I've been "travelling" around the world with my books for ages. And I've been following other bloggers who do the same. One of them is Ash from Tale_Away.
She always gives good advice on differente kind of reads that lead us to unknown countries. Her latest post was: World Reading Challenge: Books Around The Globe 2021. Here, she suggest 52 books for the year from 52 different countries. Or, you can choose a book from her shortlist. In any case, there are lots of great ideas.
And I have several lists that always inspire me to read more books about countries I haven't "been to before":
Around the World in 12 Books Challenge 2014
European Reading Challenge 2013
The Collector of Countries (Die Ländersammlerin)
Travel the World Through Books
Reading the World
I am not going to follow the challenge by reading all the books on the list but I hope to find a few books through that from some of the countries I'm still missing. If you can recommend a good book about it, I'd be more than grateful. If you are looking for a good book from one of the countries I didn't mention, look for a recommendation from me here. Or just ask me.
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Costa Rica
Côte d’Ivoire
Djibouti
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini - Swaziland
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Honduras
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kosovo
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia, The former Yugoslav Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Mozambique
Nauru
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Oman
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Philippines
Qatar
Republic of Moldova
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Sudan
Sudan
Tajikistan
Tanzania, United Republic of
Thailand
Timor Leste
Togo
Tonga
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Yemen
Zimbabwe
These are the books I read from the shortlists:
Books Around the World: Africa
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi "Half of a Yellow Sun" - 2006 (Nigeria)
- "Americanah" - 2013 (Nigeria)
Coelho, Paulo "The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dream" (O Alquimista) - 1988 (Morocco)
Dinesen, Isak/Blixen, Karen "Out of Africa" - 1937 (Kenya)
Books Around the World: Asia
Aitmatov, Chinghiz "Jamila" (Джамиля - Jamilia) - 1958 (Kyrgyzstan)
Hosseini, Khaled "The Kite Runner" - 2003 (Afghanistan)
- "A Thousand Splendid Suns" - 2007 (Afghanistan)
Lahiri, Jhumpa "The Lowland" - 2013 (India)
Lee, Min Jin "Pachinko" - 2017 (Korea, Japan)
Murakami, Haruki "Norwegian Wood" (Noruwei no mori, ノルウェイの森) - 1987 (Japan)
See, Lisa "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" - 2005 (China)
Seth, Vikram "A Suitable Boy" - 1993 (India)
Books Around the World: North America
Alvarez, Julia "In the Time of the Butterflies" - 1994 (Dominican Republic)
Angelou, Maya "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" - 1969 (USA)
Fitzgerald, F. (Francis) Scott "The Great Gatsby" - 1925 (USA)
Lee, Harper "To Kill a Mockingbird" - 1960 (USA)
Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea" - 1966 (Dominica)
Tartt, Donna "The Goldfinch" - 2013 (USA)
Books Around the World: South America
none
Books Around the World: Europe
Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Shadow of the Wind" (La Sombra del Viento) - 2001 (Spain/Catalonia)
Books Around the World: Oceania
McCulloch, Colleen "The Thorn Birds" - 1977 (Australia)
I began a project some time back to do something similar. I made a spreadsheet in Google for it, and you are welcome to make a copy of what I have done for yourself and then adapt it as you wish: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_0pibb85CnYFZ580L72SS6VjTyiNMeRJjpxeosesMCk/edit?usp=sharing
ReplyDeleteThat is a great work. Love it. Thank you so much, Deb.
DeleteI will have a close look later but what I've seen so far, looks fantastic. I take it, you have read the ones in yellow?
In any case, thanks so much for sharing this.
What a cool challenge!
ReplyDeleteMy post.
Thanks, Lydia. I just love reading about people in different times and countries. I also love travelling but since I'll never get to go everywhere, this is a good way to "visit".
DeleteThanks for leaving your link, will come to you soon.
Zum Glück! That is a big challenge. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stephen. I wish I could have started it earlier in my life, I might have been around more. Thanks for your visit.
DeleteThis seems like a really fun challenge, good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lindsey, I used to be better because I had a great library where I could borrow almost anything. It's a little harder here with our little library that only gets you the books they have, and they're all in German. But I'll persevere.
DeleteThanks for your visit.
Wow! This challenge seems like a good one, but also a really hard one. I need to branch out with my reading, so I'm going to try to read a few more that are set outside the U.S. and Europe. I'll have to check out some of your suggestions.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. And I'd be happy if you checked either my lists that I mentioned in the post or go to the labels, if you look for a specific country. There are also more suggestions on the original posts of the other bloggers. And I have another list of books I might want to read, just ask.
DeleteThanks for your interest and your visit.
The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by Jose Eduardo Agualusa, set in Angola. My review is here: https://keepthewisdom.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-society-of-reluctant-dreamers.html
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you. The title sounds great already. I'll put it on my list.
DeleteAs always, thanks for your visit and thanks even more for your friendship.
What a cool (but tough) challenge! I once did a book for each of the 50 states. It was fun, but also hard. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deanna. I know I will not finish this in a year. Maybe not in a lifetime. But the idea is there and I love it.
DeleteThis sounds like such a great challenge to take part in. Best of luck to you and, of course, happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christopher. Yes, it is a great challenge. I've been following that idea for years, so I hope to get a little closer to the goal.
DeleteInteresting! Good luck as you take on this challenge!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dee. I have been trying to complete my list for years, I doubt I'll ever finish but it's great to see every year how I get one step further.
DeleteThanks for your visit.
Great project. I have read from 55 countries: https://wordsandpeace.com/2012/01/04/around-the-world-in-52-books/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Emma. I always find inspiration on your page.
DeleteThanks for your visit and your link.
Good work!
ReplyDeleteLisa @ https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/where-i-read-in-2020/comment-page-1/#comment-9380
Thank you, Lisa. Only people like you know how much work is in such a list. But if we enjoy it, it's worth every minute, right? I wish you can carry on filling your map.
Delete