Around the World in Books Challenge - 2014

[Marina]

I'm at 3/12, I've just finished Abraham B. Yehoshua's A Woman in Jerusalem: A Passion in Three Parts, written from an Israeli author and partly set in Israel (for the Middle East).

[Adriana]

You are all doing so well [:

[LynnB]

I completed 2/9, reading for East Asia: Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag.

[Erika]

I finished 1/12! Eastern Europe: The Nose by Nikolai Gogol.

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

I've finished 4 books for the Around the World in Books Challenge - 2014

Regions

✔ North America Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro Canadian Author and setting, read 1/12/14

✔ South America Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo Peruvian Author and setting, read 1/5/14

✔ West Europe The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Story set in the British Isles, read 1/10/14

✔ Australia & South Pacific Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Author was born in Australia, read 1/5/14

[Leah]

I spent a good amount of time browsing through GoodReads and picking my choices.

I'm currently about halfway through The Book Thief, but I've been spending most of my free time picking books for this list, lol

Super excited to participate in this challenge!

Here are my choices:

*North America
The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood (Canadian author)

*Central America
Selected Poems by Rubén Darío (Nicaraguan poet)

*Caribbean
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (set in Cuba)

*South America
Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges (Argentinian author)

*West Europe
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (British author)

*East Europe and Former Soviet Union
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (Russian author)

*Africa
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (set in Somalia)

*Middle East
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Iranian author and illustrator)

*East Asia
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami (Japanese author)

*South Asia
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (set in Afghanistan)

*Southeast Asia
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick (set in Cambodia)

*Australia & South Pacific
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Australian author)

[Lynn]

Just finished my book set in the Middle East. Day After Night by Anita Diamant took place in a Jewish refugee camp in British-controlled Palestine just after WWII. I learned so much.

I'm 6 of 12 for the challenge.

[Laura]

I just finished my read for North America, One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. A good read: fun heroine and an enjoyable story.

[Jennifer]

I would like to join this challenge. I am going to aim for all 12!!

[Alison]

I realized that the short book I finished the other day took place in North America. So theres #2! Yay!!

[Daphne]

Update Message 32:

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2014
Completed: 3/12
A quarter of the way there!

Regions
North America- Not read: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York Completed 1/7/2014

West Europe- Not read: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Completed 1/2/2014

Australia & South Pacific- Not Read: The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Completed 1/14/2014

[Ashlee]

Just completed Necessary lies by Diane Chamberlain :)

[Adriana]

Ah! So many people to update. Great job everyone!

@Jennifer- Can I add something to the end of your name because there is already another Jennifer.

@Ashlee- I must have missed you before. How many books do you plan on reading?

[Jennifer]

Adriana wrote: "Ah! So many people to update. Great job everyone!

@Jennifer- Can I add something to the end of your name because there is already another Jennifer.

Adriana, my nickname is J.J., so if you want to add that after my name you can.

[Adriana]

Jennifer wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Ah! So many people to update. Great job everyone!

@Jennifer- Can I add something to the end of your name because there is already another Jennifer.

Adriana, my nickname is J.J., s..."

Thanks! I was actually asking the other Jennifer but this is helpful to distinguish the two of you anyways.

[Marina]

Just finished Emile Zola's Thérèse Raquin for Western Europe (set in France, the author is French). I'm at 4/12.

[Chloé]

Marina wrote: "Just finished Emile Zola's Thérèse Raquin for Western Europe (set in France, the author is French). I'm at 4/12."

How did you find it? Being French Canadian, this author appear often on school curriculum, but I never got to read him. As he's usually put in the classics list of French book I think I need to read it, but I never really got motivated for it.

[Adriana]

Updated you Marina!

[Lynn]

Just finished The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey by Salman Rushdie for my Central America book. This was number 7 of 12 for the challenge. I'd never read anything by the author before and thought I'd see if I liked him in this brief travel/political look at Nicaragua seven years after the Sandinistas came to power. Rushdie is a great writer and I'll definitely read Midnight's Children.

[Ashlee]

Adriana wrote: "Ah! So many people to update. Great job everyone!

@Jennifer- Can I add something to the end of your name because there is already another Jennifer.

@Ashlee- I must have missed you before. How man..."

Hi Sorry I accidentally updated in the wrong thread :) Sorry

[Marina]

Chloé wrote: "Marina wrote: "Just finished Emile Zola's Thérèse Raquin for Western Europe (set in France, the author is French). I'm at 4/12."

How did you find it? Being French Canadian, this auth..."

Well, it took me ages to read something by Zola, my ex boyfriend of 10 years ago used to love him and talk about him all the time!
I really loved the book, I cannot but suggest you read it by yourself and find out why this author is considered a classic. As I said, I've never read anything else by him, so I cannot really judge, but this book was great.

[LynnB]

I've read The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler for North America.

Completed 3 of 9.

[Paul]

Hi all. Just finished my North America book. That's 3 regions down. This one was 'The President's Club, by Nancy Gibbs. Some surprising connections between sitting Presidents and former Presidents, as they participate in this exclusive club. Who else could understand their pressures?

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

I have now finished 5 books for this challenge.

Around the World in Books Challenge - 2014

Regions

✔ North America Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro Canadian Author and setting, read 1/12/14

✔ South America Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo Peruvian Author and setting, read 1/5/14

✔ West Europe The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Story set in the British Isles, read 1/10/14

✔ Southeast Asia The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo Author born in and book set in Malaysia. 1/18/14

✔ Australia & South Pacific Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Author was born in Australia, read 1/5/14

[Marina]

5/12 Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly for North America (USA)
6/12 Grace Mera Molisa, Pierre noire for Australia & South Pacific (Vanuatu)

[Alessia]

Finished my first book of the challenge today, (Bossypants), for North America.

