Louise's Read Around the World Challenge

[Louise, Group Founder]

My Challenge
Final Aim: 40/80
✔ 2015 Aim: 10/10 (England, South Korea, New Zealand, Nigeria, France, Poland, Australia, Italy, USA, Finland)
✗ 2016 Aim: 9/10 (Japan, Afghanistan, Unidentified South American Country, Dominica, Venezuela, Ireland, Tanzania, Brazil, Russia)
✗ 2017 Aim: 5/10 (Channel Islands, India, Spain, Ghana, Argentina)
✗ 2018 Aim 5/7 (China, Jamaica, South Africa, Mexico, Turkey)
✔2019 Aim 7/7 (North Korea, Uganda, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Canada)
2020 Aim 4/5 (Norway, Liberia, Cambodia, Scotland)

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

1. *Afghanistan: The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad (NF) (Norwegian) 2016
2. Argentina: Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez 2017
3. Australia: The Hunter by Julia Leigh 2015
4. *Brazil: Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey (American - lived in Brazil) 2016
5. Canada: Monkey Beach: A Novel by Eden Robinson - 2019
6. *Channel Islands: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (American) 2017
7. China: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (NF)2018(r)
8. †Dominica: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - j.s of Dominica and Jamaica 2016
9. England: Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey 2015
10. Finland: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson 2015
11. France: Mauprat by George Sand 2016(r)
12. Ghana: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 2017
13. India: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 2017
14. Ireland: The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney 2016
15. Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante 2020(r)
16.Jamaica: The Long Song by Andrea Levy (British-Jamaican) 2018
17. Japan: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto 2016
18. Mexico: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 2018
19. New Zealand: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton 2015
20. Nigeria: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor (Nigerian American) 2015
21. Northern Ireland: Milkman by Anna Burns 2019
22. *North Korea: Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (American) 2019
23. Poland: Chasing the King of Hearts by Hanna Krall 2015
24. *Russia: The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich (NF) (Ukranian - raised Soviet Union) 2019
25. Senegal: So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ 2019
26. South Africa: Zoo City by Lauren Beukes 2018
27. South Korea: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang 2015
28. *†Spain: The Muse by Jessie Burton (British) - j.s of Spain and Britain 2017
29. Sri Lanka: Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera 2019
30.* Switzerland: The Last by Hanna Jameson (British)
31. *†Tanzania: Shame by Melanie Finn (Kenyan/American) - j.s of Switzerland 2016
32. Turkey: The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak 2018
33. Uganda: Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2019
34. USA: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler 2015
35. †Venezuela: Bolivar: American Liberator by Marie Arana (NF) - j.s other Latin American countries 2016

36. Unidentified South American Country: Eva Luna by Isabel Allende 2016

2020
37. *Norway : The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge (British???)
38. Liberia: She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore
39. Cambodia: First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung (NF)
40. *Scotland: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley


*Author does not come from the country they are writing about, may later be replaced by a book by a 'native' author.
† Book jointly set in more than one country, may later be replaced by a book where listed country is the only main setting.
(r) Replaced a book read earlier set in same country

[Louise, Group Founder]

And first 2020 book for this challenge done!

Norway: The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

Do not recommend. I love a good children/teen novel on occasion. But the writing, pacing and characterisation in this is just plain bad. I advise people to look elsewhere for their Norway reads!

[Carol]

Louise wrote: "And first 2020 book for this challenge done!

Norway: The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

Do not recommend. I love a good children/teen novel on occasion. But the wr..."

That’s a shame, but I so appreciate being warned off of the bad ‘ns.

[Louise, Group Founder]

Liberia down. A month late but I finally got hold of and finished She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore

Good book, would recommend. First half is definitely better than the last half though. Was disappointed that some of the characters who seemed billed as protagonists more or less disappeared for ages until the very end.

[Louise, Group Founder]

Cambodia: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

Finished bit late for the Feb group read, but found it very powerful. A harrowing account of growing up during the Cambodian genocide.