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Posts under ‘Reading The World – A Personal Challenge’

AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA – Reading The World

Jul 27th, 2007
by Wendy.
2 comments

Australia – Oceania Countries
(Bolded Blue Indicates Books Read)

1.   Australia (Canberra)
The True History of the Kelly Gang, by Peter Carey*
The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville*
The Secret River, by Kate Grenville

2.   Fiji (Suva)
3.   Kiribati (Bairiki)
4.   Marshall Islands (Majuro)
5.   Micronesia (Palikir)
6.   Nauru (no official capital)
7.   New Zealand (Wellington)

The Bone People, by Keri Hulme (finished 12 July 2007; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
The Colour, by Rose Tremain

8.   Palau (Koror)
9.   Paua new Guinea (Port Moresby)
10. Samoa (Apia)
11. Solomon Islands (Honiara)
12. Tonga (Nuku’alofa)
13. Tuvalu (Funafuti)
14. Vanuatu (Port-Vila)

ASIA – Reading The World

Jul 27th, 2007
by Wendy.
10 comments

Asian Countries
(Bolded Blue Indicates Books Read)

Potential books to be read for each country are indicated by red script.
Asterisk (*) indicates books I already own but have yet to read.

1.   Afganaistan (Kabul)

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (finished 8 December 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini*

2.   Azerbaijan (Baku)

Ali and Nino, by Kurban Said

3.   Bahrain (Manama)
4.   Bangladesh (Dhaka)
5.   Bhutan (Thimphu)
6.   Brune (Bander Seri Begawan)
7.   Burma/Myanmar (Yangon)

The Lizard Cage, by Karen Connelly
The Glass Palace, by Amitav Ghosh

8.   Cambodia (Phnom Penh)

Highways To A War, by Christopher J. Koch
First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung

9.   China (Beijin)

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie (finished 8 January 2007; rated 3.5/5; read my review)
Peony in Love, by Lisa See (finished 18 June 2007; rated 3.75/5; read my review)
The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck (finished 28 November 2007; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
Wild Swans, by Jung Chang
Oracle Bones, by Peter Hessler

10. Cyprus (Nicosia)
11. East Timor (Dili)
12. India (New Delhi)

The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai (finished 16 March 2007; rated 4.25/5; read my review)
The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar (finished 21 April 2007; rated 3.5/5; read my review)
The God of Small Things, by Arundhai Roy (finished 29 September 207; rated 5/5; read my review)
Hullabaloo In The Guava Orchard (finished 21 December 2007; rated 3/5; read my review)
Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts*

13. Indonesia (Jakarta)

This Earth of Mankind, by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

14. Iran (Tehran)

Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi*
My Father’s Notebook, by Kader Abdolah
Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora, by Persis M. Karim
The Blood of Flowers, by Anita Amirrezvani

15. Iraq (Baghdad)
16. Israel (Jerusalem)

A Woman in Jerusalem, A.B. Yehoshua*

17. Japan (Tokyo)

The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard (finished 8 August 2007; rated 4/5; read my review)
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden*
Shipwrecks, by Akira Yoshimura

18. Jordan (Amman)

A Beggar at Damascus Gate, by Yasmine Zahran
Pillars of Salt, by Fadia Faqir

19. Kazakstan (Astana)
20. Korea, North (Pyongyang)

The Guest, by Hwang Sok-Yong

21. Korea, South (Seoul)
22. Kuwait (Kuwait City)
23. Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek)
24. Laos (Vientiane)

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman

25. Lebanon (Beirut)

Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury*

26. Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
27. Maldivs (Male)
28. Mongolia (Ulan Bator)
29. Nepal (Kathmandu)
30. Oman (Muscat)
31. Pakistan (Islamabad)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid (finished 11 January 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
Maps For Lost Lovers, by Nadeem Aslam

32. Philippines (Manila)

When The Rainbow Goddess Wept, by Cecilia Manquerra Brainard

33. Qatar (Doha)
34. Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
35. Singapore (Singapore City)
36. Sri Lanka (Colombo)
37. Syria (Damascus)

A Lake Beyond the Wind, by Yahya Yakhlif

38. Tajikistan (Dushanbe)
39. Tibet (Lhasa)

The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiesson

40. Thailand (Bangkok)
41. Turkey (Ankara)

The Flea Palace, by Eilf Shafak (finished 15 June 2007; rated 2.5/5; read my review)
Birds Without Wings, by Louis De Bernieres (finished 28 July 2007; rated 4/5; read my review)
Bliss, by O.Z. Livaneli*

42. Turkmenistan (Ashgabat)
43. United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi)
44. Uzbekistan (Tashkent)
45. Vietnam (Hanoi)

The Sorrow of War, by Bao Ninh

46. Yeman (Sana)

EUROPE – Reading The World

Jul 27th, 2007
by Wendy.
8 comments

EUROPEAN Countries
(Bolded Blue Indicates Books Read)

Potential books to be read for each country are indicated in red type.
Asterisk (*) indicates books I already own, but have not read yet.