[Adriana]

Ashlee wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Ah! So many people to update. Great job everyone!

@Jennifer- Can I add something to the end of your name because there is already another Jennifer.

@Ashlee- I must have missed you..."

Thanks for letting me know (:

[Mell]

I have read 1/6

Regions
North America
Central America
Caribbean
South America
West Europe
East Europe and Former Soviet Union
Africa
Middle East
East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia & South Pacific Nobody But Him 3★

[Lynn]

Just finished my East Europe & Former Soviet Union selection -- A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Beautiful prose on life in Chechnya during their two recent wars with Russia. Some hard-to-read instances of torture.....no graphic or extended descriptions, but so horrible I had a nightmare. The story is deserving of all the praise it received last year.

I'm 8 of 12 for this challenge.

[Emily~]

I just finished my 2nd book. It was for the Middle East selection: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui. It was an eye opener and a fabulous read.

[Adriana]

Updated everyone (:

[Erika]

Finished 2/12:

Western Europe: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (author is German; takes place in France)

[Merja]

Finished a book.

✔ West Europe



2/12 completed

[Chloé]

Finished my Middle East book. The author is from Israel/occupied Palestine and give a lot of examples from the Bisexual movement from her country.

Second region done
3/5

West Europe: Animal Farm 01-01-14 ★★★★☆
South Asia: Life of Pi 03-01-14 ★★★★★
Middle East: Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution ★★★★☆

[Deedee]

See: Post #12

I'm done with 5 regions:

North America(United States of America) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994) by John Berendt (01/22/14)

Caribbean (Martinique) The Last Days of St. Pierre: The Volcanic Disaster That Claimed 30,000 Lives (2002) by Ernest Zebrowski Jr. (01/08/14)

South Asia (India) Waiting for the Mahatma (1955) by R.K. Narayan (01/05/14)

Southeast Asia(Cambodia) In the Shadow of the Banyan (2010) by Vaddey Ratner (01/09/14)

Australia & South Pacific (Australia) The White Earth (2004) by Andrew McGahan (01/22/14)

[Adriana]

Everyone is doing so well!

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

Just posted my 6th finish to message #75
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min 1/24/14

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

Adriana,

In placing my books, I was a bit unsure about where some of the Asian countries belonged. I pulled these lists for my use. If you confirm that these are correct, maybe they will help others in the challenge.

South Asia
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka

East Asia
China
Japan
North Korea
South Korea
Mongolia
Taiwan

Southeast Asia
Brunei
Myanmar
Cambodia
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling)
East Timor
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South China Sea Islands
Thailand
Vietnam

[Adriana]

Everything seems about right. If anyone is having trouble finding a particular region's countries type that region into google an click google maps. Then compare it to the first posts image and you should be able to get it. Thanks for the clarification Theresa.

[Chloé]

If you type it in Wikipedia they will give the official list and some that are sometimes categorized a way, but that way is controversial.

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

Edited message #75 to add my 7th finish, set in Russia:
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

[Daphne]

Update Message 32:

3 more completed. :) Halfway done in January. These challenges have really upped my reading quantity.

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2014
Completed: 6/12

Regions
Central America- The Pearl 1/16/2014
Caribbean- The Old Man and the Sea Completed 1/9/2014
Southeast Asia- Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded Completed 1/25/2014

[Adriana]

Updated everyone.

[LynnB]

I just completed Daughter of Fortune for my South American book. Over half of the story is set in Chile with lots of descriptions of the culture.

4/9

[Adriana]

Gret job LynnB!

[ScarlettMi]

Updated Message #68 (3/5)

[Deedee]

Updated Post #12

6 of 12 done -- Halfway through!

West Europe(England)

Longbourn (2013) by Jo Baker (Hardcover, 352 pages)
Finished: 01/27/14

[Claire]

Soooo, I'm late in coming to the decision on this challenge, but I know I can do quite a few of these (and already have a couple done!), so I think I'll shoot for at least 10.

North America Touched with Fire
Central America Prayers for the Stolen
Caribbean Havana Lost
West Europe Bird with the Heart of a Mountain
East Europe and Former Soviet Union In Paradise
Africa Birds of the Nile: An Egyptian Adventure
Middle East On Two Feet and Wings
South Asia And the Mountains Echoed
Southeast Asia In the Shadow of the Banyan
Australia & South Pacific The Rosie Project

I also read a book set in East Asia:
Tei, A Memoir of the End of War and Beginning of Peace
So I have completed this challenge and exceeded my goal by reading 11.

[Ingrid]

I'm going to try and go for 12 as I am already participating in another "Around the world" challenge on my blog.

Regions:

North America :Palisades Park (US)
Central America :
Caribbean :
South America :
West Europe : On Black Sisters Street: A Novel (Belgium)
East Europe and Former Soviet Union : Dog Boy (Russia)
Africa : A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (Rwanda)
Middle East : Reading Lolita in Tehran (Iran)
East Asia : The Teahouse Fire (Japan - read Jan 22, 2014)
South Asia : The Good Muslim (Bangladesh)
Southeast Asia : The Persimmon Tree (Java)
Australia & South Pacific : The Unknown Terrorist (Australia)

[Adriana]

Welcome to the challenge Clare and Ingrid (: