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Ceinwenn's reading challenge


Ceinwenn

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So....I have been reading the threads on here about the reading challenges that some of you have done & thought about doing one based on the countries participating in the 2010 winter olympics, but have decided to do one that really doesn't have a time limit to it. What I have been thinking is that I am going to read a book written by an author from every country of the world (admittedly this might be impossible, but I'm going to give it a go. I'm going to start it this weekend (or as soon as I can get Amazon to deliver my 1st choice) & my only rules are that I cannot re-read a book I've alread read & the books would have to be in English or French as that's all I can read (lol).

 

I'll report here about the books I'll be reading & if any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

 

Ok, so here's the list is in alphabetical order:

 

1. Afghanistan - A thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

2. Albania - Chronical in Stone by Ismail Kadare

3. Algeria - The Attack - Yasmina Khadra (which is a nom de plume for Mohammed Moulessehoul)

4. Andorra

5. Angola

6. Antigua

7. Argentina

8. Armenia

9. Australia

10. Austria

11. Azerbaijan

12. Bahamas

13. Bahrain

14. Bangladesh

15. Barbados

16. Belarus

17. Belgium

18. Belize

19. Benin

20. Bhutan

21. Bolivia

22. Bosnia

23. Botswana

24. Brazil

25. Brunei

26. Bulgaria

27. Burkina Faso

28. Burma

29. Burundi

30. Cambodia

31. Cameroon

32. Canada

33. Cape Verde

34. Central African Republic

35. Chad

36. Chile

37. China

38. Colombia

39. Comoros

40. Congo

41. Costa Rica

42. Cote d'ivoire

43. Croatia

44. Cuba

45. Cyprus

46. Czech Republic

47. Denmark

48. Djibouti

49. Dominica

50. Dominican Republic

51. Ecuador

52. East Timor

53. Egypt

54. El Salvador

55. England - Star Gazing by Linda Gillard

56. Equatorial Guinea

57. Eritrea

58. Estonia

59. Ethiopia

60. Fiji

61. Finland

62. France

63. Gabon

64. (The) Gambia

65. Georgia

66. Germany - Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink

67. Ghana

68. Greece

69. Grenada

70. Guatemala

71. Guinea

72. Guinea-Bissau

73. Guyana

74. Haiti

75. Honduras

76. Hungary

77. Iceland

78. India

79. Indonesia

80. Iran

81. Iraq

82. Ireland (the Republic of)

83. Israel

84. Italy

85. Jamaica

86. Japan

87. Jordan

88. Kazakhstan

89. Kenya

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90. Kiribati

91. Korea (North)

92. Korea (South)

93. Kosovo

94. Kuwait

95. Kyrgyzstan

96. Laos

97. Latvia

98. Lebanon

99. Lesotho

100. Liberia

101. Libya

102. Liechtenstein

103. Lithuania

104. Luxembourg

105. Macedonia

106. Madagascar

107. Malawi

108. Malaysia

109. Maldives

110. Mali

111. Malta

112. Marshall Islands

113. Mauritania

114. Mauritius

115. Mexico

116. Micronesia

117. Moldova

118. Monaco

119. Mongolia

120. Montenegro

121. Morocco

122. Mozambique

123. Namibia

124. Nauru

125. Nepal

126. Netherlands (The)

127. New Zealand

128. Nicaragua

129. Niger

130. Nigeria

131. Norway

132. Northern Ireland

133. Oman

134. Pakistan

135. Palau

136. Panama

137. Papua New Guinea

138. Paraguay

139. Peru

140. Philippines (The)

141. Poland

142. Portugal

143. Qatar

144. Romania

145. Russia

146. Rwanda

147. St. Kitts & Nevis

148. St. Lucia

149. St. Vincent & the Grenadines

150. Samoa

151. San Marino

152. Sao Tome & Principe

153. Saudi Arabia

154. Scotland

155. Senegal

156. Serbia

157. Seychelles

158. Sierra Leon

159. Singapore

160. Slovakia

161. Slovenia

162. Solomon Islands

163. Somalia

164. South Africa

165. Spain

166. Sri Lanka

167. Sudan

168. Suriname

169. Swaziland

170. Sweden

171. Switzerland

172. Syria

173. Taiwan

174. Tajikistan

175. Tanzania

176. Thailand

177. Togo

178. Tonga

179. Trinidad & Tobago

180. Tunisia

181. Turkey

182. Turkmenistan

183. Tuvalu

184. Uganda

185. Ukraine

186. United Arab Emirates

187. United States - The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton

188. Uruguay

189. Uzbekistan

190. Vanuatu

191. Vatican City

192. Venezuela

193. Vietnam

194. Wales

195. Yemen

196. Zaire

197. Zambia

198. Zimbabwe - An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah

Edited by Ceinwenn
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I've thought about doing this challenge too (or something Olympian, anyway) but it feels rather daunting. I might have to aim for 2016!

