At Book around the States we have a long list of books about states of the union, but we don't need EVERY book about a country, just the best ones. What have you read? What did you enjoy reading? Let's name some possibilities.
North AmericaCentral America
Caribbean
South America
Europe
Africa
Middle East
Central Asia
Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia
Oceania
Anarctica
These are some of the areas of the world, so let's set out to find some books about the countries on the world's continents.
58 comments:
You are really tempting me now. =)
I have some suggestions:
1) The Book Thief (Zusak) - Germany
2) The Kite Runner (Hosseini)- Afghanistan
3) I am the Messenger (Zusak) - Australia
4) The Shadow of the Wind (Zafon) - Spain
I'll probably think of more, but I feel these represent their counties - at best or worst.
Jill
http://mrstreme.livejournal.com
I posted an entry to my blog about this challenge - hopefully, it will drive some traffic to your site. Thanks for creating such interesting reading challenges!
Click here to read my post.
=) Jill
Excellent idea. I've been doing this as well; some good books I've liked include:
Turkey: Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk (nonfiction/memoir)
Portugal: Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
Sri Lanka: Reef by Rumesh Gunesekera
New Zealand: The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Here's the link to my lists, some completed, some future ideas http://raidergirl3.blogspot.com/
I've got some of your Around the States stuff there too.
I've spent about a third of my life (20 years) outside the US.
I'd like to recommend some books from the places I had the great good fortune to live:
JAPAN: Momotaro, the Peach Pit Boy (possibly my first book)
ENGLAND: Waterland, by Graham Swift (about the Fens (http://www.countryside.gov.uk/Images/JCA46_tcm2-21145.pdf)
GERMANY: Ursula Hegi's Stones from the River
TURKEY: The Tales of Khodja (you'll find it spelled in many way ways - but the Hodja is a wonderful character from Turkish lore)
AND Rise the Euphrates by Carol Edgarian (a wonderful book about a terrible, terrible time)
Bonnie! Just when I was having so much fun at Book around the States, you made Book around the World. Where I'm sure to have even more fun! Actually, when I was skimming my bookshelves for ideas for BATS, I found that most of my favorite literary books were set in other countries (don't know what that says about my tastes in reading). I'm going to go looking again and post some books up soon!
PS My boyfriend is from New England and we were chatting about BATS last night and he gave me some ideas. Unfortunately, I didn't write them down and need to ask again.
I too am really tempted, partly because I am reading Bookseller in Kabul and have others lined up that would fit in! Seriously, I think this is an excellent idea to encourage broader world wide reading.
Going away on Thursday, no computer access, so you won't hear fom me! However I will be armed with my fountain pen (!), journal, stickits etc!!! Plus I will have loads of time to think about choices.
I too have posted an entry to my blog about this challenge. Have I missed something or is there an end date to this challenge?
Thanks agin for creating a great challenge.
I always take a long time to figure out my books - contemplating - that is part of the fun for me!
http://juliette-m-m.livejournal.com/
No end date, Juliette, just read these books as they fit into your schedule. What I would like is for us to decide together which are the BEST of the books we read. Obviously, some will be better than others. Some may be better written, while others may tell us more about the location. In other words, BEST would mean what you consider an excellent book about the state, using whatever criterion you choose.
What a fabulous blog, Bonnie!
I've linked this to my Novel Challenges blog: http://novelchallenges.blogspot.com/
And I'm going to have to do this one, I see :) But, I need to get organized. Will come back later when I've figured out how I'm going to manage yet one more challenge!!
I'll be waiting until you guys decide what books to read, and then I will read them. Take your time, there is no hurry.
I posted this to my blog & though about reading 2 books from each region. So maybe we can choose of the best books from each region.
I did also say the books would choose me, but I can scrap that part and work from your list.
Please add The Bookseller from Kabul to the list. I have not read that one yet, I would like to. So many people are raving about it.
H
http://bibliobiography.blogspot.com/2007/07/books-around-world-challenge.html
Heres my Blog post.
H
Thanks for the suggestion, Historia. Look at the book list along the right side of this blog and you'll see that Bookseller of Kabul is already listed, representing Afghanistan. If you happen to read a book about a particular state, how about coming here and telling us about it. Or if you hear about a book someone else has enjoyed. Thanks for spreading the word on your blog.
Didnt see that list - will make my choices from the list when I return. Hopefull the list will be longer.
Banjo Patterson - poems from Australia. His long poem "Man from Snowy River" is considered the BEST, and it surely does represent the Australian Outback. Could also be read for books to movies as well.
Alice Springs by Nevil Shute is another good book.
For India, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts is a powerful, dynamic and fast moving work of fiction based upon a true life experience. Like many of the books we will come up with it reflects the country in a variety of lights.....
