Jean from Howling Frog Books is hosting a Reading All Around the World Challenge and with some trepidation, I’m jumping into the fray.
Why do I want to be part of another challenge? I don’t know. But since this one is so open-ended, the pressure is minimal and the benefits ……… well, hopefully it will get me reading in countries that I normally don’t visit book-wise. In any case, the outline for the challenge is as follows:
- Pick 50+ countries or go for the gold with all of them! The number depends on you.
- Sign up at the project page here.
- Read either fiction by a writer living in/from the country, OR a non-fiction book about it, such as memoir, history, culture, language.
- Tweet your posts with #readingallaround
- There are no time constraints. You can decide on a timeline, but don’t worry if you don’t make it. If you’re going for the full list, I’d recommend five years at least to complete it.
- Keep track of your reading. Maybe fill in a list or build a Google map of all your books and countries. Maintain it at your blog and post about the books you read.
- When you reach your goal, celebrate!
So here I go! Please check out my Reading All Around the World page in progress. I’m not sure at this point how many countries I’ll read so I’ve listed a number of them, and then I’ll chop and change as the mood hits me. Wish me luck!
Woohoo! Thanks for joining up!
No problem! I'm looking forward to it! 🙂 Thanks for being brave enough to host it.
Yay! I'm glad to see you joining in this one! I actually just ordered my first official book for the challenge from the library yesterday (Bosnia). I think it will be fun. 🙂
You have fun with this! It sounds exhausting to me…
I'm going to keep an eye on the other participants' choices and if they like them. The last thing I want to do is read something not enjoyable. Life is too short and there are too many books! I hope your first read goes well!
Yes, I can imagine you wouldn't hit many international choices with your reads. Even with my focus on classics, I'm a little scared myself. Oh well, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained …. 🙂
i very much admired your comment on Finnegan's Wake over at O's place; it made me aware that thee are places in the world of literature whose doors are pretty much closed to me… that's good to know, because it makes me somehow less of a mystery to myself… tx a bunch…
Thanks, Mudpuddle. So far it's one of those moments where I'd love to love Joyce but I just don't. Hopefully someone will come along to make me appreciate him and I'll feel like I have the time to spare. One of my favourite writers, C.S. Lewis, was critical of the stream of consciousness style as he said it led to "solipism", —- people who were cut off from life, nature and humanity by living inside their own heads. I'm not quite sure yet if I fully agree but it always makes me wonder when I read novels such as Ulysses, or even some of Woolf's novels although I quite enjoy her works. In any case, we have to accept that we can't get to all the books we want to read in a lifetime and I just hope that there's an enormous library (including all the lost Greek classics) in heaven! 😉
tx, Cleo: i like Lewis's comment; i think there's a lot to that; and ditto re so many books, so little…
This is such an awesome challenge! Unfortunately, as you're adding to your challenges I'm subtracting from mine 🙂 As it is so open-ended though I'm hoping to join a little later in the year, it's too good to miss 🙂 Good luck!
You're substracting?!! You?!! 😉 I can't wait until you join! You come up with such interesting books; I'll be waiting to see what you choose to read.
Lol 🙂 Got so much on at the moment and there's a few books I'm simply not in the mood to read. Tried, but really not in the mood (Aristotle, Plato, and Tolkien in particular). Also redecorating so a little pushed for reading time as it is!
Of course, this being so open ended I could actually join now but not focus on it until later in the year….. 🙂
You are brave! Very brave!! Lol!! I wish I could join but work is grueling. However I am CONFIDENT, that I will pick atleast 40+ reads with you as your progress! LOL!
That's very sad that work is taking up so much of your life. You can give me some suggestions for India. I still have Pather Dabi waiting for me to read it!