the flag that floats above us. We are not yet daunted.”–Captain George DeLong, Into the Kingdom of Ice

• Here’s what happens:
  • This is the story of the USS Jeanette’s expedition to the North Pole via the Bering Strait–the first Arctic mission to attempt this feat. This book chronicles not only the voyage itself, but also the national fervor surrounding this endeavor and the influential characters who transformed this goal to be the first men to set foot on the North Pole into a reality.
• It’s good because:
  • I have kind of a macabre interest in ship wreck stories–the way some people feel about horror stories, I imagine. This book is definitely one of the best. With these nautical adventure stories, it is sometimes easy to get bogged down in the technical information you need in order to understand the story, but Hampton Sides did an excellent job of recording facts and lively characters in a way that rarely felt like nonfiction at all. This book is colorful and exciting the whole way through.
• Read if:
  • You’re looking for a heroic story that’s equal parts eerie, incredible and tragic.

Up next: Mozambique with The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya!

Russia with The Revolution of Marina M.

“What is history? Is it the trace of a footstep in wet cement? Is it the story of important men in smoky rooms and on battlefields? The inevitable outcome of great impersonal forces? Or is it a collision of chance events?”–Marina Makarova, The Revolution of Marina M.

• Here’s what happens:
  • Marina is a well-bred young girl coming of age as Russia overthrows its tsar and plunges into its communist experiment. She adopts new ideologies as war and revolution ravage her own life, and it sends her on a journey that is violent, passionate, and full of unexpected hardships.
• It’s good because:
  • I measure all heroines against my all-time favorite: Scarlett O’Hara, and Marina is definitely a woman who fits that mold. She is stubborn and passionate and strong–qualities that sometimes land her in difficult situations, but also qualities that frequently save her skin. Additionally, this is a particularly interesting period of history for me: the glamor of pre-revolutionary Russia and the tumult of a country in the midst of its revolution. Combined with Marina’s steamy romances, this was a surprisingly quick read for a 800-page book.
• Read if:
  • You like historical fiction with bad-ass heroines. Although I didn’t love the ending, Janet Fitch is apparently spreading working on the second part of Marina’s story, so hopefully her plight will feel more complete then.

Up next: Greenland with Hampton Sides’ In The Kingdom of Ice!

South Africa with Long Walk to Freedom

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”–Nelson Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom

• Here’s what happens:
  • This is Nelson Mandela’s memoir, focusing on his childhood up through his election as president. It includes details about his family, personal relationships, and history of the African National Congress. For me, it was also interesting to note the first drafts of this book were started when he was imprisoned on Robben Island.
• It’s good because:
  • Mandela is a clear and inspiring writer, and it’s fascinating to know how such a man became the figure he is today for so many people–because, even in death, he remains a pinnacle of freedom and civil rights.
• Read if:
  • If you have aspirations about leadership or politics, read this. If you want to remember what a true national hero looks like, read this. If you’re sick of the selfishness and scandal of some modern politicians, read this.

Up next: Russia with Janet Fitch’s The Revolution of Marina M!

June–Delving into Angola, Ecuador + Guinea

June has been a hot but exciting month in our little corner of the world, with plenty of time for curling up in bed or laying next to a pool with a good book. The first official month of summer, my days were spent coordinating a part-time summer camp with my school (basically 4 hours of going on field trips with my favorite kiddos), enjoying days off with my husband and dog, and taking on fun adventures like a spontaneous trip to Laughlin or booking our delayed honeymoon to New Zealand (!!!).

I kicked off the month with what is now one of my all-time favorite books, The Poisonwood Bible. I guess a lot of people read this beautiful story in high school, and I hadn’t even heard of it until a year or two ago, which I can’t believe. I just loved this book, and enjoyed carrying it on errands, field trips, and into the living room as my dog recuperated from getting spayed. It was truly the perfect way to enter vacation-mode, with a story I couldn’t stop thinking about and couldn’t wait to crack open each day. I usually enjoy female-driven historical fiction, but I also really appreciated the thoughtful consideration of racism, colonialism, and humanitarianism that this book offered–especially when our everyday life is so saturated with political news and opinions, which are often insensitive toward other perspectives and experiences.

My second book, Enchanted Islands, was mostly enjoyed on a weekend when my husband was celebrating his cousin’s birthday in Las Vegas–and I indulged in brunch with my friends and a bubble bath and face mask evening at home with this book. This story was the fictionalized narrative of a real person, and I am always fascinated by authors’ abilities to find unique circumstances like Frances Conway’s and turn that into a realistic adventure. This book was also a welcome respite from some of the less fun aspects of homeownership (adding rock to our backyard–ie, lots and lots of shoveling–and discovering our house needs to be treated for termites).

Lastly, I closed out the month with The 2013 Best American Nonrequired Reading, which I read surprisingly quickly. Sometimes anthologies such as this are slow-going for me because I feel like by the time I’ve gotten interested and engrossed in a particular short-story or essay, they’ve finished and I have to start a whole new story or topic. However, this unique compilation of texts was different, and I very much enjoyed most of the pieces that I read, and continued to think about them afterwards (there’s even a couple pieces I hope to include in future lessons!).

While I did start Nelson Mandela’s biography, my reading slowed down for a variety of factors over the past week. First, my husband and I found a killer deal on flights to New Zealand, and pulled the trigger on the trip we’ve been dreaming about for over a year. Consequently, I was super excited and motivated and spent a lot of my time scouring travel blogs and plotting out our itinerary. My second reason for slow reading is that I started binge watching the new Queer Eye, and like every warm-blooded American, I was completely hooked on this heart-warming series and finished both seasons in a matter of days. And lastly, nonfiction always takes me a bit longer, and while I am enjoying Mandela’s words on the fight for equality, it’s not quite as easy to plow through as fiction.

I have just a couple weeks left of summer since our school is asking staff to return early as we are joining a new organization, and most of that time will be spent on the road as my husband and I head to Charleston for a wedding, Chicago to visit his cousin, and San Diego for my in-laws’ annual vacation. I also recently learned I had been admitted into the graduate program to which I had applied, which is certainly an exciting goal, but also one that will take up considerable time when classes begin in August. So I hope to use this next month to relax and read in beautiful places (oh yeah–and celebrate my first wedding anniversary; wait till you hear what I’ve got planned for my husband on our paper anniversary!).

Happy July, y’all!