The Next Best Book Club discussion

This looks cool and a really great way to explore....don't know about 80 books in a year but I guess that's the challenge! Always a late starter may have some catching up to do...

Pepita's map
With a little help from my friend Tanya I have acheived a MAP!

For the record:

REGIONS:

North America 3
Caribbean 5
Latin America 4
Europe 23
Africa 16
Middle East 9
Asia 14
Oceania/Australia 6
also but not included Antarctica 1

COUNTRIES A to Z
A Australia, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Austria, Afghanistan,Antigua & Barbuda
B Botswana, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bahamas, Bulgaria
C Cuba, Chile, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Colombia, Cyprus
D Dominica
E England, Egypt, East Timor
F France, Finland
G Guyana, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guernsey
H Hong Kong, Haiti
I India, Israel, Ireland, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Indonesia
J Japan, Jordan, Jamaica
K Kenya, Kiribati
L Laos, Latvia
M Malaysia, Mozambique, Mexico, Mauritius, Malawi, Morocco, Mali, Myanmar
N Nigeria, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nepal, Norway,Northern Ireland
O Oman
P Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Pakistan
Q Qatar
R Russia, Romania
S Scotland, Sweden, Spain, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Saudi Arabia
T Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Tonga
U USA, Ukraine
V Vanuatu, Vietnam
W Wales

Y Yemen
Z Zimbabwe






USA State by State plus D.C.






1. Arizona
2. North Carolina
3. Washington D.C.
4. New York
5. Massachusetts
6. Pennsylvania
7. New Jersey
8. Wisconsin
9. Wyoming
10. California
11. Tennessee
12. Maine
13. South Carolina
14. Minnesota
15. Virginia
16. Georgia
17. Kansas
18. Florida
19. Washington
20. Maryland
21. Kentucky
22. Illinois
23. Montana
24. Nevada
25. Connecticut
26. Oklahoma
27. Texas
28. Rhode Island
29. New Mexico
30. Oregon
31. Michigan
32. Vermont
33. Missouri
34. Louisiana
35. Idaho
36. South Dakota
37. Mississippi
38. Alabama
39. Utah
40. Ohio
41. Indiana
42. Hawaii
43. West Virginia
44. Nebraska
45. Colorado
46. New Hampshire
47. Arkansas
48. North Dakota
49. Iowa
50. Delaware
51. Alaska

1. Oceania/Australia Australia Fly Away Peter by David Malouf

Have at last taken off from my homeland Australia!

2. Europe England The Bride Stripped Bare A Novel By Anonymous (now known to be Nikki Gemmell

Currently wading through Shantaram to fulfil my third vowel - I for India

3. North America USA The Murderers' Club by P.D. Martin

This will count as 1 for my American journey!

4.Asia India Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
5.Caribbean Dominica Wide Sargasso Sea byJean Rhys

6. Caribbean Cuba Our Man In Havana by Graham Greene

7. Asia Japan Stepper by Brian Castro

8. Europe France Almost French A New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull

9. Africa Kenya The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton

10. Middle East Oman Sandstorm by James Rollins

11. Latin America Chile Daughter of Fortune A Novel by Isabel Allende

With reference to Rule #5 I am using Hong Kong from the supplementry list of 'countries' in the Dependencies and Territories list.
12. Asia HongKong The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee

13. Africa Nigeria Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

14. Africa Botswana Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith

Have just made good use of a long weekend and been to 4 new countries!!
15. Middle East Israel The Omega Scroll by Adrian D'Hage
16. Latin America Guyana When the Singing Stops by Di Morrissey
17. Europe Netherlands Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
18. North America Canada Unless A Novel by Carol Shields

19. Caribbean Haiti Alphabet of the Night by Jean-Euphele Milce

20. Middle East Jordan Forbidden Love by Norma Khouri

21. Africa Tanzania The hunter's wife by Katherine Scholes

22. Asia MalaysiaMassacre at Parit Sulong by Gilbert Mant

23. Africa Mozambique This Angry Land by Terence Strong

24. Africa Egypt Alexandria by Lindsey Davis
25. Europe Ireland An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor
26. Europe Scotland Death of a Village by M.C. Beaton

27. Europe Sweden The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
I have also just completed The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth but it constantly skips all over the world so didn't really feel it was eligible for any country as we were not set down in any single place for long enough to count. However if I'm short of books towards the end I may claim 'Country X' for 'across the globe'??

