UK Book Club discussion

I'm going to do this challenge...I've no idea how long it will take but I shall give it a go...

I've copied the list and using it as a reference point as I'm getting lost...in need of a map


Inclusion in the list comes from the following sources:
a) UN Member or Permanent Observer State
b) Member of FIFA if not in UN
c) UK islands/territories with at least semi-autonomous government
d) Disputed but clearly autonomous territory as yet not fully UN recognised
e) The Arctic and Antarctica
f) Others previously allowed by me - Tibet and Greenland
g) 3 tiny islands off Sue's list to make up the 240 - Pitcairn, St.Eustatius, St.Barths.


Continent splits

Africa
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo (DRC)
Congo (Republic)
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivorie)
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Reunion
Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara
Zambia
Zanzibar
Zimbabwe

The Americas
Argentina
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Falkland Islands
French Guiana
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
USA
Venezuela

Asia
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
East Timor
Georgia
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Macao
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar (formerly Burma)
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Tibet
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam

Caribbean
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curacao
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Montserrat
Puerto Rico
St Barth's
St Eustatius
St Kitts & Nevis
St Lucia
St Martin
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos
US Virgin Islands

Europe
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia & Herzogovina
Bulgaria
Channel Islands - 1 allowed
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Isle of Man
Italy
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Scotland
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
Vatican City
Wales

The Middle East
Bahrain
Cyprus
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Northern Cyprus, Turkish Republic of
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

Oceania
American Samoa
Australia
Cook Islands
Fiji
Guam & Wake
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Nauru
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niue
Northern Mariana Islands
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Island
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tahiti
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

The Polar Regions
Antarctica
Arctic, The

Additions to Sue's List
The Arctic
Barbados
Isle of Man - self governing British Crown Dependency
Northern Cyprus, Turkish Republic of - disputed by world but separate since 1974
Northern Mariana Islands - FIFA member inc.Saipan, Tinian & Rota
Samoa, American - FIFA member
South Sudan - recently formed UN recognised
Zanzibar - separate FIFA member - though part of Tanzania

Exclusions from Sue's List
Canary Islands inc.Tenerife,Lanzarote etc - just part of Spain
Azores - autonomous region of Portugal
Madeira - autonomous region of Portugal
Easter Island - special territory of Chile
Galapagos Islands - province of Ecuador
Sabu - doesn't exist - perhaps was Savu - but an Indonesian island

Substitutions in Sue's List
Ramon - but see Reunion which replaces
French Polynesia - but see Tahiti which replaces

Be warned it is addictive - you end up all sorts of places looking for books! Hope you have a good journey and look forward to reading about where you have been!

I can imagine. I am also going to try and couple it to the A-Z author challenge in the hope that both can help each other out...

Enjoy your travels Ellie

Thanks Ian! Will start once I've finished my current read. It's set all over the place so can't count it.

1. The Paris Wife - Paris, FRANCE

Really enjoying this so far. Some other reviewers haven't liked the opening and thought it a bit slow but I didn't notice. Swept away with the romance of it all...

2. Wigs on the Green - ENGLAND

Nancy Mitford's mad cap tale of English country houses, rich upper class types mixed with a love story and a mick-take of fascism.

3. Blue Diary - AMERICA

4. Sun Storm - SWEDEN

5. The Mother's Tale - AUSTRALIA

Looking to get back to this after taking a break with the arrival of my daughter in August 2012.

Congratulations Ellie!

Sue wrote: "Congratulations Ellie!"

Thanks Sue :)

6. A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush - INDIA

7. Snow Angels - FINLAND

8. Miffy - NETHERLANDS / HOLLAND

9. Hideous Kinky - MOROCCO

10.
Girls of Riyadh - SAUDI ARABIA

11. Tears of the Giraffe - BOTSWANA

12. Kitchen- JAPAN

Ellie wrote: "6. Scottsboro - USA"

Think lack of sleep getting to you Ellie....see no 3 lol

oh yeah. doh :-/

lol

Rectified!!! I'm now up to book number 13 as and when I get reading one. Just checked, haven't covered NORWAY so might try Anne Holt's 1222

Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series is better if not done him yet.

Ian wrote: "Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series is better if not done him yet."

