Around the World discussion

To Read
4. Benin: Olympe Bhely-Quenum: Snares Without End (CARAF Books)
11. Federated States of Micronesia: The Students of the Community College of Micronesia (Editor: Gene Ashby): Micronesian Customs and Beliefs (2nd ed.) [needs to be added to the GR database]
12. Georgia: Fazil Iskander: Sandro of Chegem
13. Guatemala: Elisa Burgos Debray: I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala
16. Kuwait: Holly Doyne: Kuwait Diary: Email from the Desert Camps
17. Latvia: Harry G. Kapeikis: Exile From Latvia: My WWII Childhood - From Survival to Opportunity
21. Montenegro: Bajram Angelo Koljenovic: Blood Of Montenegro
23. Nicaragua: Gioconda Belli: The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
28. Samoa: Albert Wendt: Leaves of the Banyan Tree
29. Senegal: Ken Bugul: The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman
30. Slovakia: Peter Pišťanek: Rivers of Babylon
31. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling After Eden in the Jungles of Suriname
33. Uruguay: Christine Peri Rossi: The Ship of Fools

Not countries, but I'll read after the challenge is done:
34. Bermuda: Mary Prince: The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave Narrative
35. French Polynesia: Anonymous: Tahiti: The Other Side [needs to be added to the GR database]
37. Hong Kong: Martin Booth: Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
38. Mornington Island [Australia]: Labumore Elsie Roughsey, Edited by Paul Memmott and Robyn Horsman: An Aboriginal Mother Tells of the Old and the New
39. Sint Maarten/Saint Martin: Jean Glasscock: The Making of an Island [needs to be added to the GR database]

Read
1. Andorra: Eric Ripert and Christine Muhlke: On the Line
2. Barbados: Frank Collymore: The Man Who Loved Attending Funerals and Other Stories
3. Belarus: Bella Chagall: Burning Lights
5. Bolivia: Andean Journeys: A Bilingual Anthology of Contemporary Bolivian Poetry
6. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Emir Suljagić Postcards from the Grave
7. Costa Rica: Richard Garrigues: The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide
8. Cote d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast: Kouassi P. Soman: Abongui My People Cote D'Ivoire My Country America My Home: The Ethno-History of a Small African Kingdom
9. Cyprus: Stavros Panteli: Place of Refuge: A History Of The Jews In Cyprus
10. Ecuador: Octavio Latorre: The Curse of the Giant Tortoise: Tragedies, Crimes and Mysteries in the Galapagos Islands
14. Guinea-Bissau: Amilcar Cabral: Revolution in Guinea: Selected Texts
15. Kenya: Wangari Maathai: The Challenge for Africa
18. Lesotho: Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya & K. Limakatso Kendall: Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman
19. Marshall Islands: Irene J. Taafaki, Maria Kabua Fowler, Randolph R. Thaman: Traditional Medicine of the Marshall Islands: The Women, the Plants, the Treatments
20. Mauritania: Samuel Cotton: Silent Terror: A Journey into Contemporary African Slavery
22. Morocco: Malika Oufkir: Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail
25. Oman: Rory Patrick Allen: Oman Under Arabian Skies: An Arabian Odyssey
24. Niger: Paul Stoller: In Sorcery's Shadow: A Memoir of Apprenticeship among the Songhay of Niger
25. Papua New Guinea: Christina Dodwell: In Papua New Guinea
27. Paraguay: Maureen Burn: Outcast But Not Forsaken: True Stories from a Paraguayan Leper Colony
32. Togo: Tété-Michel Kpomassie: An African in Greenland An African in Greenland

36. Guam: Paula Ann Lajan Quinene: A Taste of Guam
40. St. Croix: Florence Lewisohn: Divers Information on the Romantic History of St. Croix: From the Time of Columbus until Today
41. Taiwan: Fred Lobb: Taiwan Folktales: Proverbs, Folk Sayings, and Folktales from Taiwan

They're the ones I have left, so that was pretty easy. As to why they're the ones I have left, in some cases it's because I get tired from long runs of reading about poverty, war, and exploitation; in others, because the book is long and I'm looking for something shorter; and in others, luck of the draw.

