To follow in the footsteps of others I've decided to make a map of all the countries that I have visited through books. I had thought about chronicling all my travels but then decided it would be easier to just track where I've been from last year on. So here is where I have been since 2007. I'll list out the countries & books in another post.

My Current Location(s):
Brazil
The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
Mongolia
Hearing Birds Fly by Lousia Waugh
Russia (with stops in Poland and Vienna, Austria)
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Petersburg & Moskow, 19th Century)

Number of Countries Visited Since 2007: 24

Map updated on 17 May 08

Message edited by its author, May 26, 2008, 11:56am.

The above map generation site also has a visited US state & Canadian Provence tracker so I thought that I would track the those places that I've been to since 2007 as well.

create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide

Note: Map last updated on 01 Jun 08

My Current Location(s):
NA

Number of States Visited Since 2007: 21 out of 50 (plus DC)

create your own personalized map of Canada
or check out ourVancouver travel guide

Note: Map last updated on 27 Mar 08

My Current Location(s):
NA

Number of Provinces Visited Since 2007: 1 out of 13

Message edited by its author, Jun 1, 2008, 11:01pm.

The countries that I have been to and the books that I traveled through to get there:

1. Afghanistan
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Kabul, 20th Century)

2. China
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (Hong Kong, 20th Century)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (19th Century)

3. England
All About Love by Stephanie Laurens (19th Century)
The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman (Oxford, 19th Century)
The Book of Names by Jill Gregory (London, 20th Century)
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier (18th Century)
Darcy’s Story by Janet Alymer (19th Century)
Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens (19th Century)
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (Swindon, 20th Century)
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman (Oxford, 19th Century)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling (20th Century)
Jane Eyre by Chalotte Bronte (19th Century)
Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter (Various Locals, 21st Century)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (21st Century)
The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble (20th Century)
A Rogue’s Proposal by Stephanie Laurens (19th Century)
Scandal’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens (19th Century)
A Secret Love by Stephanie Laurens (19th Century)
Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green (London)
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (Wall, 19th Century)
The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman (Oxford, 19th Century)

4. Haiti
Vale of Tears by Paulette Poujol Oriol (Port-au-Prince, 20th Century)

5. Iran
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (Tehran, 20th Century)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi (Tehran, 20th Century)

6. Ireland
An Irish Christmas by Melody Carson (20th Century)
PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern (Dublin, 21st Century)

7. Israel
The Book of Names by Jill Gregory (20th Century)

8. Mozambique
Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto (20th Century)

9. Pakistan
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (Kophe, 20th Century)

10. Russia
A Russian Diary: A Journalist's Final Account of Life, Corruption, and Death in Putin's Russia by Anna Politkovskaya (Moscow, 21st Century)

11. Saudi Arabia
Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker (Riyadh, 20th Century)

12. Sudan
The Translator by Daoud Hari (Darfur, 21st Century)

13. Syria
In the Name of God by Paula Jolin (Damascus, 20th Century)

14. United States
See post 4 and beyond for details.

Message edited by its author, Mar 7, 2008, 9:10am.

The states that I have been to and the books that I traveled through to get there:

1. California
Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker (Berkeley, 20th Century)
Conquistador by S.M. Sterling (San Francisco, Oakland, & Los Angeles, 20th Century)
The 6th Target by James Patterson (San Francisco, 21st Century)

2. Illinois
Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher (Chicago, 21st Century)
White Night by Jim Butcher (Chicago, 21st Century)

3. Louisiana
How to Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward (New Orleans, 20th Century)

4. Massachusetts
The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen (Boston, 21st Century)
The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen (Boston, 21st Century)
Vanish by Tess Gerritsen (Boston, 21st Century)

5. Missouri
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton (St. Louis, 20th Century)

6. Nevada
The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson (Las Vegas, 21st Century)

7. New Hampshire
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (Sterling, 21st Century)

8. New Mexico
The Guardians by Ana Castillo (20th Century)

9. New York
Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger (NYC, 21st Century)
The Book of Names by Jill Gregory (NYC, 20th Century)
Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar (NYC, 21st Century)

10. Oklahoma
Marked by P.C. Cast (Tulsa, 21st Century)

11. Pennsylvania
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (Huntsdale, 21st Century)

12. Washington
Journal of the Curious Letters by James Dashner (Deer Park, 21st Century)

13. Alaska
Journal of the Curious Letters by James Dashner (21st Century)

Message edited by its author, Mar 7, 2008, 10:49am.

Congrats, Irisheyz, on starting your own thread. I see you don't have Canada yet...one book and you'll get to paint a huge chunk of the map read..i mean...red!

Very true....just as I did with Russia. =)

I've read much from Canada in the past....but nothing since 2007. Will have to correct that at some point this year. Have any suggestions?

Re: Canada, I enjoyed Ann-Marie MacDonald's two books Fall on your Knees and The Way the Crow Flies. Dark, but very good.

I read Fall on Your Knees several years ago...I didn't like it much. So I think that I might pass on her other novel. But thanks for the suggestion. =)

If you haven't read any of Roberston Davies, I would suggest him. The first book of his I read was The Rebel Angels. This is set in the Univesity of Toronto and is the first book in The Cornish Trilogy. Davies is quite influenced by Jungian thought in his novels, as well has been involved in producing drama.

