Around the World discussion

I am happy to be joining you all this year for some worldly reading! I finally finished compiling my list for around the world reading for 2018 after much research on all of your lists! Mostly I wanted to focus on Africa, but I have included Asia and the Middle East as well. I have a particular interest in areas around the world which have recently or are currently undergoing conflicts. I tried to choose mostly fiction by native authors but I have some memoirs as well. Some books feature the immigrant experience in America so I have listed them under the authors/characters country of origin. I did not want to include fiction written by American or European writers or travel writing. Lastly, I tried to choose highly rated books that sounded interesting enough to me to actually succeed in completing them!

1. I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban-Pakistan -COMPLETED

2. Pachinko-Japan/Korea -COMPLETED

3. Behold the Dreamers-Cameroon/Central Africa -COMPLETED
4. Exit West-Pakistan - COMPLETED
5. Half of a Yellow Sun-Nigeria -COMPLETED
6. Keeping Hope Alive: One Woman: 90,000 Lives Changed-Somalia - COMPLETED
7. We Need New Names-Zimbabwe - COMPLETED
8. A Thousand Splendid Suns-Afghanistan - COMPLETED
9. The Complete Persepolis-Iran - COMPLETED
10. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier-Sierra Leone -COMPLETED

11. The God of Small Things-India - COMPLETED
12. Cutting for Stone-Ethiopia - COMPLETED

I have completed 12/12.

Glad you're traveling around the world with us, Betsy - welcome! You've got a great list and I think about four are on my Favorite list. Enjoy your travels!

As of the end of May I have completed 8/12 for my goal for the year. I am hoping to finish this challenge by the end of July. I have already started an Around the World booklist for 2019. So far the books I have read for this group have been among the best I have read all year. Easily all 4 and 5 star books!

Afghanistan-A Thousand Splendid Suns-2018-✔ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Albania-Chronicle in Stone-2019
Algeria-The Stranger-2019
Andorra-The Road to Andorra
Angola-A General Theory of Oblivion
Antigua and Barbuda-Annie John
Argentina-The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey-2020
Armenia-The Sandcastle Girls
Australia-The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding 2018 ✔⭐⭐⭐ On the Jellicoe Road

Austria-The Reluctant Empress
Azerbaijan-Ali and Nino: A Love Story
Bahamas-Wind from the Carolinas
Bahrain-Yummah
Bangladesh-A Golden Age-2019
Barbados-Spirited Away
Belarus-Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster-2018-✔⭐⭐⭐⭐
Belgium-Resistance
Belize-Our Man in Belize: A Memoir
Benin-To Benin and Back: Short Stories, Essays, and Reflections about Life in Benin as a Peace Corps Volunteer and the Subsequent Readjustment Process.
Bhutan-Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in Bhutan-2020
Bolivia-Fire from the Andes: Short Fiction by Women from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru
Bosnia and Herzegovina-Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo-2020
Botswana-White Dog Fell from the Sky
Brazil-Daytripper-2020
Brunei-Some Girls: My Life in a Harem
Bulgaria-The Shadow Land
Burkina Faso-Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman
Burundi-This Voice in My Heart: A Runner's Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness
Cabo Verde
Cambodia-In the Shadow of the Banyan-2019 The King's Last Song First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers

Cameroon-Behold the Dreamers-2018-✔⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Canada-The Boat People-2020 The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Central African Republic (CAR)
Chad
Chile-The House of the Spirits-2019 The Postman

China-The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane-2019 The Good Earth-2019

Colombia- Fruit of the Drunken Tree-2019
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo-The Poisonwood Bible-2018-✔⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Republic of the Congo
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
Ethiopia-Cutting for Stone-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fiji
Finland
France-The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana-Homegoing-2019
Greece-The House by the River-2019
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary- Another Love: A Novel
Iceland-The Journey Home
India-The God of Small Things-2018-✔ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Girls Burn Brighter-2019 A State of Freedom-2019 The Space Between Us-2019

Indonesia
Iran-The Complete Persepolis-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐⭐The Septembers of Shiraz-2019
Iraq
Ireland-The Sea How the Irish Saved Civilization
Israel
Italy
Jamaica-Here Comes the Sun
Japan-Pachinko-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya-Unbowed: A Memoir
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania-Between Shades of Gray
Luxembourg
Macedonia (FYROM)
Madagascar
Malawi-The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope-2019
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius-The Last Brother
Mexico-The Hummingbird's Daughter
Micronesia-The People in the Trees
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar (formerly Burma)-Letters from Burma
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand-The Bone People-2019
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria-Half of a Yellow Sun2018✔⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The Famished Road-2020

North Korea-In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐⭐

Norway
Oman
Pakistan-I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐⭐ In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

Palau
Palestine-Salt Houses-2019
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland-The Complete Maus-2019
Portugal-The Stone Raft-2019
Qatar
Romania
Russia-A Gentleman in Moscow-2019
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone-A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier-2018-✔ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Memory of Love
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia-Keeping Hope Alive: One Woman: 90,000 Lives Changed-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐
Black Mamba Boy-2019
South Africa-A Dry White Season-2019
South Korea
South Sudan-They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan

Spain-The Shadow of the Wind-2018✔⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sri Lanka-What Lies Between Us-2019
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland (renamed to Eswatini)
Sweden-Hanna's Daughters-2020Switzerland
Syria-The Map of Salt and Stars
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand-Sightseeing
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago-'Til the Well Runs Dry
Tunisia
Turkey-Last Train to Istanbul-2019
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
United Kingdom (UK)-Testament of Youth-2018✔⭐⭐⭐⭐Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows-2020
United States of America (USA)
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City (Holy See)
Venezuela
Vietnam-The Lotus Eaters
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe-We Need New Names-2018- ✔⭐⭐⭐The Hairdresser of Harare

Decided this is going to be a multi-year project, so I am starting a list of all countries above.

Here is my planned reading list for 2019

Around the World

1. The House by the River- Greece
2. Last Train to Istanbul-Turkey
3. The Complete Maus- Poland
4. Homegoing - Ghana
5. A Gentleman in Moscow- Russia
6. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane- China
7. The House of the Spirits- Chile
8. The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence - African Diaspora
9. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope - Malawi
10. Chronicle in Stone - Albania
11. The Bone People- New Zealand
12. A Dry White Season - South Africa
13. The Space Between Us- India
14. Fruit of the Drunken Tree - Colombia
15. Salt Houses- Palestine (Middle East)
16. Girls Burn Brighter - India
17. The Stone Raft- Portugal
18. The Septembers of Shiraz - Iran
19. A Golden Age- Bangladash
20. A State of Freedom - India