2014 Global Reading Challenge
Getting a late start here, but in the next nine months I intend to complete the 2014 Global Reading Challenge, the Expert Challenge, which requires that I read three novels from each of these continents in the course of 2014:
- Africa
- Asia
- Australasia/Oceania
- Europe
- North America
- South America (including Central America if possible)
- A Seventh Continent (either Antarctica or a preferred ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, space, a supernatural/paranormal world, historical era, the future, or ?).
Two additional requests from the challenge manager:
- From my own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to me.
- If possible, select novels from twenty-one different countries or states.
The 2014 Global Reading Challenge guidelines stipulate that I may read any genre so long as the books are fiction, but I want to further limit this to the genre of crime fiction, since I see this challenge as an excellent way to broaden my search for new moody sleuths.
I plan to use this page as a record of progress; I’ll update as I add books I intend to read, and add links to those titles I have finished reading.
The challenge manager invites participants to comment on the books they’ve read, so I expect I’ll be posting my comments on moodysleuth.com, and linking posts to books listed below.
Here’s my list:
Africa
- A Beautiful Place to Die (Detective Emmanuel Cooper #1) by Malla Nunn (South Africa)
- Nairobi Heat (Ishmael and O #1) by Mukoma Wa Ngugi (Kenya)
- Dead at Daybreak by Deon Meyer (Zimbabwe)
Asia
- Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje (Sri Lanka)
- Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace (Japan)
- Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco (Philippines)
Australia/Oceania
- The White Dog (Jack Irish #4) by Peter Temple (VIC, Australia)
- The Dragon Man (Inspector Challis #1) by Garry Disher (South Australia)
- Gunshot Road (Emily Tempest series) by Adrian Hyland (Northern Territories, Australia)
Europe
- I Will Have Vengeance (Commissario Ricciardi #1) by Maurizio de Giovanni (Italy)
- In Matto’s Realm (Sergeant Studer #2) by Friedrich Glauser (Switzerland)
- You’d Better Believe It (Harpur & Iles #1) by Bill James (England)
North America
- An Easy Thing ( Héctor B. Shayne #1) by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (Mexico)
- L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole #8) by Robert Crais (California)
- Havana Blue (Mario Conde #1) by Leonardo Padura (Cuba)
Central & South America
- Alone in the Crowd (Inspector Espinosa #7) by Luiz Alfredo Garcia Roza (Brazil)
- Needle in a Haystack (Inspector Lascano #1) by Ernesto Mallo (Argentina)
- The Neruda Case (Cayetano Brulé #6) by Roberto Ampuero (Chile)
The 7th choice – Speculative Fiction/Sci-fi
- The City & the City by China Miéville (Besźel/Ul Qoma)
- The Caves of Steel (Baley & Olivaw #1) by Isaac Asimov (Futuristic NYC)
- The Surrogates by Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele (Central Georgia Metropolis year 2054)
Many thanks to Kerry at Mysteries in Paradise for hosting and managing the 2014 Global Reading Challenge.