Antra's Intro and 2023 Reads

[Antra]

Hi all, I've been in this group for years, but I don't think I've ever done a proper intro, and to be honest, I wasn't really engaged in the challenge of reading around the world until the year before last, so I guess now it is time to make a proper introduction?

The books I've read in years past... 2023 reads so far and reads to come at the end.

Americas

Canada - Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Mexico - Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
USA - Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler
US Virgin Islands - The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull

Africa

Cameroon - How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
Nigeria - Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Sierra Leone - The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
South Africa - Triangulum by Masande Ntshanga
South Sudan - War Child: A Child Soldier's Story by Emmanuel Jal
Zambia - The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
Zimbabwe - The Library of the Dead by TL Huchu

Europe

Austria - Erebos by Ursula Poznanski
Bulgaria - The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov
Estonia - The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirähk
France - The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier
Netherlands - On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
Portugal - The Stone Raft by Jose Saramago
Spain - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Ukraine - Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov
United Kingdom - The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Asia

Japan - 1Q84 by Haruki Marukami
Kuwait - The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
Lebanon - The Forerunner : Kahlil Gibran by Kahlil Gibran
Singapore - The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang
Turkey - The New Life by Orhan Pamuk

Oceania

Australia - The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

Now, for 2023!

Done so far in 2023:

Bahrain - The Labyrinth's Archivist by Day Al-Mohamed
Barbados - Unraveling by Karen Lord
Finland - Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta
Iceland - Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Pakistan - Before She Sleeps by Bina Shah
Senegal - At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
Slovenia - The Tree with No Name by Drago Jančar
Thailand - The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha
Turkmenistan - The Tale of Aypi by Ak Welsapar

Currently Reading:

Cuba - The Island of Eternal Love by Daína Chaviano
Democratic Republic of the Congo - Congo Inc.: Bismarck's Testament by In Koli Jean Bofane
Greece - Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present by Yanis Varoufakis
Grenada - A Stranger in the Citadel by Tobias S Buckell
Philippines - The Sleepless by Victor Manibo

To Come Later...

Sri Lanka - The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
Samoa - Mata Oti: Eyes of Death by Lani Wendt Young
Russia - When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu
Argentina - Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
... and more!

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

Hi Antra, great to see what you’re reading (and have already read)! Do you have any ‘rules’ that you follow for choosing your books, or deciding when to read them?

[Antra]

Andrea wrote: "Hi Antra, great to see what you’re reading (and have already read)! Do you have any ‘rules’ that you follow for choosing your books, or deciding when to read them?"

My rule for inclusion criteria is born and at least partially raised in the country in question. I prefer to read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi/speculative fiction, so that's a better way to do it there, since much of the work is not based in this world as we know it, though often inspired by it. And on the occasion I read something that is set in this world, the local perspective is more valuable for learning about the world and its cultures than an outsider perspective.

In the case of colonialist-created countries, I also try to read Indigenous or at least marginalized voices instead of colonialist voices (my Canada read is from an Indigenous author, my USA read is from a Black author, my to-come russia read is also from an Indigenous author).

In terms of when I read them... not really. Some as they pique my interest if I own them, others when they come up on library holds, I don't really have a detailed plan as such.

[Andrea, Slow but steady]

That great 😊 You have a few countries that I haven’t discovered yet, so I’ll be taking a look at those titles for sure.

[Lilisa]

Hi Antra - nice travels around the world and good luck with your 2023 voyage! That’s a great list you have there - like Andrea, I’ll be checking it out too.

[Rusalka]

Hi Antra, lovely to meet you properly :)

I agree, that's a fantastic list with some great ideas for places I haven't made it yet. I may shamelessly pinch some...

Hope you enjoy your 2023 reads and look forward to hearing what you think of them!