READ One thing I’m enjoying about this reading-the-world project is that it’s nudging me to read international authors I’ve always heard about, but have never read. In the case of Japan, I finally read a book by bestselling author Haruki Murakami – Norwegian Wood, translated by Jay Rubin. As the novel opens, 37-year-old Toru Watanabe is … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Japan
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The Booktrekker: Italy
READ One of the reasons why I started this project was to help fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of geography and world history. The book I read for Italy, Eva Sleeps, written by Francesca Melandri and translated by Katherine Gregor, was a perfect selection to teach me about a region and an era … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Italy
#WorldKidLit Weekend: A Conversation with Avery Fischer Udagawa, Translator of Award-winning Japanese Children’s Author Sachiko Kashiwaba
Avery Fischer Udagawa’s translations from Japanese to English include the middle grade novels Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba and J-Boys: Kazuo’s World, Tokyo, 1965 by Shogo Oketani. Her short story translations have appeared in the Kyoto Journal, Words Without Borders, The Best Asian Short Stories 2018, and Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: A Conversation with Avery Fischer Udagawa, Translator of Award-winning Japanese Children’s Author Sachiko Kashiwaba
The Booktrekker: Iran
READ There were so many books by Iranian authors I could have read for this blog post that I had a hard time choosing just one. I finally decided to do something completely different and read a graphic novel, written in comic book form. The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is a largely autobiographical tale of … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Iran
The Booktrekker: Indonesia
READ Many of the books I read for this blog are tedious and take me forever to get through. That was not the case for the book I chose for Indonesia. Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s The Girl from the Coast, translated by Willem Samuels, arrived in the mail Friday morning, and I was finished with it by … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Indonesia
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Too Small Tola
Too Small Tola by award-winning author, Atinuke and illustrator, Onyinye Iwu is a trio of stories about the triumphs and small-small troubles of Tola and her family in Lagos, Nigeria. Tola lives with her bossy gran, Grandmommy, her studious sister, Moji and her sporty brother, Dapo in a run-down, one-room apartment in the city. The chapter book for ages 7-9 … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Too Small Tola
The Booktrekker: India
READ I’ve read a lot of books for this blog that I haven’t particularly enjoyed. So when I find one that really speaks to me, it’s an especially pleasant surprise. My selection for India, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy, is just such a book. It has so many layers and covers such a vast … Continue reading The Booktrekker: India
The Booktrekker: Iceland
READ With words like “zany,” “bizarre,” and “quirky” dotting the reviews that appear on the back cover of the book I chose for Iceland, I knew I was in for some fun. Butterflies in November, by Auđur Ólafsdóttir and translated by Brian FitzGibbon, turned out to be a wild ride. The protagonist, whose name we never know, is … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Iceland
The Booktrekker: Grenada
READ If you’re old enough to remember Ronald Reagan’s presidency, you’re likely to recall when the United States invaded the Caribbean island country of Grenada. The war lasted only a few days before the U.S. declared victory, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything in the news about Grenada since. With that as my only … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Grenada
The Booktrekker: France
READ The book I read for France, The Heart, by Maylis de Kerangal and translated by Sam Taylor, left me emotionally drained. It chronicles the twenty-four hours following an automobile accident that leaves a young man brain dead, as doctors race through the steps required to remove his organs and transplant them into the bodies of people … Continue reading The Booktrekker: France
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 