2012 - Around the World Wrap-Up

 

There was once a group in GoodReads that decided to read around the world in 2012.  I didn't make it to 52 countries, but I made it to 64 books.  Almost all of us are going to continue on for another year (if you have coveted this project, envied it, you can join us in 2013!).  I know I have more books set in different countries, from my wishlist, to read than I did when I started a year ago!  

I was thinking about apologizing that a lot of my books seem to be from Europe, but I decided that it makes sense that those books would be more commonly translated into English.  I've found some gems from more obscure places, and 2013 will continue the trend.

First a visual representation, and then a list by region.  What book set somewhere other than where you live did you enjoy most this year?

ReadingEnvy Around the World in Books 2012

(Map made using travellerspoint.com, a fun travel site!)

 

Africa

Egypt
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (review)
Baked good: Basbousa 

Kenya
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai (review)

Liberia
This Child Will Be Great by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (review)

Libya
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (review)
The Bleeding of the Stone by Ibrahim Kuni (review)

Senegal
Redemption in Indigo: A Novel by Karen Lord (review)

South Africa
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes (review)
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (review)
Baked good - malva pudding!


Asia/Australia/Polynesia, etc.

Australia
Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher #1) by Kerry Greenwood (review)
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (review)

China Big Breasts and Wide Hips by Mo Yan (review)
Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper by Fuschia Dunlop (review)
Land of Plenty by Fuschia Dunlop (review)
Baked good: CongYou Bing

India
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil (review)
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai (review)

Japan
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (review)
A Pale View Of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (review)
Ten Nights Of Dream, Hearing Things, The Heredity Of Taste by Natsume Soseki (review)
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari (review)
The Cape and Other Stories from the Japanese Ghetto by Kenji Nakagami (review)

Kiribati
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific (review)

Korea, North or South
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (review) 

Malaysia
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (review)

New Zealand
The Forrests by Emily Perkins (review)

Russia
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (review)
Moscow but Dreaming: Stories by Ekaterina Sedia (review)

Saudi Arabia
Habibi by Craig Thompson (review)

Sri Lanka
The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (review)

Tahiti (French Polynesia)
Frangipani: A Novel by Celestine Vaite (review)
Baked good: Po'e


Caribbean

Dominican Republic
This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz (review)

Haiti
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat (review)

Jamaica
From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island by Lorna Goodison (review)
Baked good: rum cake 

Saint Maarten/ St. Martin
The Making of an Island: St. Martin by Jean Glasscock (review)

Trinidad and Tobago
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey (review)


Europe

Austria
Rock Crysta| by Adalber Stifter (review)

Croatia
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht (review)
Baked good – black pepper cookies

Czech Republic
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (review)

Denmark
Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard (review)

Faroe Islands
The Old Man and His Sons by Heðin Brú (review)

Finland
The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna (review)

France
The Unknown Masterpiece by Balzac (review)

Germany
City of Women by David R. Gillham (review)
The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (review)

Greece
Skios by Michael Frayn (review)
Kassandra and the Wolf by Margarita Karapanou (review)
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (review)

Guernsey
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards (review)

Ireland
A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle (review)
Dubliners by James Joyce (review)
Baked good: Caraway seed cake

Italy
Little Novels of Sicily by Giovanni Verga (review)
Baked good: Sicilian Cassata

Poland
The Taste of a Man by Slavenka Drakulic (review)

Romania
Dracula by Bram Stoker (review)
 
Scotland
Island Of Wings by Karin Altenberg (review)

Spain
Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart (review)

Sweden
Yes Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson (review)

Ukraine
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (review)

Wales
Among Others by Jo Walton (review)


North America

Canada
On Whale Island by Daniel Hays (review)

Mexico
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival (review)


South America

Chile
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (review)
Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile (review)
Baked good: mil hojas

Paraguay
The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck (review)

Peru
The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa (review)
Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time (review)
Baked good - Arroz Zambito