Athena Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Wow, you're making good progress . Did you enjoy the books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 The one from Gabon was the best - anything by Jan-Philip Sendker is always good as well though. I finished a brilliant one from Curacao last night, this being a country that is really hard to find books from. The House of Six Doors by Patricia Siebert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 The only book from Curacao I've read, is Frank Martinus Arion - Dubbelspel (I think the English title is Double Play). That one was pretty good. I read it for my Dutch literature lessons. It's true that books from the country are hard to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 I haven't come across that one - I will have to see if it's available on Kindle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 A few more countries to add the list: The Night of the Rambler by Montegue Kobbe for Anguilla The Unfortunate Potcake by Julie Thompson for Turks and Caicos Islands Mongol by Uuganaa Ramsay for Mongolia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hiroshima by John Hersey for Japan You're doing very well in this challenge, June. How did you find Hiroshima? I'm keen to read this one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 It was an interesting but short book. I didn't know much about this period of history having not studied the subject past the age of 14, so for me it really brought it to life. I am glad that I read it. It has though been another good year of reading for me with many more countries completed, including some hard to find ones: Gibraltar, Montserrat, Marshall Islands, Tonga, Suriname, Peru, New Zealand, Andorra, Belize, Netherlands, Pitcairn Island, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Malta. Monaco, Luxembourg, Vatican City, San Marino, Austria, Gabon, Macao, Curacao, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands. It doesn't look like a lot of countries compared to previous years and some have come from travel books that encompassed multiple areas. This is bound to happen I guess as I get nearer completion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Congratulations on completing these countries in 2015 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyM Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Well done for taking on such a daunting task. Which countries do you still need to cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyM Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 What has been the stand-out book you have read so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted May 30, 2016 Author Share Posted May 30, 2016 All the ones that are not highlighted. As for the best read - far too many to mention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted July 22, 2016 Author Share Posted July 22, 2016 (edited) Countries read so far this year: Butterfly Fish by Irenosen Okojie for Benin Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Everest Conquest by Jon Krakauer for Nepal Abyssian Chronicles by Moses Isegawa for Uganda The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara for Argentina Fractured by Clar Ni Chonghaile for Somalia HHhH by Laurent Binet for Czech Republic Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste for Ethiopia The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov for Kazakhstan Journey by Gheysika Adombire for Ghana The Truce by Mario Benedetti for Uruguay Our Musseque by Jose Luandino Vieira for Angola The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig for Austria A Father's Betrayal by Gabriella GIllespie for Yemen Edited July 22, 2016 by Talisman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 A few more countries to add to the list that I have completed in the last month or so: Written in Black by KH Lim for Brunei Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique for US Virgin Islands Secrets of the Vatican by Cyrus Shahrad for Vatican City I am currently reading My Heart Will Cross the Ocean by Kadiatou Diallo for Guinea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 It is almost the end of the year and I have managed to get through a few more countries since September: Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain for Sint Maarten Who Slashed Celanire's Throat by Maryse Conde (a brilliant book) for Guadeloupe My Beautiful Bahrain by Robin Barratt for Bahrain When Hoopoes Go to Heaven by Gaile Parkin for Swaziland End of the Spear by Steve Saint (a really interesting book) for Ecuador My Heart Will Cross the Ocean by Kadiatou Diallo for Guinea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 I managed then to get through a total of 94 books last year, which is a record for me and a fantastic result. I was aiming for 90 which had been my previous record. I didn't get through as many countries as in previous years, but that is bound to happen as I start getting towards the end of this challenge. The last country that I completed for the year was The Man Became I Came by Peter Verheist for Belgium. The new countries that I managed to complete in 2016 were then Belgium, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe, Bahrain, Swaziland, Ecuador, Guinea, Vatican City, US Virgin Islands, Brunei, Benin, Nepal, Ethiopia, Argentina, Czech Republic, Tanzania, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Uruguay, Angola, Austria and Yemen. I also managed books from Iceland, Colombia, Guernsey, Australia, Indonesia, Sweden, Somalia, South Korea, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Germany, Cuba, Israel and of course England and the United States, all of which are countries I had already covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 You've made great progress on your challenge again, June. I can't remember if you've mentioned it, but have you heard of Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer by Ann Morgan? It's about a woman who completed an around the world reading challenge. I've had my eye on it for a while, but waiting for the paperback to come out and hope that the Kindle version will drop in price. I don't think it's a challenge I could do myself, but I do like to read translated fiction and thought the book would be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 I don't think I have heard of that one, but will go and have a look and if there is a Kindle version, add to my ever increasing wish list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 I completed my first new country of 2017 about half an hour ago from Azerbaijan, a country that is difficult to find books from, especially on Kindle. I get the feeling this is one that will stay with me for a while. Layla and Majnun is billed a classic tale of Persian literature, adpated from a late 12th Century poem penned by Nizami, a Sufi mystic born in what is now Azerbaijan. This is a beautifully crafted epic tale filled with passion and longing - a Persian Romeo and Juliet of star crossed lovers forced to be apart due to tribal feuding. The two characters Layla (the woman) and Majnun (the man - the word means madman in the ancient Persian language) are a Sufi representation of the soul's yearning to return to God. The son Layla by Eric Clapton was apparently inspired by this tale. This is the sort of book that anyone who is interested in mysticism or indeed ancient Persia needs to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Just looking through your list of countries etc and see Wales has a gap. Not sure if you have heard of this one 'The Welsh Girl' ....I read it a good few years back and enjoyed it. The author is half Welsh, if that counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 I don't see why not - as long as the book is set in Wales. I will take a look and see if it's available on Kindle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 If you want another choice for Wales, I'd also recommend The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan, which I read years ago and absolutely loved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 I will bear it in mind. The title sounds interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 I finished my 2nd country of 2017 last night - Reading the Ceiling by Dayo Forster for The Gambia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 I have finished 2 more countries in the last week or so. The first was A Man was Going Down the Road by Otar Chiladze for the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. This was a very difficult and laborious read for me, which was also very lengthy. The second, which was somewhat easier was Cape Verde Blues by CW Childs for the West African island of Cape Verde. Both of these are difficult countries to find books from, especially on Kindle, so I am pleased that I managed to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCat Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) I looked over your list and I'd just like to specify a few things regarding your Romanian picks. Tuomas Kyro and Patrick McGuiness are not Romanians. Herta Muller isn't Romanian either, she was just born in Romania She moved to Germany in 1987 where she wrote all of her works, except some stories (written in 1982 and 1984) that were heavily censored by the Communist regime. Edited March 7, 2017 by MrCat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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