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Monday 1 February 2010

2010 Global Reading Challenge


The Easy Challenge
Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.


The Medium Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America

Try to find novels from twelve different countries or states.


The Expert Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America
Add two novels which are set in Antarctica.

Select novels from fourteen different countries or states.

The Extremist Level

Read three novels from each of these continents in 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America
Add two novels which are set in Antarctica + a ´wildcard´ novel (a novel from a place or period that is NEW to you).

And if you are really an extreme reader, you will do your best to read novels from 21 different countries or states.

Please use Mr Linky to sign in if you want to participate, and tell me in a comment which level you choose (you can always upgrade later).


215 comments:

1 – 200 of 215   Newer›   Newest»
Uriah Robinson said...

I'll sign up for the medium challenge and read one Aussie and one New Zealand novel. I haven't done the Mister Linky yet as it reads about Wordless Wednesday.

Dorte H said...

Norman: sorry I copied my first draft (Australia, not Australasia - I have corrected that immediately, of course).

I know about that Mister Linky problem, but it seems as if I can only choose among existing memes and challenges if I don´t want to pay for it. I will try to ask Kerrie if that is correct.

Maxine Clarke said...

Thanks for setting this up, Dorte, I'll definitely be joining in, wordless wednesday or alphabet crime or whatever, never mind!

Bernadette said...

I'll give the expert level a go (surely in 12 months I can find another couple of books set in Antarctica - I have read two that I can think of)

Kerrie said...

Dorte, I have created a meme called the 2010 Global Reading Challenge which I think you should be able to "see" at Blenza (I have an account that I use for my others)- it is a "shared" meme so it should be visible to you in the drop down list. It may be as simple as changing the code - the meme number is 4284

Dorte H said...

Maxine + Bernadette: I came up with it for my own sake; I think I need this incentive to widen my horizon, and it is great that you will accompany me on my travels.

Kerrie: it doesn´t work as I do not have access to shared memes. I have sent you an invitation as a co-author of the blog so could you please try if you can add the html to the post? If not, I will upgrade my membership.

Anonymous said...

Dorte - Thanks so much for co-ordinating this! I'm going to start with the easy challenge (I know, I'm being a weakling ; )). If the year turns out to be easier than I fear it will be, I'll toughen up and go for medium or difficult. I don't see the Mr. Linky, though, on this blog. Sorry if I'm missing something.

Dorte H said...

Margot: great that it is so easy to tempt people. I think this is going to be fun!

But let´s see how good I am at co-ordinating things. I have had to ask Kerrie to help me with Mr Linky so please consider this blog "in progress". I got the idea yesterday, and I hope everything will work properly before New Year :D

Kerrie said...

not crime fiction Dorte?

Kerrie said...

You will need to make me an admin Dorte

Dorte H said...

Kerrie: I granted you admin rights a few minutes ago.

Re crime fiction: no, that is not a demand. I know that most of us who have entered the challenge will choose crime, but I want it open to anyone who wants to expand his or her reading horizon.

Kerrie said...

Nr Linky is up and working Dorte :-), so people can now sign up. I think I'll go in for the medium level

Dorte H said...

Kerrie: thanks a lot!

I have not quite made up my mind which level yet, but I could see I would have to have an expert level to try to make it difficult enough for Bernadette :D

Mack said...

I think I'll start with the medium challenge.

Kiwicraig said...

I'm probably more likely to achieve medium (given Antarctica might be a struggle), but I'm aiming for expert.

PS If anyone needs help sourcing Kiwi crime books in their locales or nearby, let me know - I'm sure I can find various ways to get such books to you

Jose Ignacio Escribano said...

Dorte, I'll go for the easy first, but aiming for the medium, once the first step is accomplished.

Dorte H said...

Mack: that is great (also my plan right now, but I may switch to expert level). I plan to make a post every month where you can link to your reviews (but of course you can review as many books as you like every month).

Craig: fine. And I have not thought about my Australasian novels yet, but I promise to read at least one Kiwi crime so I may contact you if it proves difficult to get it.

Jose: great.

Vanda Symon said...

