Harry's comments (member since Aug 01, 2008)

Harry's comments from the SDMB - Straight Dope group.

I started on 34 and I've got to 69 in just over 13 months, so at a rate of about 2.7 books per month I should finish in four years' time... which actually is a bit intimidating, now I do the maths. But I'm not in a particular hurry.

I have four or five books queued up and ideas for quite a few more, but I'm happy enough just finding books as I need them, so there are lots of countries I haven't even tried to find books for yet.

Beyond the numbers, my overall experience of it so far is definitely positive; some of the books are a bit underwhelming and there have been a couple of real stinkers, but I've also read some really really good books, or just interesting ones, which I never would have read otherwise. I'm just reading a very good book of essays written by a Croatian writer in the early nineties during the Yugoslav War, for example.

And also, having got into the habit of largely reading non-fiction, I've read more actual literature in the past year than I have for a long time. Which has been enjoyable.

Yes, it's not that I'm sticking rigidly to only UN countries, but if anything the Pacific seems rather over-represented already — lots of tiny countries which are probably going to be quite hard to buy books from.

Though actually what I really ought to do is go along to the British Library and read some of the more obscure books there, rather than buying pricey second-hand copies on the internet.

I just ordered a book from the Cook Islands before realising it isn't on my list as a real country, because it's not a member of the UN. D'oh.

Also found via google, a good source of books for the Pacific countries:

http://ipsbooks.usp.ac.fj/index.php

Shipping is somewhat expensive but they do have a very good range, in stock, of books from Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, etc etc.

Thanks for the tip!

As of today, having just ticked off Kyrgyzstan, I'm on 24%.

I have a list and a map; I generally post the reviews both to my blog and to goodreads.

For Jordan, I was planning on reading 'Cities of Salt' by Abd al-Rahman Munif. I think the book, set in an unnamed Gulf State, is more about Saudi than Jordan, but he was born and raised in Jordan, so he does qualify.

And for Cyprus I've jotted down 'Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide' by Yiannis Papadakis or 'The Cypriot' by Andreas Koumi, but I can't remember anything about them. Lawrence Durrell also wrote a book about Cyprus called 'Bitter lemons' which I'd quite like to read but probably doesn't really qualify.

I haven't read any of those, so I can't comment on their merits.

I haven't really started - I'm still working through a backlog of books I'd already bought. But when I've finished the three books I'm reading now, I think I'd better tick something off to give me a sense of momentum...

An alternative version of a map, using Google maps.

if you're interested in using Google maps/ Google earth, I can give you the KML file that my map uses, which would save you entering a placemarker for all the countries.

I don't think I have read anything by any of those three, but I thought of a couple of Australians I have read, so I'm not going mad after all.

In retrospect, the over-the-top sentimental Welshness of How Green was my Valley makes more sense when you know he was a wannabe. I mean it's a good book, but Welsh stereotypes are laid on with a trowel.

OK, I'm in. I'm going to be keeping my list here:

my list

Surprise discoveries so far: Michael Ondaatje is from Sri Lanka. Richard Llewellyn was not from Wales.

And surely I've read something from Australia?