sirinrob

yes, very cool That interview was interesting as well for seeing how he works - come on Jasper get planning and writing!! The video on there was hilarious, hes a superb speaker.

I know this is a repost but I've managed to nail Greenland, Falkland Islands and Belarus - have a peek at my ongoing snail post

Just finished 'King Stakh's Hunt' Uladzimir Karatkevich trans Mary Mintz. Found this on the (un)originally named, but useful site 'Belarusian Literature in english transalation. Though it started slowly, the story became a bit of a page turner. It's set at the beginning of the 20th Century, and contains elements of 'Hound of the Baskervilles', Gogol's 'Dead Souls' and light gothic novel techniques. The narrator ends up , in a remote part of Belarus, and finds himself caught up in a local whodunit which he finally solves. Apparently it was written in the 1950's and slyly skirted the Soviet censors. Now have Angola. Norway and Australia to read. Also after lots of Googling and Wiki hunting finally nailed Greenland and Falkland Islands

I've started reading 'Sense & Sensibility'. its interesting as a commentary on social mores at the time it was written. Yes female characters do predominate, but I wouldn't say its very feminine, more an incisive view of society from a woman's point of view.

Another one here inspired by Janet to do the 'Reading Round The World ' challenge. By a combination of wikipedia and google managed to bag 34 countries so far. Have some good reads coming up - including one for the Faroe Islands

Another resource that is very useful, is African Writing Online - google to find it:). I managed to bag about 6 African countries through reading short stories on that site.

Having mopped up a few more countries for my 'Round the World' reading challenge, off to read 'Creole' by Jos

yes there is mention of one fireman who set the hound on himself, though its not clear why. Your conjecture that he was squirreling away books sounds likely. i think the woman was speaking generally, but might have been addressing Montag directly.

Well just finished setting up my 'Round the World reading list ... by snail' . At the moment i'm on a roll 25 countries - ok I've used on line short story resources to fill some of the gaps - books from Albania in English anyone? After tomorrow I'm probably going to come to a standstill lol.

No problem with post as i'm going to edit the above posts. Any suggestions always welcome

i've already mentioned this on janets's thread, but this month there is an anthology of short stories being published, in english, from around 30 countries in Europe, including Iceland, Lichtenstein, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania. its called 'Best European Fiction 2010. Looks like a goldmine for this challenge. If you look on google books you can read a few of the stories. So far I've snagged Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia. Also for Africa google African writing online - lots of short stories from various authors born in African countries - that gave me Zambia and Sudan amongst others. Good Luck!!! hope short stories count LOL

Middle East Bahrain Cyprus - 'The Policewoman'(short story) Aydin Mehmet Ali Iran - 'Phoenix (short story)' Pari Mansouri Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestinian Authority Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen -'Oh life'(poem) Mogib Hassan Asia Afghanistan - 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' Khaled Hosseini Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China - 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth' Xiaolu Guo East Timor 'The Bird of Peace' (poem) Ab� Barreto Soares India - 'The God of Small Things' Arundhati Roy Indonesia 'Of Bees and Mist' Erick Setiawan Japan -'The windup bird chronicle' Murakami Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Malaysia ' On The Street Where I Lived' (short story) Susan Abraham Maldives Mongolia 'Cloud dogs' (poems) Galsan Tschinag Myanmar Nepal North Korea Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka South Korea Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Australia and Pacific American Samoa Australia - 'A Fraction of the Whole' - Steve Toltz Fiji - 'Fear of an Estuary'(poem) Teresia Teaiwa French Polynesia - 'Tiare' Cel�stine Hitiura Vaite Guam Kiribati - 'Banaba - Our Rock of Kiribati' (poem) Jane Resture Marshall Islands Micronesia, Federated States of Nauru New Caledonia New Zealand Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Palau Papua New Guinea Pitcairn Islands Rarotonga & the Cook Islands Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Western Samoa 'Leaves of the Banyan tree' Albert Wendt

One possibility I have unearthed is the short story "Earth's Holocaust" from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse, that is about a society that burns everything that it finds offensive, including its literature. Other than that, which I'm sure Ray Bradbury was aware of due to his love of libraries and books, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of literary precedents. Ray Bradbury seems to have been influenced more by the Nazi book burnings for his inspiration for 'Fahrenheit 451'. This seems to be borne out the following statement made by Bradbury "It follows then that when Hitler burned a book I felt it as keenly, please forgive me, as his killing a human, for in the long sum of history they are one and the same flesh."

