All About Books discussion

Hi everyone! :) Post your lists for the Around the World Challenge here.

Around the World Challenge

Progress: 2/7

Books Read:

1. Africa -

2. Antarctica -

3. Asia -

4. Australia -

5. Europe
Hollow City - Wales & London, England.
(Jan 2014)

6. North America
If I Stay - Oregon, USA.
(Jan 2014)

7. South America -

Completed on:

Ha, my spot! ;)

Around the World Challenge

I'll read books both set in the respective continent and written by an author born there.

Progress: 13/13 Finished

Books Read:

1. Africa -
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) ✓
Adrift on the Nile by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt) ✓

2. Antarctica - EisTau by Ilija Trojanow ✓

3. Asia -
Kinder Than Solitude: A Novel by Yiyun Li (China) ✓
The Guide by R.K. Narayan (India) ✓

4. Australia/New Zealand -
Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame (New Zealand) ✓
Breath by Tim Winton (Australia) ✓

5. Europe -
Abbé Mouret's Transgression by Émile Zola (France) ✓
The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Laxness (Iceland) ✓

6. North America -
Crossing to Safety by by Wallace Stegner (US-Vermont/New Mexico) ✓
Stoner by John Edward Williams (US-Missouri) ✓

7. South America -
The Secret History of Costaguanaby Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia) ✓
The Postman: Il Postino by Antonio Skármeta ✓ (Chile)

Completed on: 17.11.2014

Shirley's Around the World Challenge

Progress: 4/7

Books Read:

1. Africa - The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
2. Antarctica -
3. Asia - A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
4. Australia -
5. Europe -
6. North America - Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
7. South America - Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

Date completed -

Jean's Around the World Challenge

Progress 15/16

Books Read:

1. Africa ✔
Kenya:
Non-Fiction - A cry from the wild by Lissa Ruben read March 2014
South Africa (Zimbabwe):
Fiction - The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing reread February 2014
2. Antarctica and the Arctic ✔
Fiction - Who Goes There? by John R Campbell read March 2014
Non-Fiction - Billy Connolly, Journey to the Edge of the World by Billy Connolly read June 2014
3. Asia ✔
India:
Fiction - Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling read June 2014
Tibet (China):
Non-Fiction - How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships by the Dalai Lama XIV read April 2014
4. Australia
New South Wales:
Fiction - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak read March 2014
Non-Fiction - A Treasury Of Australian Bush Painting by Susan Bruce
5. Europe ✔
England:
Fiction - The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens read January 2014
Non-Fiction - The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell read February 2014
Russia:
Poetry - Evening: Poetry of Anna Akhmatova read February 2014
6. North America ✔
The United States:
Alabama:
Fiction - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee read July 2014
California:
Non-Fiction - Magnificent desolation by Buzz Aldrin read June 2014
Poetry: - The Road Not Taken and Other Poems by Robert Frost read June 2014
7. South America ✔
Brazil:
Fiction: - The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin read September2014
Argentina and Paraguay:
Non-Fiction - The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell read January 2014

I am attempting to read one fiction and one non-fiction book from each continent. I am breaking the continents down into countries, in case I am able to read more, but I shall only count one book towards each category.

Around The World Challenge

Progress 5/7

Books read:

1. Africa - The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles (African Desert) read.
2. Antarctica -
3. Asia - And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan) read.
4. Australia - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (author is Australian) read.
5. North America - The Color Purple by Alice Walker (USA) read.
6. Europe - Middlemarch by George Eliot (England) read.
7. South America - The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho (Brazilian author) read

Andrea's Around the World Challenge

Progress: 2/7

Books Read:

1. Africa -
2. Antarctica - Chasing the Light - Jesse Blackadder
3. Asia - The Lowland- Jhumpa Lahiri
4. Australia/NZ - The Luminaries 3/2/14
Barracuda - Christos Tolkias
5. Europe - Burial Rites - Hannah Kent 15/1/14
6. North America -
7. South America -


completed on:

Oh Andrea, reading Lahiri is a great idea for Asia -- I am going back and changing mine! :)

It'll be interesting to see what we both think of Lahiri. What a great challenge, Leslie :)

Here's my spot.

