Around the World in 80 Books discussion

It's been a crazy crazy year so far! I need to catch up on listing my countries/books!

1. Barba ensopada de sangue by Daniel Galera. Brasil, Jan 1.

2. The Small Claim of Bones by Cindy Williams Gutiaerrez. Mexico, Jan 2.
A wonderful collection of poetry exploring the author's Mexican heritage -- Indian on her father's side, Spanish on her mother's.

3. White Egrets by Derek Walcott. St. Lucia, Jan 4.

4. I Am Radar by Reif Larsen. Cambodia, Jan 5.

A mesmerizing, breathtaking, weird book with several settings: U.S., Norway, Bosnia, Cambodia, and ultimately the Congo River. It's a long one, so there's considerable time in each one (I wouldn't count it for Norway, though).

5. Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson. U.S. Jan 6.

6. How to be both by Ali Smith. Italy, Jan 9.

7. Adama by Al-Hamad Turki Bray Robin. Saudi Arabia, Jan 11.

A good read, recommended to me by one of my Saudi students.

8. The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance by Jim Al-Khalili. Iraq, Jan 11.

So very interesting. Wish it were written better.

9. The Knife by Ross Ritchell. Afghanistan, Jan 14.

10. Amnesia by Peter Carey. Australia, Jan 19.

And then the semester really gets going and my reading slows down...

11. The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Germany, Jan 25.

12. To Live by Yu Hua. China, Jan 30.

13. Suspended Sentences: Three Novellas by Patrick Modiano. France, Feb 3.

14. Delirio by Laura Restrepo. Colombia, Feb 10.

15. Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique. U.S. Virgin Islands, Feb 15.

16. La isla de los hombres solos by José León Sánchez. Costa Rica, Feb 19.

17. The Shadow of the Crescent Moon: A Novel by Fatima Bhutto. Pakistan (near the Afghani border), Feb 22.

18. Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan. India (fictional village but most definitely India), Feb 25.

19. Jerusalém by Gonçalo M. Tavares. Portugal, Feb 26.

The setting is not named clearly in the book, but it's a city, the title is clearly a metaphor, and the author is Portuguese, so I think it's in Portugal.

whew! caught up.

And now a map:

20. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Jamaica, March 1.

So very good but so very creepy.

21. The Goshawk by T.H. White. U.K., March 4.

22. Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Mongolia, March 8.

23. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson Sweden, March 12.