Barry, I want to visit everywhere! We now plan vacations to overlap previous trips as little as possible.

Shammas identifies as a Palestinian Israeli. Arabesques was interesting in part because he wrote it in Hebrew. I think he lives in the US now.

Now, the right Hawaii cruise can get you to Kiribati (Fanning Island).

Thanks, Judy. It was a big cheap (okay, not so cheap) thrill to gather them all. I can't describe the pleasure of having a DHL box appear on the doorstep, filled with books ordered from University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

Sho, I am so glad you joined the group! I found some interesting books in your list that I had not known of before. Isn't it wonderful meeting up with those GR friends who have similar book interrests - all of us collected in one place. Now I do not have to waste my time searching for books elsewhere, it is just to peruse each other's lists! Wonderful.

I agree!

Judy wrote: "Just wanted to echo what Chrissie said about being glad you joined. Since you have been reading around the world for several years you will be like a library reference guide for each country!"

Have you been doing all your reading on your own or with some groups?

Sho, I think there's a mistake in Number 1. On The Line is a book about a restaurant in New York City. Maybe it's the same title for another book set in Andorra, but the link led me to the NYC book.

Barry wrote: "Oh I thought Andorra was a country inside a restaurant in New York and I was like, What if I was hungry but forgot my passport?"

Hahahahahaha!

The lead author was a child in Andorra. He's a chef that many other chefs think highly of.

I came up with this challenge on my own, then corresponded with some people doing the same. I've got several online friends who decided to do it as well, but I am not part of a round-the-world challenge group. Sometimes the Great African Reads GR group hits a country I haven't read yet, so I read along with them.

Well, friends, since I'm trying to polish off the world by mid-July, I read Guam: Paula Ann Lajan Quinene: A Taste of Guam. Once I have time to review it, I'll post a link.

I didn't recognize very many of those titles. A challenge like this introduces one to a lot of new books.

I won a trivia contest yesterday because of the geography and politics I've learned while reading for my world challenges.

Sho wrote: "I won a trivia contest yesterday because of the geography and politics I've learned while reading for my woeld challenges."

That's great! Congratulations. :)

Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood looks good.

I'm looking forward to it. I thought I'd alternate countries with possessions/territories/contested regions/semi-autonomous anarcho-syndicalist collectives.

Judy wrote: "Sho, I noticed you are going to read about Papua, New Guinea ... I'm curious if you have seen Throwim' Way Leg: Tree-Kangaroos, Possums, and Penis Gourds? I'm currently reading it and ..."
That reminds me of a book I read in graduate school, one of the seminal works in ethnomusicology- Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli Expression. It demonstrates how the Kaluli, a highland people, use bird song in their ownsong creation.

Judy: I haven't, and it sounds interesting. Thanks!
Jenny: That also sounds fun.

Since I'm reading Mark Salzman's Iron and Silk, and since he's drinking baijiu, and since I picked up a small bottle of baijiu in China recently, I, also, am drinking baijiu.

Judy wrote: "@ Jenny, thank-you for the recommendation! I'm always looking for interesting New Guinea books. I can't remember if I mentioned I spent the first two years of my life in New Guinea, so I want to see what I missed. :-) I also am extra interested in New Zealand and Australia as we made stops at both places while I was an infant also.
"
Oh, that's very cool! Spending a semester researching it felt like a trip there, but that's not even close.

