Boekentrol's World Tour in Books

Hello!
My name is Grada and I live with my husband in the north of The Netherlands. I love to travel, but since finances and time are limited, I love to travel through books as well. I've 'been to' quite a number of countries already, but I'm starting the count from 0 for this multi-year-challenge.

For several years now I've wanted to track my reading in regard to countries. I found that it's quite hard to do it myself and keep up the work of registering and all, but I really wanted to give it a try and in 2018 I will by taking part in this group and have it all in one place without having to make my own website or page.

In this thread I intend to list my books. Not sure yet how, but I'll take a look at how things are done here and will make my own of it (or shamelessly copy from a thread I like in particular).

I look forward to exploring this group!

Welcome Grada. Looking forward to seeing what you are reading. You have the advantage of being able to read in more than one language! I think you will find that even though a particular book may not have been translated into English, RG readers are still happy to hear about it.

First of all I want to have a map of the world, where I can see which countries I've visited in books :-)
Starting from 0, although I've 'been' to quite a few countries already.


visited 43 states (19.1%)
Go to Douwe's Make your own map of the world

I aim to read a books which are set in OR are written by an author from every country in the world. Since this is a huge challenge, this one will be a life long challenge, just as the 1001-challenge. Books cannot count for more than one country (e.g. when the author is from one country and the book is set in another).
NOTE - The United Kingdom is made up of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These are not considered independent countries.



The 6 continents are:
Africa
Asia (including the Middle East & South East Asia)
Europe
North America(including Central America and the Caribbean)
Pacific (including Antarctica)
South America

The link to the following site may be helpful to find out which countries are where: https://www.worldatlas.com/nations.htm This is at least the list I follow.

I've created a seperate entry for books set in countries that no longer exist (USSR, Czechoslowakia, Yugoslavia to name a few).

Africa
1. Egypt: Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
2. Nigeria: The Thing Around your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3. Kenya: The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton
4. Algeria: Outsider by Albert Camus
5. South Africa: Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
6. Mozambique: Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto
7. Uganda: Bloed in zee by Herbert Kuik

Asia
1. China: Miss Chopsticks by Xinran
2. Turkey: Arabesk by Barbara Nadel
3. Cambodia: First they Killed My Father by Luong Ung
4. Malaysya: The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka
5. India: The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
6. Iraq: Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam by Zainab Salbi
7. Syria: Bede aan de zee by Khaled Hosseini
8. Lebanon: Tegenaanval by Chris Ryan
9. Iran: Barracuda 945 by Patrick Robinson
10. Yemen: The Woman Who Fell from the Sky by Jennifer Steil
11. Afghanistan: Labyrint van angst en droom by Atiq Rahimi
12. South Korea: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
13. Mongolia: The Cave of the Yellow Dog by Byambasuren Davaa

Europe
1. United Kingdom: Pluk een roos by M.J. Arlidge
2. Russia: Rood Plein by Martin Cruz Smith
3. Sweden: De man die zijn schaduw zocht by David Lagercrantz
4. Norway: Ik reis alleen by Samuel Bjørk
5. Hungary: Fatelessness by Imre Kertész
6. France: Het stenen concilie by Jean-Christoph Grangé
7. Belgium: Margot en de engelen by Kristien Hemmerechts
8. The Netherlands: De afstammeling by Almar Otten
9. Finland: Echt waar! by Riika Pulkkinen
10. Italy: And then You Die by Michael Dibdin
11. Germany: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
12. Ireland: Judashart by Ingrid Black
13. Portugal: De godsformule by José Rodrigues dos Santos
14. Monaco: Ik dood by Giorgio Faletti
15. Austria: De pianiste by Elfriede Jelinek
16. Spain: Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

North America
1. USA: Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg
2. Canada: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
3. Dominican Republic Het korte maar wonderbare leven van Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Pacific
1. Australia The Messenger by Markus Zusak

South America
1. Chile: Het huis met de geesten by Isabel Allende
2. Colombia: De kolonel krijgt nooit post by Gabriel García Márquez
3. Surinam: Fatale zonden by Ivan Cairo

Read more books, but unfortunately they qualify for the US and for Norway. So... no new additions to this challenge at this point.

A new country added :-) China has been visited in Xinran's Miss Chopsticks.

I've been reading books, but unfortunately, I've not been reading books set ini other countries than the ones I had already visited. Better luck with the next one...

Hi, Grada! I'm with you, I always try to read from other countries, but seem to miss the one being featured.

>14 Tess_W: You're right. I seem to have listed only the books I've read and put them in the right category.