For something over 50 years old, there is Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan. This deals with the French-English situation in Quebec and Montreal. This is not necessarily a 'great' novel, but you read it to get a feel for the subject matter.

Where to start! These authors are a few of my favourite story tellers
Guy Vanderhaeghe- The Last Crossing
Lisa Moore-Open: stories
Michael Crummey - River Thieves
Lisa Moore and Michael Crummey write about Newfoundland and Guy Vanderhaeghe write about the west.
Great books-

The Newfoundland novel that I really liked was Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark. It is set on the Avalon Peninsula (SE), and I live on the Avalon Peninsula (SW) for 16 months while stationed with the U.S. Navy. For most of the time there, I worked directly with Newfoundland civilians. Latitudes of melt has aspects of magic realism, but Clark has caught the tempo of the people that I knew. Proulx' Shipping News is set in the far NW of Nfld, and since I didn't know anyone from there, I could not relate to the characters that she drew up, despite wanting to because I had lived in the province.

Thanks for the great suggestions, I'll have to check some of them out.

@vpfluke - I read Shipping news a few years back. I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters. It was my first book by Proulx and I haven't picked up another of hers since.

Well, I guess you and I had the same response to Shipping News -- I didn't bother to finish the book.

Annie Proulx is a New Englander having been born in Norwich, CT, and raised quite a bit in Maine. She now splits her living betwen Wyoming and NW Newfoundland, (L'Anse aux Meadows. Her wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Proul...

15. Italy
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips (Venice, 17th & 21st Centuries)

Message edited by its author, Mar 7, 2008, 9:10am.

So I've decided to just update the maps in posts 1 and 2 on an as needed basis. I've also listed in those first 2 posts what my current virtual location is. I'll update the map as well as the location with each new book I start.

ETA: I'm also going to add numbers to my country listings...just to see how many places I've been. The ones listed in post 3 are alphabetical....from post 14 on they are chronological. At this time I don't have any plans to continue with the alphabetical list on this thread.

Message edited by its author, Mar 7, 2008, 9:09am.

I just remembered....I also visited Alaska for a brief time through The Journal of Curious Letters. So I'll be updating the map and list above.

Fun idea and very cool map! Not sure if you're allowing yourself multiple countries from a single book but you could probably also count Chad from The Translator as well. And there were lots of good Rwanda books mentioned in the ER group too if you're looking for more in Africa. Bon Voyage!

I am allowing myself to go to multiple countries/states with a single book. Though if I don't spend too much time in a place then I don't count it. Like with my last book, The Rossetti Letter the first few chapters and one of the last ones was set in Massachusetts, but I didn't count that as I didn't feel as it was significant. But Daoud Hari definitely spent a lot of time in Chad so I think that I will go update. =)

I also have a lot of those Rwanda books on my wish list. I'll get there....eventually.

I'm also slowly going through my whole LT library to make a master list of all the places I've been since I started keeping a list of my books. That map is much more populated. *lol* I'll be revising many a place but all. I like to travel so its all good. =)

16. Chad
The Translator by Daoud Hari

Re: Canada. How about The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart? It covers stone carving and a WW I memorial.

17. & 18. India and Myanmar (Burma)
The Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundaresan (Rudrakot, India; Unknown place, Burma, 20th Century)

I have a question about updating these maps -- when you add new countries, do you have to start all over again? or does it save it somewhere?

sadly you have to update it all over again. So I keep a list in a word doc that I pull up to make it quicker (easier?) to update the map.

Yah, I'd probably come up with different answers every time, with my memory!!!

If you create an account on the site, you can save it and log in to update it.

cestovatela - that is really good to know. thanks!!

14/50 - Arizona
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (21st century, Phoenix)

Also returned to Washington State with this book visiting the rainy town of Forks.

I rated this book 1 out of 5 stars. To find out why go here:

http://tickettoanywhere.blogspot.com/200...

15, 16 & 17 out of 50 - Iowa, Tennessee and Georgia
Kira, Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (20th Century)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Review coming soon.

Message edited by its author, Mar 27, 2008, 12:09pm.

Irish,
I was wandering through your book list and noticed you had written 'England' rather than 'UK'. Is this deliberate? Do you intend to read from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland later?
If not could I recommend you change it to UK. I know this sounds like a very picky point, but it gets some people very hot under the collar. Many people from continental Europe and the US use 'England' and 'UK' interchangeably, but its not really accurate, and may result in a visit from a very angry Scot at some point.
Cheers,
Depressaholic

When I say England I mean simply England. If you look at the titles that I list under England you'll see that they all take place in that country alone. Sadly the travel map doesn't differentiate the separate countries that make up the UK so its all highlighted in....but eventually you'll also see labels for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sorry for doubting!
I was going to do something similar but decided that sticking to the 192 of the UN was going to keep me saner. Maybe one day...