Around the World Challenge

Progress:

Books Read: 31

1. Africa
Radiance of Tomorrow--Ishmael--0 Beah--01/22/14
The Forgiven--Lawrence Osborne--01/24/14
Americanah--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie--02/06/14
Half of a Yellow Sun--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie--02/15/14
Thirty Girls--Susan Minot--02/19/14
A Dry White Season--André Brink--02/28/14
The Shadow of the Sun--Ryszard Kapuściński--04/11/14

2. Antarctica
At the Mountains of Madness: A Graphic Novel--I.N.J. CulbardH.P. Lovecraft--01/27/14

3. Asia
Revenge--Yōko Ogawa--01/01/14
Out--Natsuo Kirino--01/29/14
Grotesque--Natsuo Kirino--02/04/14
A Tale for the Time Being--Ruth Ozeki--03/06/14
Cockroaches--Jo Nesbø--03/14/14


4. Australia
In a Sunburned Country--Bill Bryson --03/03/14
Breath--Tim Winton--03/18/14
The Songlines--Bruce Chatwin--04/03/14

5. Europe
The Wasp Factory--Iain Banks--01/03/14
Hild--Nicola Griffith--01/03/14
The Rook--Daniel O'Malley--01/07/14
Middlemarch--George Eliot--01/14/14
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne--Brian Moore--02/08/14
Code Name Verity--Elizabeth Wein--03/12/14

6. North America
Andrew's Brain--E.L. Doctorow-01/17/14
When it Happens to You--Molly Ringwald--01/28/14
Still Life with Bread Crumbs--Anna Quindlen--02/02/14
The Great Gatsby--F. Scott Fitzgerald--02/12/14
Twelve Years a Slave--Solomon Northup--03/20/14
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History--S.C. Gwynne--03/23/14


7. South America
How I Became a Nun--César Aira--02/16/14
Who Goes Out in the Midday Sun?--Benedict Allen--02/20/14
Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon--Paul Rosolie--05/31/14

Completed on:

Leslie wrote: "Oh Andrea, reading Lahiri is a great idea for Asia -- I am going back and changing mine! :)"

I have this book, too!

0/7 Read


1. Africa
2. Antarctica
3. Asia
4. Australia
5. Europe
6. North America
7. South America

Completed on:

Progress 0/7

Books read:

1. Africa -
2. Antarctica -
3. Asia -
4. Australia -
5. Europe -
6. North America -
7. South America -

Completed on:

Books planned


1.Africa-Daughters of Africa
2.Antarctica- South: The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 - 1917
3.Asia-A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush/No Full Stops in India
4.Australasia- The Journals
5.Europe-Now All Roads Lead To France
6.N.America-Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York
7.S.America- In Patagonia/Love in the Time of Cholera

Extra extra
8. Africa: Eye to Eye with the Unknown finished March 2014
Progress 1/8

July 2014 well haven't made much progress on my original list but have read
The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag
Completed
August 2014
Australasia... Have just finished Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All: A New Zealand Story

So 3/7 so far and none of these were on the original list..... Hey ho...

I'm going to join in. I'm going to read one for each which is a realistic target for me.

1. Asia - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
2. Europe - The Book Thief
3. Antarctica
4. Australasia
5. Africa
6. North America - Water for Elephants
7. South America

Pink's Around the World Challenge

I've decided to read one book per continent, I'll add them as I go.

Progress: 5/7

1. Africa - The Grass is Singing
2. Antarctica -
3. Asia - Death Note, Vol. 9: Contact
4. Australia - The Husband's Secret
5. Europe - My Cousin Rachel
6. North America - Twelve Years a Slave
7. South America -

Completed on:

My spot

Progress 5/7

1. Africa - The Granta Book of the African Short Story READ
2. Antarctica - Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica READ
3. Asia - The River At The Centre Of The World
4. Australia - Tracks READ
5. Europe - Move Along, Please: Land's End to John O'Groats by Local Bus READ
6. North America - Leaving Home READ
7. South America - The Bolivian Diary: Authorized Edition

I think I will read 2 per continent with the exception being Antarctica, I think one is plenty for that.
I will read books set in and written by and author from the respective continent.

@ Leslie, if you end up going for Things Fall Apart for Africa, maybe we could read it together?

LauraT's Around the World Challenge

Progress: 3/7

Books Read:

1. Africa - Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook Read
2. Antartica
3. Asia -
4. Australia -
5. Europe - William Shakespeare, Riccardo III - Testo originale a fronte Read
6. North America - Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables Read
7. South America -

Date completed -

Still to decide for the other titles.. I'll wait here for suggestions!

