2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

Around the World 5/6


1The Next AlwaysbyNora Roberts-America 1/25
2You're (Not) the One: A NovelAlexandra Potter Yorkshire U.K. 1/26
3 A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's PurposebyEckhart Tolle -Germany 2/23
4 Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox-Australia 3/18
5. The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness by Deepak Chopra-India 5/28

Sara wrote: "Great job Erika, you're almost done!"
This one was harder then I thought it was going to be.

Ana: 1/25*
Ashley 4/10*
Barbara: 9/10*
Brianna 6/10*
Diana S: 2/?
Erika: 7/6 COMPLETED
Johanna: 11/15*
Kara: 16/20*
Lisa: 5/6*
Natalia: 12/15*
Nikki: 0/3*
Sara: 6/6*
SilverRaindrops: 20/52*
Tatum: 4/6*
Trevor: 8/10

Definitely has been harder for me as well, but I´m getting there!

6. Above by Leah Bobet-Canada
7. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson-Austria

Yeah!! I finished with one to spare. This one was tough.

14. Czech Republic: Identity by Milan Kundera

COMPLETED: 14/20

Congrats Erika! That is well done!

I need to update :).
After neglecting to update for a while, and including the Around the World ReadAthon on saturday, which helped me to get back on track, I'm now at 18/52.
(Note: These *take place* in different countries, but some author's birthplaces might overlap. That made more sense to me than the other way round.)

I'll just post my entire list. The last seven are new, the last four from the readAthon :).

1) *** Collette Rossant - Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes (Egypt) Jan 6
2) * Jostein Gaarder - The Castle in the Pyrenees (Norway) Jan 7
3) ** Günter Grass - My Century (Germany) Jan 18
4) **** Kathryn Stockett - The Help (USA) Jan 19
5) **** Tove Jansson - The Summer Book (Finland) Feb 7
6) ***** Rafik Schami Murmeln Meiner Kindheit (Syria) Audio April 9
7) **** Sadegh Hedayat The Blind Owl (Iran) April 30
8) **** Rose Tremain The Colour (New Zealand) May 4
9) **** Kashmira Sheth - Keeping Corner (India) May 6
10) ** Paulo Coelho - Der Alchimist (Brazil) May 7
11) **** Yoko Ogawa - The Housekeeper and The Professor (Japan) May 9
12) **** George Mackay Brown - Travellers: Poems (Scotland) May 19
13) ***** Tracy Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl Earring (Netherlands) May 21
14) **** Nadeem Aslam - Season of the Rainbirds (Pakistan) May 30
15) ***** Nicolas Barreau - Die Frau meines Lebens (France) June 16
16) **** Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, Film Tie-In (Yemen) June 16
17) ***** Ferenc Máté - Ein Weinberg in der Toskana - Wie mein Traum wahr wurde (Italy) June 16
18) *** Vendela Vida - Liebende (Turkey) June 17

Wow! Great job! I may steal some things from your list.

Tove o/

Kara wrote: "Wow! Great job! I may steal some things from your list."

Go ahead :). I am "stealing" from your shelves for the SRC (seeing how you joined in August) ;).

Ha, SRC is intense. I have three spreadsheets for it. :)

Hello everyone!
I love the idea for this challenge, so I am joining it.
So far this year I have read 6 books I can use here.

1. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (USA) - May 31
2. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (England)- May 24
3. The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern (Ireland) - May 6
4. The Shadow of the Wind By Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Spain) - April 7
5. The Solitude of Prime Numbers: A Novel by Paolo Giordano (Italy) - June 21
6. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (Japan) - June 6

I will go for 15 books in this challenge. But if it goes well I might increase it later, if possible. :)

Completed: 6/15

Welcome to the challenge! I´ll update you to my list :)

15. Afghanistan: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I've read 36 books from 14 countries. My goal was to read books from 10 different countries. I am not including the U.S. So I've met my goal, but I plan to continue!

