Sunday 1 January 2012

Offical Kick Off

Today is the day!  January 1, 2012, is the official kick off of the Around the World in 52 Books challenge from Goodreads.

Yesterday, I tried to do a blog entry that listed my top 5's of 2011.  When I got to my favorite covers and inserting a bunch of images, things went sour.  I gave up and scrapped the idea.  I need a Blogspot 101 crash course.  So bear with me as I stumble my way around.

Here is my list:

1. Antarctica - Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
2. **Afghanistan - The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland
3. **Argentina - Tropical Night Falling
4. Australia - A Town Like Alice
5. Austria - The Bells
6. Barbados - Caribbean
7. Bosnia - People of the Book
8. Burma - The Forgotten Highlander
9. ** Brazil - The Seamstress
10. Canada - Any Known Blood
11. **Chile - The House of the Spirits
12. **China - Ocean Devil: The Life and Legend of George Hogg
13. **Croatia - The Tiger's Wife
14. ** Cuba - The Island of Eternal Love
15. **Denmark - We, the Drowned
16. Egypt - Crocodile on the Sandbank
17. England - The House at Riverton
18. Ethiopia - Cutting for Stone
19. Fiji - Fiji: A Novel
20. France - The Tenth Chamber
21. Germany - The Book Thief
22. **Greece - Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus
23. **Haiti - Love, Anger, Madness: A Haitian Trilogy
24. **Iceland - Silence of the Grave
25. India - What the Body Remembers: A Novel
26. Iran - The Blood of Flowers
27. Ireland - The Secret Scripture
28. Israel - The Red Tent
29. Italy - The Glassblower of Murano
30. Japan - A Pale View of Hills
31. Kenya - Out of Africa
32. Korea - The Calligrapher's Daughter
33. **Mexico - Aztec
34. ** Netherlands - Lust for Life
35. New Zealand - The Bone People
36. ** Nigeria - Purple Hibiscus
37. Norway - The Snowman
38. ** Peru - The Green House
39. **Pitcairn Islands - Pitcairn's Island
40. **Poland - The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
41. Russia - The Bronze Horseman
42. **Rwanda - Baking Cakes in Kigali
43. Scotland - The Stonor Eagles
44. South Africa - The Covenant
45. Spain - The Camino
46. **Sri Lanka - Anil's Ghost
47. Thailand - The Windup Girl
48. Turkey - The Oracle of Stamboul
49. United States - Honolulu
50. **Uruguay - The Invisible Mountain
51. Vietnam - Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
52. **Zimbabwe - The Grass Is Singing

Alternates:

Netherlands - Girl with a Pearl Earring
Spain - Incantation
Spain - The Painter of Battles: A Novel
Mexico - The Falling Woman
**books I need to acquire

I have already started The Blood of Flowers.  It's in audiobook format and I needed something to listen to on my last couple of days to/from work.

I will be starting The Oracle of Stamboul today.

As you can see, there is no order to my madness.  I'll be reading books based on how they fit in with other challenges and my personal whims.

Oh, one other important note.  I am not going to do reviews of these books.  Instead, I will do a commentary based on something inspired by the book.

4 comments:

  1. I'm also reading books in no particular order and fitting them in with other GR book clubs and challenges :) Great list! I borrowed from it somewhat for my own!

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  2. I noticed that you have several of the same selections as I do. It will be interesting how we agree or disagree on them. It could make for some great conversations.

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  3. Wouldn't it be easier to go by ocean. Do the Atlantic, hit Panama, than the Pacific, etc?

    Or is that against the rules?

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  4. There are no rules, russell1200. Generally, I'm very systematic in my approach to things. But, I need to fit these selections into other challenges. For example, January's theme in one of my book clubs is "Roughin' It". I will read Endurance as that selection, killing two birds with one stone.

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