Maggie's Around The World Challenge

Progress: 4/7

Books Read:

1. Africa
2. Antarctica - Dark Matter: A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver (I hope this book counts - its set in the Arctic)??? READ
3. Asia - A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne JoinsonREAD
The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari READ
4. Australia - The Husband's Secret by Liane MoriartyREAD
5. Europe - Mr Lynch's Holiday by Catherine O'Flynn READ
6. North America
7. South America

I just happened to have read those books this month and they fit the challenge. The book I'm currently reading will fit too - The Taliban Cricket Club

Kristi's Around the World Challenge

Progress: 4/14

Books Read:

1. Africa - The Grass is Singing -complete Jan 18, 2014
2. Antarctica - TBD
3. Asia - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
4. Australia - The Thorn Birds
5. Europe - The Preacher -complete Jan 26, 2014
6. North America - Orphan Train -complete Jan 8, 2014
7. South America - At Night We Walk in Circles -complete Jan 30, 2014

Jenny wrote: "I think I will read 2 per continent with the exception being Antarctica, I think one is plenty for that.
I will read books set in and written by and author from the respective continent.

@ Lesli..."

Sure, if that is the book I end up reading... :)

@Maggie - this challenge seems to be tailor-made for you!! Congrats on your progress so far!

Laurel's Around the World Challenge:

0/7
1. Africa -
2. Antarctica -
3. Asia -
4. Australia -
5. Europe -
6. North America -
7. South America -

Leslie wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I think I will read 2 per continent with the exception being Antarctica, I think one is plenty for that.
I will read books set in and written by and author from the respective contin..."

Leslie, it was pure chance that the books fitted this theme!

I'm new to Goodreads so this is my first yearly challenge...but looking forward to it! Still undecided on a book for Asia.

Progress: 0/7

Books Planned:
1. Africa - Cokcraco
2. Antarctica - Chasing the Light
3. Asia - ??
4. Australia - Jasper Jones
5. Europe - The Yacoubian Building
6. North America - Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee An Indian History of the American West
7. South America - Lockdown Inside Brazil's Most Dangerous Prison

Completed:

Welcome Erica, and no pressure! You don't have to choose the books in advance.

Dhanaraj's Around the World Challenge:

1. Asia -
2. Africa -
3. Australia -
4. Europe - Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays and few more.....
5. South America -
6. North America - Death Comes for the Archbishop.

The Books completed:

1. Europe: Gunnar's Daughter (Norway)

Kristi - Have you spotted that there's a readalong of The Grass is Singing next month?

Here is my list, 12 altogether:

1 Africa- The Thing Around Your Neck
2 Antartica- Ether Frolics: Nine Steampunk Tales
3 Asia- Shantaram, The Narrow Road to the Deep North and other Travel Sketches
4 Australia- And the Ass Saw the Angel, A 'Do You Remember Life'
5 Europe- Italian Folktales, The Transformation and Other Stories: Works Published During Kafka's Lifetime
6 South America- Voyage of the Beagle, The Alchemist
7 North America- Like Water for Chocolate, On The Road

I might be cheating a bit on the steampunk one, but Goodreads recommended it as a book about Antartica.

1. Africa  Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook Read
Allan Paton Cry the Beloved Country
2. Antarctica  H. P. Lovecraft At the Mountains of Madness
Michael Chabon The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
3. Asia 
4. Australia  Tim Winton Cloudstreet
Geraldine Brooks
5. Europe  William Shakespeare,  Riccardo III Read ****
6. North America  Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables  Read ****
7. South America 

Jean wrote: "Kristi - Have you spotted that there's a readalong of The Grass is Singing next month?"

Jean, I forgot about that. I have a hard time keeping track of all the readalongs. I'm going to start the book today, since it's due back at the library in 6 days. I'll be ready to talk about it with everyone next month!

That's great Kristi :)

Around the World Challenge - 2014
Duration: January 5 thru December 31, 2014
Books Read: 3
Updated: 2/24/14


1.Africa
Botswana - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Movie Tie-in Edition): A No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel by Alexander McCall Smith (2/7/14)
2. Antarctica
3. Asia

4. Australia
5. Europe

England - A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (1/19/14)
England - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (2/13/14)
Ireland - Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (4/2/14)
Italy - Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (5/14/14)
6. North America
Hawaii - Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (3/1/14)

7. South America
Haiti - Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat (5/16/14)

Stamps in my passport

This looks really interesting. I didn't really get a chance to do this in TPOBAB but I will probably do a smaller list when I'm finished for the summer. It's probably not a good idea to start this now when I'm busy with university work.

- Africa: African Stories
- Antarctica: Who Goes There?
- Asia: La nave per Kobe: Diari giapponesi di mia madre
- Australia: Picnic at Hanging Rock
- Europe: The Thirteenth Tale
- North America: Human Capital
- South America: All Yours

I've edited my list (at present message 7). Bumped up the number a bit and subdivided it, by adding both the country and whether the book is fiction or non-fiction.