The first set read:

Cote d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast: Kouassi P. Soman Abongui My People Cote D'Ivoire My Country America My Home: The Ethno-History of a Small African Kingdom

Cyprus: Stavros Panteli: Place of Refuge: A History of the Jews in Cyprus

Marshall Islands: Irene J. Taafaki, Maria Kabua Fowler, Randolph R. Thaman: Traditional Medicine of the Marshall Islands: The Women, the Plants, the Treatments

Papua New Guinea: Christina Dodwell: In Papua New Guinea

Guam: Paula Ann Lajan Quinene: A Taste of Guam

Gearing up for 2012. I have 26 books left to finish reading a book by an author from every country (27 if I want to replace my Comoros book), plus around 7 more if I want to add some non-countries (like Hong Kong and Tahiti). I hope to finish reading the world by sometime this summer.

To read
1. Benin: Olympe Bhely-Quenum: Snares Without End
2. Federated States of Micronesia: The Students of the Community College of Micronesia (Editor: Gene Ashby): Micronesian Customs and Beliefs (2nd ed.)
3. Georgia: Fazil Iskander: Sandro of Chegem
4. Guatemala: Popol Vuh?
5. Latvia: Harry G. Kapeikis: Exile from Latvia: My WWII Childhood - From Survival to Opportunity
6. Montenegro: Bajram Angelo Koljenovic: Blood of Montenegro
7. Nicaragua: Gioconda Belli: The Country under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
8. Samoa: Albert Wendt: Leaves of the Banyan Tree
9. Senegal: Ken Bugul: The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman
10. Slovakia: Peter Pišťanek: Rivers of Babylon
11. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname
12. Uruguay: Christine Peri Rossi: Ship of Fools

1. Bermuda: Mary Prince: The History of Mary Prince
2. French Polynesia: Anonymous: Tahiti: The Other Side
3. Hong Kong: Martin Booth: Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
4. Sint Maarten/Saint Martin: Jean Glasscock: The Making of an Island

