Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Hello Team Africa! This topic is just for you to discuss your strategy and progress throughout the week. Make sure to take a moment to read over the rules of the challenge here before you dive in.

Team Roster:
Emily (team leader)
Edie
Brittany
Vanessa
Joan
Sarah E
Traci
Perri
Jody
Pam
Diana
Jennifer
Hilde
Mindy
Joi
Joanne
Kathy
Sabrina

African Countries:
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Cote d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Reunion
Rwanda
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
St. Helena
Sudan
Swaziland
São Tomé and Príncipe
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara
Zambia
Zimbabwe

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Team tracker: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Hey Team! Here are my first round of books I'm reading:

The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown - Purple cover - by Penny Junor

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin - Red and White Cover

Red Rising by Pierce Brown - Red and Black Cover

None of the books were set in Africa and none of the authors were born there.

Looking forward to the challenge and working with all of you!

Hey Team!

My current read is The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Hoping to finish by tomorrow.

This could work for Tanzania, Togo or Tunisia for the title start of T.

Or South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, St Helena or Western Sahara for the initials of the author, ST.

Or Angola for the cover having the same colors of the flag: black, red and gold.

So many fun choices!

I’ve been trying to read more books set in other countries and by authors from other countries so I’m going to take this challenge more literally. I started the audiobook for Akata Witch while I was on lunch at work last night which is set in Nigeria. I also rented the ebook for The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After which is partially set in Rwanda and has a Rwandan author, so that’s where I’ll be starting.

HEY GROUP! I'm going to work on a spreadsheet this morning so that we can track which books work for which countries.

Hi team!!

I started “Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival” by Velma Wallis, my Spanish version for the cover have the colors Light Blue, Green and White. This could work for Sierra Leone or Somalia  or Nigeria.

 African Countries Colors of the flags

 
Algeria - Green, White and Red
Angola - Yellow, Black and Red
Benin - Green, Yellow and Red
Botswana - Black, White and Light Blue
Burkina Faso - Red, Yellow and Green
Burundi - Red, White and Green
Cameroon - Green, Yellow and Red
Cape Verde - Blue, White, Red and Yellow
Central African Republic - Blue, Yellow, White, Red and Green
Chad - Blue, Yellow and Red
Comoros - Green, White, Yellow, Red and Blue
Congo - Green, Yellow and Red
Democratic Republic of Congo - Light Blue, Yellow and Red
Cote d'Ivoire - Orange, White and Green
Djibouti - Light Blue, Red, Green and White
Egypt - Red, White, Black and Gold
Equatorial Guinea - Light Blue, Green, White, Red, Brown, Yellow and Black
Eritrea - Red, Green, Light Blue and Yellow
Ethiopia - Green, Red, Yellow and Blue
Gabon - Green, Yellow and Light Blue
Gambia - Blue, White, Green and Red
Ghana - Red, Yellow, Black and Green
Guinea - Red, Yellow and Green
Guinea Bissau - Red, Black, Yellow and Green
Kenya - Black, Red, Green and White
Lesotho - Blue, White, Green and Black
Liberia - Red, White and Blue
Libya - Red, Black, White and Green
Madagascar - White, Red and Green
Malawi - Black, Red and Green
Mali - Green, Yellow and Red
Mauritania - Yellow, Green and Red
Mauritius - Red, Blue, Yellow and Green
Mayotte - White, Blue, Red, Yellow and Grey
Morocco - Red and Green
Mozambique - Green, White, Black, Yellow and Red
Namibia - Blue, Yellow, White, Red and Green
Niger - Orange, White and Green
Nigeria - Green and White
Reunion - Blue, White and Red
Rwanda - Light Blue, Yellow and Green
Senegal - Green, Yellow and Red
Seychelles - Blue, Yellow, Red, White and Green
Sierra Leone - Green, White and Light Blue
Somalia - Light Blue and White
South Africa - Red, White, Green, Blue, Black and Yellow
South Sudan - Blue, Black, White, Yellow, Red and Green
St. Helena - Blue, White, Red, Yellow, Brown, Black and Green
Sudan - Red, Green, White and Black
Swaziland - Blue, Yellow, Red, Black and White
São Tomé and Príncipe - Red, Yellow, Green and Black
Tanzania - Green, Yellow, Black and Light Blue
Togo - Red, Green, Yellow and White
Tunisia - Red and White
Uganda - Black, Yellow, Red, And White
Western Sahara - Black, Red, White and Green
Zambia - Green, Red, Black and Orange
Zimbabwe - Green, Yellow, Red, Black and White

Here's our spreadsheet!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Maybe our lovely mods can link it in the top post so it's easy to find.