My aim now is to read both one fiction and one non-fiction from each continent section. If I can additionally read from several countries within the continent, I'll add them as I go. But I will only count one per country or type of book (fiction/non-fiction.)

I have also increased my number of books in the challenge. I might as well read two for each at the pace I'm going.

For those of you having trouble finding a book for South America, I recommend At Night We Walk in Circles (Peru). It's hard to explain, and it wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it. It was published in 2013 and is a finalist in the 2014 Tournament of Books.

I would like to read one from each continent for this challenge, some will be much easier than others!

1. Africa- The Grass is Singing Read Feb 2014
2. Antarctica Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole Read November 2014
3. Asia- Devdas Read Feb 2014
4. Australasia- The Luminaries Read Apr 2014
5. Europe- My Cousin Rachel Read Feb 2014
6. North America- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Read Apr 2014
7. South America- Bel Canto Read Aug 2014

Completed on: 25/11/2014

Really uninspired by any of the books I can find set in Antarctica, that could be my downfall!

The list updated:

Asia -
Africa - Echoes of an Autobiography Read
Australia - The Songlines
Europe - Gunnar's Daughter Read
The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories Read
The Rings of Saturn Read
North America - Death Comes for the Archbishop
South America -

Europe: The Castle of Crossed DestiniesRead
Cassandra: A Novel and Four EssaysRead
La madre Read
L'ora del diavolo Read
Rebecca Read

Melissa's 2014 Around the World Challenge


Africa
- The Quest by Nelson DeMille; Ethiopia: READ 1/14
-The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing: READ 7/14
-Beer in the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali: Egypt; READ 9/23/14

Antarctica
-Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition: The Voyage Of The Nimrod by Beau Riffenburgh:
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: READ 4/26/14 maybe the closest I get to this continent. This book starts in Seattle, Washington.


Asia
-Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See; China: READ 3/14
-A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini; Afghanistan: READ 3/31/14

Australia
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion: READ 2/14

Europe
-Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec; Belarus: READ 1/14
-Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen; England: READ 2/14
-Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters; Italy: READ 2/14
-Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; Lithuania/Russia: READ 3/14
-Number the Stars by Lois Lowry; Denmark: READ 3/14
-Casino Royale by Ian Fleming; Royale, France: READ 4/16/14
-The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera; Czech: READ 4/29/14
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Paris, France: READ 4/13/14

North America
-The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg; Alabama/Wisconsin: READ 2/14
-The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore; Indiana: READ 4/14/14
-The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton; New York: READ 9/19/14
-Looking for Alaska by John Green; Alabama: READ 3/31/14
-Lottery by Patricia Wood; Washington: READ 4/5/14
-Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck; Monterey, California: READ 4/10/14
-A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole; New Orleans, Louisiana: READ 4/30/14
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, Texas: READ 7/12/14

South America
-Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende; Island of Chiloe, Chili: READ 3/14

Around the World Challenge 2014

Progress: 0/21

Africa
-Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
-
-

Antarctica
-
-
-

Asia
-A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan)
-Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan (Israel)
-

Australia
-The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (New Zealand)
-Breath by Tim Winton
-

Europe
-The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (England)
-The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Laxness (Iceland)
-Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spain)

North America
-Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay (Yellowknife, NWT, Canada)
-Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (US-Vermont/New Mexico)
-

South America
-Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez
-
-

Kara's Around the World Challenge:

Not sure what my goal is other than to read at least one book set on each continent. Let's just see where I end up!

Africa:
Antarctica:
Asia:
Australia:
Europe:
North America:
South America:

I have to say what a great challenge this has been for me. I've discovered a real passion for African literature!

I agree, except it's Japanese literature that I've discovered.

...and a great list of African literature you have there! Did you have a favorite amongst the ones you've read?

Erica wrote: "I agree, except it's Japanese literature that I've discovered."

which ones have you read Erica? I can't yet spot them in your list. Any recommendations?

To be fair Jenny I've only read one...and I haven't quite finished it, 20 pages to go haha. So it will be on my list shortly. It's the one and only Japanese book I've read since Memoirs of a Geisha and couldn't be more different but I really liked it!

Well one is discovery enough to start with! I am curious to hear your verdict on it :)

@Jenny: I am sure that you had read novels by Haruki Murakami. Other than him, you can try Yasunari Kawabata or Yukio Mishima or Shusaku Endo. I have had taste of them and I know that they are really good.