Europe Albania - 'The Country Where No One Ever Dies' Ornela Vorspi Andorra - 'Andorra:Festivals,Traditions and Folklore' Andorra Writers circle Armenia - 'Thats Her,they say' poem Shushanik Kurghinian trans Shushan Avagyan Austria - 'Die Mansarde' Marlen Haushofer Azerbaijan - 'Hamburger' (short story) Samed Aydin Belarus - 'King Stakh's Hunt' Uladzimir Karatkevich trans Mary Mintz Belgium - 'Zidane's Melancholy' Jean-Phillipe Toussaint Bosnia and Herzegovina - 'At the Sarajevo Market(short story)' Igor Štiks Bulgaria - 'And All Turned Moon' (short story) Georgi Gospodinov Channel Islands Croatia - 'Vereš (short story) Neven Ušumović Czech Republic - 'Immortality' Milan Kundera Denmark 'The Quiet Girl' Peter H�eg Estonia - 'Foreign Women' (short story) Elo Viiding Faroe Islands - 'The Lost Musicians' Wilhelm Heinesen Finland 'A Winter Book - Selected Stories' Tove Jansson France - 'Cousin Bette' Honor� de Balzac Georgia Germany 'The Reader' Bernhard Schlink Gibraltar Greece Hungary 'Oliver VII' Anatal Szeb Iceland - 'Independent People' Halld�r Laxness Ireland -'Two Birds at Swim' Flann O'Brian Italy - 'If on a Winter's night a traveller' Italo Calvino Latvia - 'Ants and Bumblebees' (short story)Inga Ābele Liechtenstein - 'Deep In the Snow' (short story)Mathias Ospelt Lithuania - 'The Allure of the Text' (short story) Giedra Radvilavičiūtė Luxembourg - 'The Moon of the Big Winds' Claudine Muno Macedonia - 'Longing for the South ' (poem) Konstantin Miladinov Malta Moldova Netherlands - 'The Discovery Of Heaven' Harry Mulisch Norway - 'With Their Backs to the World Portraits from Serbia' �sne Seierstad Poland - 'Heart of Darkness' Joseph Conrad Portugal - 'Blindness' Jos� Saragamo Romania - 'Three Hundred Cups' (short story) Cosmin Manolache Russia -'Fathers and Children(Sons)' Ivan Turgenev Serbia and Montenegro - 'The Basilica in Lyon' (short story) David Albahari Slovakia - 'The Prompter' (extract) Peter Krišt�fek Slovenia - 'You do Understand?' (short story) Andrej Blatnik Spain 'The shadow of the Wind' Carlos Riuz Zaf�n Sweden 'Midsummer Days' August Strindberg Switzerland - 'Die Fliege und die Suppe' Hugo Loetscher Ukraine - 'Dead Souls' - Nikolai Gogol United Kingdom -'The Eyre Affair' Jasper Fforde

Just discovered this gem 'Best European Fiction 2010'. Edited by the acclaimed Bosnian writer,Aleksandar Hemon, this is a volume of contemporary modern short stories, translated into English. Drawn from 35 countries in Europe, including Iceland, Liechtensten, Estonia. Published this month - could prove rather useful;)

progress continued... Africa Algeria - 'The Plague' Albert Camus Angola - 'Creole' Jos� Eduardo Agualusa Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo Brazzaville -'The Glass of Water' (poem) Jean-Louis N’Tadi Congo Kinshasa Djibouti Egypt - 'Palace Walk' Naguib Mahfouz Equatorial Guinea Eritrea 'Freedom's Colours' (poem) A ngessom Isakk Ethiopia - 'Cutting for Stone' Abraham Verghese Gabon Gambia Ghana - 'A Good Man in Africa' William Boyd Guinea Bissau Guinee Conarky Ivory Coast Kenya - 'The Rogue Son' (short story)Abdifatah Shafat Lesotho - 'How We Buried Puso' Morabo Morojele Liberia - 'Faces' (short story) Vamba Sherif Libya Madagascar Malawi - 'Voice of The Gods' (short story)Dango Mkandawire Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco - 'For Everbody His Own Hell' (short story) Mouna Ben Haddou trans Mohamed Said Raihani from The Moroccan Dream", Anthology of Moroccan new short story directed by Mohamed Said Raihani. Mozambique - 'Warning Shots' (short story) Domi Chirongo Namibia Niger Nigeria Reunion Rwanda - 'Scent of African Dusk' (short story) Benjamin Sehene Sao Tome and principe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia - 'Mandela' (poem) Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac 'Gaariye' trans David Harsent South Africa - 'Bitter Eden' Tatamkhulu Afrika Sudan - 'The Swallowers (short story)' Kola Boof Swaziland Tanzania - 'Green Petals' (poem) Nasibu Mwanukuzi (Ras Nas) Togo Tunisia Uganda Western Sahara Zambia - 'Maria's Vision' (short story) Austin Kaluba Zimbabwe - 'Mainini Grace’s Promises(short story)' Valerie Tagwira