Thanks for that, Vanessa! I've added the colors to the spreadsheet as well.

As for posting on the spreadsheet, when y'all finish a book, please give me title, author, and color of cover... if you want to include which countries it fits, that would be even better, but it's up to you!

I'm only going to post books as they are finished, so just let me know when you've completed a book! (I mean, you are more than welcome to post about them as you start them, but I won't add them to the spreadsheet until they are complete.)

Good Morning! I am really looking forward to this challenge.

I am finishing up Tangerine which is set in Morocco. It also could be counted for one of the countries that start with "T".

I am also reading A Place for Us which would work for a country starting with "A"

Next on my TBR pile is An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole whose initials work for Chad, Cameroon, Cape Verde, South Africa

Good Morning Africa! Oof, I have two books almost finished, but going to the library today and planning to check my TBR list. Hooray for having super organized Emily as our leader. THANKS

Emily, I can't access google docs from my work computer, but I will add the link to message 1 later on today.

I’m reading a Neil Gaiman book which works for 9 countries, using the author initials option.

No problem Katie!

It looks like this will be an easier Read-A-Thon because there are so many ways to count books for countries... I think we can totally knock out all of these countries!

Also, just an updated from the Q&A thread -- we will be ignoring articles when looking at titles... A and The will not count for the title!

Hello team Africa!:)
Read-a-thon weekend, yay! I am finally home from a long work day, and plan to spend some lazy hours on the couch now with a book and a tasty Indian meal. I think I will start De blåeste øyne/(The Bluest Eye) by Toni Morrison tonight.

Otherwise I am currently listening to the last book in the 1Q84 trilogy, have approx 150-200 pages left, so will probably finish that one this weekend.

I can have a look at where they can go when I finish, but probably several places.

Hope you all are having a nice start to the read-a-thon, excited to be reading with all of you! :)

Vanessa wrote: "Hi team!!

I started “Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival” by Velma Wallis, my Spanish version for the cover have the colors Light Blue, Green and White. This could wo..."

Excellent list, Vanessa - thank you!

Brittany wrote: "I’ve been trying to read more books set in other countries and by authors from other countries so I’m going to take this challenge more literally. I started the audiobook for Akata Witch "

Interesting, good plan! I just caved in and bought myself a monthly subscription of Audible. My first credit went to Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood as everyone says it's THE BEST audiobook ever. And it's not available as audio here, only print from the library. So I will at least be listening to one book set in Africa (Johannesburg in South Africa). But we'll see if I finish it during the read-a-thon or not.

Hilde wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I’ve been trying to read more books set in other countries and by authors from other countries so I’m going to take this challenge more literally. I started the audiobook for [book..."

For some reason, it's not available via audiobook from my library either.. they said it isn't available for them to purchase. And I'm super bummed because I've been dying to listen to it, and I've already used all of my emails for Audible free trials haha!

It *is* the best audiobook ever!! 😁😁😁 I found it almost impossible to put down (or whatever the audio equivalent of that is). It’s hilarious and compelling and fascinating and informative and amazing.

Hello Team!! I’m working on a Stephen King book at the moment which will work for Burkina Faso - I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow or the day after. Then I think I might sideline the chonks for the week (depending on what my jar spits out next) and read a few shorties.

Emily wrote: "Hilde wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I’ve been trying to read more books set in other countries and by authors from other countries so I’m going to take this challenge more literally. I started the audio..."

Haha, bummer. Interesting that it's not available in your library either, Emily. I thought maybe it had to do with some copyright issues for Europe. Maybe Amazon is sitting on all the rights, making everyone subscripe to Audible, lol. I got a good offer though, $7,50 each month for the three first months, and then up to normal fee. I will probably end my subscription after the three initial months. You just have to make yourself yet another e-mail then ;)

Jody wrote: "It *is* the best audiobook ever!! 😁😁😁 I found it almost impossible to put down (or whatever the audio equivalent of that is). It’s hilarious and compelling and fascinating and informative and amazi..."

I am really looking forward to it!! For once, I think the hype will live up 😁😁

Hilde wrote: "Emily wrote: "Hilde wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I’ve been trying to read more books set in other countries and by authors from other countries so I’m going to take this challenge more literally. I sta..."

I had the same issue in Seattle! Like you, I joined audible to get it, then I cancelled during my trial period. Glad I got to listen to it! I hope you enjoy it Hilde!

So this is a bit off topic, but since we're team Africa, has anyone here had the pleasure of travelling in this beautiful continent?

