SP 2015 RG Questions & Answers

[Liz M]

Reading Globally (RG) -- your goal is to explore the world by reading ten books from countries in ten different world regions.

Need to find a book set in Grenada? Try these resources:
Book Map
Books set in...
Around the World in 80 Books
Novels by continent of setting
A Year of Reading the World

Click the "Reading Globally" link above to read the full challenge description. Post questions and book suggestions for Reading Globally here!

[Karen Michele]

Excellent! I almost didn't scroll down far enough to see it, but you made my morning even better!

[Liz M]

Karen Michele wrote: "Excellent! I almost didn't scroll down far enough to see it, but you made my morning even better!"

Good morning! I envy you -- having the whole day to plan this... :)

[Kazen]

I'm hunting down books and have a question - would a book by Sergei Lukyanenko qualify? He was born in Kazahstan while it was part of the USSR, is Russian, and currently lives in Moscow. Unfortunately Kazahstan is part of Western Asia while Russia is part of Europe, complicating everything. :( I'm thinking of reading Night Watch. Thanks in advance!

[Liz M]

Kazen wrote: "I'm hunting down books and have a question - would a book by Sergei Lukyanenko qualify? He was born in Kazahstan while it was part of the USSR, is Russian, and currently lives in Mos..."

Aha! You have found the first correction I need to make to the wording of the rules!

[Liz M]

Correction:
A book qualifies for a specific country if two of the following criteria are met:
A) Author is born in said country
B) Author's nationality is of said country
C) Book takes place primarily in said country (at least 75%) and the entire book takes place within the region.

Sergei Lukyanenko is Russian (B)
Night Watch takes place in Moscow, Russia (C)

Therefore, Night Watch qualifies for Russia (Europe)

[Kazen]

Excellent, thank you!

[Lagullande]

This is probably stating the obvious, but just to make sure I have understood.....there are 11 regions on the list, but we only have to read books from 10 of them?

[Liz M]

Lagullande wrote: "This is probably stating the obvious, but just to make sure I have understood.....there are 11 regions on the list, but we only have to read books from 10 of them?"

Correct!

[Joanna]

What do you think is the nationality of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni? She was born in India, Wikipedia lists her nationality as "India, US," she now lives in Houston.

[Sam]

Just so I'm sure before I start really planning my list, if the author is (for example) born in Japan, and resides in Japan/is a Japanese citizen, then the actual setting of the book doesn't matter since it would meet A and B?

[Liz M]

Joanna wrote: "What do you think is the nationality of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni? She was born in India, Wikipedia lists her nationality as "India, US," she now lives in Houston."

It looks like Divakaruni has dual citizenship. For her, I think the setting of the book must be the deciding criteria. The Mistress of Spices works for the US (nationality, setting), The Palace of Illusions works for India (nationality, setting), and books without a clear setting do not qualify.

[Liz M]

Sam wrote: "Just so I'm sure before I start really planning my list, if the author is (for example) born in Japan, and resides in Japan/is a Japanese citizen, then the actual setting of the book doesn't matter..."

Yes

[Sam]

Great, thanks Liz!

[Joanna]

You can read these in any order, correct?

[Liz M]

Joanna wrote: "You can read these in any order, correct?"

Yes!

[El]

if a book is set in a fictitious city/town in a real country can it still count for C?
I'm thinking of Het huis van de moskee.

[Liz M]

Eleanor wrote: "if a book is set in a fictitious city/town in a real country can it still count for C?
I'm thinking of Het huis van de moskee."

Yes, as long as an actual country is specified -- The Tiger's Wife is set in fictitious cities in an "unnamed Balkan country" and won't qualify. Faulkner set many works in the fictional "Yoknapatawpha County" in the state of Mississippi, USA and these would count.

[Coralie]

Would The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico by Miguel León-Portilla work for Mexico? Although Miguel León-Portilla is Mexican, he is the editor not the author, but presumably the individuals who are telling their history are also Mexican.

[Liz M]

Coralie wrote: "Would The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico by Miguel León-Portilla work for Mexico? Although Miguel León-Portilla is Mexican,..."

This should be treated as a short story anthology where all the authors need to qualify. Looking at the library subject entries, it is hard to see how any of it could be authored by non-Mexicans:

Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540.
Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540 -- Sources.
Aztecs -- First contact with Europeans -- Sources.
Indians of Mexico -- First contact with Europeans -- Sources.
Nahuatl literature -- Translations into Spanish.

Long story short, I'll accept it. Please link to this post when you claim it.

[Coralie]

Thanks Liz.

[Jenifer]

Does The Garden of Evening Mists by Twan Eng Tanwork for Malaysia? It is set there but I think there will be flashbacks to Japan. Tan Twan Eng was born in Malaysia but seems to split his time between Malaysia and South Africa.

[Cory Day]

I just read She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Zeenat Mahal, and it definitely would have qualified under A and C until two chapters went to the United States. So now I need to figure out if Mahal qualifies for B - I don't find anything that says she isn't still a Pakistani national, but I know she was educated in England and still seems to have ties there. She refers to herself as Pakistani in this blog post (http://www.zeenatmahal.com/2014/12/ho...), so I'm assuming she has not changed citizenship, but could I verify that I can claim this book for Pakistan?

Thanks!

[Krista]

I've started to read Selected Poems by Derek Walcott

This is the only Walcott book my library had. He was born in the Caribbean on St Lucia, and I believe he still has St Lucian citizenship. So this book would qualify using elements A and B.

Here's a link to an article where he talks about retaining his St Luica citizenship even though he lives in Boston: http://bombmagazine.org/article/1565/

I just want to make sure that this book will count for St Lucia, since it's hard to tell where all the poems are set.

[Liz M]

Krista wrote: "I've started to read Selected Poems by Derek Walcott

This is the only Walcott book my library had. He was born in the Caribbean on St Lucia, and I believe he still ha..."

Aha! I answered this question above in post 11 (And you don't want to know how long it took me to remember where to look for the answer).

If a book meets the criteria for A & B, the setting doesn't matter.

[Krista]

Liz M wrote: "Krista wrote: "I've started to read Selected Poems by Derek Walcott

This is the only Walcott book my library had. He was born in the Caribbean on St Lucia, and I beli..."

Yeah, I just wasn't sure if you'd approve that he was still a citizen of St. Lucia. But I think that Wikipedia is pretty clear on that.

Sorry if I caused you undue work!!

Thanks for all the time you spend keeping this challenge going!

[Kathleen (itpdx)]

The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger
The author was born in Livov and the book takes place in Livov. before WWII Livov was in Poland through the war and after it has changed hands several times. Livov is currently in Ukraine. So what country would the book count toward?

[Liz M]

itpdx wrote: "The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger
The author was born in Livov and the book takes place in Livov. before WWII Livov was..."

Ukraine.

[Lagullande]

I was just about to post Outline by Rachel Cusk under the Scrabble task, but then wondered whether it works for RG North America.

Rachel Cusk was born in 1967 in Canada to British parents, and educated in LA and England. She now lives in England. I haven't been able to find anything that says she has British or dual citizenship. The rules for Canadian citizenship seem to be that you qualify if you were born there after in 1947.

So may I use this book under criteria A and B?

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Is Malaya and Malaysia the same country?