Sorry to say Chrissy, but that seems to be the way hes thinking...

North America Canada - 'Salamander' Thomas Wharton Greenland - 'The Great Bear' short story from 'Eskimo Tales' collected by Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen United States - 'Fahrenheit 451' Ray Bradbury Mexico - 'Like Water For Chocolate' Laura Esquivel Central America and the Caribbean Anguila Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Barbados Bahamas Belize Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Costa Rica Cuba - 'Our GG in Havana' Pedro Juan Guti�rrez Dominica 'Wide Sargasso Sea' Jean Rhys Dominican Republic - 'The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao' Junot D�az El Salvador Guadeloupe Guatemala - 'Comrades' Marco Antonio Flores Grenada Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Netherlands Antilles Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Turks and Caicos Islands 'Middle Caicos Island TCI' (poem) Dale Marie Witt 1999 Trinidad and Tobago - 'One scattered skeleton' (memoir) Vahni Capildeo Virgin Islands South America Argentina - 'Labyrinths' L Borges Bolivia Brazil 'Brida Paulo Coelho Chile - 'By Night in Chile' Roberto Bola�o Colombia - 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold' Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez Ecuador Falkland Islands - 'Motherland' (poem) Ernest H Spencer French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela

Seeing there are several members having a go at this , I thought I'd see how far I can get. The rules i'm following are the author's place of birth, NOT their country of residence counts.

Well just finished 'Salamander' by Thomas Wharton - great read. going to start sorting out my round the world reading challenge.

Just finished 'Salamander' Thomas Wharton - highly recommended review here

This novel set in the 18th century, involves writing, reading, books and how books are made and what they mean from a reader's point of view. The basic premise of the novel is that Count Ostrov commissions the printer Nicholas Flood to produce an infinite book. Soon after appearing at the Counts fantastical castle Flood starts work , but also falls in love with Irena the count's daughter. The count discovers this and has Flood imprisoned and Irena dismissed. The sinister Abbe de Saint Foix from Quebec is involved throughout the novel, and makes several mysterious appearances. Pica the daughter of Irena and Flood frees Flood and they set off on a journey to find the materials for the book and to find Irena. After many adventures they end up back in London. Pica locates Irena and Flood and Irena are briefly united before Flood dies. The summary I've given is necessarily brief and incomplete ( otherwise I'd have to write the book out:)) The prose is fluid and beguiling . I found myself re-reading passages so I could wallow in the writing. His use of literary devices is calculated and effective. Their are numerous literary, historical and cultural references. Many of the cultural references are Islamic, but I noted Kabbalah, Buddhist and Chinese references. I'm certain I haven't spotted all the references, so a reread is in order. His foreshadowing is sly in places, a chance remark becomes significant later in the novel. I felt there was a 'hidden' thread which you caught glimpses of. Also various riddles/enigmas are embedded in the novel, some of which I need to look at again. If you love books, reading and the mystique surrounding books then this comes highly recommended.

A little factoid I just unearthed is the Jasper plans to write one more book in the NCD series - The Last Great Tortoise Race: this will be the final one in that series.

I like your book-shaped void metaphor. Montag is also trying to fill a similar void e.g trying to memorise part of Ecclasticles when hes on the train, against the 'Dentifrice' jingle persistent presence.

I think it was part of Beatty's plan to scare Montag into either admission or to make him stop seeking books. Montag sees Mildred as his partner so he feels a need to share his thoughts with her. She seems to be totally indiffernet to him, only caring for the wall and the seashells Given that Mildred is almost constantly hooked up to the seashells, then she could be bombarded by subliminal messages that assist in blurring her memory. Also the technicians could have included a drug that achieved the same end Totally agree with you, its his use of language that I enjoy.