I have been to Malawi, Tanzania and Zanzibar. One of the best vactions of my life (so far)! Beautiful scenery, people and wild life, I loved it! But of course, we saw lots of sad things as well, especially in Malawi where poverty is very strong. Left quite an impression, so different from where I live (Norway). Would love to revisit some time.

Traci wrote: "Hilde wrote: "Emily wrote: "Hilde wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I’ve been trying to read more books set in other countries and by authors from other countries so I’m going to take this challenge more li..."

Thank you, Traci :) I am sure I will. Glad you got to listen to it as well!

I haven't had the opportunity to travel there, but last year, I had a few students who did mission work in Zambia and loved it so much that they have already gone back a few times.

I haven’t been to Africa - I’d love to go though. So much natural beauty!

On the spreadsheet, I added a second tab to track which countries we have read for, which letters we received, and what our guesses are.

What strategy should we take? Should we read a few, then decide which countries we want to claim for them? Or should we just go book by book and hope for the best? I imagine we can't move them around once we get a letter for a country.

The letter won't be related to the country. It will just be 1 country = 1 letter revealed. So if you apply a book to Algeria and earn a letter but then decide you want to move that book to Liberia, that's totally fine as long as you have finished both books (i.e. 1 for Algeria and 1 for Liberia).

ETA: By the end, you can only have one book applied to each country, though. So it might get harder to move them around successfully as you get more books filled in.

Oooooh that's good to know!

So we don't need as much of a strategy, other than trying to place books that are more selective (like shorter names, begin with difficult letters, or have less flag colors) first.

Ok, so I ended up finishing 11/22/63 ... I was yawning and went to bed at 10pm thinking I’d read a little bit more, and here I am at 1am. 🙈

Hi team, I'm a late addition.

Regarding Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood: I recently listened to the audio and it is such a good listen. Interesting that it isn't available in libraries (not at mine either), because at one point Audible was giving away a free copy to all Audible members, which is how I got mine.

Yay Joanne! Welcome!

Jody, I’ll get your book added after I eat supper. Yay for our first team book!

Emily wrote: "Thanks for that, Vanessa! I've added the colors to the spreadsheet as well.

As for posting on the spreadsheet, when y'all finish a book, please give me title, author, and color of cover... if you..."

I finished my first book.

- Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival (Las Dos Ancianas) byVelma Wallis
1. Set in African country: No
2. Author born in African country: No
3. Author Initials: VW, No country fit in
4. Title: T. (Tanzania, Togo or Tunisia)
5. Cover Color: White, Light Blue and Green (several country but all colors fits in Sierra Leone)

Hey yall! I'm going to try to read There There by Tommy Orange, The Martian by Andy Weir, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.


Good luck, team!

At the Library I got West with the Night and Infidel, but now I realize it might have been better to get a colorful cover to apply to a lot of countries or a longer title, for more flexibility. Oh well, these were two on my TBR list

Diana, three great books, but Poisonwood was a year end favorite for me. So good!

My sister has been in Kenya most of February helping with medical needs. She's been writing emails when the Internet is working to share her experience.

Vanessa, I put your book down for Sierra Leone!
Jody, let me know which countries work for 11/22/63!

Katie - You can give us 1 letter!

Do y'all want me to add any other tracking to the spreadsheet? I think it would be fun to get a total of pages read and books read as a group?

Emily wrote: "Vanessa, I put your book down for Sierra Leone!
Jody, let me know which countries work for 11/22/63!

Katie - You can give us 1 letter!

Do y'all want me to add any other tracking to the spreadshe..."


And maybe hours listened to for audiobooks along with pages and books?

Checking in to say hello...I've had a busy day. I hope to finish The Dictionary of Animal Languages tomorrow. I'll wait to see what's on the spreadsheet when I'm done before suggesting where it might best fit in.

Hilde, so jealous of your travels! Lucky you.

Hilde wrote: "So this is a bit off topic, but since we're team Africa, has anyone here had the pleasure of travelling in this beautiful continent?

I have been to Malawi, Tanzania and Zanzibar. One of the best ..."

Lots of time! I lived in in Malawi for about 6 years total. Love it there!! Have traveled most of East and Southern Africa and already spent about 6 weeks between Zambia and Ethiopia in 2019. On my way back home from Ethiopia now. I highly recommend a visits to anyone open to the idea. It is a gorgeous continent with many amazing people!

Mindy wrote: "Hilde, so jealous of your travels! Lucky you. .."

