A boy walks along the beach in Lagos at sunset. Photograph: AP
The newly relaunched world literature tour set sail last month for New Zealand. Once more Diego's marvellous invention collected a rich cargo of literary gems, most of which I'd never even heard of before, let alone read.
Tourists were united in praising Maurice Gee, described by artobest as "some kind of national treasure" and Patricia Grace - according to Dree a "stunning writer". CK Stead was also widely recommended - despite alistairFrog's reservations - alongside Witi Ihimaera, Margaret Mahy and John Mulgan. Short stories from Katherine Mansfield and Shonagh Koea joined forces with poetry from James K Baxter and Hone Tuwhare to tip my notional "to-read" pile over the boundary between "too big" and "wildly unfeasible" once and for all. Many thanks to all who posted for your excellent recommendations.
With only two votes cast in the poll to decide our next destination - thanks joana and PatriciaC - Ireland (Eire) and Nigeria are tied. For me there's no contest. I've wanted to go to somewhere in Africa for a while now, so Nigeria it is.
There are a few familiar names here - Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe to name but two - but where's the best place to start? The Swamp Dwellers? Anthills of the Savannah? And how about writers who are a little more off the beaten track? Or writing in languages other than English?
Meanwhile, don't forget to cast your votes for the next stop - otherwise it'll be Ireland (Eire) for sure ...
