2014- Around The World Challenge

[Paul]

Well Done Paul!

[Paulfozz]

Thanks Paul - I've lost track of the original 80 books around the world challenge I was doing (80 books from 80 countries) so I may have to integrate continuing that into next year's personal challenge somehow. I have the books saved in a bookshelf though so just need to extract the countries that they were related to.

[Bionic Jean]

Jean's Around the World Challenge - COMPLETED!

Books Read:

1. Africa ✔
Kenya:
Non-Fiction - A cry from the wild by Lissa Ruben read March 2014
South Africa (Zimbabwe):
Fiction - The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing reread February 2014
2. Antarctica and the Arctic ✔
Fiction - Who Goes There? by John R Campbell read March 2014
Non-Fiction - Billy Connolly, Journey to the Edge of the World by Billy Connolly read June 2014
3. Asia ✔
India:
Fiction - Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling read June 2014
Tibet (China):
Non-Fiction - How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships by the Dalai Lama XIV read April 2014
4. Australia ✔
New South Wales:
Fiction - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak read March 2014
Non-Fiction - Aboriginal World Art & Culture by Jane Bingham read December 2014
5. Europe ✔
England:
Fiction - The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens read January 2014
Non-Fiction - The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell read February 2014
Russia:
Poetry - Evening: Poetry of Anna Akhmatova read February 2014
6. North America ✔
The United States:
Alabama:
Fiction - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee read July 2014
California:
Non-Fiction - Magnificent desolation by Buzz Aldrin read June 2014
Poetry: - The Road Not Taken and Other Poems by Robert Frost read June 2014
7. South America ✔
Brazil:
Fiction: - The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin read September 2014
Argentina and Paraguay:
Non-Fiction - The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell read January 2014

I have read one fiction and one non-fiction book from each continent for this challenge, and reviewed every one. (I'm in the process of reviewing my final read.)

And congratulations, Paul :)

[Alannah]

Jean wrote: "Jean's Around the World Challenge - COMPLETED!

Books Read:

1. Africa ✔
Kenya:
Non-Fiction - A cry from the wild by Lissa Ruben read March 2014
South Africa (Z..."

Congratulations Jean!

[Paulfozz]

Superb - well done Jean! And thanks. :-)

[Bionic Jean]

Thanks :) I enjoyed this one - it did broaden my reading although some categories were filled over and over ... I think we probably all felt this!

[LauraT]

I decided to pick a maximum of two books for continent. I managed for all but south America; here's the final list:
1. Africa
  Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook Read ***
Doris Lessing, The Grassis Singing Read ****
2. Antarctica 
Melany McGrath White Heat Read ***
Jody Picoult, Il colore della neve Read ***
3. Asia 
Lisa See  Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Read **** 
Qiu Xiaolong La misteriosa morte dela compagna Guan Read ***
4. Australia 
Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries Read ***
Collene McCullogh,  La casa degli angeli Read ****
5. Europe
  William Shakespeare,  Riccardo III Read ****
Rosa Ventrella, Il giardino degli oleandri Read ***
6. North America
  Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables Read ****
Louise Endrich, The Round House  Read ****
7. South America 
Isabel Allende, Il gioco di Ripper Read ***

[Paul]

Finished this morning!

Final list was:
1. Africa - The Granta Book of the African Short Story READ
2. Antarctica - Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica READ
3. Asia - The River At The Centre Of The World READ
4. Australia - Tracks READ
5. Europe - Move Along, Please: Land's End to John O'Groats by Local Bus READ
6. North America - Leaving Home READ
7. South America - The Bolivian Diary: Authorized Edition READ

[Leslie]

Congrats to both Pauls, Jean, Laura and everyone else who finished this challenge! :-)

I agree with what Jean said about this broadening my reading. It really was a challenge & made me much more aware of how Anglophilic my reading habits are.

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "Congrats to both Pauls, Jean, Laura and everyone else who finished this challenge! :-)

I agree with what Jean said about this broadening my reading. It really was a challenge & made me much more ..."

Same here

[Erica]

I didn't quite get round to finishing it...and surprisingly it was South America that proved my downfall haha. But definitely made me think about reading more broadly...I think the book "Out" I read was the first book set in Asia I've read in ages!

[Bionic Jean]

I found South America the toughest too, although I had expected Antarctica to prove the most difficult.

Well done to Laura, Paul, Leslie and Erica for sticking with the challenge :)

[Shirley]

Just to warn you all - I will shortly be closing this thread and will also delete the challenge on the home page. For 2015, we thought it might be interesting to pick up on some more unusual places - I think most people struggled more with South America and Antarctica - so I think it would be good to have an "unusual locations" challenge to see who can choose a book set in a more unusual location rather than England or France, for example...

[Paulfozz]

Jean wrote: "I found South America the toughest too, although I had expected Antarctica to prove the most difficult.

Well done to Laura, Paul, Leslie and Erica for sticking with the challenge :)"

Fortunately I found I actually had quite a few choices for countries in South America!