1.   Albania (Tirane)
2.   Andorra (Andorra la Vella)
3.   Armenia (Yerevan)
4.   Austria (Vienna)

The Fig Eater, by Jody Shield*
The Terror of Ice and Darkness, by Christoph Ransmayr

5.   Belarus (Minsk)
6.   Belgium (Brussels)

Summer in Termuren, by Louis Paul Boon

7.   Bosnia andHerzegovina (Sarajevo)
8.   Bulgaria (Sofia)
9.   Cape Verde (Praia)
10. Coatia (Zagreb)
11.  Czech Republic (Prague)

Giraffe, by J.M. Ledgard

12. Denmark (Copenhagen)

Leeway Cottage, by Beth Gutcheon*
The Royal Physician’s Visit, by Per Olov Enquist

13. Estonia (Tallinn)

The Czar’s Madman, by Jaan Kross

14. Finland (Helsinki)

Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name, by Vendela Vida (Lapland)

15. France (Paris)

Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky (finished 17 February 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)

16. Georgia (Tbilisi)

Ali and Nino, by Kurban Said

17. Germany (Berlin)

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (finished 28 January 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)
The Reader, by Berhard Schlink*
Stones From The River, by Ursula Hegi*
Paper Kisses: A True Love Story, by Reinhard Kaiser

18. Greece (Athens)

Corelli’s Mandolin, by Louis De Bernieres

19. Hungary (Budapest)

Embers, by Sandor Marai*

20. Iceland (Reykjavik)

Independent People, by Halldor Laxness
The Fish Can Sing, by Halldor Laxness

21. Ireland (Dublin)

Silver Wedding, by Maeve Binchy*
The Blackwater Lightship, by Colm Toibin (finished 09 November 2007; read my review)
The Law of Dreams, by Peter Behrens

22. Italy (Rome)

A Thousand Days in Tuscany, by Marlena De Blasi*
The Almond Picker, by Simonetta Agnello Hornby

23. Latvia (Riga)
24. Liechtenstein (Vaduz)
25. Lithuania (Vilnius)
26. Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
27. Macedonia (Skopje)
28. Malta (Valletta)
29. Moldova (Chisinau)
30. Monaco (Monaco)
31. Montenegro (Podgorica)
32. Netherlands (Amsterdam, The Hague)
33. Norway (Oslo)

Giants in the Earth, O.E. Rolvaag*
In the Wake, by Per Peterson
Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset

34. Poland (Warsaw)

Anything by the author Ryszard Kapuscinski
Nine, by Andrezej Stasiuk

35. Portugal (Lisbon)

Alentejo Blue, by Monica Ali (finished 22 February 2008; rated 4.5/5; read my review)

36. Romania (Bucharest)

Land of Green Plums, by Herta Muller

37. Russia (Moscow)

The Madonnas Of Leningrad, by Debra Dean (finished 7 May 2007; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
The Brothers Karmazov, by Fyodor Doestoevsky*
Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak (finished 24 November 2007; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
A Russian Journal, by John Steinbeck

38. San Marino (San Marino)
39. Serbia (Belgrade)
40. Slovakia (Bratislava)

Zoli, by Colum McCann

41. Slovenia (Ljubljana)

Veronika Decides to Die, by Paulo Coelho (finished 2 November 2007; rated 3.5/5; read my review)

42. Spain (Madrid)

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (finished 7 July 2007; rated 4.75/5; read my review)
For Whom The Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway (finished 7 April 2007; rated 2.5/5; read my review)

43. Sweden (Stockholm)

Hanna’s Daughters, by Marianne Fredriksson*
April Witch, by Majqull Axelsson
Doctor Glas, by Hjalmar Soderberg
The Princess of Burundi, by Kjell Eriksson*

44. Switzerland (Bern)

Hotel Du Lac, by Anita Brookner

45. Ukraine (Kiev)
46. United Kingdom (London)

Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell (finished 26 March 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)
Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes (finished 30 April 2007; rated 4/5; read my review)
Old Filth, by Jane Gardam (finished 29 May 2007; rated 3.75/5; read my review)
How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewelln – South Wales (finished August 15, 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)
47. Vatican City (na)


AFRICA – Reading the World

Jul 26th, 2007
by Wendy.
12 comments

THE LIST for AFRICAN COUNTRIES
(Bolded Blue indicates books already read)

Potential books to be read for each country are indicated in red type.
Asterisk (*) indicates books I already own by have not read yet.

