Would you like a side of challenge with that challenge? Why, yes I would!
I couldn’t decide which book set on a different continent to apply to Reading Bingo. (I am not good at choosing things!) So, I dedicated March to reading a book set on every continent.
(I realize there are different concepts of “continents.” I’m going by the seven-continent model as taught to schoolchildren in much of the English-speaking world, which is presumably NOT the model preferred by geologists.)
So, my four loyal readers, you’re getting good value this month. One square, seven recaps!
Six of the books below were in THE pile or on my maybe-someday wish list already. So really, there was only continent I had to seek out specifically for this side challenge. You guessed it: Antarctica. I wondered if it would be tricky to find a book on Antarctica that wasn’t a dry history of explorers or a kids’ book about penguins, but no. In fact, I came across so many titles that seem interesting – both fiction and non-fiction – that I had to (gasp!) make a choice.
Australia
The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
(Paperback, 329 pages, Published May 21, 2013 by HarperCollins; audiobook by Harper Audio, from audible.com)
4 stars
So so so so cute! This was my dog-walking accompaniment for a few weeks, and I laughed out loud as I ambled along. Passersby probably thought I was nuts. It got a little too far-fetched and formulaic rom-com at points, but the characters are charming, especially protagonist Don. His escapades are hilarious and I rooted for him from start to finish. Bonus: If you dig Australian accents, audiobook all the way!
Asia
The Far Side of the Sky, by Daniel Kalla
(Hardcover, 464 pages, published June 5, 2012 by Forge Books (first published 2011))
4 stars
With just a few words I was plunked into one of the most tension-filled opening scenes I can recall in a novel. And the tension doesn’t let up much as the story follows the Adler family from Vienna on Kristallnacht through the next few years in Shanghai. They’ve escaped the Nazis, but will they survive poverty, a cholera outbreak and Japanese occupiers? It’s not entirely doom and gloom, there are a couple of love stories worked in. (While we’re on the subject, I urge you to read Ten Green Bottles: The True Story of One Family’s Journey from War-torn Austria to the Ghettos of Shanghai by Vivian Jeanette Kaplan. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. Period.)
Europe
A Cupboard Full of Coats, by Yvvette Edwards
(Paperback, 261 pages, published June 16, 2011 by ONEWorld Publications)
3 stars
I was hooked on the mystery that unfurls over the course of this novel. What exactly happened to Jinx’s mother in her east-end London house? And why did she have a cupboard full of coats anyway? The richly drawn main characters, Jinx and Lemon, provide answers through the stories of love and betrayal and violence that they recount.
North America
The Bear, by Claire Cameron
(Paperback, 240 pages, published February 11, 2014 by Doubleday Canada)
4 stars
Random thought fragments that ran through my brain as I read this book:
- Oh my god
- Oh my good god
- I’m frightened
- Dammit eyes, move faster – must find out what’s coming next!
- Then again, maybe I don’t want to know
- OH MY F’ING GOD!!!
- I’m worried
- I wish I had a picture of that
- Cool, Claire Cameron has a picture of that on her blog
- I’m sad
- Man, she really puts the reader in a five-year-old’s head
- I’m exhausted after all that
- I’m never going camping
- As if! There was never any chance of me going camping anyway
South America
Imagining Argentina, by Lawrence Thornton
(Paperback, 215 pages, published November 1, 1991 by Bantam (first published 1987))
5 stars
This came to my attention “highly recommended.” And by that I mean I once saw someone reading it on the subway. Seriously! I didn’t ask her about it, because I didn’t want to seem like a weirdo. But I watched as she finished the book, and she seemed quite content. So I took note of the cover and title, came home and looked it up online, and added it to my wish list. Let’s see YOU promote yourselves like that, ebooks!! But I digress…
Imagining Argentina is a beautifully wrought story of 1970s Buenos Aires, where the citizens live in the grip of the villainous generals, and await the return of their loved ones – the “disappeareds.” I thought I’d fly through this one because it’s short, but I took a breather after each chapter to better absorb the language and imagery.
Antarctica
No Horizon is So Far: A Historic Journey Across Antarctica, by Liv Arneson and Ann Bancroft
(Hardcover, 272 pages, published September 17, 2003 by Da Capo Press)
3 stars
I abhor winter, so I couldn’t even begin to fathom why anyone – of her own free will!! – would trek across Antarctica’s frozen barrenness. Arneson and Bancroft must hear that a lot, as they proffered answers to the “why” early on in the book. It’s an engaging look at the Antarctic landscape and the two women’s travails across the continent, as well as the behind-the-scenes planning and fundraising that go into such an expedition.
Africa
Baking Cakes in Kigali, by Gaile Parkin
(Paperback, 320 pages, published July 6, 2010 by Emblem Editions (first published January 1, 2009))
5 stars
Is it possible for a book to be both whimsical and tragic at the same time? After reading this, I believe it is! Baking Cakes in Kigali presents a patchwork of characters and cultures in post-genocide Rwanda, brought together by ever-so-endearing baker, Angel. There’s sadness here, but also humour and a sense of healing. I appreciated that, after having read several books about the genocide that, while excellent, are in a much more gruesome vein.
Here’s a question… Will the weather STILL be this wretched by the time April’s update rolls around?
Current to-read-pile count: 30. (And this is after I imposed a strict moratorium on purchases: no more new books until the pile is substantially reduced!! Emergencies excepted. (For instance, if I have the opportunity to meet an author and have the book signed. Or if I need a book to complete a bingo square. Or if a book is getting lots of buzz and I just really need to read it right away so that all the other bookish kids will think I’m cool. Y’know, emergencies!))
Fantastic. I can’t keep up with you but three books you mentioned are already on my list, now I’ll search for the others.
You really do make them all seem worth reading. I guess there are worse addictions than books.
Who needs to read books? I can just read your blog! You bring each of the books to life and make me want to start reading all of them at the same time. What a creative idea to read a book from every continent! KEEP READIN AND WRITIN- you are soo funny!!