2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE: Quarterly Challenges
>
Q2 - Who Runs the World?
date
newest »


16/20
Should I be mentioning the countries? After a certain point I have only been adding books in new countries--otherwise I'd have already finished.

Just completed a book set in Venice, Italy - Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. A good read after being stuck in place for over a year! The cities and travel experiences are captured well. While I enjoyed the story and characters, it all felt a bit surface for me. โOne good dress and a heart full of belief in oneself is more than enough too see anyone safely around the world.โ Overall, it was a quick and entertaining read. I received this book as a free giveaway in exchange for my honest review. Worth reading. 4 stars
10/10 - completed!

corrected book 16 to the real one in the Maldives (made a mistake--I was posting about two books finished on the same day to various places
Also 17/20 and Haiti is the latest country.

Progress: 25/21
Authors who identify as trans & nonbinary:
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (NB)
The Red Threads of Fortune by Neon Yang (NB)
Nevada by Imogen Binnie (Trans)
Female author:
El Salvador: Slash and Burn by Claudia Hernรกndez (txl from Spanish)
Mexico: Grieving: Dispatches from a Wounded Country by Cristina Rivera Garza (txl from Spanish)
Peru: Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin (txl from Spanish) Note: this is set in several non-us locations.
England: A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder
I'm hoping to finish another book or two before the end of the month :)

16/20
Should I be mentioning the countries? After a certain point I have only been adding books in new countries--otherwise I'd have already finished."
Hi Karin. You can count multiple books set in one country as long as they are not the country you live in.

Completed:
1. US: A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot
2. Mexico: What Would Frida Do? A Guide to Living Boldly
3. Canada: Anne of Green Gables
4. Canada: House of Dreams
5. Canada: Anne of Avonlea
6. UK: The Rose Code
7. China: Where the Past Begins
8. S. Korea: Crying in H Mart
9: Transgender Author: Redefining Realness
10: UK: Gentleman Jack

โ 1 The Wonder Ireland COMPLETED
โ 2 [[book:How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House|53369488] Barbados COMPLETED
โ 3 The Thing Around Your Neck Nigeria COMPLETED
โ 4 The Memory of Love Sierra Leone COMPLETED
โ 5 Burial Rites Iceland COMPLETED
โ 6 The Mermaid of Black Conch Caribbean COMPLETED
โ 7 Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen England COMPLETED
โ 8 A Gathering Light US COMPLETED
โ 9 Ariadne Greece COMPLETED
โ 10 The Miniaturist The Netherlands COMPLETED
Happy reading everyone ๐๐

18/18 books read...***Challenge Complete**
Thank You, Diane, for leading this great challenge! I so enjoyed my trip around the world!
Africa
โ Kintu - Uganda
โ The Death of Vivek Oji - Nigeria
Asia
โ The Housekeeper and the Professor - Japan
Europe
โ Here With Me - Scotland
โ Well-Schooled in Murder - England
โ Burial Rites - Iceland
โ Sun Storm - Sweden

PROGRESS: 67/54๐โ๏ธ
The Under Dog and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (England)โ
Lead-Pipe Cinch by Christy Evans (USA - Oregon)โ

Progress: 21/26 - challenge complete!
Thanks for a fun challenge, Diane! I appreciated the prompt to get to a few more books by non-binary and trans authors and enjoyed browsing lists from other readers.

16/20
Should I be mentioning the countries? After a certain point I have only been adding books in new countries--otherwise I'd have already finished."
Hi Karin..."
Yes, and I am going to add them now to get my 20--it won't be a problem, but I thought I'd go for different ones :)

20/20!

Hi, guys!
So I did more than 6/6. However, I got USA several times. :v
So, let's keep it at 7/6. (Unless "space" for Captain Marvel doesn't count. If that's the case, then 6/6. lol)
Global voices:
i) Anna Sewel: Black Beauty (England.)
ii) Ruth Stone: What Love Comes To: New & Selected Poems. (United States.)
iii) Isabella Bird: Among the Tibetans. (Tibet.)
iv) Sappho: Come Close. (Greece.)
v) Kelly DeConnick: Captain Marvel, Volume 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More, Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Stay Fly, Captain Marvel, Volume 3: Alis Volat Propriis. (IDK... Space? All over the world?)
Trans/non-binary
vi) Joelle Stevenson: Nimona.
vii) Maia Kobabe: Gender Queer.

8/15
Didn't get to finish the books I wanted to get to, but at least I got some done!

48. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax (Bulgaria)
49. My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Israel)
50. The Villa of Dreams (Portugal)
51. Meet Me in Monaco (Monaco)
Thanks for the fun challenge ๐

Totals at end:
16 books by trans/non-binary authors
5 books by asexual authors
Thanks for expanding my limited knowledge of these minority groups through this challenge!

Congratulations to the last few people who completed the challenge - Margie, Karin, Malola, and Jennifer!!
I have led a few challenges over the years and this one has been one of the most enjoyable. I love reading diversely and being introduced to new authors, ideas, history, traditions, etc. Youโve all elevated my reading and added a pile of books to my TBR list. Thank you for participating. I hope you had fun with it.
End of challenge stats:
Participants: 40
Challenges Started (at least one book read): 30
Challenges Completed: 21
Books Pledged: 529
Books Read: 367
Countries/Areas Visited: 76
Books by Trans/Non-Binary Authors: 36
After the US and England, the countries most visited were Canada ๐จ๐ฆ and China ๐จ๐ณ
Books mentioned in this topic
Remembered Death (other topics)Wide Sargasso Sea (other topics)
The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal (other topics)
The Wonder (other topics)
The Mermaid of Black Conch (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Laurie Notaro (other topics)L.M. Montgomery (other topics)
Christy Evans (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
Christy Evans (other topics)
More...
PROGRESS: 65/54๐โ๏ธ
Mystery of the Island Jewels by Joyce A. Stengel (Martinique)โ
Syrian Brides by Anna Halabi (Syria)โ
The Rock by L.J. Ross (England)โ
Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich (USA - New Jersey)โ
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (Egypt)โ