2023 Know Thy Shelf Challenge

[CBRetriever]

Kaia wrote: "I thought I should check in on my progress with this challenge. My goal was to read more books by authors from the western hemisphere who are not from the US or Canada and more authors from other p..."

these are on my list of other countries

The Widow Queen by Cherezińska, Elżbieta = Poland
Automatic Eve by Inui, Rokuro = Japan
The Cabinet by Un-Su Kim = South Korea
Love. An Archaeology (The Harvester Series Book 8) by Fernandes, Fabio = Brazil
The Kingdom by Nesbo, Jo = Norway
Incomplete Solutions by Talabi, Wole = Nigeria
BloodBusters by Verso, Francesco = Italy
To the Sky Kingdom by Zi, Tang Qi Gong = China
Lex Talionis by Garcia, R.S.A. = Trinidad
Northern Wrath (The Hanged God Trilogy #1) by Holdt, Thilde Kold = Denmark
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Lord, Karen = Barbados
The Border Keeper by Hall, Kersten = South Africa

edit to change the countries on these:

BloodBusters by Verso, Francesco = Italy
To the Sky Kingdom by Zi, Tang Qi Gong = China

[Kaa]

I read Witches, by Brenda Lozano who is from Mexico, earlier this year and thought it was unusual and interesting.

And I loved Space Invaders, by Nona Fernandez from Chile, although it's not really speculative fiction.

I haven't read her yet, but I know several people who really like Samanta Schweblin, from Argentina.

[Kaia]

Thanks for the recommendations, CBR and Kaa! I’ve added a bunch to my to-read list (and it looks like they are mostly available through my library, which is a bonus).

Kaa, when I looked up Samanta Schweblin, I realized that I had read some of her stories in the past and quite liked them. (I listen to a lot of short stories on story podcasts, but the downside of this is that I will remember the title and the content, but the author’s name often doesn’t stick with me.) Space Invaders and Witches also look really interesting.

[Anna]

I love Schweblin! Depends on what type of stories you like, some of them lean more visceral horror, like Mouthful of Birds (short stories), others have a quieter, more disturbing than horrory feel, my favorites being Little Eyes (social scifi/dystopia) and Fever Dream (magical realism).

[Kaia]

Anna wrote: "I love Schweblin! Depends on what type of stories you like, some of them lean more visceral horror, like Mouthful of Birds (short stories), others have a quieter, more disturbing th..."

Thanks, Anna! I checked out Mouthful of Birds and Little Eyes from my library today. :-)

[Anna]

I hope you like them! 😊

[CBRetriever]

added this one The Border Keeper by Kerstin Hall = South Africa

I don't know if it's set in South Africa, but the author is South African

[Kaia]

Finally making some headway on this challenge, which, for me, meant reading more authors from the Caribbean, South America, Mexico, and Central America. Recently read:

Pepperpot: Best New Stories from the Caribbean - I really didn’t like this overall, though there were a few stories that were exceptions.

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin (Argentina)

Two from RSA Garcia (Trinidad and Tobago):
Lex Talionis and
Bishop's Opening

And Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (Jamaica - though she’s Canadian now, she was born and raised in Jamaica until age 16, and this book has a lot of Caribbean influence, so I think it should count)

[CBRetriever]

Kaia wrote: "Two from RSA Garcia (Trinidad and Tobago):
Lex Talionis and
Bishop's Opening

And Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (Jamaica - though she’s Canadian now, she was born and raised in Jamaica until age 16, and this book has a lot of Caribbean influence, so I think it should count) ."

I read Lex Talionis and Brown Girl in the Ring which were both intriguing.

[Kaia]

CBRetriever wrote: "I read Lex Talionis and Brown Girl in the Ring which were both intriguing."

I thought so, too - though I was a little disappointed at the ending of Lex Talionis. I was so invested that I wish the author had decided to made it a duology to flesh out the end.

[CBRetriever]

added another one to the list of foreign writers

Bloodbusters by Francesco Verso = not my cup of tea with too much blood and obsession

[Lori]

I enjoyed this challenge and went out to the book shop with this specifically in mind. I came back with 3 books to fill in some gaps.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

My Q3 update:

13 books by people of Hispanic or Latin descent

Labyrinth Lost - This was a ton of fun. Just a great UF romp

This Thing Between Us - probably the saddest horror I've ever read.

