Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Post your completed books and scores here.

Book #1 read for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Gardener of Baghdad by Ahmad Ardalan

THEME/CONTENT
5 points: Book set in Iraq (Baghdad and Kurdistan)
1 Point: Book mentions a garden (many gardens and a plant nursery)

AUTHOR
5 Points: Written by a Iraqi Author (born in Iraq)
4 Points: Author has initials using letters found in BABYLON in their first and last name (Ahmad Ardalan)
3 Points: Author was born in a capital city of a country (Baghdad, Iraq)
1 Point: Author is still alive (I certainly hope so, based on a February 2019 blogpost from him on his author page).

TITLE
5 Points: Book has the word GARDEN or GARDENS in the title or subtitle (GARDEN is within Gardener)
4 Points: Title begins with the word "The"

COVER (must post picture)
5 Points: Has picture of a garden

BOOK LENGTH
2 Points: 201-300 pages (226 pages)

Oh, how I wish the author would have made a reference to Iraq’s famed gardens of antiquity when talking about gardens in Iraq!

Total: 35 points

The Calligrapher's Garden by Hassan Massoudy

THEME/CONTENT
2 Points: Book is translated from the Arabic language (bilingual, published in Arabic and in English)
1 Point: Book mentions a garden (mentions many gardens, even the one the author dreamed of and didn't have as a child because he lived in the desert, but... says nothing about the gardens of Babylon!)

AUTHOR
5 Points: Written by a Iraqi Author
1 Point: Author is still alive

TITLE
5 Points: Book has the word GARDEN or GARDENS in the title or subtitle
4 Points: Title begins with the word "The"

COVER (must post picture)
4 Points: Is predominantly green

BOOK LENGTH
1 Point: 100-200 pages

Total : 23 points

The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: An Elusive World Wonder Traced by Stephanie Dalley. She discusses the theory that the hanging garden was not at Babylon in central Iraq, on the Euphrates River near Hillah or SE of Baghdad, but actually at Nineveh in northern Iraq, across the Tigris River from Mosul. It was built about 700 BC by Sennacherib, not two centuries later by Nebuchadnezzar II.

THEME/CONTENT

The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: An Elusive World Wonder Traced by Stephanie Dalley

She discusses the theory that the hanging garden was not at Babylon on the Euphrates River in central Iraq near Hillah or SE of Baghdad, but actually in northern Iraq, at Nineveh, on the Tigris River opposite Mosul. It was built about 700 BC by Sennacherib rather than 2 centuries later by Nebuchadnezzar II.

THEME/CONTENT
5 points: set in Iraq
4 points: mentions of Garden of Babylon (see title)
3 points: set in or adjacent to a royal palace
1 point: mentions a garden

AUTHOR
2 points: born in March
1 point: still living

TITLE
5 points: includes Garden
4 points: begins with "the"
2 points: contains an action verb "traced" in subtitle

COVER
4 points: mostly green
3 points: picture of a palace
2 points: building with columns
1 point: palm tree (garden sketch on back cover)

BOOK LENGTH
2 points

Total 39 points

Gärten des Orients. Paradiese auf Erden, edited by Christa Von Hantelmann, photography by Dieter Zoern, introduction essay written by Stefano Bianca
(there is a translation: Gardens of Delight: The Great Islamic Gardens)

THEME/CONTENT
3 Points: Book is set in or adjacent to a royal palace - some of the gardens described are part of a royal palace
1 Point: Book mentions a garden - lots of them

AUTHOR
3 Points: Author was born in a capital city of a country - Bianca was born in Lisbon
1 Point: Author is still alive

TITLE
5 Points: Book has the word GARDEN or GARDENS in the title or subtitle - "Gärten"
3 Points: Title or subtitle is in script or italics - subtitle "Paradiese auf Erden" in italics

COVER (must post picture)
5 Points: Has picture of a garden
4 Points: Is predominantly green
1 Point: Shows a palm tree

BOOK LENGTH
2 Points: 201-300 pages

Total: 28 points

I read The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim.

THEME/CONTENT
5 points: Book set in Iraq
2 Points: Book is translated from the Arabic language

AUTHOR
5 Points: Written by a Iraqi Author
1 Point: Author is still alive

TITLE
4 Points: Title begins with the word "The"

COVER (must post picture)
0 points

BOOK LENGTH
1 Point: 100-200 pages

Total: 18 points

Les Jardins de lumière by Amin Maalouf


Theme:
Set in Iraq - 5
Set in or adjacent to a royal palace - 3
Mentions a garden - 1

Author:
Has letters in BABYLON in first and last name: Amin Maalouf - 4
Born in a capital city, Beirut - 3
Still Alive - 1

Title:
Has the word gardens (jardins) - 5
Begins with The (les) - 4

Cover:
Picture of a garden - 5

Book length:
201-300 pages - 2

Total: 33 points

Book #2 read for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Caliph's Splendor: Islam and the West in the Golden Age of Baghdad by Benson Bobrick

THEME/CONTENT
5 points: Book set in Iraq
3 Points: Book is set in or adjacent to a royal palace (complete with palace intrigues)
1 Point: Book mentions a garden (many gardens in Baghdad, but sadly, not Babylon)

AUTHOR
4 Points: Author has initials using letters found in BABYLON in their first and last name (Benson Bobrick)
1 Point: Author is still alive

TITLE
4 Points: Title begins with the word "The"
3 Points: Title or subtitle is in script or italics

COVER (must post picture)
1 Point: Shows a palm tree

BOOK LENGTH
2 Points: 201-300 pages (284 pages)

Total: 24 points

I read 4 books about Iraq this month. The top one points-wise (and also my favorite of them) was:

The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi

It was about a young woman looking back on her childhood and neighborhood starting in the 1990s moving to the present. Very touching and sad, but well worth reading.

Theme/Content:
5-set in Iraq
2-translated from Arabic
1-mentions a garden (many actually, but not the Hanging ones...)

Author:
5-written by an Iraqi author
4: Initials found in BABYLON in first and last names: A's in Shahad Al Rawi (hope I understand how this one works)
3-author born in Baghdad (capital city)
1-still alive

Title:
4-begins with "The"

Cover:
4-Predominantly green

Book length:
2-201-300 pgs

Total: 31 pts