Hope you get to go some day too!:)

Jennifer wrote: "Lots of time! I lived in in Malawi for about 6 years total. Love it there!! Have traveled most of East and Southern Africa and already spent about 6 weeks between Zambia and Ethiopia in 2019. On my way back home from Ethiopia now. I highly recommend a visits to anyone open to the idea. It is a gorgeous continent with many amazing people!"

Fascinating! You got me curious, what brought you to living in Malawi the first time? Safe flight back home :)

11/22/63 (my finished book) would work for:

Burkina Faso (initials SK/flag colour - red)

Egypt (first letter of title/(flag colour - red)
Equatorial Guinea (first letter of title/flag colour - red)
Eritrea (first letter of title/flag colour - red)
Ethiopia (first letter of title/flag colour - red)

Algeria (flag colour - red)
Angola (flag colour - red)
Benin (flag colour - red)
Burundi (flag colour - red)
Cameroon (flag colour - red)
Cape Verde (flag colour - red)
Central African Republic (flag colour - red)
Chad (flag colour - red)
Comoros (flag colour - red)
Congo (flag colour - red)
Democratic Republic of Congo (flag colour - red)
Djibouti (flag colour - red)
Gambia (flag colour - red)
Ghana (flag colour - red)
Guinea (flag colour - red)
Guinea Bissau (flag colour - red)
Kenya (flag colour - red)
Liberia (flag colour - red)
Libya (flag colour - red)
Madagascar (flag colour - red)
Malawi (flag colour - red)
Mali (flag colour - red)
Mauritania (flag colour - red)
Mauritius (flag colour - red)
Mayotte (flag colour - red)
Morocco (flag colour - red)
Mozambique (flag colour - red)
Namibia (flag colour - red)
Reunion (flag colour - red)
Senegal (flag colour - red)
Seychelles (flag colour - red)
South Africa (flag colour - red)
South Sudan (flag colour - red)
St. Helena (flag colour - red)
Sudan (flag colour - red)
Swaziland (flag colour - red)
São Tomé and Príncipe (flag colour - red)
Togo (flag colour - red)
Tunisia (flag colour - red)
Uganda (flag colour - red)
Western Sahara (flag colour - red)
Zambia (flag colour - red)
Zimbabwe (flag colour - red)

Emily, the spreadsheet looks great! Do you want us to add the books we are currently reading to the countries it could potentially fit?

Deciding now on what to read next ... funnily enough I think my next AtY book will be Long Walk to Freedom which is set in South Africa, but since I've been reading it since last July, it seems unlikely I'll finish it this week. 😂

Jody wrote: "Deciding now on what to read next ... funnily enough I think my next AtY book will be Long Walk to Freedom which is set in South Africa, but since I've been reading it since last July..."

Or maybe the readthon will give you the push to finish it 😂
Did your magic jar spit out a good prompt for you next`?

Hahahahaha, no! Well, first I thought no, but now I think it will be fine. I got the indigenous prompt, and that was the only chonk I could find to fit it, but I've since searched the suggestion thread and found that The Luminaries features the Maori people of NZ. I would really like to read The Prophets of Eternal Fjord, but I don't think I'll be able to find a copy.

I think I might read a play today though, just to get our numbers up!

Jody wrote: "Hahahahaha, no! Well, first I thought no, but now I think it will be fine. I got the indigenous prompt, and that was the only chonk I could find to fit it, but I've since searched the suggestion th..."

That's a tough one for chonks indeed, couldn't come up with any on the top of my head. But it looks like you got a good option now! I have heard that Cloud Atlas features Maori and Aborigines of Australia and New Zealand, but I haven't read it (yet), so I am not completely sure?

I really enjoyed the The Prophets of Eternal Fjord, hope you'll find a copy someday. I might read the sequel this year for this prompt (Rød mann / sort mann)/('Red man/black man') - it will probably be translated at some point.

Good plan with the play, enjoy :)

Ooh, Cloud Atlas is on my 50 Before 50 (and sitting on my bookshelf at home). I might have to investigate it further. I’m really tempted to try and hunt down a copy of Fjords though, because I’d like the indigenous peoples to be a significant focus of the book, and it sounds like they are in that one.

Hilde, I'll input the books as you finish them... I couldn't come up with a good way to keep the spreadsheet looking clean but also put all potential books on there and designated between what was finished and what was in progress.

I will add hours of audiobook on there as well, so when y'all finish, let me know how many hours you spent listening/pages you read and we can track that for fun!

Also, I haven't read one page since the Read-A-Thon started, but today is my first day off and I don't go back to work until the 11th, so I hope to contribute some books!

Katie (or Laura?), we are ready for 2 letters!

Letters:

First author:

M, S

Map:


Full Size Map