The Murmur of Bees - I thought this was excellent. Yeah, sure kinda centered on the haves in a time of have-nots, but I think we got to see more of the world from the privileged eyes, and therefore more of the impact of the not-having.

Bindle Punk Bruja - this was cheesy with a weird emphasis on sex and shame.

Mexican Gothic - my favorite by this author so far!

Shadowhouse Fall - Not as good as the first. Why does tarot often feel so phoned-in in books?



8 books by Black/African authors

The Queue - I never know where to put Middle-eastern when dividing by continents, but I'm going to put this here because Egypt is in Africa. Sad, contemplative, bleak.

Beloved - a classic for a reason

The Map of Salt and Stars - this was heeeeaaavy

Goliath - This one had my home town! I'm not sure I got it completely, but how often do people outside major cities get to hear someone say their hometown in specfic!

Cyber Mage - He cracks me up.

The Enchantress of Florence - also not the right place to put this, but I'll fix it later. Very fun alt-folktale, too many sexual organs.

The Saint of Bright Doors - really liked this. Both very surreal and super concrete.

Hadriana in All My Dreams - horniest zombie book you've ever read. Also most literary.

4 books by Asian authors
The Housekeeper and the Professor - an absolute delight. If you like A Gentleman in Moscow, try a housekeeper in Japan!

Spirits Abroad - a re-read, not sure if I'll end up counting this, but a good 'un?

Zero Sum Game - so there's urban fantasy which has its own tropes, and then there's this, which is urban scifi? Pretty interesting, actually.

Null Set - same great terrible fun as Zero Sum Game

Siren Queen - I don't think I'm cinematic enough for this book, but it was well written and researched.

And Break the Pretty Kings - Loved the title. If the author had been a little bolder in her execution, this would have gone from fun to great.

Severance - MFA 101


1 book by a Native author

Shutter - very gory!

Green Grass, Running Water - too literary for me

VenCo - Fun, but kind of got away from itself a bit.

Wild to me how much more success, proportionally, I've had with some groups and not others. Trying like hell to round out my year with Hispanic or Latin authors! Wish me luck

[CBRetriever]

excellent

I read, from your list, Severance and Mexican Gothic. I own Shutter and may read that this year or next year

I'm at 22 non US/UK books and 7 LGBQT+ authors. I'll list them when I get closer to the end of the year.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

My Q3 update:

13 books by people of Hispanic or Latin descent

Labyrinth Lost - This was a ton of fun. Just a great UF romp

This Thing Between Us - probably the saddest horror I've ever read.

The Murmur of Bees - I thought this was excellent. Yeah, sure kinda centered on the haves in a time of have-nots, but I think we got to see more of the world from the privileged eyes, and therefore more of the impact of the not-having.

Bindle Punk Bruja - this was cheesy with a weird emphasis on sex and shame.

Mexican Gothic - my favorite by this author so far!

Shadowhouse Fall - Not as good as the first. Why does tarot often feel so phoned-in in books?

The Scourge Between Stars - a fun quick space horror

The Route of Ice and Salt - OMG was this book horny! An interesting comparison between gothic monsters and how society treats gay men

Infinity Son - meh. Run of the mill YA with a lot of potential

The Mimicking of Known Successes - A fun space Sherlock AU

The Last Cuentista - So so good. So good in fact I made a whole challenge next year because of it!

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina - Really well done look at heritage, family, and magic. Think Encanto, but Rated PG13



8 books by Black/African authors

The Queue - I never know where to put Middle-eastern when dividing by continents, but I'm going to put this here because Egypt is in Africa. Sad, contemplative, bleak.

Beloved - a classic for a reason

The Map of Salt and Stars - this was heeeeaaavy

Goliath - This one had my home town! I'm not sure I got it completely, but how often do people outside major cities get to hear someone say their hometown in specfic!

Cyber Mage - He cracks me up.

The Enchantress of Florence - also not the right place to put this, but I'll fix it later. Very fun alt-folktale, too many sexual organs.

The Saint of Bright Doors - really liked this. Both very surreal and super concrete.

Hadriana in All My Dreams - horniest zombie book you've ever read. Also most literary.

4 books by Asian authors
The Housekeeper and the Professor - an absolute delight. If you like A Gentleman in Moscow, try a housekeeper in Japan!

Spirits Abroad - a re-read, not sure if I'll end up counting this, but a good 'un?

Zero Sum Game - so there's urban fantasy which has its own tropes, and then there's this, which is urban scifi? Pretty interesting, actually.