So, here's what I read at the moment:
Kerstin Ekman's Zwart Water (Dutch edition), set in Sweden, so already covered
Hakan Östlund's De duiker (Dutch edition), also set in Sweden, so already covered
Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, set in the UK (I think), so that's the third book in a country already covered.

Have to do better picking next time!

Having read Zwart water by Kerstin Ekman, it doesn't add to this challenge (again...) because this one also is set in Sweden/Norway. Too bad. I'll see if there's one of the books on MTBR and/or on my oldies list that is set in a country that I've not yet covered. It would be nice to add a new one to the map for a change :-)

With Elmore Leonard's City Primeval I did not achieve reading from a new country as well... Detroit I can't place anywhere else but in the USA :-(

But, there's hope! On my pile of books to be read soon is a book set in Canada!

I have read the Canadian book: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Loved it!

And to make things even more crazy: I've also read a book covering Hungary: Fatelessness by Imre Kertész. That one could (geographically) also count for Germany, but the book begins & ends in Hungary and the writer is Hungarian. So the scale on the Hungarian side is heavier :-)

Good luck with your project!
I read The Forest of Hours by Kerstin Ekman and loved it. Blackwater is definitely on my wishlist...

I've now read a book that took me all over the place, country-wise. So... I decided to stick with the country of origin of the writer (the place of birth and part of the action place): France. The main character adopts a boy form Asia, goes back to France and then travels some more.

Loved the book, by the way: fast paces, interesting, plausible enough to get you at the edge of your seat... Het stenen concilie by Jean-Christoph Grangé

I have another two to add to this list: The Netherlands and Belgium.
The Netherlands in the book De afstammeling by Almar Otten, an interesting historical thriller. The modern search for the reason behind things happening and how to handle quite a large conspiracy to start a new order in Europe based on very old values.

The second one, Belgium, was in thr form of the book: Margot en de engelen by Kristien Hemmerechts A nice book, a bit strange, but readable. Sadly the main character we only met in the last chapter and the ending was not in line with the rest of the book.

Finished Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks today. In interesting read, although at times chaotic in its jumps all over the Islamic world.

The country I pick for this book is the place Brooks lived/had here position as reporter, namely Cairo, Egypt.

Adding books that are from a new country is a rarity. It seems I have a taste for certain countries/areas.
But, a while ago I read a book set in Italy: And Then You Die by Michael Dibdin. Liked it a lot!

Currently I'm visiting Nigeria (Biafra) in Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It is a book that won't let go.

>25 BoekenTrol71: And the book's finished today. Loved it! So happy I came across it!!

This weekend I've visited Germany by reading the book The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. A good read, but a quick one. That I didn't expect.

Currently reading a book that, when finished, I can add to my list of states: The Dominican Republic. The main characters come from that country and the book is set here for a large part. In footnotes quite a bit of the country's history is being told.
Het korte maar wonderbare leven van Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

I've finished Diaz's book and, oh wonder, I've added another one to my list of countries. Not only the Dominican Republik, but also Ireland. I'm happy with that.
I'll continue to update the list & the ticker, although I can't promise to make lots of entries on the books I read. The touchstones lead you to the book and my review/toughts on it.

The book I finished today (#20) was a reread. Set in different countries, I decided to go for the country it started & ended in, which is also the author's country.
I have read this book several years ago, but didn't understand it well. It was interesting enough though, to give it another try.
When you follow the touchstone, you should get my thoughts on both accounts of reading it:
De godsformule by José Rodrigues dos Santos

The next books I've read: Fanny Hill, The Good Soldier and now Die Chemie des Todes have all been set in or written by authors in countries I alrrady covered. The UK, Germany, US I have all visited in books already. I need to take a look at my map before reading a book, not afterwards! ;-)

Another book read that's set in a country I've already visited: Nachmittags, wenn alle schlafen by Simona Vinci is set in Italy/written by an Italian author.

Today I finished a book from a new country :-) A book I liked. It's from a series, apparently. I may read another one from this series. Now Turkey's finished as well, with Arabesk by Barbara Nadel. SLowly creeping forward in this challenge, feeling joy with every new country I can cross off this list.

I've been reading lots of books, but most of them set in countries I've already visited. Too bad. But, I've managed to squeeze in a new country, that doesn't count either: Abissinia. A country that existed untill 1974. So, I'll guess I'll make another post/list for 'former' countries.
Could be useful for listings like USSR, Czechoslowakia etc.