Mr Linky did his thing, so I'm go for the easy challenge - slightly wimpy I know, but at least I can manage that one!

Dorte H said...

Vanda: you can always ´upgrade your membership´ if you realize you have read them all six long before the challenge expires. And here any kind of membership, silver, gold or platinum, is absolutely free of charge ;)

Dorte H said...

Vanda: you can always ´upgrade your membership´ if you realize you have read them all six long before the challenge expires. And here any kind of membership, silver, gold or platinum, is absolutely free of charge ;)

iasa said...

2010 is my year! I'll go for the expert challenge. That way if i fail, at least i will fail big.

Dorte H said...

Iasa: great you will join us! Welcome on board.

Gavin said...

I'm signing up for the medium challenge!

Unknown said...

OK, so I'm going for the easy challenge. I believe in baby steps!

Lynda said...

I'm in - going for easy level, but may upgrade!
I've promised myself not to overtax myself with challenges this year - lol!!!
http://lyndasbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-global-reading-challenge.html

Dorte H said...

Hi Gavin, Mel, Traci and Lynda.

Great that you have joined the challenge :D

Beth F said...

I feel myself caving! This sounds like a great challenge.

Dorte H said...

Beth: I am glad I have come up with something that could tempt you.

Personally, I ordered no less than three books the other day that can be used for this challenge, but also for "What´s in a Name." (Not a bad argument, is it?)

Helen's Book Blog said...

This challenge is too good to pass up! When I taught World History I was always trying to get my students to read something other than books by dead white males. Now, as a teacher librarian I look forward to "pushing" books I see reviewed in this challenge! Thanks for giving me the opportunity

Helen's Book Blog said...

I have a question on categorizing books. Should the author or the content of the book, or both be from each part of the world to count? Thanks!

Dorte H said...

Hi Helen.

I am so glad you have joined us.

With regard to your question, my own main criterion is that the author should live in, or have grown up in the continent. I think that will force us to read more new authors than if we accept British or American writers who write books that take place abroad.

Of course the best books are ones where both the author and the action are from the continent, but it is not a strict rule. The main idea is to read some new authors and get new experiences.

Tea said...

I love reading about different countries. This is really exciting. I have joined too many challenges. So, I'm going to take the "easy" route in this one. Thanks for throwing this challenge.

Dorte H said...

Tea: it is great that you are here! And when you have seen how easy it is to read six, you can just upgrade and take twelwe books :D

Tea said...

Golly! With all my other challenges twelve seems like a hundred. I do love reading about countries.

Grilsgood said...

Is there going to be any lists of books to help out???? My library didnt' have much that interested me.

Dorte H said...

Hi Lindy.

I am glad you have joined the challenge.

So far, I have added some links in the sidebar, but if you need help for specific continents, please ask, and I will ask some of my well-read friends to help with suggestions for these continents.

Teddy Rose said...

I'm joining in the fun with the Easy level. I posted my link.

Barbara said...

I'm going for the medium challenge - enough challenge but not too much of a "eat your vegetables, they're good for you" level of commitment. I expect Latin America to be my biggest difficulty, though I could catch up on Leighton Gage.

Cathy said...

Okay, Dorte, now you've done it! I'll join in at the Medium level, with one eye peeled for Antarctic books just in case. ;)

Dorte H said...

Teddy Rose, Barbara and Cathy: it is great to come home after a short Christmas holiday and find three new participants!

Maxine Clarke said...

I have belatedly joined officially! I will start easy, but hope to upgrade as the year goes on. Thank you for starting and setting up such a fun and instructive challenge, Dorte.

Dorte H said...

Maxine: thank you, and there is absolutely no rush. It is not even 2010 yet.

MissA said...

Ooo this is going to be a hard, fun challenge! I'm starting with easy but I hope to upgrade =)
What a wonderful idea for a challenge!

Jo @ Booklover Book Reviews said...

Great idea - count me in for the Easy Challenge! Thanks for hosting this.

Booklover Book Reviews

Dorte H said...

Welcome to MissAttitude and bookwordlover!

Jenny said...

I'm going to start off slow, with the nice easy level. Looking forward to this!