Me again! I just finished The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland - a new book that follows a Soviet archivist who tries to protect works of literature from permanent destruction during the time of Stalin's Great Purge. A review is posted on my blog, if you're interested.
I am not a Russian scholar, so I have no idea if this is a great representative of the literature of Russia or the former Soviet Union. However, for my personal list, I am counting it for "Russia" for this challenge.
Take care!
Jill =)
http:/mrstreme.livejournal.com
I have posted this link on my personal 'Around the world in 80 books challenge'
http://myreadingchallanges.blogspot.com
You have so many great suggestions :)
Can I suggest:
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) Also Purple Hibiscus by the same author.
Hoo Roo
Sally
Thanks, Sally. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was already suggested earlier (see the list of books in the sidebar). It's a great book, isn't it? I have posted your suggestion for her other book, Purple Hibiscus. I hope it's as good as the other one, which really impressed me.
I just finished Birds Without Wings, by Louis De Bernieres. It is a good read for Turkey. You can read my review here
I am planning a project to READ THE WORLD. You can find all my posts for this personal challenge here.
Margaret Atwood is a renowned Canadian author. Her book Alias Grace is a fabulous read that fictionalizes a true life crime case in Canada. You can find my review for this book here.
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, by Malika Oufkir fits the bill for a compelling Moroccan read. It is a memoir...my review can be found here.
Set in France during the Nazi invasion, Suite Francaise was left unfinished by its famous author Irene Nemirovsky. When the manuscript was discovered, it was published along with Nemirovsky's detailed notes for the novel which was to be an epic of more than 1000 pages. A touching and important part of history, it is a good read for France. My review is here.
Debra Dean's debut novel The Madonnas of Leningrad is a moving story of an elderly woman caught in the debilitating disease of Alzheimers. As she sinks further into her illness, she begins to remember her years working at the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, including the Nazi siege of Leningrad. A wonderful book for Russia...here is my review.
My last one for today (promise!). Black Swan Green captures one year in the life of a British 13 year old boy. Mitchell's prose is brilliant. I can highly recommend this one for an Great Britain read. Here is my review.
Wendy, we have a problem. The link you provided for the Alias Grace review took me to the review for Peony in Love. Help! I'll search for it, but if I don't find it, would you please try again? Thanks, and thanks for the books you added to our list.
Sorry about the mistake on the link to Alias Grace. Try this one instead.
I'm going to make a couple suggestions, but I haven't read all the comments, so I'm sorry if I duplicate anyone else's suggestion.
Algeria: The Stranger, by Albert Camus
Austria: Several of John Irving's books center around Vienna, but I'm not sure if any of them take place ONLY there.
China: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.
France: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (this makes for very lively discussion!)
I don't know how willing you are to mix countries, but I loved Three Junes, and it took place in Scotland and New York.
Greece: Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Here is a Guardian article called The Top Ten Books Set in Japan.
Is it too late to sign up for this one? I would love to add both this one and Book Around the States.
No, Amy, not too late at all. This is a challenge without a time limit, so any time is perfect! Welcome.
Hi, Bonnie: Hope you're doing well. I just finished my "Ireland" book for this challenge. It's called "Tipperary" by Frank Delaney, and I received it as an early reviewer for Random House through www.librarything.com
I did not enjoy this book at all, but people who really, really want to learn about Irish history and have the patience of a saint (perhaps even St. Patrick) may like this book. Personally, I am glad to get it over with. My review is posted here.
Take care!
Jill
I have two books for Rwanda. One which I have read is called "Left to Tell" by Imaculee Ilibigiza. I really enjoyed it.
I have another on my TBR list called We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch. It is highly rated on Amazon.
G'day
I have a suggestion for Bolivia
It is a young adult book called: Diego! Run by Deborah Ellis.
It is a new release here in Australia - not sure about the rest of the world - but won't be too far away - and can be purchased online
I have, in my opinion an excellent choice for Canada and that is having read Blind Assassin as well!
My choice so far would be The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson. Gorgeously written by a native of Canada who now lives in South London Mary Lawson thouroughly researched her setting.
A fine story of the joys and sorrows of life, relationships and shocking events. Set in the author’s native Canada this book centres on the invented town of Struan. I use the word centres deliberately. The characters are fixed on their ‘place’ and the narrative reflects time and again the impact of life and the characters’ perceptions of life beyond their town. It is not only the characters who reflect, it was myself reading and taking in their point of view that made me ponder how differently the second world war must have seemed to those living lives so very far away, in such different circumstances.
Much of Mary Lawson’s prose is almost understated yet at the same time tremendously powerful. She intertwines a sense of place with her characters’ sense of belonging and a way of life that may or may not continue. When Pete and Ian sit eye to eye with a myriad of dragonflies on a ledge formed of rock three billion years old, their communing with nature is almost palpable.
