Dear Readers:Book around the World is another reading challenge sponsored by Bonnie Jacobs. In her introduction to this one, Bonnie notes that "The world has many countries, some big and some small, and I want to find the best books about each country. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that country and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let's 'book around the world' and find at least one excellent book for each country in the world."
While I think this is another cool idea, I definitely won't be in any hurry to complete it given the massive number of countries involved and other reading plans I have in place (at least in my mind!). Thankfully, there is no time frame to consider. José Saramago's 1989 The History of the Siege of Lisbon for Portugal is the nearest "sure thing" I have to a country choice at this point; however, other ideas and review links will show up below. For more info on joining the challenge, click here for instructions.
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I've looked at the challenge, but most of the suggested books are written by authors that are not originally from that country. I'd feel a bit cheated if the choice for Italy were a historical novel written by an American or English person... As I mentioned in a post on my blog, maybe books written by non-anglophone authors should be more publicized.
ResponderBorrarCiao Stefania! I totally agree with your points of view. A ciascuno il suo, of course, but the books I'll be reading for this challenge will emphasize works written by natives/residents of the countries in question whenever possible. Why travel abroad if you just want to eat at McDonald's?
ResponderBorrar