Karen said...

I'm looking forward to this challenge. I'm going to do the easy level and see how it goes. This is the first time I've signed up for challenges.

Anonymous said...

I've never participated in a reading challenge so this should be fun! I've even decided to reach for the stars and go for the expert challenge level. Oh, and since I"m new to all this I signed up under my name Laura Duncan instead of my google identity.

Dorte H said...

Welcome to Jenny, Karen, Laura and Bibliofreak!

It is so great to see there was room in the world of blogging for my new challenge :D

Kristen said...

I'll dip my toe in the water and sign up for the easy challenge with the knowledge I can always upgrade later.

Fred said...

Dorte H,

Being a bit of a coward, I will sign up for the Easy Level. With luck, I might be able to upgrade sometime later.

I gather from earlier comments that any novel will qualify--just not mysteries. If so, that will make life a bit easier for me.

Dorte H said...

Hi Kristen.

Toe-dippers are very welcome!

Hi Fred.

Yes, you can certainly read any novels from these continents that tempt you. Some of us are hardcore crime freaks, but one does not have to be.

iasa said...

um Dorte, I think you will find that is 'super freak' :)

Anonymous said...

So are the novels SET in the various locations or written by authors FROM different places?

Margot said...

I'm dipping my toe in too. This is going to be a real stretch for me but that is why it's a challenge, right? I'm starting off at the easy level and see where I go from there. Thanks for coming up with the idea for the challenge and for your work in hosting it.

Dorte H said...

Well, my intention is novels written by authors from the six continents - Antartica is different, of course, so here it is novels which are set there.

I am not going to police anyone, however. I just hope the challenge inspires readers to try something that is new to them :D

Anonymous said...

Thanks for clarifying. I think its a great challenge; really looking forward to the different world views!

yuan said...

Am planning on doing Medium Challenge. =D

Dorte H said...

Margot and Ah Yuan:

Great to have you onboard. I enjoy visiting the blog every day to see what has happened when I was sleeping :D

seana graham said...

I've just posted about this challenge on another site I visit, Chicklit Forums on their New Year's Readolutions thread. Said over there that I had too much going on to participate myself, but now feel drawn in. How hard can it be too do the easy level, as the American and European novels will take care of themselves, and like you, Dorte, I always like the idea of pushing outside my usual sphere and read books from other places. Yeah, and I'll upgrade too, if this turns out to be too easy.

Beverly said...

This is an exciting challenge for me as I so love reading books set in foreign locations and especially debut novels.

I will do the medium challenge.

Okibum said...

I am signing up for medium!

Dorte H said...

Welcome to Cary, Seana, Beverly, Kate and Talya/Okibum.

I am so happy to see such a varied flock of readers!

Rob Kitchin said...

I'll go for expert and see how I get on. I think I can get halfway there with what's on the TBR at the minute.

Dorte H said...

Excellent, Rob. Welcome to participant no 40.

Nat said...

I'll sign up for the medium challenge as I have trouble finding novels set in Antarctica in my local library (which is weird, with Chile being so close, right?)

Sherrie said...

Hi Dorte,
Great idea for a reading challenge. Mine is posted at my place, Just Books. My list of books are on my sidebar. I will be doing the Easy Challenge. Have a great day!

Sherrie
Just Books
http://sherriesbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-global-reading-challenge.html

Fred said...

Kim Stanley Robinson wrote a novel that was set in Antarctica several years ago. The title is _Antarctica_.

christa @ mental foodie said...

Am going to try the Easy challenge!

Dorte H said...

Bea, Sherrie and Christa: welcome!

How annoying that mr linky seems to have taken a holiday.

Fred: thank you.

Cass said...

I'm excited for this one! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

ah, you KNOW I want to do this! In fact, I had to pick up the book I'm just about to start and it says it is set in SOUTH AMERICA - how cool is that.

Dorte H said...

Cass & Care (sounds like a modern company, doesn´t it?): how wonderful that you have dropped in!

I also think it is going to be great to read all these foreign novels.

Ryan S. said...

I'm so excited to start this one. It is my very first Reading Challenge (and the kick-off for my new blog).