30> When I was looking at what countries I'd "visited" I thought about whether I'd visited Wales and Scotland at least (I think Northern Ireland got lumped together with Ireland in my head, though I realise a significant proportion of the population wouldn't be so impressed by that). I was fairly shocked how little I'd read from either country - I guess it really brought home the general dominance of England that I'm often a bit oblivious to as part of the dominant culture.

Message edited by its author, Mar 25, 2008, 7:05pm.

It's one of the many things I've learned or that have been clarified for me here on LT - the UK/England/Great Britain thing. It's very confusing to a US mind (this one anyway). I found a great map online awhile back that explained all the terminology and which countries were referred to as what (of course, I can't find it now).

I think there are a number of countries who have areas that we want to indicate separately. Besides the British Isles, there is:
Canada and Quebec
Italy and Sicily
Greece and Crete
France and Brittany, Alsace/Lorraine, Provencal
Spain and Catalonia

However, in English, I don't think we do much distinguishing between Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium; or between French, German and Italian Switzerland; or even Argentina and Patagonia, and Canada and Newfoundland.

18/50 New Jersey
Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

For my review go here:
http://tickettoanywhere.blogspot.com/200...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've also begun my journey through the Canadian proviences. Starting with Prince Edward Island with Anne of Green Gables. I read this book years ago and loved it and when I saw it on www.dailylit.com I felt a bit of nostaglia and decided to subscribe to it.

The Canadian Provence map has now been added to the 2nd post. I was waiting until I actually set foot in Canada to add this one....since it would be all depressing to have such a blank map. Granted PEI is a small blip of red, but its better than nothing. ;-)

ETA review

Message edited by its author, Mar 27, 2008, 1:12pm.

Great idea about the Canada read . . . do you need suggestions, or do you already have books in mind? This is a really great way to get a grasp on the vast differences between places and people in Canada. I think I may have to do this challenge too.

Suggestions are always welcome...just no Margaret Atwood. Not because I don't like her...but because I've already read a lot by her and this travel log only includes things from 2007 on.

Although maybe one of these days I'll get unlazy and go through my library and log all the places that i've been prior to 2007.

That is a great idea about reading through the Canadian provinces, maybe I'll do that after I get through all this studying. I have a fair amount in the TBR pile that I could use.

Great book set in Cardiff (Wales) is Remember Me by Trezza Azzopardi. Amandameale sent it to me; I loved it.

Off the top of my head, I can recommend two Canadian writers (other than Margaret Atwood). A lot of Mavis Gallant's (oh, those pesky touchstones) stories take place in France, but there are some, especially in Varieties of Exile that are set in her native Quebec. She is brilliant and underrated, in my opinion. Also, Alice Munro, especially The View from Castle Rock, linked stories about Scottish immigrants to Ontario.

There are some wonderful authors from Newfoundland that you might want to explore. I like Lisa Moore and her first book of short stories, Open, Michael Crummey's River Thieves and almost anything that Wayne Johnston writes, although I prefer his The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and the memoir Baltimore's Mansion. My favourite writer from Saskatchewan is Guy Vanderhaeghe who wrote The Englishman's Boy and The Last Crossing. All write a great stories.

Message edited by its author, Mar 28, 2008, 10:03am.

#37- Suggestions are always welcome . . .
--------------

There is a group that recommends books by province. You can find it here:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/readi...

I'll be back with some personal suggestions later this week. :-)

Thanks for the link Nickelini, I'll definately be looking more into that group later. =)

I did recently pick up Alice Munro's The view from castle rock at the library the other day. This was a suggestion from rebeccanyc. I started reading it the other day and am enjoying it so far.

Suggestions are always welcome...just no Margaret Atwood. Not because I don't like her...but because I've already read a lot by her and this travel log only includes things from 2007 on.
--------------------

I'm back with suggestions. I'll try not to repeat what has already been suggested, but forgive me if I slip up.

Of books that I've read, I recommend:

Ontario-
Unless, by Carol Shields (actually, a lot of her stuff is set in Ontario)
A Map of Glass, by Jane Urquhart. I think this one really captures Ontario well. She has several other excellent books too.
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, by Vincent Lam. Won the Giller Prize.

Manitoba-
A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews (pronounced "Taves"). I loved this book, but it hit pretty close to home for me.

BC (British Columbia)
Stanley Park, by Timothy Taylor
The Sad Truth About Happiness, by Anne Giardini (Carol Shield's daughter)
Eleanor Rigby, by Douglas Coupland. Funny, intelligent and sensitive.
The Jade Peony, by Wayson Choy. Set in Vancouver's Chinatown. (My least favourite on this list, but other people like it).

Message edited by its author, Apr 2, 2008, 8:38pm.

Canadian Provences: Total = 13

1. Prince Edward Island
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Places visited in Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Revisited:
Country #3. England
4/50. Massachussets
8/50. New Mexico

New Places:
Country #20. Spain
19/50. Utah
19a/50. Washington DC

Also visted 1940s Germany (Country #21) in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Country #21 Egypt
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Country #22 and #23 Croatia and Serbia
Native Land by Nadja Tesich

State 20/50Connecticut
Fablelhaven by Brandon Mull

Country #24: Scotland

The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson

State 21/50 Ohio

Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan

5 stars

http://tickettoanywhere.blogspot.com/200...