Nope. Not yet. Will need to visit library for that so will have to make do with what I have taken out. Snowing here in Chorley and too cold to venture out :)

No 1 in the series has just recently been translated into English for the first time - called The Bat, but still easier to find on GR as .

Thanks. Will have a search.

13. NORWAY didn't happen. Didn't enjoy 1922 so gave up.

Just read The Last Hundred Days which gives me ROMANIA

14. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer - CZECH REPUBLIC

15.The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield - NEW ZEALAND

Ellie,
Do you have a list of countries you still need books for? If so, you might want to post it so we can recommend books. Just a thought.

thanks. Tbh I'm quite happy working through this slowly. I've got little kids so don't have huge amounts of time to dedicate to reading. am also quite fussy re books I will read :-) thanks for offer though.

Ellie wrote: "thanks. Tbh I'm quite happy working through this slowly. I've got little kids so don't have huge amounts of time to dedicate to reading. am also quite fussy re books I will read :-) thanks for off..."
Ellie, That makes sense...no worries. I saw a list on another site that blew my mind away. They had many spaces but they literally (didn't plan that pun) were traveling the world. I have several kids myself, so I understand. Take care.

16. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseni - AFGHANISTAN

absolutely loved this book. definite 5*

Glad to hear that! We're reading this for Jan book group meeting, so looking forward to it. I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

yet to read those myself. I was a bit cautious thinking it might be all about war (just not in the mood) but it was actually uplifting. hope you enjoy!

I had high expectations and came away a bit disappointed....still enjoyed it mind.

17. NORWAY - The Snowman by Jo Nesbo.

About half way through but will finish it. Not sure he is quite the next Steig Larsson as the cover claims but it's a good read. And even better, was free via the local Parish bookswap.

18. DENMARK - Music & Silence by Rose Tremain.

Loved it!

Glad you loved it Ellie. I read it recently and enjoyed it too.

Glad you enjoyed 'Music and Silence', it's one of my favourites :)

It was even more real as I was in Denmark when I read it and visited a couple of the places mentioned :)

I'm going to try Restoration next - it won't get my any countries / authors but I like her style of writing so thought I'd try another historical novel.

The colour which is set in New Zealand is excellent.

Thanks! Will have a look at that as well.

Ellie wrote: "It was even more real as I was in Denmark when I read it and visited a couple of the places mentioned :)

I'm going to try Restoration next - it won't get my any countries / authors but I like her..."

I'd agree, Restoration and The Colour are both very good :)

Thought I'd do a so far travelled map...big swathes of the world still to visit!

19.GERMANY- The Book Thief

It was ok but I didn't get emotional like many reviewers appeared to.

20.CANADA-Y by Celona Marjorie - wasn't able to find the book listing via the adding bit on this thread despite the fact I was able to on the rest of the website...

Enjoyable enough read, although I didn't like the main character.

21.SWITZERLAND - Hausfrau - due to be published in March. Family life / motherhood / adultery combined with psychoanalysis - good read.

22. IRELAND - Ellis Island - set in the majority of time in rural Ireland, despite the title of the book.

23.WALES - I Let You Go - thriller set in the most part in Swansea area

24.KENYA - Circling the Sun - Beryl Markham's fictionalised life story. She was part of the Happy Valley set, a horse trainer and aviator.

25. INDONESIA- Ramadan Sky - thankfully a fairly short tale. Australian woman hooks up with Indonesian toy boy, much the disgust of many. The Australian character isn't especially pleasant and I felt there was an underlying hint of racism.

26. PAKISTAN -The Reluctant Fundamentalist - really enjoyed this book. 5* read for me. Relatively short but insightful read about a Pakistani man who, after spending time in US, is disillusioned and makes a decision set to change his life.

27. SRI LANKA - The Tea Planter's Wife - set in the interwars years on a tea plantation in what was Ceylon. Ups and downs of family, bit of scandal mixed in. Enjoyable enough historical fiction, if slightly too chic-lit/romance for my liking.

28. SYRIA - The Beekeeper of Aleppo - a popular read over the last couple of years and I enjoyed it, although it was harrowing in parts.

29. NEPAL - The Girl Who Climbed Everest: Lessons learned facing up to the world's toughest mountains - over the last few years we have been challenging ourselves to climb the 214 Wainwrights (Lake District fells). I went through a spate of wanting to be inspired by people's walking challenged. Really enjoyed this story. One tough cookie