The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Original Challenge
Read books from countries all over the world and learn some geography.

A book can be set in the country , or
A book can be by an author from that country


1. North America
Canada - Glass Houses by Louise Penny
U.S.
*Northwest - Steep Trails by John Muir
*West
- My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir
- Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton
= The Human Comedy by William Saroyan
*Northeast
- The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
- Avid Reader by Robert Gottlieb
- Masterworks of Early 19th Century Literature by David Thorburn
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
*Mid-Atlantic - Life and Times of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
*Interior - Gilead by Marianne Robinson
*South
- Camino Island by John Grisham
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion
- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Mexico - The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes
Cuba - Havana Dreams by Wendy Gimbel

2. South America
Argentina
- Act III in Patagonia by William Conway
- Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges
Chile - Distant Star by Roberto Bolano
Brazil -
Colombia - The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Garcia Vasquez

3. Nordic Region
Norway
- The Caller by Karin Fossum
- Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum
Sweden
- The Dying Detective by Leif GW Persson
- The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Finland - Before I Go by Leena Lehtolainen
Iceland - Daybreak by Viktor Arnar Ingolfssen
Denmark- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Greenland
- The Saga of the Greenlanders by Anonymous
- The Saga of Eric the Red by Anonymous

4. United Kingdom
England
- Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Thoreau
- The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg
- The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
- The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
- East Lynne by Mrs Henry Wood
- Philosophy and Fun of Algebra by Mary Everest Boole
-The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch
-Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
-The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin
-Saturday by Ian McEwan
-Atonement by Ian McEwan
-The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
-Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
Scotland - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Wales - Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas

5. Northwestern Europe
Ireland - Castle Richmond by Anthony Trollope
France - The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Switzerland - A Little Swiss Sojourn by William Dean Howells
Netherlands - The Twilight of the Souls by Louis Couperus
Belgium - The Poor Gentleman by Hendrik Conscience

6. Southwestern Europe
Spain - The Alhambra by Washington Irving
Portugal - The Stone Raft by Jose Saramago

7. Central Europe
Germany - The Nazi Hunters by Andrew Nagorski
Poland - The Shadow-Line by Joseph Conrad
Austria - Freud by Zweig by Stefan Zweig
Hungary - The Door by Magda Szabo
Czech Republic- The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hesek

8. Southern Europe
Italy - Pictures from Italy by Charles Dickens
Greece
- The Republic by Plato
- The Greek View of Life by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson

9. Eastern Europe
Russia - The Death of Ivan Ilyitch by Leo Tolstoy

10. Western Asia
Iran - A Year Amongst the Persians by Edward Granville Browne
Turkey - The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Armenia - Thirty Seconds by Michael Arlen
Israel - Judas by Amos Oz
Yemen - The Abrupt Physics of Dying by Paul E. Hardisty
Saudi Arabia - Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah by R F Burton

11. Northeastern Asia
China - The Problem of China by Bertrand Russell
Japan
- Unbeaten Tracks in Japan by Isabella Lucy Bird
- East by West by Henry W. Lucy
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Republic of Korea - Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
People's Republic of Korea- Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

12. Subcontinent
India - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
- Kari the Elephant by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
Pakistan - I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

13. Southeast Asia
Vietnam - Ru by Kim Thuy

14. Africa
Algeria - The Stranger by Albert Camus
Egypt - The Spell of Egypt by Robert S. Hichins
Sudan - The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Nigeria - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe“
Democratic Republic of Congo - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Kenya - A Primate's Memoir by Robert Sapolsky
Zimbabwe- We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Union of South Africa - July's People by Nadine Gordimer

15. Australasia
Australia - My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
New Zealand - Station Life in New Zealand by Mary Anne Barker

Linda wrote: "10 regions of the world 12 regions of the world
26+ countries 14 countries
30 books 15 books

1. North America
Canada
U.S.
*West - My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir
(California)
*Nort..."

Taking stock. Progress so far in bold. Added nine countries, in italics.

Learning some geography and reading some great (wouldn't-have-read-it) books.

Enjoy your travels through books. It is a great way to find new authors and great new books.

Thanks,Rosemarie. I find myself wishing more great books were available in translation.

I’m declaring my Reading Geographically in 2017 Challenge a success, even though I am leaving Brazil a blank.

Books set in or by authors from FIFTY FOUR COUNTRIES!!

Confession: I overdosed on travelogues and books in translation. I was ready to call it a day last August,, but no...I had to keep expanding my framework, which is something I won’t EVER DO AGAIN. A framework, that is. Done. Been there.

Confession Two: I sneaked my mysteries into the Nordic Region.

That is a great achievement, Linda. Congratulations on visiting that many countries.

Thank you. It provided a lot of escape this year. We don’t have a tv.