Thursday, December 26, 2013

European Reading Challenge 2014


European Reading Challenge
Hosted by Rose City Reader
Dates: January - January (Click above for full details and to join)
My Goal: 5+ Books (Five Star, Deluxe Entourage)


The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour. (See note about the UK, below)

What counts as "Europe"? For this challenge, we will use the list of 50 sovereign states that fall (at least partially) within the geographic territory of the continent of Europe and/or enjoy membership in international European organizations such as the Council of Europe. This list includes the obvious (the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy), the really huge Russia, the tiny Vatican City, and the mixed bag of Baltic, Balkan, and former Soviet states.

Note: Technically, the United Kingdom is one country that includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  So one book from any one of these four should count as your one book for that one country. I'm not going to be a stickler about it because challenges should be about fun not about rules. However, when it comes to winning the Jet Setter prize, only one book from one of the UK countries will count.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City.  


My List:

1. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi [Greece] (4/26/14)

2. Death on the Agenda by Patricia Moyes [Switzerland]
3. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell [Sweden] (1/5/14)
4. DeKok and Murder in Ecstasy by A. J. Baantjer [Netherlands] (6/27/14)
5. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [Turkey] (2/4/14)
6. Murder in the Vatican by Amy Margaret Lewis [Vatican City] (3/5/14)
7. For Old Crime's Sake by Delano Ames [Spain] (4/29/14)
8. The Poison Belt by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [author from Scotland; UK] (1/2/14)
9. The Wonder Chamber by Mary Malloy ["mystery" itself takes place in Italy ] (1/15/14) 
10. Gale Warning by Hammond Innes [Norway/Norwegian Sea] (4/15/14) 
11. Murder at the Villa Rose by A. E. W. Mason [Monaco] (7/14/14)
12. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy [Hungarian-born author] (9/21/14) 
13. Too Many Doctors by Holly Roth [set on German ship w/German crew] (10/22/14)
 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would strongly disagree about counting books from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as being from one country, the U.K.

As someone of Irish heritage, and knowing friends from Wales and Scotland, who feel very strong about their country's sovereignty, they should be counted separately.

This is true in Global Book Challenges around the world.

Bev Hankins said...

Kathy D: Please direct your comment to the host of the Challenge. I'm just playing along with her--I didn't make the rules.

Gilion at Rose City Reader said...

Welcome back to the European Reading Challenge for 2014!

Your book choices look great. Happy reading!