The whole story encourages the reader to question the values by which we live and the influences that are brought to bear upon us as we make what turn out to be life changing decisions. As Ian thought about Jake following his return ‘it was hard to imagine Struan or anything in it being a part of Jake. He didn’t look as if he had ever belonged’. Yet Ian envied him, was taken in by his outward countenance and thought that he was ‘someone who had all the answers’.
This novel painted a real sense of place for me, place in time and the changing nature of place for us all wherever we are. Pete, who had a breadth of knowledge and understanding that Ian admired, chose to stay in that sacred place to make sure the tourists did not find all the best places to fish. This book raises questions of sustainability for caring for our ‘place’, wherever that may be and however each one of us interprets that sense of place.
An excellent book that will reverberate within me for some time.
PS Had trouble knowing where to put the Canada label for this. So sorry Bonnie if it is in the wrong place. Please feel free to put me right!
Juliette, you put Canada in the body of your comment, which is about all you can do. That's perfect. I took your comment and posted it along with the publisher's blurb and a photo of the cover, and now we have an addition to our list of books.
That means I also posted the title in our list of books in the sidebar, and another post labeled "Canada" appears when anyone clicked on that label.
Thanks! The book sounds great, and I've already put it on hold at my library.
For those who wanted me to find that book from Antarctica, well, Here it is.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=mbngAAAACAAJ&dq=&prev=http://www.google.ca/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3D%2522jerri%2Bnielsen%2522%26btnG%3DSearch%26meta%3D&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1
Ice Bound:A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole. By Jerri Nielsen. (2001)
I also found 2 more Antarctica books as well.
Life on the Ice: No One Goes to Antarctica Alone by Roff Smith
No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica by Liv Arnesen
Thank you so much, Historia! Three books on Antarctica ... wow! I'll post them now. Thanks again.
So sorry! I'd somehow missed the fact that the book had to be ABOUT the country. I still think "Jerusalem" by Selma Lagerlöf would be a good choice for Sweden, but have to do some more thinking about Denmark... lots of good books about the country, but not many have been translated to English...
I notice there's nothing from Brazil yet. I recommend Keeper by Mal Peet. This is a young adult novel set in a lumber town in the Brazilian rainforest. The hero meets a mysterious man in the jungle who may be a ghost who teaches him how to be a goal keeper. The hero then goes on to become a world cup winning goal keeper.
The combination of soccer how to book, ghost story, coming of age story worked very well for me. I found the book hard to put down even though I know nothing about soccer.
cbjames
Hi, Bonnie: I hope you're doing well! I read a wonderful book set in Italy called A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (my review.)
It's the story of refugee and Italian Jews during the German occupation of Italy (at the end of World War II). It's a heart-breaking story but a wonderful tribute to Italian people who hid the Jews from German soldiers - and fought for the freedom of their country.
This challenge looks fantastic! I have been compiling my list and had a few to add. Most of these I have read but many before I started reviewing on my blog. I've linked to the ones I've reviewed. Here we go!
SmallWorld
Australia
Mutant Message from Down Under by Marlo Morgan
Botswana:
Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books.
(Reviewed here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/64415/Book+Review%3A+The+No.+1+Ladies%26%2339%3B+Detective+Agency.html
Cambodia
The Stones Cry Out: A Cambodian Childhood by Molyda Szymusiak
Chile
By Isabelle Allende:
Daughter of Fortune
House of Spirits
Portrait in Sepia. Reviewed here on my blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/200559/
China
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Reviewed here on my blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/334350/
Congo
Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
Egypt
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Germany and Poland
The Nazi Officer's Wife. Review: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/357439/
India
Great Hedge of India : The Search for the Living Barrier That Divided a Nation by Roy Moxham
Iran
Veil of Roses (Laura Fitzgerald)
Russia and Poland
The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig reviewed here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/327041/
Tibet/India
Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin
Hi, Bonnie: Thanks for stopping by my blog and complimenting my seasonal design! =) I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season too!
I just finished "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, which is set in Cuba. Here is my review.
I hope 2008 brings more international reads for me. I am doing a little better on the "states" challenge. =)
Take care!
Jill
May I join? I've been reading some good books that are set in various countries. Question -- What do you do when a book covers a lot of countries? For example, Tales of a Seasick Doctor is about a woman who works about a mercy ship that makes calls in a variety of foreign ports. Do I only claim one country? Thanks
see http://jottingsfromjan.blogspot.com
I think I just over extended myself when I joined this challenge. Had also signed up for Around the World in 80 books! yikes! What's a body to do? Jan in Edmonds ;-)
Jan, this is also a challenge you may work in whatever way you like. You decide whether a book is right for one country or another or both or whatever. The idea is to learn about other places, and it isn't about reading a certain number of books. I have a feeling most of us will keep reading and reading.