Null Set - same great terrible fun as Zero Sum Game

Siren Queen - I don't think I'm cinematic enough for this book, but it was well written and researched.

And Break the Pretty Kings - Loved the title. If the author had been a little bolder in her execution, this would have gone from fun to great.

Severance - MFA 101

The Water Outlaws - Very good folk tale sort of story about a rebellion


1 book by a Native author

Shutter - very gory!

Green Grass, Running Water - too literary for me

VenCo - Fun, but kind of got away from itself a bit.

Down to the wire now, but I think I'll make it! One more Latin@ book to read, and I have one on deck now.

[CBRetriever]

Other ethnicity/country

The Widow Queen by Cherezińska, Elżbieta = Poland
Love. an Archaeology by Fernandes, Fabio = Brazil
Lex Talionis by Garcia, R.S.A. = Trinidad
The Border Keeper by Hall, Kersten = South Africa and included even though the author is white because the subject matter is ethnic
Northern Wrath by Holdt, Thilde Kold = Denmark
Brown Girl in the Ring by Hopkinson, Nalo = Canadian/Jamaican
Automatic Eve by Inui, Rokuro = Japan
The Bruising of Qilwa by Jamnia, Naseem = Persia/America
Elatsoe by Little Badger, Darcie America/Apache
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Lord, Karen = Barbados
Severance: A Novel by Ma, Ling = Chinese American
The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Moreno-Garcia, Silvia = Mexico-Canada
Incomplete Solutions by Talabi, Wole = Nigeria
The Cabinet by Un-Su Kim = South Korea
Bloodbusters by Verso, Francesco = Italy
To the Sky Kingdom by Zi, Tang Qi Gong = Chinese
Neom by Tidhar, Lavie = Israel/England
The Vanishing Kind by Tidhar, Lavie = Israel/England

In the above category, but in the Mystery genre

Night Shadows by Ægisdóttir, Eva Björg = Iceland
The Kingdom by Nesbo, Jo
Killing Moon: A Harry Hole Novel (13) by Nesbo, Jo
The Coroner Series: America's Most Controversial Medical Examiner Tells All by Noguchi, Thomas T. Japan/America
The Moose Paradox by Tuomainen, Antti = Finland

Them/Pan/LBGTQ+

Victories Greater Than Death by Anders, Charlie Jane
The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan by Kiernan, Caitlin R.
The Unspoken Name by Larkwood, A.K.
Flotsam by Theodore, R.J. <<<------------------ will read the rest of this series next year
Upright Women Wanted by Gailey, Sarah
Middlegame by McGuire, Seanan
The Bruising of Qilwa by Jamnia, Naseem <<<--------- listed above
Elatsoe by Little Badger, Darcie <<<--------- listed above
The Infinite Noise by Shippen, Lauren
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Harrow, Alix E.

I didn't do as well as Allison, but I added a lot. I'm also more aware of genders and countries of origin than I was as I used to pay no attention to that, just to whether or not a story sounded good. I'm trying to do away with my bias towards not choosing books where the names could be confusing (The names were very similar for some characters in the Sky Kingdom which made it a bit hard to read).

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

That's great, Chessie, that you opened your world up a bit! That's exactly what I was hoping for with this challenge.

Without any malice at all, it's so easy to miss out on so many cool things just because of the river of culture.

[CBRetriever]

Allison wrote: "Without any malice at all, it's so easy to miss out on so many cool things just because of the river of culture."

definitely - I would have missed out on Qilwa, The Cabinet, Severance and Neom otherwise

[Kaa]

Ok, I don't really read mysteries, but I love the title "The Moose Paradox." This has been a fun challenge, not just for my own shelves but also for seeing what everyone else is reading.

I am on track to meet my goal of 20% of my reading to be by Latinx/Hispanic authors - 12 of 62 books read, with 2 more that I am currently reading and expect to finish by the end of the year.
Completed:
A Season for Wishes by Lydia San Andres
Witches by Brenda Lozano
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older
Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora (anthology)
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera
The Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Half Outlaw by Alex Tembaldor
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Still reading:
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

[DivaDiane]

That’s amazing, Kaa! Congratulations!

[Kaa]

I finished Family Lore, didn't end up finishing Woman of Light, but I did read Plantains and Our Becoming: Poems instead, so I had 14 of 67 (probably) books read by Latinx authors, or 21%.