I'm doing The Medium Challenge!

You can see my booklist here: http://readingformysanity.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-global-challenge.html

Dorte H said...

Ryan: I am so happy this challenge has made you create a blog! I hope you are going to enjoy it just as much as I have done (on Thursday, my blog is one year old).

Louise said...

Great challenge Dorte, I have signed up for the easy one. Now comes the hard part...trying to find books which fit the categories :-)

Dorte H said...

Louise: oh, it is great to have another Dane onboard :D

If you look around, I think you will be able to find some good suggestions, and soon there will be several links to reviews in here.

Karen (Euro Crime) said...

Hi Dorte, I'm going to start at the easy level! What a great idea and proving very popular too.

Beth F said...

I'm in for the easy level. I don't have an announcement post up but I am definitely in this one.

Søren said...

Hi Dorte,

I will participate in the The Medium Challenge :-)

Unknown said...

Hi Dorte --

I'm going to go for expert level. Psyched to play.

seana graham said...

Can someone enlighten me as to what the Mr. Linky part of this is all about? Is it just what makes our reviews accessible from this site, or is there something more involved?

Anonymous said...

It seems I misunderstood the Mister Linky URL request. I put the URL for our books, but it seems I should have linked to a URL where I post my comments. If indeed I have erred please take out the www.detectivekubu.com link. I can't work out how to do it. Thanks Stan

Anonymous said...

I will enter at the Medium level.

Dorte H said...

Karen, Beth, Søren, Justine, Seana and Stan: fine to have you onboard!

Seana: Mr Linky just collects the links, and you can see at a glance who and how many there are.(As far as I know, that is all there is to it).

Stan: I will take a look at it.

Dorte H said...

Stan: I don´t think it matters that you link to your books here, but I have removed the link for Africa so if you could add a new link to your actual review there, please.

Erin said...

This sounds like a great challenge to conclude my challenge roundup for this year :)

I hope I can get this one done and learn about new authors in the process!

Thanks for hosting this challenge~

Erin said...

Oh and I am signing up for the easy level! DUH forgot to include that.

Sarah said...

Hello ^-^

I would love to join this challenge and go all out and attempt to Expert level please.

Happy reading everyone!

Sandra said...

I want to try for the expert level. I will post and link as soon as I round up some reading choices. Thank you.

Dorte H said...

Welcome to a new handfuld of members! You are really making my day :D

Material Witness said...

Hi Dorte

What a great idea. I'll go for the Medium challenge, and hope this helps me to find some great writing I otherwise might have missed in 2010!

Ben

Dorte H said...

Ben: great to have you onboard, and it seems the global challenge meets some kind of demand among bloggers.

Anonymous said...

Dorte / Kerrie,
it's no. 59, Jovenus here.

Fantastic! I'll sign up for Medium Challenge. I'll have no clues of any books about the Poles, except watching Happy Feet!

I haven't figure out what to read for Australiasia. But I've done 25 different countries, should be ok to go for 12.

http://bibliojunkie.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/a-conscious-effort-to-diversify/

Mary said...

So in my excitement to sign up for this challenge, I failed miserably, and accidentally posted to the Antarctica post. So yeah... there's no review there. Oops.

I did end up succeeding eventually, and I think I'm going to go for Expert, solely because I'm already planning to read a book set in Antarctica (so you will get a post from me there are some point).
This sounds really interesting, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Mary said...

So in my excitement to sign up for this challenge, I failed miserably, and accidentally posted to the Antarctica post. So yeah... there's no review there. Oops.

I did end up succeeding eventually, and I think I'm going to go for Expert, solely because I'm already planning to read a book set in Antarctica (so you will get a post from me there are some point).
This sounds really interesting, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Dorte H said...

Hi Jovenus & Mary.

Welcome!

I have sorted out the link problems.

Jennie said...

I'm in at the Medium Level. Thank you for hosting!

mediumgeek said...

I will combine my own reading challenge with the medium level of this one. My challenge is to read books from 26 different countries this year.

You can follow my exploration here
http://blog.itsroots.com

Dorte H said...

Jennie: welcome. So far I think it is a pleasure to host it.