 

I started a tentative list in 'Word' before I read A Thousand Splendid... for Afghanistan and All Quiet on the Western Front for Germany (a cross-over as it's part of my Reading Through The Decades challenge) but haven't posted it on here yet. Perhaps I should?

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I've I started a tentative list in 'Word' before I read A Thousand Splendid... for Afghanistan and All Quiet on the Western Front for Germany (a cross-over as it's part of my Reading Through The Decades challenge) but haven't posted it on here yet. Perhaps I should?

 

You should!! I know that with my current work situation it is going to take me ages to complete this challenge but hey, at least I'll be reading!

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1) Afghanistan - A thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

 

Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (18 Sep 2008)

Language English

ISBN-10: 074758589X

ISBN-13: 978-0747585893

Synopsis

 

 

AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS ON THE BESTSELLER LISTS, KHALED HOSSEINI RETURNS WITH A BEAUTIFUL, RIVETING, AND HAUNTING NOVEL OF ENORMOUS CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years -- from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding -- that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives -- the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness -- are inextricable from the history playing out around them. Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love -- a stunning accomplishment.

 

I've never read that book

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I have to admit I am really looking forward to the "challenge" of this challenge! I told my OH about this this morning & he's really excited for me to do this - he thinks it's going to be impossible, but we shall see! I've downloaded a list of countries of the world (http://www.infoplease.com/countries.html) & am going to search authors for the next country as I read my current selection, so basically, one country at a time & foreward planning for only 1 further country at a time (all suggestions of books will be gladly received!). I have made one more rule, I guess you could call it - I am going to treat the UK as 4 seperate countries, for the benifit of my Welsh other half.

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I've never read that book

 

I've seen it a few times at Waterstones & have picked it up with the thought of buying it, but have always put it back. I'm really looking forward to this book!

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I've I started a tentative list in 'Word' before I read A Thousand Splendid... for Afghanistan and All Quiet on the Western Front for Germany (a cross-over as it's part of my Reading Through The Decades challenge) but haven't posted it on here yet. Perhaps I should?
You should!! I know that with my current work situation it is going to take me ages to complete this challenge but hey, at least I'll be reading!

Oh, go on then - why not! :welcome2:

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Well, I finished A thousand Splendid Suns on Sunday night (the wee hours of Monday morning). I'd have to ask all of you who may read this to bear with me, I've never done short reviews of books before!

 

I found A thousand spendid suns to be a very engaging read. So much so that I found I was quite resentful of the fact that I had to work & couldn't devour it all in one go like I wanted to. Khaled Hosseini paints a very vivid picture of life in Afghanistan of old, then of Afghanistan under the Taliban. I know that the story is about Mariam & Laila, but in certain parts of the story I do wish that there had been more historical background, about the troubles in Afghanistan.

 

The characters in the book are very well developed & you can almost imagine that you are one of the women from the community, standing at the neighbourhood tandoor, waiting for your turn to cook the bread. While this is a tragic story, it is also one of hope - both for the future of Afghanistan & for the "fictional" Laila. While this is a work of fiction I am fairly sure that there are thousands of women in Afghanistan who "are" Mariam & Laila & Khaled Hosseini does a wonderful job of telling their stories. I found myself openly rooting for Mariam & crying at the unjustness of her exisitance & praying that there was going to be that all-american happy ending.

 

I would heartily recommend A thousand splendid suns to anyone & I shall be purchasing copies for my Mom & sisters as this truely is a book that needs to be shared & recommended!

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I am really struggling with finding an entire book translated from Albanian into English, so, whilst the search continues, I am going to move on to another country. I had been hoping to read the countries in alphabetical order, but I now see that this is going to be an impossibility, so I shall jump around the world & update as I go!

