The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

Sweden, South Africa, Slovenia, Switzerland, South Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore… who can list all the countries starting with the letter S? Which book are you going to choose?

The Calligrapher's Daughter

Outlander series set in Scotland

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. The whole Millenium series is set in Sweden. Likewise A Man Called Ove which is an excellent book.

"The Unit" by Ninni Holmqvist
Set in Sweden, just need to find it. Might have to be a Kindle read.

Crazy Rich Asians trilogy by Kevin Kwan

The Island of Sea Women--does it matter if the story is set before Korea was divided into North and South or are we going by what the country is called now regardless of when it is set? I saw it on the list, but it is set during the Japanese colonization in the 1930s and 1940s; Korea was divided into two after Japan lost hold of it in 1945.

I am asking not for this book, which I loved, but for other books set in places that didn't necessarily have our current names when the book takes place.

Karin wrote: "The Island of Sea Women--does it matter if the story is set before Korea was divided into North and South or are we going by what the country is called now regardless of when it is ..."

I think that would depend on each person's interpretation of the challenge, as we say, "your challenge, your rules!". Some may think it doesn't count because it was set in Korea, not South Korea. Others may think it counts because it's currently called South Korea even if it wasn't then. I think it's up to each individual what they want to do.

Lindsey wrote: "Karin wrote: "The Island of Sea Women--does it matter if the story is set before Korea was divided into North and South or are we going by what the country is called now regardless ..."

Thanks, that's great, and I am glad we have that flexibility :)

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Please Look After Mom

Clanlands by Sam Heughan and Graham MacTavish

What is the What by Dave Eggers, takes place in Sudan.

A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (set in Switzerland)

Amber, I LOVE Mrs. Pollifax!

I have a few books on Sri Lanka that I've been meaning to read that would fit this prompt:

Island of a Thousand Mirrors
Tamil Tigress
Anil's Ghost
The Seasons of Trouble: Life Amid the Ruins of Sri Lanka's Civil War

Completion Post:

Just finished reading: "My Brilliant Life" written by Kim Ae-ran and translated by Kim Chi-Young (★★★★☆), it centers on Areum, a sixteen year old boy suffering from rapid aging affliction progeria, which makes him look eighty. It is a book about appreciating life while facing one’s own mortality. This book takes place in South Korea, which satisfy this challenge criterion.

Kim Ae-ran has created a wonderful and charming character in Areum who lives life to the fullest and vicariously through the stories he hears and book he reads. It is a book full of duality of happiness and sadness, pain and relief, emptiness and significance, life and death, and the power of empathy.

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea is set in Saudi Arabia.

crazy rich Asians trilogy by Kevin kwan

Terra Alta is set in Spain, I'm planning to find another one that's set in a country starting with S in Spanish.

Fodor's Essential Scotland. This counts for my non-fiction list and dreams of traveling again.

I'm planning to read The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, a middle grade novel about a girl who's life is transformed by education. It's set in Sudan. It's been on my mental TBR list for years.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. According to Google, Hogwarts is in Scotland. I've never been much of a fantasy fan, but my 14 year old daughter begged me to read this with her and I loved it!

I read several that would count but I used The Murder Mystery Cruise: Book Three: The Cozy Cruise Mysteries by Lizzie Josephson It is set in the Canary Islands which are part of Spain

I also read The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg set in Sweden so that would work as well

https://titlesurfingwithtraci.blogspo...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2021... Set in South Africa

These violent delights

rich people problems by kevin kwan

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Sweden

Wolf Winter which is a great thriller set in 1717 Sweden

I am currently reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo, which begins in Syria. It is a--hard-to-read, but filled with beauty--account of a family as they struggle to immigrate out of war-torn Syria to England.

I read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman- it's set in Sweden. It's first of his books I've read, and I loved it!

Mine is also set in Sweden, in Fjällbacka.
The Preacher by Camilla Läckberg.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

I also read The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri, 3 Stars

I read Anxious People by Friedrick Backman — set in Sweden.

Under Almond Blossoms is set in Spain

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
Completed: October 14, 2021

I read "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter" by Margareta Magnusson