Read [1]
1. Afghanistan: Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner
2. Albania: Ismail Kadare: The Palace of Dreams
3. Algeria: Yasmina Khadra: In the Name of God
4. Andorra: Eric Ripert and Christine Muhlke: On the Line
5. Angola: Ondjaki: Good Morning Comrades
6. Antarctica: Richard E. Byrd: Alone
7. Antigua and Barbuda: Jamaica Kincaid: A Small Place
8. Argentina: Jorge Luis Borges: Ficciones
9. Armenia: Vartan Derounian & Alidz Jebejian-Agbabian: Dzalabidig: Images of Survival
10. Australia: Doris Pilkington-Nugi Garimara: Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time
11. Austria: Rainer Maria Rilke: Sonnets to Orpheus
12. Azerbaijan: Kurban Said: Ali and Nino: A Love Story
13. Bahamas: Gertrude "Cleo" Lythgoe: The Bahama Queen: The Autobiography of Gertrude "Cleo" Lythgoe: Prohibition's Daring Beauty: Including With the Whiskey Smugglers by H De Winton Wigley
14. Bahrain: Quixotiq by Ali Al Saeed
15. Bangladesh: Amitav Ghosh: The Hungry Tide
16. Barbados: Frank Collymore: The Man Who Loved Attending Funerals
17. Belarus: Bella Chagall: A Unique Double Portrait of Russia
18. Belgium: Herge: Tintin in America
19. Belize: Rosita Arvigo with Nadine Epstein and Marilyn Yaquinto: Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer
20. Bhutan: Queen of Bhutan Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck: Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan
21. Bolivia:Ronald Haladyna (Ed.): Andean Journeys: A Bilingual Anthology of Contemporary Bolivian Poetry
22. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Emir Suljagić: Postcards from the Grave
23. Botswana: Peter Allison: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide
24. Brazil: Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist
25. Brunei: Arif K. Abukhudairi: Thoughts of the Times: Introduction to Arabic Literature
26. Bulgaria: Blaga Dimitrova: Because the Sea Is Black
27. Burkina Faso: Malidoma Patrice Somé: Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman
28. Burma/Myanmar: Nu Nu Yi: Smile as They Bow
29. Burundi: Gilbert Tuhabonye and Gary Brozek: This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith, and Forgiveness
30. Cambodia: Loung Ung: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
31. Cameroon: Calixthe Beyala: Sun Hath Looked Upon Me
32. Canada: Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale
33. Cape Verde: Germano Almeida: The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo
34. Central African Republic: Makombo Bamboté: Daba's Travels from Ouadda to Bangui
35. Chad: Joseph Brahim Seid: Told by Starlight in Chad
36. Chile: Gabriela Mistral: Selected Poems of Gabriela Mistral
37. China: Anchee Min: Red Azalea
38. Colombia: Gabriel García Márquez: Cronica de una muerte anunciada
39. Comoros: Samantha Weinberg: A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth (place holder)
40. Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa): Larry Devlin: Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone
41. Congo, Republic of (Congo-Brazzaville): Alain Mabanckou: African Psycho
42. Cook Islands (a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand): Kauraka Kauraka: Dreams of a Rainbow (Moemoea a te Anuanua)
43. Costa Rica: Richard Garrigues: The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide
44. Croatia: Dubravka Ugrešić: The Ministry of Pain
45. Cuba: Cristina García: Dreaming in Cuban
46. Cyprus: Stavros Panteli: Place of Refuge: A History of the Jews in Cyprus
47. Czech Republic: Milan Kundera: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
48. Denmark: Peter Høeg: Smilla's Sense of Snow
49. Djibouti: Abdourahman Waberi: In the United States of Africa
50. Dominica: Jean Rhys: The Wide Sargasso Sea
51. Dominican Republic: Junot Díaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
52. Ecuador: Octavio Latorre: The Curse of the Giant Tortoise: Tragedies, Crimes and Mysteries in the Galapagos Islands
53. Egypt: Sana Hasan: Enemy in the Promised Land: An Egyptian Woman's Journey into Israel
54. El Salvador: Claribel Alegría: Flowers from the Volcano
55. Equatorial Guinea: Donato Ndongo: Shadows of Your Black Memory
56. Eritrea: Senait Mehari: Heart of Fire: From Child Soldier to Soul Singer
57. Estonia: Jaan Kaplinski: The Wandering Border
58. Ethiopia: Dinaw Mengestu: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
59. Fiji: Epeli Hau'ofa: Tales of the Tikongs
60. Finland: Johanna Sinisalo: Troll: A Love Story
61. France: Jean-Paul Sartre: Nausea
62. French Guiana: Henri Charrière: Papillon
63. Gabon: Daniel Mengara: Mema
64. Gambia: Phyllis Wheatley: Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral
65. Germany: Herman Hesse: Magister Ludi
66. Ghana: Ama Ata Aidoo: Our Sister Killjoy, or Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint
67. Greece: Olga Broumas: Beginning with O
68. Greenland (member country of the Kingdom of Denmark): Gretel Ehrlich: This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
69. Grenada: Richardo Keens-Douglas: The Nutmeg Princess
70. Guadeloupe (overseas department of France): Gisèle Pineau: The Drifting of Spirits
71. Guam: Paula Ann Lajan Quinene: A Taste of Guam
72. Guinea: Camara Laye: The Dark Child: The Autobiography of an African Boy
73. Guinea-Bissau: Amílcar Cabral: Revolution in Guinea: Selected Texts
74. Guyana: Edward Ricardo Braithwaite: To Sir, with Love
75. Haiti: Edwidge Danticat: Breath, Eyes, Memory
76. Honduras: Translator/Editor: Medea Benjamin: Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart
77. Hungary: Elie Weisel: Night
78. Iceland: Unknown: The Elder Edda