28. Europe Czech Republic The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Pepita wrote: "27. Europe Sweden The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
I have also just completed The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth but it constantly skips al..."

yes

29. Asia Laos Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill
30. Europe Germany The Twins by Tessa de Loo. I had some difficulty deciding which country to claim as this book starts and ends in Spa, Belgium where the twins are reunited many years after the second world war; however most of the book is concerned with the reminiscences of each sister who were separated from early childhood. One was raised in Holland and the other continued to live in Germany. While we get accounts from German occupied Holland and some snapshots of war torn Vienna, the accounts of Germany by the sister who grew up there seemed to me the most significant part of the story. Familial ties and subsequent conflicts experienced as a result of allegiances during the war were cleverly and realistically potrayed. Really interesting book.

31. Africa Ghana Wife of the Gods A Novel by Kwei Quartey

32. Middle East Iraq From Baghdad, With Love A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava by Jay Kopelman

33. Europe Spain The Fencing Master by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

34. Asia China Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
35. Australia/Oceania Papua New Guinea Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

36. Europe Russia Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I am very excited to have read this at last as I can now cross it off at least 3 different lists of books to read. It needed some clear head space and perseverance but a remarkable exploration of the mind of a murderer and social conditions of the time and place.

37. Africa Sierra Leone A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

38. Australia/Oceania New Zealand Cleo by Helen Brown - beautifully written

39. Middle East Iran Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi. Really enjoyed this and it has made me want to reread a number of books that were talked about in this memoir.

40. Asia Thailand Bangkok 8: A Novel by John Burdett
Half way YAY!

41. Europe Bosnia Herzegovina The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
42. Australia/Oceania Kiribati Pieces of Heaven: In the South Seas by Nancy Phelan This book travelled to many islands in the 'south seas' but the main three groups included Samoa, The Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) and Raratonga a dependency of New Zealand. I have chosen to claim Kiribati (pronounced Kirr-i-bas) as I enjoyed the stories from this group the most.

43. Oceania/Australia Vanuatu Pacific by Judy Nunn

44. Africa Algeria Outsider by Albert Camus

45. and Region 9 Antarctica Sun at Midnight by Rosie Thomas
a good book to read while we are experiencing some hot weather here in Australia; very cooling! Probably should be avoided by those in the grips of a northern hemisphere winter right now.

46. Asia Vietnam The grave at Thu Le by Catherine Cole

47. Africa South Africa A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
I congratulate the reader of this audio book, Humphrey Bower; his variety, and to my ear, accuracy of character accents took the story to another level. I have found an audio book set in East Timor also read by him so it will be interesting to see if he is as successful there.

48. Asia East Timor Shooting Balibo by Tony Maniaty
This was facinating both as an insight into the conflict and events surrounding the deaths of 5 journalists in 1975 against the political backdrop of the time and the personal journey for Tony Maniaty revisiting thirty odd years later. Again well read Humphrey Bower.

49. Middle East Turkey The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

50. Latin America Argentina Bluestocking in Patagonia: Mary Gilmore's Quest for Love and Utopia at the World's End by Anne Whitehead

51. North America Mexico Swift as Desire by Laura Esquivel

52. Latin America Colombia Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez

53. Europe Finland The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

54. Middle East Yemen Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
Not a large portion of this book actually takes place in Yemen, probably less than a third, however the background focus is definitely there; and there is commentry of differing values between 'East' and 'West' which highlights significant cultural elements. Really liked this book for the cynical exposure of current political expediencies.

55. Asia Nepal Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees by Thomas Hale