It's okay to have cross-over books on two challenges. That's okay with me ... and probably with whoever set up the other challenge. So go for it, and let one book meet two requirements.
I found a VERY good book from Bangladesh - one of the poorest countries on the world. I am still reading it, but I like it so much, I wrote up a post about it.
Banker to the Poor
I'm taking the plunge and joining this challenge as well.
A great book for Ethiopia is Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb. We read it in 80 Books Around the World.
Does it have to be how a county is recently or can we travel to the past?
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is good for 17th Century Scotland
1916: A Novel Of The Irish Rebellion by Morgan Llywelyn is a great book for early 20th Century Ireland
Japanland: A Year In Search Of WA
by Karin Muller is a good non-fiction overview of Japanese customs and culture.
The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is set in 1960's India
Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors This historical fiction is about the story behind the building of the Taj Mahal
The Coffee Trader: A Novel
by David Liss 17th Century Amsterdam History
Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex about Renaissance Italy
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman set in 15th century England
Don’t Let’s go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller is a memoir that covers life on farms in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia throughout the turbulent 1970s and 80s
The Madonnas of Leningrad
by Debra Dean WWII Russia
Letter Opener by Kyo Maclear covers communist Romania. It also takes place in present day Canada, but I wouldn't count it for that part.
Hi, Bonnie! I hope you're doing well!
I just finished People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. While this book had many settings, I chose this book for Yugoslavia because I feel that it's a wonderful testiment to the multi-cultural city of Sarajevo and hope that the war wounds will continue to heal for this beautiful city.
Here is my review.
Hi Bonnie, I just blogged about "Middelsex" by Jeffrey Eugenides and wanted to add it to the challenge, representing the USA, because I feel the novel, through its portrait of immigrants making their way in the new culture, assimilating but at the same time holding onto old traditions, tells us a lot about what is was like for so many millions of people who came to America. I am very interested in genealogy and how it must have been for them. The novel also gives us a view of a major American city, Detroit, and the way it changed over the years, through immigration, poverty and racial tensions. And finally what it was like to grow up in the 70's. But I noticed there is no USA category on your blog (yet). :-)
As an Australian, I have to say that I'm not really all that happy with the suggestion of I am the messenger as a book about Australia. It's an enjoyable young adult book but I don't think it is either as good as The Book Thief or that it has all that much to say about Australia.
I tried to narrow down a list of my own personal recommendations but it was far too long. For starters though, I would recommend most of the books which have won or been nominated for the Miles Franklin (Australia's most important literary award).
I think there's a need to be aware that the only author or few authors you may have heard of from any country whose literature you are less familiar with, may not be the best literature that such countries have to offer.
Evie, I feel very chastised by your remark, though you haven't exactly been much help. You said, "I would recommend most of the books which have won or been nominated for the Miles Franklin (Australia's most important literary award)." But you didn't say which of these winners you DO recommend:
2007 Alexis Wright, Carpentaria
2006 Roger McDonald, The Ballad of Desmond Kale
2005 Andrew McGahan, The White Earth
2004 Shirley Hazzard, The Great Fire
2003 Alex Miller, Journey to the Stone Country
2002 Tim Winton, Dirt Music
2001 Frank Moorhouse, Dark Palace
2000 Thea Astley, Drylands
. . . and Kim Scott, Benang
1999 Murray Bail, Eucalyptus
Since we are going by recommendations, we don't know any more than before you arrived here. If you can suggest a book, any book, I would appreciate it. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know which one (or two or three) best represents Australia?
Bonnie, I'm sorry you feel chastised, that wasn't my intention. I do think that this challenge is a great idea and did not mean my comment as a criticism. I include myself in the sentiment expressed. All I meant to suggest was that I think it's a good idea to recommend books that other readers are unlikely to have heard of.
I thought that given some readers would love books that I don't love and vice versa, that a large list of books might be more helpful.
I just finished reading The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. It is an impressive first novel which reveals the horror of what has happened, and continues to happen in Afganistan.
My review can be found here.
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver is an amazing book set in the Congo. I loved this book...and highly recommend it. My review is here.
I signed up for your States challenge, may as well sign up for your Let's Go Around the World Challenge as well.
Judy/Intergalactic Bookworm
http://intergalacticbookworm.blogspot.com
Hi, Bonnie! It's been awhile! I just completed my JAMAICA selection - Small Island by Andrea Levy. My review:http://mrstreme.livejournal.com/73010.html
Thanks!
Finished my Norway selection - Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. What a great book!
http://mrstreme.livejournal.com/77319.html
Take care,
Jill =)
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