79. India: Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things
80. Indonesia: Pramoedya Ananta Toer: The Fugitive
81. Iran: Marjane Satrapi: The Complete Persepolis
82. Iraq: Hiner Saleem: My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in Kurdistan
83. Ireland (Northern, UK): Seamus Heaney: Death of a Naturalist
84. Ireland, Republic of: James Joyce: Ulysses
85. Israel: Amos Oz: Elsewhere, Perhaps
86. Italy: Italo Calvino: Cosmicomics
87. Ivory Coast: Kouassi P Soman: Abongui My People Cote D'Ivoire My Country America My Home: The Ethno-History of a Small African Kingdom
88. Jamaica: Michelle Cliff: Claiming an Identity They Taught Me to Despise
89. Jordan: Marguerite Van Geldermalsen: Married to a Bedouin
90. Japan: Yukio Mishima: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
91. Kazakhstan: Anatoli Boukreev and G Weston DeWalt: The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest
92. Kenya: Wangari Maathair: The Challenge for Africa
93. Kiribati: Tebuai Uaai & Buatia Kauea (Illustrator): Cutting Toddy in Kiribati
94. Kuwait: Huda M. Al-Medlej: Escaping the Invasion
95. Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan: Chingiz Aitmatov: Jamilia
96. Laos: Outhine Bounyavong: Mother's Beloved: Stories from Laos
97. Lebanon: Alexandre Najjar: The School of War
98. Lesotho: Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya & K. Limakatso Kendall: Singing away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman
99. Liberia: Helene Cooper: The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
100. Libya: Hisham Matar: In the Country of Men
101. Liechtenstein: Prince Hans-Adam, The Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein: The State in the Third Millenium
102. Lithuania: Solly Ganor: Light One Candle: A Survivor's Tale from Lithuania to Jerusalem
103. Luxembourg: Edward Steichen: The Family of Man
104. Macedonia: Slavko Janevski: The Bandit Wind
105. Madagascar: Fanj Andriamialisoa, Ian Sinclair, & Olivier Langrand: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion and the Comoros
106. Malawi: Paul Tiyambe Zeleza: Smouldering Charcoal
107. Malaysia: Tash Aw: The Harmony Silk Factory
108. Maldives: Liz Banks: Maldives Musings
109. Mali: Kris Holloway: Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali
110. Malta: Professor Sir Themistocles Zammit: Prehistoric Malta: Tarxien Temples and Saflieni Hypogeum
111. Marshall Islands: Irene J. Taafaki, Maria Kabua Fowler, Randolph R. Thaman: Traditional Medicine of the Marshall Islands: The Women, the Treatments, the Plants
112. Mauritania: Samuel Cotton: Silent Terror: A Journey into Contemporary African Slavery
113. Mauritius: Nathacha Appanah: Blue Bay Palace
114. Mexico: Laura Esquivel: Like Water for Chocolate
115. Moldova: Grigore Vieru: Bread and Dew
116. Monaco: Princess Grace with Gwen Robyins: My Book of Flowers
117. Mongolia: Ts Bold (Ed.): Some Short Stories from Mongolia
118. Morocco: Malika Oufkir: Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail
119. Mozambique: Lina Magaia: Dumba Nengue: Run for Your Life: Peasant Tales of Tragedy in Mozambique
120. Namibia: Neshani Andreas: Purple Violet of Oshaantu
121. Nauru: Alois Kayser, KSC: Nauru One Hundred Years Ago: Games & Sports
122. Nepal: Samrat Upadhyay: Arresting God in Kathmandu
123. Netherlands: Diny van Bruggen: Flowers on the Cactus: AIDS and Orphan Care in Cambodia
124. New Caledonia: Jean-Claude Staudt (Ed.), Hilary Roots (translator), island children (illustrators): Legends of New Caledonia: A Collection of Legends from the Isle of Pines
125. New Zealand: Keri Hulme: The Bone People
126. Niger: Paul Stoller: In Sorcery's Shadow: A Memoir of Apprenticeship among the Songhay of Niger
127. Nigeria: Amos Tutuola: The Palm-Wine Drinkard
128. North Korea: Richard E. Kim: Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood
129. Norway: Henrik Ibsen: Hedda Gabler
130. Rory Patrick Allen: Oman under Arabian Skies: An Arabian Odyssey
131. Pakistan: Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time
132. Palau: Republic of Palau Ministry of Education: Education Master Plan -, Republic of Palau
133. Palestine: Raja Shehadeh: Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine
134. Panama: Nancy Mankins: Hostage: The Incredible True Story of the Kidnapping of Three American Missionaries
135. Papua New Guinea: Christina Dodwell: In Papua New Guinea
136. Paraguay: Maureen Burn: Outcast but Not Forsaken: True Stories from a Paraguayan Leper Colony
137. Peru: Mario Vargas Llosa: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
138. Philippines: Cecilia Manguerra Brainard: When the Rainbow Goddess Wept
139. Poland: Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness
140. Portugal: José Saramago: Blindness
141. Puerto Rico: Esmeralda Santiago: When I Was Puerto Rican
142. Qatar: Habibur Rahman: The Emergence of Qatar
143. Romania: Dan Pagis: Points of Departure
144. Russian Federation: Vladimir Nabokov: Pale Fire
145. Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina with Tom Zoellner: An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
146. St Croix (USVI): Florence Lewisohn: Divers Information on the Romantic History of St Croix: From the Time of Columbus until Today
147. Saint Lucia: Derek Walcott: The Prodigal: A Poem
148. Saint Kitts and Nevis: Miriam H. Huggins: Miriam Gone Home: The Life of Sister Huggins
149. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Vivian Child: City of Arches: Memories of an Island Capital, Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
150. San Marino: Unknown: Guida Souvenir Di San Marino