1.Ireland
An Irish Student Doctor Patrick Taylor 5/12/12 (audiobook)
An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor 2/28/12 (audiobook)
Last Train from Liguria Christine Dwyer Hickey 6/9/12
City of Bohane Kevin Barry 5/12/12
Faithful Place by Tana French 4/18/12
Mistaken by Neil Jordan 3/16/12
The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry 2/28/12
Everything in This Country Must by Colum McCann 5/4/12
The Meeting Point by Lucy Caldwell 5/13/12
Broken Harbor by Tana French 8/10/12

2. Iran
Persepolis Marjane Satrapi 2/24/12

3.England
The Mapping of Love and Death Jacqueline Winspear (audiobook) 3/17/12
Destroying Angel by Alanna Knight 3/17/12
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes 4/8/12
How It All Began by Penelope Lively 6/23/12
A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd 6/2/12 (audiobook)
The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths 5/29/12
The London Train by Tessa Hadley 4/14/12
A Roomful of Bones by Elly Griffiths 5/20/12
A Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin 5/23/12

4. Scotland
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey 3/17/12
Flesh House by Stuart MacBride 3/9/12
The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina 2/28/12

5.Pakistan
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie 3/3/12

6.Sweden
The Hand That Trembles by Kjell Eriksson 2/6/12
The Shadow Woman by Ake Edwardson 6/3/12

7.Norway
The leopard by Jo Nesbo

8. Italy
The Portable Dante by Dante Alighieri 5/5/12

9. England/Venezuela/Italy
The Map of Memory by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran 5/16/12
Swallowing Stones by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran 5/22/12

10. Haiti
Create Dangerously: The Lives of Immigrant Artists by Danticat Edwidge 7/23/12

11. Dominican Republic
A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez 7/22/12

12. Peru
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Llosa Vargas 7/31/12

13. Denmark
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen 8/30/12

14. Chile
The Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende 9/3/12

Another one for me.
7. The Stranger by Albert Camus (France) June 26

Completed: 7/15

8. The Joke by Milan Kundera (Czech Republic) June 30

Completed: 8/15

16. Italy: The Name of the Rose

COMPLETED: 16/20

9. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Canada) July 10

Completed: 9/15

9. China: Ash by Malinda Lo | Rating: 3 stars

9/10

10. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan) - July 22

Completed: 10/15

11. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov ( Russia) - July 24

Completed: 11/25

Around the World in Books
Duration: 7/1/12 - 12/31/12
Books Read: 9
Updated: 10/1/12
I live in the U.S.A.

Around the World ... I'll search for you...

Mexico
The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe (7/18/12)
Yugoslavia
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht (7/21/12)
Amsterdam
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (9/3/12)
16th Century - England
Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanona Bennett (9/14/12)
Cruise in the Baltic
Set Sail For Murder by Carolyn Hart (9/17/12)
A trip around the world riding on motorcycles
Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by Ewan McGregor (9/20/12)
Paris/Egypt
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (9/24/12)
Spain
The Color of A Dog Running Away by Richard Gwyn (9/25/12)
London, England
One Day by David Nicholls (9/26/12)



I'll travel on.... to keep this rendezvous ....

5. The Queen's Vow: A Novel Of Isabella Of Castile by C.W. Gortner (Spain)

I'm so far behind on this challenge (which was my first challenge I ever signed on for), so I'm playing catchup in august. I'm on 20 books, and I hope that by the end of this month I'll be on 35. Keeping my fingers crossed...

12. One Hundred Years of Solitude by G.G. Marquez (Columbia) - August 5

Completed: 12/15

Ana: 1/25 ??
Ashley 6/10*
Barbara: 14/10 completed
Brianna 6/10*
Diana S: 9/?
Erika: 7/6 completed
Johanna: 11/15*
Kara: 20/20* completed!
Lisa: 5/6*
Natalia: 15/15*
Nikki: 0/3 ??*
Sara: 6/6 completed
Sharif: 5/20*
SilverRaindrops: 27/52*
Tatum: 4/6*
Trevor: 10/10* COMPLETED O/

(Updated 5.8.2012)

Hi Johanna
I am actually finished as I have read books from 12 countries. Sorry if I was supposed to post that. What I posted was that I am done but continuing.
thanks!

It´s ok. I only checked people´s personal corners and might have missed some and I did not check all the posts before mine. :) I´ll update you!

13. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Germany) - Aug 20

Completed: 13/15

14. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho (Brazil) - Aug 28

Completed: 14/15

We still have a few months to complete the challenge! At some point I was sure that I would not make my goal but I think I just might! Only four to go for me :)

Is someone having trouble and in need of suggestions?

I have four more to go as well (three after I finish Tolstoy)--I think I'm all set.

This has been a super fun challenge!

I have one left! But I think I'll finish it this month. :)

I continue to read books from around the world. I now have read books from 14 countries and edited my list to add my latest reads from Denmark and Chile.

