{"id":3731,"date":"2025-07-15T14:37:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T21:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/?p=3731"},"modified":"2025-07-16T09:02:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:02:02","slug":"a-trip-around-the-world-a-literary-excursion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/2025\/a-trip-around-the-world-a-literary-excursion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Trip Around the World: A Literary Excursion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Books have the power to take you anywhere, including to countries, cities, or worlds you have never visited. One character’s perspective can help you travel through time, take a peak into an experience different from your own, and sometimes they can make your own hometown unrecognizable from their perspective. If you are unable to take a trip around the world, are staying home, or you would like to take a book on vacation with you, take a look at the list below to find a place or time period to travel to.<\/p>\n

Italy – City of Naples<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Book<\/a>My Brilliant Friend<\/a> \/\u00a0The Story of a New Name<\/a> \/ Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay<\/a> \/ The Story of the Lost Child<\/a><\/p>\n

My Brilliant Friend<\/em> is a rich and intense story about a friendship between two women, Elena and Lila, juxtaposed with the transformation of their neighborhood, city, and country.<\/p>\n

Poland\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk<\/a><\/p>\n

A young Jewish man of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland.<\/p>\n

Olga Tokarczuk’s The Books of Jacob<\/em> masterfully explores the enigmatic life of Frank through the eyes of his contemporaries, capturing a world on the brink of transformation, it’s a book filled with reverence, betrayal, and a quest for transcendence.<\/p>\n

Japan – Tokyo\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Book<\/a>Tokyo Stories: a literary stroll\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Short stories from Japan. Stories that present everyday life in different parts of the city of Tokyo– bars, nightclubs, stores, and homes, and working-class neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scotland – Edinburgh\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh <\/a>(also available as an audiobook on hoopla<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Set against the backdrop of 1980s Scotland, the novel follows a group of friends navigating the highs and lows of addiction, poverty, and the search for meaning in a seemingly bleak world.<\/div>\n

Canada – Toronto\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>In the Skin of a Lion: a novel by Michael Ondaatje<\/a><\/p>\n

Set in 20th-century Toronto, this novel explores love, loss, and the quest for identity as it tests the boundary between history and myth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis<\/a><\/p>\n

Set in 19th-century Brazil, satirical and unconventional, this novel is narrated from beyond the grave. Br\u00e1s Cubas reflects on his life and explores themes of ambition, love, and the absurdity of human existence.<\/p>\n

China<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See<\/a><\/p>\n

In California, Haley grows up privileged and well-loved by her adoptive American parents. Despite Haley’s happy home life, she wonders about her origins. All the while in a Yunnan village in China among the Akha, her birth mother, Li-yan, longs for her lost daughter. Separated by circumstances, culture, and distance, both women find answers in the tea that shaped their family’s destiny for generations before them.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka<\/a><\/p>\n

Set amid the mayhem of the Sri Lankan civil war, 1900. Maali Almeida was a war photographer and gambler, who has now found himself dead and with seven moons (one week) to uncover the truth behind his murder. This story blends magical realism and historical fiction with themes of violence, war, and the search for meaning.<\/p>\n

Dominican Republic\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia Alvarez’s gives voices back to Las Mariposas (the butterflies) who were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. All four sisters, Minerva, Patria, Mar\u00eda Teresa, and the survivor, Ded\u00e9–speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from hair ribbons and secret crushes to gunrunning and prison torture, describe the everyday horrors of life and the human cost of political oppression under Trujillo’s rule.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera<\/a><\/p>\n

As her beloved grandfather, chief of the Maori tribe of Whangara, New Zealand, struggles to lead in difficult times and to find a male successor, young Kahu is developing a mysterious relationship with whales, particularly the ancient bull whale whose legendary rider was their ancestor.<\/p>\n

Korea & Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>Pachinko by Min Jin Lee<\/a><\/p>\n

Pachinko<\/em> follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan. So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history.<\/p>\n

Sweden<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Book<\/a>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Set in Sweden, the novel delves into themes of corruption, family secrets, and the dark underbelly of society as journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander take on the 40 year disappearance of Harriet Vanger.<\/p>\n

Mexico\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>The Hummingbird\u2019s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Set in late 19th-century Mexico, following the life of Teresita Urrea who discovers she has miraculous healing powers. Guided by an indigenous healer, Teresita becomes known as the Saint of Cabora, navigating love, loss, and political unrest while inspiring hope among the oppressed.<\/p>\n

Nigeria<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie<\/a><\/p>\n

Set during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), it follows the intertwined lives of three characters: Ugwu, a young houseboy; Olanna, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy Nigerian; and Richard, a British writer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Malaysia\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Book<\/a>Black Water Sister by Zen Cho<\/a><\/p>\n

Closeted, broke and jobless, Jessamyn Teoh moves back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler. She starts hearing a voice in her head that thinks is just a side affect of all her stress when she learns that the voice is actually the voice of her estranged grandmother, a spirit medium, who was called the Black Water Sister.<\/p>\n

Uruguay\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Book<\/a>Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis<\/a> (English)<\/p>\n

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis<\/a> (Spanish)<\/p>\n

Set in 1977 Uruguay, five cantoras\u2014Romina, Flaca, Anita “La Venus, ” Paz, and Malena\u2014find each other and an isolated cape, Cabo Polonio, which they claim as their secret sanctuary to live authentically. As they move between this secret sanctuary and their hometown Montevideo, they are tested repeatedly by their families, lovers, society, and each other.<\/p>\n

Yugoslavia & Finland<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1980s Yugoslavia, a young Muslim girl’s arranged marriage goes wrong, and at the same time, her country is torn apart making her family flee the ensuing war. Years later in Finland, her son Bekim, an outcast and gay man, meets a witty, charming, and manipulative talking cat who helps Bekim confront his past and eventually open himself to true love.<\/p>\n

From Western Oregon to Antarctica<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>Horizon by Barry Lopez<\/a><\/p>\n

From Western Oregon to the High Arctic; from the Galapagos to the Kenyan desert; from Botany Bay in Australia to finally, unforgettably, the ice shelves of Antarctica.<\/p>\n

Through his encounters with diverse landscapes, people, and wildlife, Lopez reflects on humanity’s relationship with nature and the environment. The book weaves together historical narratives, personal memories, and philosophical musings, offering a deep and contemplative exploration of our world and the challenges it faces<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Books have the power to take you anywhere, including to countries, cities, or worlds you have never visited. One character’s perspective can help you travel through time, take a peak […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"Layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,226,240],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-karlal","post-3731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-book-lists","category-summer","category-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p71KTL-Yb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3731"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3760,"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3731\/revisions\/3760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/adult_services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}