Read [2]
151. São Tomé and Príncipe: Donald Burness: Ossobó: Essays on the Literature of São Tomé and Príncipe
152. Saudi Arabia: Rajaa Alsanea: Girls of Riyadh
153. Scotland: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Study in Scarlet
154. Serbia: Milorad Pavić: Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel
155. Seychelles: Jennievis: Miriam H. Huggins: Miriam Gone Home: The Life of Sister Huggins
156. Sierra Leone: Ishmael Beah: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
157. Singapore: Gerrie Lim: Invisible Trade: High Class Sex for Sale in Singapore
158. Slovenia: Slavoj Zizek: Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle
159. Solomon Islands: Alvert Wendt (Ed.): Some Modern Poetry from Solomon Islands
160. Somalia: Fadumo Korn with Sabine Eichhorst: Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival
161. South Africa: Alan Paton: Cry, The Beloved Country
162. South Korea: Cullen Thomas: Brother One Cell: An American Coming of Age in South Korea's Prisons
163. Spain: Federico García Lorca: The Selected Poems of Federico García Lorca
164. Sri Lanka: Michael Ondaatje: Running in the Family
165. South Sudan, Republic of: Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Judy A. Bernstein: They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan
166. Sudan, Republic of the: Tayeb Salih: Season of Migration to the North
167. Swaziland: Sarah Mkhonza: Weeding the Flowerbeds
168. Sweden: Astrid Lindgren: The Tomten and the Fox
169. Switzerland: Jean Piaget and Barbel Inhelder: The Psychology of the Child
170. Syria: Mohja Kahf: The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf
171. Taiwan (ROC, disputed): Fred Lobb: Taiwan Folktales: Proverbs, Folk Sayings, and Folktales from Taiwan
172. Tajikistan: Robert Frimtzis: From Tajikistan to the Moon: A Story of Tragedy, Survival and Triumph of the Human Spirit
173. Tanzania: Tepilit Ole Saitoti: The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior
174. Thailand: Warren Fellows with Jack Marx: The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison
175. Tibet: The Dalai Lama: How to See Yourself as You Really Are
176. Timor-Leste: Luis Cardoso: The Crossing: A Story of East Timor
177. Togo: Tété-Michel Kpomassie: An African in Greenland
178. Tonga: Semisi Nau: The Story of My Life: A Tongan Missionary at Ontong Java
179. Trinidad and Tobago: Samuel Selvon: A Brighter Sun
180. Tunisia: Aïcha Ben Abed: Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa
181. Turkey: Orhan Pamuk: The White Castle
182. Turkmenistan: Gregory M. Levin: Pomegranate Roads: A Soviet Botanist's Exile from Eden
183. Tuvalu: Gerd Koch (ethnographer): Songs of Tuvalu
184. Uganda: Doreen Baingana: Tropical Fish: Tales from Entebbe
185. Ukraine: Sholom Aleichem: The Tevye Stories and Other Stories
186. United Arab Emirates: Denys Johnson Davies (Ed.): In a Fertile Desert: Modern Writing from the United Arab Emirates
187. United Kingdom: Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Time
188. United States: Ursula K Le Guin: The Left Hand of Darkness
189. Uzbekistan: Bibish: The Dancer from Khiva
190. Vanuatu: Grace Mera Molisa: Black Stone
191. Vatican City: Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI): Milestones: Memoirs, 1927-1977
192. Venezuela: Frank Kane and John Tilsley: In the Shadow of Papillon: Seven Years of Hell in Venezuela's Prison System
193. Vietnam: Monique Truong: The Book of Salt
194. Wales: Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
195. Western Sahara: Thomas Hollowell: Allah's Garden: A True Story of a Forgotten War in the Sahara Desert
196. Yemen: Zayd Muteeʻ Dammaj: The Hostage
197. Zambia: Josh Swiller: The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa
198. Zanzibar (semi-autonomous region of Tanzania): Emily Ruete [Sayyida Salme]: Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar
199. Zimbabwe: Alexander McCall Smith: The No. Ladies' Detective Agency