Gerdur: great idea to combine your challenges (I do the same), and I like your level of ambition. Good luck!

animeshon said...

Hi there I'll give the Expert challenge a whirl, might give me the incentive to actually start using my blog! (I used the name animeshon and my wordpress blog btw)

Kerrie said...

Mary, I took your link out of Antarctica :-)

Zja Noir said...

I'll go the medium level, but only because i cant think of any books set in the antartica. (I hate survival books LOL)

Jose Ignacio Escribano said...

Dorte I’m more than half way through the easy challenge on January 25th. I will upgrade myself and go for the expert challenge.

Dorte H said...

Jose, that is great!

Shannon said...

This is too fun - I'm gonna' go "expert" Woo!

Dorte H said...

Hi Shannon.

Welcome on board! But your Antarctica link was not for a review, so I have removed it for you.

Shannon said...

Thanks, Dorte, I don't know what happened there - I think I copied and pasted the wrong thing- sorry! Glad to be participating in the challenge. :)

beastmomma said...

I am late to the party, but excited to participate nonetheless. Looking forward to my global literary trip!!!

Dorte H said...

Beastmomma: 2010 is very young so you have plenty of time to travel around the world several times :D

Kerrie said...

We may have to think of a more extreme challenge for some of us - I'm up to 6 already

Dorte H said...

No problem, Kerrie. ;)

New, special rules for Australian and other ´nerds´:

1) read books from 52 different countries

2) read at least four from each continent

[and when you have done this, come back and I will set some new requirements]

Bibliophile said...

Signing up for the easy challenge.

JournoMich said...

I found this through Dorte's appearance on Elizabeth Spann Craig's Mystery Writing is Murder blog...

I sign up for the Expert Challenge, because I can't do anything but he hardest!

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

Dorte H said...

Bibliophile and Michele:

Welcome to both of you!

JournoMich said...

Thank you, Dorte. And thank you for this interesting challenge! It's nice to have one that is actually a challenge!

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

Anonymous said...

Just seen this and am enthusiastic about taking part. Thank you, Dorte.
I'll settle for the 'expert challenge.'

Dorte H said...

Susan: glad you found it!

yasho said...

Just seen this thanks to susan and I too am in, for the expert one...

a doubt, you wanted a url, was a bit confused on which one... I have finally put in my site address... I guess you would want the review url, which would be my blog... how do I change it please?

Dorte H said...

Hi Yasho.

Yes, I wanted your blog url, but as there is a link to it from your site address, it doesn´t matter at all.

Kerrie said...

I've fixed it Dorte and Yasho :-)

Kymmie said...

I was so excited to see this challenge I signed up for the expert level, despite the 7 other challenges I'm also doing this year!

Reviews will be posted on my blog at http://notthewhistlestop.blogspot.com.

Dorte H said...

Kymmie: it is great to check in and see new participants every other day :D

♥ Braja said...

I'm in on the Easy one :) Hey nice to see you again after so long Dorte :)

What now? :)

Dorte H said...

Hi Braja.

Welcome to the global reading challenge.

Lahni said...

I'm going for the easy challenge. Thanks for the fun challenge!

Dorte H said...

Lahni: glad to have you onboard!

Robin said...

Count me IN on the Easy Challenge! and thanks for hosting!

Dorte H said...

Robin: welcome to you too!

Sandra said...

I finally got my post for the challenge up-expert level for me. I'm doing well on the reading part anyway.

Gabi said...

What a great idea? I read too much of the same Anglo-Saxon origin work. The trick will be to finding great books from new places (which I know are out there). I'll be interested to hear which books others are reading and which ones they recommend.

Dorte H said...

Gabi: finding new authors and inspiration is exactly what the challenge is for :D

Kiwicraig said...

I've read 9 of my 14 different countries/regions required for the Expert Challenge, but finally got around to posting a link to my first review of any of them(Bernhard Schlink's SELF'S MURDER - reviewed for the EuroCrime website).

Dorte H said...

Craig: if you can write your reviews at the same speed, you may be the first to finish the challenge!

