SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

My personal goals will consist mainly of the following:

A decade of female African authors:

2020: The Girl with the Louding Voice
2019: A Sin of Omission
2018: Happiness
2017: What We Lose
2016: Behold the Dreamers
2015: The Book of Memory
2014: Kintu
2013: Ghana Must Go
2012: How Shall We Kill the Bishop? and Other Stories
2011: Patchwork
2010: Who Fears Death
2009: I Do Not Come to You by Chance

Place keeper for alternate list:
2020: The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir
2019: The Mourning Bird
2018:
2017: Stay with me
2016:
2015:
2014: An Imperfect Blessing
2013:
2012:
2011:
2010: Swallow

A century of female African-American authors:
2020: The Vanishing Half
2010: The Hate U Give
2000: Leaving Atlanta
1990: Bailey's Café
1980: Beloved
1970: Meridian
1960: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1950: A Raisin in the Sun
1940: The Street
1930: Their Eyes Were Watching God
1920: Passing

A century:
2020: RomeAntically Challenged
2010: An Imperfect Blessing
2000: The Lighthouse
1990: The Translator
1980: The Virgin in the Ice
1970: When Rain Clouds Gather
1960: The Bell Jar
1950: Kingfishers Catch Fire (1959)
1940: Half a Lifelong Romance (1948)
1930: The Talisman Ring (1936)
1920: American Indian Stories


Twenty authors new to me:
1 Eileen Chang
2 Emily Nasrallah
3 Deirdre Mask
4 Horace Walpole
5 Maya Angelou
6 Imbolo Mbue
7 Sophocles
8 Min Jin Lee
9 Ann Petry
10 Khurrum Rahman
11 Nadia Hashimi
12 Brit Bennett
13 Anthony Trollope
14 Tennessee Williams
15 Shahrnush Parsipur
16 Zinzi Clemmons
17 Bessie Head
18 John Bude
19 Margaret Armstrong
20. Nadia Davids
21. Tayari Jones

South African authors:
Elsa Winckler - Love, In Writing
Natasha Anders - A Husband's Regret
Jo Watson - Burning Moon


Afrikaans authors:
Didi Potgieter - Hart van Staal, Hart van ys

1921 Cornelia Meigs - The Windy Hill
1922 Captain Blood
1923 The Good Soldier Svejk
1924 So Big
1925 The Layton Court Mystery
1926 The Blue Castle
1927 (Death comes for the archbishop)
1928 The Masqueraders
1929 Passing
1930 Rhododendron Pie
1931 The Good Earth
1932 The Division Bell Mystery
1933 High Rising
1934 Crossword Mystery
1935 The Cornish Coast Murder
1936 The Talisman Ring
1937 The Case Is Closed
1938 Nightingale Wood
1939 Murder in Stained Glass
1940 Mr Skeffington/Bird in the Tree/Death at the Dog/Bewildering cares
1941 Frenchman's Creek/Tom Tiddlers' Ground
1942 The Screwtape Letters/Black Orchids (Rex Sout)
1943 Lady in the Lake (Chandler)/
1944 Checkmate to Murder
1945 (Ross Poldark)
1946: The Street
1947: A View of the Harbour
1948: Half a Lifelong Romance
1949: (Miss Silver comes to stay/The Catherine Wheel)
1950: Music In The Hills
1951: The Quiet Gentleman
1952: Excellent Women
1953: Kingfishers Catch Fire
1954: Half Magic
1955: A Train of Powder
1956: Palace Walk
1957: Palace of Desire
1958: Sugar Candy Cottage
1959: A Raisin in the Sun

A final look at me personal goals for 2021. I managed to read a decade of female African authors and a century of female African-American authors, both of which broadened by reading horizons considerably.

I set out to read a book published every year from 1930 - 1939 and managed not only the 1930's, but also the 1950's, 1980's and 1990's.

About 20% of what I read this year was by African authors and about 10% translated into English from other languages. In 2020 I did not read a single book published prior to 1900, this year I read 20. I read 107 authors new to me (excluding individual short stories) and nearly 70% of the books were written by female authors.

I managed to read 66 books across my various groups as Group reads. I listened to 10 audio books and read 28 non-fiction books. I managed 4 collections of poetry and 2 plays along the way.

This is the most I read in a single year definitely since joining Goodreads and probably the most since school. I don't expect it to happen again soon.

Thank you to everyone in this Group who participated this year. It's so interesting to see what everyone is reading.