Great African Reads discussion

Challenge dates: January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019
Genre: Any genre. Books chosen may be by setting or by native/resident author
Page length minimum: No minimum page length

Are you trying to read more books from Africa but find yourself reading books from the same 2 or 3 African countries? Well it is time to broaden your horizons and break free from your comfort zones.

In this challenge you will be reading books from at least 5 different African countries. How many countries you choose is up to you. You can pick up to 54 if you really feel ambitious (remember, though, that you only have one year to complete the challenge).

Here is the catch: You will not be choosing your own destinations. The GAR Randomizer will choose your countries for you. You may trade in a country you do not want to read, but it will cost you an additional 5 countries. Once you have read all of the countries in your initial list, you may consult the Randomizer for a new list, if you choose.

Books read for this challenge may also be counted in any of our other challenges on this site.

How to Start:
-Start your own topic in this thread with your name or nickname.
-Request how many countries you would like to start with
-Start gophering and creating your reading list for 2019!

Sounds cool! Happy travels to everyone :)

I'll give it a try. I would like 5, please. Thanks.

Susan wrote: "I'll give it a try. I would like 5, please. Thanks."

Susan, here are your 5 countries:

Cameroon
Mauritania
Somalia
Lesotho
Rwanda

I'll try this as well for 5 countries please.

Carolien wrote: "I'll try this as well for 5 countries please."

Carolien, here are your 5 countries:

Tunisia
Burundi
Guinea
Egypt
Benin

Thanks, Diane. This will certainly stretch my horizons!

Diane, all seems doable, but Guinea is a problem. Camara Laye seems to be the only viable option and he is not available in an ebook format. Neither Amazon nor I trust the SA Post Office to get a copy to me and the only copies I can find listed in SA is going to cost me between $25 and $100 which seems a bit much for a book challenge. Anybody have any suggestions?

Carolien wrote: "Diane, all seems doable, but Guinea is a problem. Camara Laye seems to be the only viable option and he is not available in an ebook format. Neither Amazon nor I trust the SA Post Of..."

Do you have access to Open Library? Here is a link to The Radiance of the King underneath. There might be some other options for Guinea, if you want to look around.

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL13388...

Carolien wrote: "Diane, all seems doable, but Guinea is a problem. Camara Laye seems to be the only viable option and he is not available in an ebook format. Neither Amazon nor I trust the SA Post Of..."

Open Library is an excellent suggestion. I read one of Laye's other books, The Guardian of the Word there. It is free and easy to use. If you are in the US, The King of Kahel by Tierno Monénembo is $1.49 on Kindle, free to borrow if you are on Prime.

Open Library sounds like the solution. King of Kahel is not on Kindle in South Africa otherwise that would have worked as well.

Okay, I'm in. I would like to try five countries.

Andrea wrote: "Okay, I'm in. I would like to try five countries."

Andrea, here are your 5 countries:

Mali
Djibouti
Rwanda
Somalia
Equatorial Guinea

I'd like to try 5 countries, thanks Carolien for the challenge

I'd like to see the 5 I would get if I don't want to read a book for Cameroon. Thanks.

Jennifer wrote: "I'd like to try 5 countries, thanks Carolien for the challenge"

Jennifer, here are your 5 countries:

Mozambique
Burkina Faso
Madagascar
Morocco
Namibia

Susan wrote: "I'd like to see the 5 I would get if I don't want to read a book for Cameroon. Thanks."

Susan, here are your 5 countries:

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sudan
Uganda
Seychelles
Libya

Hello, I would like 5 countries please.
Thank you for the challenge.

Tinashe wrote: "Hello, I would like 5 countries please.
Thank you for the challenge."

Hi, Tinashe! Here are your 5 countries:

Sierra Leone
Zimbabwe
Rwanda
Mozambique
Burundi

Hi! Can you give me five countries please?

Carly wrote: "Hi! Can you give me five countries please?"

Carly, here are your 5 countries:

Djibouti
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Botswana
Morocco

Hi can i please have my 5

I'll give it a try too. I'd like 6 countries, please.

Sorry for all of the delays. I have been traveling with limited internet access.

Thomas wrote: "Hi can i please have my 5"

Thomas, here are your 5 countries:

Benin
Zambia
Namibia
Gambia
Guinea

Diana wrote: "I'll give it a try too. I'd like 6 countries, please."

Diana, here are your 6 countries:

Senegal
Central African Republic
Uganda
Ethiopia
Equatorial Guinea
Cote d'Ivoire

Diane wrote: "Diana wrote: "I'll give it a try too. I'd like 6 countries, please."

Diana, here are your 6 countries:

Senegal
Central African Republic
Uganda
Ethiopia
Equatorial Guinea
Cote d'Ivoire"

Thank you, Diane!

This seems quite exciting! I would like to have 5 countries, please.

Orgeluse wrote: "This seems quite exciting! I would like to have 5 countries, please."

Orgeluse, here are your 5 countries:

Rwanda
Congo (Brazzaville)
Central African Republic
Ghana
Liberia

Diane wrote: "Orgeluse wrote: "This seems quite exciting! I would like to have 5 countries, please."

Orgeluse, here are your 5 countries:

Rwanda
Congo (Brazzaville)
Central African Republic
Ghana
Liberia"

Thank you so much, Diane. This will be fun finding books! Apart from Ghana, these countries are definitely way outside my comfort zone and this challenge will no doubt broaden my horizon a lot!

Cinta wrote: "It is already June but this challenge seems sooo exciting, please give me 5 countries :)"

Sorry that it took me so long to see this post. Here are your 5 countries:

Egypt
Senegal
Somalia
Eritrea
Ethiopia