Osho wrote: "Read [2]
151. São Tomé and Príncipe: Donald Burness: Ossobó: Essays on the Literature of São Tomé and Príncipe
152. Saudi Arabia: Rajaa Alsanea: Girls of Riyadh
153. Scotland: Arthur Conan Doyle: A..."

Oh, wow, my country count (from when I started three years ago) is 199, too! I am currently reading 200 and 201.

Me, too. Which countries? Mine are Uruguay and Senegal.

Iceland and Mauritius. For Uruguay, I read The House of Paper and The Invisible Mountain. For Senegal, I read The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman, So Long a Letter, Under the Neem Tree, and Redemption in Indigo. The last two from Senegal were mistakes. I actually got one for Guinea-Bissau and the other for Barbados, but it turned out they were set in Senegal.

I hate when that happens. The very first book I ordered for the challenge turned out to be about Benin (the classical kingdom) rather than Benin (the modern country).

For Mauritius, Nathacha Appanah's Blue Bay Palace was okay, but not a really good book. For Iceland I read The Elder Edda. I'm reading Ship of Fools for Uruguay and The Abandoned Baobab for Senegal.

Osho wrote: "I hate when that happens. The very first book I ordered for the challenge turned out to be about Benin (the classical kingdom) rather than Benin (the modern country).

For Mauritius, Nathacha Appa..."

I am reading The Last Brother for Mauritius, also by Appanah. For Iceland I am reading Independent People which is very long, but very good so far. I liked the Abandoned Baobab.

I'm enjoying it, though I kind of want to diagnose her as well as to recognize the vile and pernicious effects of colonialism.

Judy wrote: "Diane wrote: "Iceland and Mauritius. For Uruguay, I read The House of Paper and The Invisible Mountain. For Senegal, I read The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman, So Long ..."

I liked it. It is also very short. It is even a 1001 book.

Diane wrote: "Osho wrote: "I hate when that happens. The very first book I ordered for the challenge turned out to be about Benin (the classical kingdom) rather than Benin (the modern country).