Countries that no longer exist:
Afrika
1. Abissinia (another name for Ethiopia, Eritrea untill 1974)

2. Biafra (defact an independent state in current Nigeria from May 30 1967 till January 15 1970)
Read Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Europe
1. East Germany (existed until October 3rd, 1990)
Read Accident: a day's news by Christa Wolf

Asia
1. Nederlands-Indië (name of Indonesia until 1949, when it became independent).
Read De mannen van Maria by Anneloes Timmerije a fictional biography on a historical female figure that lived most of her life in then Nederlands-Indië.

Interesting about countries that no longer exist. I had not given it much thought. I had once been in Yugoslavia.

I had a wonderful time reading the book The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton. Interesting to read for it gave a good idea of the dilemma's both 'sides' are wrestling with. And, of course, I could add another country to my list :-)

Another book added a country to my list. I read The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka and I liked it a lot. Or rather, I liked the book as a whole, because there were some quite disturbing scenes in it, that made me shiver. How can people do such horrible things to other people? I think that'll always stay a mystery to me. But, nevertheless the book is very much worth reading!

Unexpectedly this book was not set in Italy, like the last name of the author made me think, but in Monaco. A city-state I had not yet added to my list. And how nice it is to cross off another 'country' from your list, when it's with such an enjoyable book as Ik dood by Giorgio Faletti!

I've been reading around the globe recently again. And it was a nice thing to do. Unfortunately, some of the books are not set in a particular country, so they don't count. Verteller van de wind and The Dispossessed for example.
The White Russian is set in a country, but... I had already read a book that's set there. So, this update is to add 2 new countries to my list.
Algeria for reading The Outsider by Albert Camus and India for reading The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh.
I chose India for the latter book, because the author originates from that country and one of the main character comes from there. The book itself has taken me to many other places as well, but I'll seek out other novels for them :-)

It's been a while since I last called in. I've been lazy in looking for books from countries I haven't finished yet, I spent more time getting MTBR-books from 2012 read. And luckily one of those was a book from a country I had not yet added to my list.
I loved reading Coetzee's Disgrace. It was an interesting read, thought provoking, a book that lingered a while after I finished it. Hope to have more of those for other new countries as well :-)

Read Zainab Salbi's Book recently ans I was very impressed. Looking at Iraq through the eyes of a girl, that sees a lot, but doesn't understand half of it. Liked reading it, if that's the way to describe it ;-)

Bede aan de zee by Khaled Hosseini was a book that brought out mixed feelings in me. I disliked most of the text, that because of its stiffness, uneasyness felt translated and missed the power to make an impression on me untill the last two pages. The ilkustrations were beautiful, to me they told more of the story, the power that I think the author wanted to give the text than he (or the translator) was able to do.

Just finished a book that had placements in different countries. It started out in Lebanon, continued in England and returned to Lebanon again, so I decided to take Lebanon as the country for this book: Tegenaanval by Chris Ryan.

By the way: it was a nice read, although I found it superficial as well as far fetched at times.

I added another country to my list. It is Iran, with Barracuda 945. The reasons I put Iran on the list are, that the main character is born in that country, lives there quite a while after his training in the UK where he moved to with his parents. He more or less takes orders from the ayatollahs, is largely financed by them for the acts described in the book.

If I find a book that suits better, I'll just add it to the list for this country.

And the bookbitself? Well that was a disappointment. I won't be reading any more books by this writer.

I now read another book that qualifies for this challenge :-) The Woman Who Fell from the Sky by Jennifer Steil was a nice book. It told me about her life in a strange country, the struggles she faced both adapting to a new culture, a country with a religion strange to her, while working in that environment. It brought back lots of memories from my days (working) abroad...

I liked Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto very much. As a western reader it was not very easy to follow the book, but I still liked it very much. If you ever come across an edition, do read!

I thought I might add a new country to my list: Algeria, but that was already taken. Still I think it deserves a mention here (there is an English translation) for I thought it to be a beautiful book: Yasmine of het tijdperk van de sprinkhanen by Malika Mokkedem.

A new year, a fresh start with this challenge. Not that I added a new country to my map, I suddenly realized, that I couldn't add Indonesia, because the book I read is set in a time around 250 years before the official birth of that independent country. De mannen van Maria by Anneloes Timmerije was an interesting read, that made me all the more ashamed of the way we Dutch went about in that colony.

I thought the books I'm about to read will bring me to some more countries on earth, but... out of the 3 books I think I'll only get 1 new country. Well, that's how it goes, the more of the more current countries are visited, the slower the progress...
I'm still trying though! :-)

Finished Pachinko today. I loved the book and not solely because it made me tick off South Korea from the list of countries :-)