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I'm not sure this helps, but I believe Ismail Kadare is Albanian. :welcome:

 

You're right, he is. I googled "Albanian Authors" a while ago & he was one of the ones who came up, but I couldn't find anything he'd written in English. It seemed that every site I looked at was saying that there are very few Albabian authors who get translated into English. Couldn't even find anything on Amazon. Strange cause there's lots there for Kadare, actually!

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Ok, so I've found my next book. It's Chronical in Stone, by Ismail Kadare

 

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Arcade Publishing (July 11, 2007)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1559708336

ISBN-13: 978-1559708333

 

The story of a young Albanian & a primitive Albanian awakening into the modern world.

 

In a seemless mosaic of dreams & games, Kadare's young narrator both reflects and distorts events as his ancient, magical home town - and his own innocence and sense of wonder - are lost forever in the madness and brutality of the Second World War.

 

A disturbing mix of tragedy, comedy, politics and sexuality, Chronicle in Stine is a fascinating early masterpiece from the winner of the inaugural Man Booker International Prize. - From the back of the book

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oooh, okay. Some suggestions, you asked? Let's see...

France is easy. You have everything from Hugo to Houellebecq and Le Petit Prince. Especially since you can read French.

 

Finland: I'd go for Leena Lander (The House of Dark Butterflies or someting such, it's translated), Kalle Päätalo or Väinö Linna (Under the Northern Star and Unknown Soldier are both superb!)

Norway: Erlend Loe! Absolutely! Naive.Super was one of the best books I've ever read.

Sweden: Mikael Niemi's Popular Music or something like that, can't remember off the top of my hat, it's translated, and on Amazon.com. Astrid Lindgren's Pippi or other stories are also brilliant. And translated a lot.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Have started reading Chronicle in Stone & it is a very funny book so far. The way that the young narrator speaks about inanimate objects is great. I just read a section where he had encountered his first real book & his description of the words & the way the book comes alive to him is amazing!

 

"I couldn't sleep. The book lay nearby. Silent. A thin object on the divan. It was so strange...Between two cardboard covers were noises, doors, howls, horses, people. All side by side, pressed tightly against one another. Decomposed into little black marks. Hairs, eyes, legs and hands, voices, nails, beards, knocks on doors, walls, blood, the sound of horseshoes, shouts. All docile, blindly obedient to the little black marks. The letters run in mad haste, now here, now there. The h's, r's, o's, t's gallop over the page.They gather together to create a horse or a hailstorm. Then gallop away again. Now they create a dagger, a night, a ghost. The streets, slamming doors, silence. Running & running. Never stopping. Without end."

 

Brilliant!

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I finished Chronicle in Stone tonight on the train & I have to admit I am completely baffled. I just do not know what to think of this book! The way that Kadare has with words is amazing - he makes inanimate objects come alive, but god, I really won't rush out to buy another one of his books.

 

I've never before read a book that, after having read it, I've been so ambivalent about to the point of almost wishing I hadn't bothered. Such a shame because Kadare does have a certain way with words!

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  • 1 month later...

Can I recommend some Irish books? =P

Ignore this if you already have some, or whatever.

Theres the obvious ones which you may have read anyway -

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker for horror/classic

Anything by Cecelia Ahern for romantic type things

"The Picture Of Dorian Gray" - Oscar Wilde for classic/sheer genius

 

Maeve Binchy is another very popular Irish author, though I've never read her books.

"The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas" - John Boyne, which you've probably read.

 

For an Irish book set within the changing 1990's in Ireland, check out 'The Blackwater Lightship' by Colm Tob

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Just randomly, I'm assuming is has to be the country the author was born in? Rather than the language it's released in etc? As I have an author that was born in Peru, has Chilean parents and describes herself as Chilean and publishes in spanish? :lol: So I think that would count for Peru?

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Thanks RoxiS......There are quite a few on there that I haven't read! The real idea behind this challenge was to get me to read books from other genres, to read books I normally would have passed up, as I have found myself sticking to the tried & true, instead of branching out. This should force me to do exactly that & to stop being lazy about the types of books I read. Don't get me wrong, I will still flock back to my Jeffery Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman, Kathy Reichs, Lee Child - esque books for they are my comfort reading but sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone!

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

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Ok, so I'm holding an informal vote on what I should do with my next country on my list as I am nearing the end of my current book & have yet to find a book for my next country. If you would like to vote to help me make the decision, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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