For Mauritius, ..."

I really liked The Last Brother though I read it before this challenge.

It looks more interesting than Blue Bay Palace.

I've finished The Abandoned Baobob and will ruminate awhile before reviewing it.

To Read
1. Benin: Olympe Bhely-Quenum: Snares Without End
2. Federated States of Micronesia: The Students of the Community College of Micronesia (Editor: Gene Ashby): Micronesian Customs and Beliefs (2nd ed.)
3. Georgia: Fazil Iskander: Sandro of Chegem
4. Guatemala: Popol Vuh?
5. Latvia: Harry G. Kapeikis: Exile from Latvia: My WWII Childhood - From Survival to Opportunity
6. Montenegro: Bajram Angelo Koljenovic: Blood of Montenegro
7. Nicaragua: Gioconda Belli: The Country under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
8. Samoa: Albert Wendt: Leaves of the Banyan Tree
9. Slovakia: Peter Pišťanek: Rivers of Babylon
10. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname
11. Uruguay: Christine Peri Rossi: Ship of Fools

1. Bermuda: Mary Prince: The History of Mary Prince
2. French Polynesia: Anonymous: Tahiti: The Other Side
3. Hong Kong: Martin Booth: Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
4. Sint Maarten/Saint Martin: Jean Glasscock: The Making of an Island

11 to go (plus 4 more not-quite-countries if I like).

7 to go!

To Read
1. Benin: Olympe Bhely-Quenum: Snares Without End
2. Federated States of Micronesia: The Students of the Community College of Micronesia (Editor: Gene Ashby): Micronesian Customs and Beliefs (2nd ed.)
3. Georgia: Fazil Iskander: Sandro of Chegem
4. Guatemala: Popol Vuh?
5. Nicaragua: Gioconda Belli: The Country under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
6. Samoa: Albert Wendt: Leaves of the Banyan Tree
7. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

Important Non-countries for 2013
1. Bermuda: Mary Prince: The History of Mary Prince
2. French Polynesia: Anonymous: Tahiti: The Other Side
3. Hong Kong: Martin Booth: Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
4. Sint Maarten/Saint Martin: Jean Glasscock: The Making of an Island

To Read
1. Benin: Olympe Bhely-Quenum: Snares Without End
2. Georgia: Fazil Iskander: Sandro of Chegem
3. Guatemala: Popol Vuh?
4. Nicaragua: Gioconda Belli: The Country under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
5. Samoa: Albert Wendt: Leaves of the Banyan Tree
6. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

To Read
1. Georgia: Fazil Iskander: Sandro of Chegem
2. Samoa: Albert Wendt: Leaves of the Banyan Tree
3. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

I need to recheck Nicaragua. I thought I'd read some poets already.

ETA: Yeah, I've read Claribel Alegría, so I'll remove Nicaragua from the list.

I've decided to make some changes to my list, because I'm not enjoying some of the last books (which is why they were pushed to last. I may read the books I'm replacing later, but I don't want to end my challenge by slogging. The new list:

1. Georgia: Kutaisi Third School Students & John Simpson, editor: This Is Our Georgia
2. Samoa: Lani Wendt Young: Afakasi Woman
3. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

I can always finish the Iskander if Abkhazia ever becomes more clearly autonomous.

1. Samoa: Lani Wendt Young: Afakasi Woman
2. Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

....and 1 to go.

Suriname: Andrew Westoll: The Riverbones: Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

I'm done reading the world with Surinam: Stumbling Through the Dark Heart of South America's Forgotten Jungle.

For 2013, I'll read some "replacement/improvement" books (e.g., for Palau) and some non-state territories and possessions (e.g., Hong Kong).

July 21, 2008-December 22, 2012. A list by continent, with review links, will follow in 2013.

If I have time, I'll list several for smaller countries where I've read more than one.