15. Arabský svet - Iná planéta? by Emire Khidayer (Slovakia) - Sept 4

COMPLETED: 15/15

Great challenge! I achieved my target but (same as Barbara) I am going to continue to read books from around the word and add them to my list. :)

Well done Natalia! What has been your favourite books you´ve read for this challenge?

Johanna wrote: "Well done Natalia! What has been your favourite books you´ve read for this challenge?"

That's quite a difficult question, as I enjoyed almost all of them. But as my favourite ones I would probably go for The Shadow of the Wind, A Wild Sheep Chase and A Thousand Splendid Suns. :)

I´ve been thinking about reading Thousand Splendid Suns at some point as well, good to know you liked it! :)

Hi,I'm a new member. I'll go for 20. I've read 5 books so far and currently am reading 6. Guess I've to step up.

1.The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom- USA, completed.

2.What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami- Japan, completed.

3.The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam- Bangladesh, completed.

4.Silk by Alessandro Baricco- Italy, completed.

5.Aura by Carlos Fuentes- Mexico, completed.

Welcome to the challenge Sharif! I´ll add you to the list :)

17. Russia: Anna Karenina

COMPLETED: 17/20

Updating (September was a good month ... I got back on track, and am now really looking forward to October):

1) Collette Rossant - Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes (Egypt) Jan 6
2) Jostein Gaarder - The Castle in the Pyrenees (Norway) Jan 7
3) Günter Grass - My Century (Germany) Jan 18
4) Kathryn Stockett - The Help (USA) Jan 19
5) Tove Jansson - The Summer Book (Finland) Feb 7
6) Rafik Schami Murmeln Meiner Kindheit (Syria) Audio April 9
7) Sadegh Hedayat The Blind Owl (Iran) April 30
8) Rose Tremain The Colour (New Zealand) May 4
9) Kashmira Sheth - Keeping Corner (India) May 6
10) Paulo Coelho - Der Alchimist (Brazil) May 7
11) Yoko Ogawa - The Housekeeper and The Professor (Japan) May 9
12) George Mackay Brown - Travellers: Poems (Scotland) May 19
13) Tracy Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl Earring (Netherlands) May 21
14) Nadeem Aslam - Season of the Rainbirds (Pakistan) May 30
15) Nicolas Barreau - Die Frau meines Lebens (France) June 16
16) Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, Film Tie-In (Yemen) June 16
17) Ferenc Máté - Ein Weinberg in der Toskana - Wie mein Traum wahr wurde (Italy) June 16
18) Vendela Vida - Liebende (Turkey) June 17
19) Marlo Morgan - Traumfänger (Australia), July 08
20) Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I (England), July 13
21) Eva Menasse - Vienna (Austria), Aug 29
22) Halldór Laxness - Iceland's Bell (Iceland), Sep 07
23) Tahir Shah - The Caliph's House (Morocco), Sep 21
24) Gloria Whelan - The Disappeared (Argentina), Sep 23
25) Yasmina Khadra - The Sirens of Baghdad (Iraq), Sep 28
26) Amos Oz - A Tale of Love and Darkness (Israel), Sep 28
27) Téa Obreht - The Tiger's Wife (Serbia), Sep 30

Wooo! Way to go Silver!

What did you think of The Tiger's Wife? I was completely taken aback by the writing. In a good way!

Kelsi wrote: "What did you think of The Tiger's Wife? I was completely taken aback by the writing. In a good way!"

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥... For further (and more coherent) information, see my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... :)

Updated: Post #26 - 9 Books

Done!
And I know that technically England and Scotland are in The United Kingdom, but I think they should count as two separate countries, mostly because I feel that's the only way I'll finish this challenge! haha

Around the World in Books Challenge

1. Canada: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt | Rating: 3 stars
2. Japan: Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 1 by Kiiro Yumi | Rating: 2 stars
3. England: Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie | Rating: 4 stars
4. United States of America: Luna by Julie Anne Peters | Rating: 3 stars
5. Sweden: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson | Rating: 4 stars
6. Sri Lanka: The Story by Michael Ondaatje | Rating: 4 stars
7. Australia: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak | Rating: 4 stars
8. Iran: Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi | Rating: 3 stars
9. China: Ash by Malinda Lo | Rating: 3 stars
10. Scotland: A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle | Rating: 4 stars

I´ve done that as well Trevor, it so counts! :) Congrats!!

Trevor wrote: "Done!
And I know that technically England and Scotland are in The United Kingdom, but I think they should count as two separate countries, mostly because I feel that's the only way I'll finish t..."

Trevor, a lot of people do that. I have Wales extra as well.