1.   Algeria (Algers)

Children of the New World: A Novel of the Algerian War, by Assia Djebar

2.   Angora (Luanda)

3.   Benin (Port-Novo)

Instruments of Darkness, by Robert Wilson

4.   Botswana (Gaborone)

5.   Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
6.   Burundi (Bujumbura)
7.   Cameroon (Yaounde)
8.   Central African Republic (Bangui)
9.   Chad (N’Djamena)

The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur, by Daoud Hari (finished 15 February 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)

10. Comoros (Moroni)
11. Congo (Brazzaville)

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver*
A Bend in the River, by V.S. Naipal*

12. Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa)

13. Cote d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast (Yamoussoukro)

As The Crow Flies, by Veronique Tadjo
Whiteman, by Tony D’Souza
The Suns of Independence, by Ahmadou Kourouma

14. Djibouti (Djibouti)

15. Egypt (Cairo)

The Cairo Trilogy, by Naguib Mahfouz*
Three Novels of Ancient Egypt, by Naguib Mahfouz*
The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al Aswany

16. Equatoria Guinea (Malabo)

17. Eritrea (Asmara)
18. Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, by Dinaw Megestu
Sweetness in the Belly, by Camilla Gibb

19. Gabon (Liberville)

20. Gambia (Banjul)
21. Ghana (Accra)

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, by Ayi Kwei Armah

22. Guinea (Conakry)

23. Guinea-Bissau (Bissau)

The Dark Child: The Autobiography of an African Boy, by Camara Laye

24. Kenya (Nairobi)

The Camel Bookmobile, by Masha Hamilton
Out of Africa and Shadows on Grass, by Isak Dinesen

25. Lesotho (Maseru)

26. Liberia (Monrovia)
27. Libya (Tripoli)

In The Country of Men, by Hisham Matar

28. Madagascar (Antananarivo)

29. Malawi (Lilongwe)
30. Mali (Bamako)

Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold, by Michael Benanav

31. Mauritania (Nouakchott)

32. Mauritius (Port Louis)
33. Morocco (Rabat)

Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi (finished 16 May 2007; rated 4/5; read my review)

34. Mozambique (Maputo)
35. Namibia (Windhoek)
36. Niger (Niamey)
37. Nigeria (Abuja)

Half of A Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (finished 7 January 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)
Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (finished 24 January 2007; rated 5/5; read my review)

38. Rwanda (Kigali)

A Sunday At The Pool in Kigali, by Gil Courtemanche

39. Sao Tome and Principe (Sao Tome)
40. Senegal (Dakar)

So Long A Letter, by Mariama Ba
Scarlet Song, by Mariama Ba
The Ambiguous Adventure, by Cheikh Hamidou Kane

41. Seychelles (Victoria)
42. Sierra Leone (Freetown)

A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah

43. Somalia (Mogadishu)

Knots, by Nuruddin Farah

44. South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town, Bleoemfontein)

Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee (finished 14 December 2007; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee (finished 17 February 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
Playing in the Light, by Zoe Wicomb
Cry The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

Reading The World

Jul 26th, 2007
by Wendy.
5 comments

In the last year, I have become interested in reading world literature. I was surprised the other day when I sat down and reviewed my 2007 reads and found I’d read many books either set in other countries, or authored by foreign writers.

Several lit-bloggers have proposed world literature challenges: Reading Across Borders, Around the World in 80 Books, and Book Around the World.  One of my favorite blogs is Around the World in 100 Books – a blog devoted to reading world literature.

So, I have decided to set up my own plan to read around the world. I’m not setting a deadline. I’m not formally joining any of the challenges (except for Reading Across Borders which is an ongoing challenge I’m doing).

There is some disagreement among scholars how many countries actually exist. The numbers range from 189 to 194. I have decided to use the list compiled by WorldAtlas.com and found here. My goal is to read at least one book for each country listed. The book(s) I choose will either be in translation from that country, primarily set in that country or written by an author from that country. I want to get a sense of each country from the books I read.

I plan to gather my ideas about books from several sources, including (but not limited to) the following:

1. Michelle’s blog at 3m3a and her list of potential books from around the world
2. Bonnie’s blog at Book Around The World
3. The wonderful blog Around The World in 100 Books
4. Books in Translation Yahoo group
5. The magazine World Literature Today

So Far This is What My World Literature Map looks like:
create your own visited countries map or vertaling Duits NederlandsIf you would like to customize a map like this for YOUR world reading, you may do so by visiting this site.

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