I wavered a lot before taking the plunge, but I’ve finally decided to join the Around the World in 12 Books Challenge at Giraffe Days!
The goal of this challenge is to read one book per month, with each month being dedicated to a different country or political entity. The book must be set in the assigned country, and ideally it should also be by an author from that country. Books must be literary fiction or memoirs — no genre fiction. Children’s and YA books are OK. Be sure to click the link above for additional rules and to sign up!
Here are the country assignments for this year:
JANUARY = France
FEBRUARY = Sudan
MARCH = Wales
APRIL = Fiji (Note: it’s hard to find literary fiction set in Fiji, so any kind of book is fine.)
MAY = Belgium
JUNE = South Korea
JULY = Israel
AUGUST = Palestine
SEPTEMBER = Brazil
OCTOBER = China
NOVEMBER = Egypt
DECEMBER = Argentina
Some of these will clearly be more difficult than others. I’ve already pretty much decided on what I’ll read for France (Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda) and China (Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie), but I have NO CLUE about Fiji or Sudan. I guess finding an appropriate book will be part of the fun! 🙂
You Book Me All Night Long 
So glad you’re taking part in the challenge, Christina! I spent some time yesterday trying to find books set in Fiji, and there aren’t many (in English, anyway). There are a few that include a bit of Fiji, and there are several travelogues. Maybe I should have looked into it before including it on the list, but sometimes the hunt uncovers other books we end up reading, too. I’m ordering a book called Henderson’s Spear by Ronald Wright which takes place in Fiji as well as Tahiti, or just generally in the South Seas. In terms of literary fiction, it seemed the best I could do. So I decided to open that one up to other genres to make it easier for people. 🙂
I haven’t looked yet at the other countries. Will have to go through the books I still have here first, see what I can match up. I know I have some French and Chinese books. Oh and I loved Balzac and the Little Chinese Steamstress!
Yup, I ultimately couldn’t resist it! I’m getting a little ahead of myself trying to find books, I think. I know what I’m reading for January, and I think I have a good pick for Sudan in February (The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih)…and that’s probably all the planning I need to do at this point. 🙂 I’ll cross those other bridges when I come to them!