Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

2019 (and beyond challenge)

A month ago, my family and I were in Ireland on vacation.  We have been traveling a lot since we moved to Switzerland - enjoying seeing the world.  It got me thinking that all of these wonderful places we see - there are books that are set there.  Then I read the most fantastic book "The Shadow of the Wind" which takes place in Spain, and I decided, my next challenge needs to be a global one.

So next year (and beyond becuase I know this is going to take awhile) I am going to start down through all the countries and try and read a book from each.  I reached out to various online reading groups and got so many suggestions that I was off to a great start.  Then I started my online research, and I think I have a starting list.

As my lists always do - I am sure this will ebb and flow as the challenge goes on.  I am still missing a few countries where I just couldn't put my finger on a book that sounded like a good fit.  My plan - if it goes well and the book is outstanding- is to buy the book when I finish reading it and put it on my shelf.  I don't buy many books, but I would love a World bookcase.

So here is the list.  I am always open to suggestions, so feel free to make them.  If you read a book from a country that you absolutely think I should not miss, then tell me about it in the comments.  And if you know of a book for my empty country slots, I want to hear those too.

If you click on the book name, it will take you to the Amazon page where you can see who the author is and read a synopsis.


What countryBook Name
AfganistanKite Runner
AlbaniaThe Palace of Dreams
AlgeriaThe Plague
Andorra32 Yolks
AngolaThe Book of Chameleons
AntiguaA Small Place
ArgentinaAlive
ArmeniaLike Water On Stone
ArubaAn Island Away
AustraliaThe Light Between Oceans
AustriaMarrying Mozart
AzerbaijanAli and Nino A Love Story
BahamasAn Evening in Guanima
BahrainRound the Bend
BangladeshA Golden Age
BarbadosCaptain Blood
BelarusVoices from Chernobyl
BelgiumA Tall Man In A Low Land
BelizeThe last flight of the Scarlet Macaw
BeninBarracoon
BhutanBeyond the Sky and the Earth
BoliviaBolivar
BosniaZlata's Diary
BotswanaThe No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
BrazilDona Flor and Her Two Husbands
BruneiDevil of a State
BulgariaNatural Novel
Burkina FasoOf Water and Spirit
BurundiThis Voice in my Heart
CamobdiaThe Rent Collector
CameroonMission to Kala
CanadaStill Life
Cape VerdeLast Will+Testament Senhor de Silva
Central Africa RepublicDaba's Travels
ChadThe Roots of Heaven
ChilieMaya's Notebook
ChinaWild Swans
ColumbiaLove in the time of Cholera
ComorosA Fish caught in time
Congo - DemocraticTomorrow I'll Be Twenty
Congo - RepublicThe Poisonwood Bible
Costa RicaCadence of the Moon
Cote d'IvoireWhiteman
CroatiaGirl At War
CubaWaiting for Snow in Havana
CyprusMythos
Czech RepublicThe Unbearable Lightness of Being
DenmarkSeven Gothic Tales
DjiboutiPassage of Tears
DominicaBlack and White Sands
Dominican RepublicIn The Time Of Butterflies
East TimorIf you leave us here, we will die
EcuadorGalapagos
EgyptThe Memoirs of Cleopatra
El SalvadorBitter Grounds
Equatorial GuineaShadows of Your Black Memory
EritreaI Didn't Do It For You
EstoniaThe Beauty of History
EthiopiaCutting For Stone
FijiFiji A Novel
FinlandThe Year Of The Hare
FranceAll The Light We Cannot See
French GuianaPapillon
GabonMema
GambiaFolk Tales and Fables from The Gambia
Georgia                                      
GermanyThe Book Thief
GhanaHomegoing
Great BritainDracula
GreeceEleni
GrenadaGranada A History of Its People
GuadeloupeThe Bridge Of Beyond
GuatemalaPopol Vuh
GuineaThe Radiance of the King
Guinea-BissauThe Ultimate Tragedy
GuyanaOf Marriageable Age
HaitiThe Comedians
HondurasThe Lost City Of The Monkey God
HungaryThe Dukays
IcelandBurial Rites
IndiaLife Of Pi
IndonesiaThis Earth of Mankind
IranPersepolis
IraqImperial Life in the Emerald City
IrelandThe Misremembered Man
IsraelA Tale of Love and Darkness
ItalyBeneath a Scarlet Sky
JamaicaThe Book of Night Women
JapanMemoirs of a Geisha
JordanLeap of Faith
KazakhstanOne Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
