Europe through literature discussion

Hi Challenge Lovers,
we have decided to put up some challenges for 2022 besides our six group reads.

This folder can be used for a Bingo Challenge. You can start your individual thread in this folder to document your progress during the year and to exchange recommendations and to put links to your reviews.

We hope you enjoy the challenges!

Here are the categories for our Europe through Literature Bingo 2022:

B1 = a fantasy novel
B2 = from a country in the Alps
B3 = originally written in a Finno-ugrian language
B4 = a title written by a Nobel Prize winner
B5 = a group read

I1 = a crime novel
I2 = free choice
I3 = from a country with shores along the Atlantic Ocean
I4 = originally written in a Scandinavian language
I5 = a title second in the polls of 2021

N1 = originally written in a Slavic language
N2 = a poetry collection
N3 = a non-fiction title
N4 = a science fiction novel
N5 = from the Balkans

G1 = a(n) (auto)biography
G2 = originally written in a Roman / Romance language
G3 = a book with a reference to a European island
G4 = from a country with shores along the North Sea
G5 = a historical novel

O1 = a non-fiction referring to European history
O2 = from a country along the shores of the Danube
O3 = originally written in a minority language (e.g. in Gaelic)
O4 = a children's book
O5 = a graphic novel

Have fun with this challenge!

Thank you, Orgeluse! This will definitely stretch my reading horizon.

Quick question, does classical texts of Europe e.g. the Greek classics count?

Always love a good bingo reading game and the prompts look like a lot of fun. Thanks for putting this together Orgeluse.

Valerie wrote: "Always love a good bingo reading game and the prompts look like a lot of fun. Thanks for putting this together Orgeluse."

Thanks for the feedback, Valerie, and I'm happy you are on board :))!!

Carolien wrote: "Thank you, Orgeluse! This will definitely stretch my reading horizon.

Quick question, does classical texts of Europe e.g. the Greek classics count?"

If Greek classics match a category, e.g. the poems of Sappho - why not?

Orgeluse wrote: "Carolien wrote: "Thank you, Orgeluse! This will definitely stretch my reading horizon.

Quick question, does classical texts of Europe e.g. the Greek classics count?"

If Greek classics match a ca..."Perfect, as it is exactly Sappho that I have in mind for the poetry category!

Carolien wrote: "Orgeluse wrote: "Carolien wrote: "Thank you, Orgeluse! This will definitely stretch my reading horizon.

Quick question, does classical texts of Europe e.g. the Greek classics count?"

If Greek cl..."

:)))! I have her poetry on my shelf as well :)) Looking forward to exchanging thoughts!!

Hi all!
A quick remark on G2:
I intended "originally written in a Romance language" but unfortunately wrote "Roman language", so you can decide which of the two you prefer now due to my spelling mistake :))

A look at Carolien's and Wayne's Bingo threads shows that "Roman language" is doable as well :)))

Our major aim is, I assume, to expand our horizon by reading :))

A quick remark on category O3:

In case you have difficulty finding translations from languages such as Gaelic, Basque and the like, please bear in mind that what is considered a "minority language" is always dependent of one's point of view... Here is a list of languages from the Council of Europe that the European Charter for Minority Languages applies to:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-c...

A recommendation for those who are interested in an introduction into European languages:
Lingo: A Language Spotter's Guide to Europe by Gaston Dorren

I'm in! Had read 4 already, including a minority language writer (Swedish in Finland) so off to a good start - I'll try to use this challenge to fill in some of my missing European countries in my world reading (Balkans mostly, Lithuania and the tiny states/principalities, but stating with the bigger states).

Actually I guess I have a few recommendations for minority language writers, if anyone needs them:
Kjell Westö Swedish in Finland
Fleur Jaeggy Italian in Switzerland
Herta Müller German in Romania (Nobel too, if you don't want to count her as minority, as she is also German (now?))

Anetq wrote: "Actually I guess I have a few recommendations for minority language writers, if anyone needs them:
Kjell Westö Swedish in Finland
Fleur Jaeggy Italian in Switzerland..."

Thanks a lot for pointing out Kjell Westö and Fleur Jaeggy! The latter is completely unknown to me :)!!

Could an epic poem be acceptable for the poetry collection category, as it doesn't really fulfil the 'collection' criteria?

Valerie wrote: "Could an epic poem be acceptable for the poetry collection category, as it doesn't really fulfil the 'collection' criteria?"

Sounds exciting, go for it 😉!

Orgeluse wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Could an epic poem be acceptable for the poetry collection category, as it doesn't really fulfil the 'collection' criteria?"

Sounds exciting, go for it 😉!"

Great, thank you Orgeluse!