KenyaCircling The Sun
Korea, NorthThe Girl With 7 Names
Korea, SouthPlease Look After My Mom
KosovoCity of Thieves
KuribatiThe Sex Lives of Cannibals
KurdistanMy Father's Paradise
KuwaitThe Hidden Light of Objects
KyrgyzstanJamilia
LaosMother's Beloved
LatviaWith Dance Shoes in Siberian Shoes
LebanonOne Thousand and One Nights
LesothoBasali
LiberiaThe House at Sugar Beach
LibyaIn The Country of Men
LiechtensteinStamping Grounds
Lithuania
LuxembourgMilly's Story
MacedoniaGhost on the Throne
MadagascarBeyond the Rice Fields
MalawiThe Boy who harnessed the wind
MalaysiaThe Gift of Rain
MaldivesOn The Island
MaliBound to Violence
MaltaThe Great Seige Malta 1565
Marshall IslandsSurviving Paradise
MartiniqueSugar Money
MauritaniaTravels in Mauritania
MauritiusThe Last Brother
MayotteIsland in the Stream
MexicoLike Water For Chocolate
MicronesiaIsland of the Sequined Love Nun
Moldova,Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
Monaco
MongoliaGhengis Birth of an Empire
MontenegroBlood of Montenegro
MoroccoSecret Son
MozambiqueThe First Wife
Myanmar/BurmaThe Art of Hearing Heartbeats
NamibiaBlood Rose
NepalInto Thin Air
NetherlandsDiary of a Young Girl
New ZealandThe Whale Rider
NicaraguaThe Country under my skin
NigerHarmattan
NigeriaHalf of a Yellow Sun
NorwayOut Stealing Horses
OmanEarth Weeps, Saturn Laughs
PakistanThree Cups of Tea
PalauVanished The Sixty Year Search
PalestineMornings in Jenin
PanamaThe Path Between The Seas
Papua New GuineaThe Last Men: Journey Among The Tribes
ParaguayAda's Violin
PeruDeath In The Andes
PhilippinesState of War
PolandThe Last Wish
PortugalThe Book of Disquiet
Puerto RicoStories from Puerto Rico
QatarThe Glass Palace
Romania
Russian FederationThe Master and Margarita
RwandaWe Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed
Saint Kitts and NevisOnly God Can Make A Tree
Saint LuciaOmeros
Saint Vincent + GrenadinesIsland of Eden
SamoaLeaves of the Banyan Tree
Sao Tome and PrincipeSao Tome - Journey to the Abyss
Saudi ArabiaDaring To Drive
ScotlandThe Black House
SenegalSo Long A Letter
SerbiaThe Last Window Giraffe
SeychellesStranded in the Seychelles
Sierra LeoneA Long Way Gone
SingaporeMinistry of Moral Panic
Slovakia               Maria Gulovich: OSS Heroine of WWII
SloveniaVeronkia Decides to Die
Solomon IslandsHead Hunting in the Solomon Islands
SomaliaThe World's Most Dangerous Place
South AfricaThe Elephant Whisperer
South SudanThey Poured Fire on Us From The Sky
SpainThe Shadow Of The Wind
Sri Lanka                                  Island of a Thousand Mirrors
SudanWhat Is The What
SurinameThe Cost of Sugar
SwazilandThe Kingdom of Roses and Thorns
SwedenA Man Called Ove
SwitzerlandSwiss Watching
SyriaDamascus Nights
TaiwanThe Astonishing Color of After
TajikistanHurramabad
TanzaniaThe Snows Of Kilimajaro
ThailandThe Disallowed: The Humorous Story of a Contemporary Vampire Family
TogoThe Village of Waiting
Trinidad & TobagoA House for Mr. Biswas
TunisiaTalismano
TurkeyLast Train To Instanbul
TurkmenistanThe Tale of Aypi
Turks & Caicos IslandsWater and Light - A Diver's Journey
UgandaKintu
UkraineLike A River From Its Course
United Arab EmiratesCity of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism
USAThe Stand
UruguayThe Invisible Mountain
UzbekistanA Carpet Ride of Khiva
VanuatuGetting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands
Vatican CityThe Fifth Gospel
VenezuelaThe Motocycle Diaries
VietnamThe Sorrow of War
YemenI Am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced
ZambiaDon't Let The Dogs Go Tonight
ZimbabweWe Need New Names

3 comments:

  1. This is wonderful! I recognize some of the books I read and many that I will add to my list. One of my favourites is The Book of Chameleons.

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  2. This is Suroor again (my name didn't register on my last comment--don't know why). For Mauritania, you can read The Desert and the Drum (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1910213799/?coliid=IDGGMCBZ8E4YP&colid=2ACTRF8G5OJ5D&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it).

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