Lahni: what a great idea!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
I am so glad I found this challenge, what a great idea! Are you then looking for people to post links to reviews of the books they have chosen? I am going to be brave and jump right in to the expert level.

Dorte H said...

Melanie: you are most welcome, and yes, the idea is that you come back and link to your reviews - so you can inspire other participants who are looking for new authors to try out.

Anonymous said...

Great! if you are looking to spread the word, I write about books for a site called Examiner.com (I am the Canada Books Examiner) and I can write an article about your challenge, if you like.

Dorte H said...

Melanie:

Oh, what a great idea! I would certainly appreciate that! And please come back and leave a link so we can see what you have written :D

Anonymous said...

Okay, I just have a couple of quick questions for the article. Could you please email me whenever it is convenient at melaniehains21@hotmail.com and then I will respond with my questions.

Anonymous said...

To see the article, go here:http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-36827-Canada-Book-Examiner~y2010m3d16-Participate-in-a-reading-challenge
The site is also linked from my own blog.

Dorte H said...

Thank you, Melanie. I have added a link in the header of the challenge, hoping visitors will see it there.

JournoMich said...

I just added a slideshow with many of my Global Challenge picks on my blog--righthand sidebar. Check it out! I'm open to suggestions and comments about them. Thanks!

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

seana graham said...

Oh, I'll bet, Josue. I'm sure it's very similar indeed.

Carolyn said...

I'll go for the medium challenge and I'm glad to find this!

Dorte H said...

Sorry, Seana, no more V..... for you ;D

Carolyn: welcome!

seana graham said...

That's okay. I must say that I really don't get the spammers overall advertising strategy sometimes.

Anonymous said...

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I'm going to do the hard challenge.

Dorte H said...

Kelly: oh, there is plenty of time to read 14 novels :D

(I should know; I have a sore throat so I have read three novels in two days).

Kerrie said...

I vote that Craig gets to design the badge for the Extremist level

Dorte H said...

Kerrie: so do I!!!

Unknown said...

Going for the Medium level.

Dorte H said...

Chriss: great! You are welcome.

Anonymous said...

I just read about this challenge— and decided to sign on. I opened up a new blog for my reviews. At the moment I'll take the easy challenge and probably work my way up.

Anonymous said...

I just realized that unless I sign my name my blog name is listed.

Linda Frances ( Potpourri of Books)

Dorte H said...

Linda: welcome! - and fine that you have made a special blog for it.

Anonymous said...

Dorte,

I always have a summer reading project. Even though I started out with the Basic Level, I'm upping that to the expert level. This is a great way to read some new authors ( as well as books I've had on my to-read list)

Linda Frances

Dorte H said...

Linda: that is a super attitude. Before you know it, you´ll be an extremist reader! LOL

Anonymous said...

Going for the beginner level right now. Hoping to upgrade along the way!

Dorte H said...

Paz: welcome to participant no 100!

Anonymous said...

Not sure what happened; my name was on the list last night but has now vanished. I'm going to try and sign up again. Thanks for the welcome though!

Anonymous said...

I hate to ask this, but for some personal reasons I need to change e-mail and various other things so can you remove me, Laura Duncan, from the sign- up list. Thanks!

Dorte H said...

Laura: of course I will, but Mr Linky seems to be down right now. I hope you are not being pestered by spam or worse!

Anonymous said...

THX! Nope, no spam. Its not related to this site at all. Or any other site I frequent.

Kerrie said...

All done Laura

Dorte H said...

Thank you, Kerrie. Last night Mr Linky was not accessible at all.

Anonymous said...

Late sign up but I love the idea of this challenge. Hoping to complete it at Medium level.

Anonymous said...

Put me down for the "Easy" and we will see where things go

Anonymous said...

This sounds like fun. I'm going to aim for the medium level, I believe.

Dorte H said...

Welcome to the new participants! It is so great to see the interest in this challenge.

Anonymous said...

I joined bit late but have already read books from 30 plus countries this year so will add links to reviews if that ok ,stu

Dorte H said...

Stu: certainly, as long as they are read in 2010.

Anonymous said...

I don't have a blog. So how do I go about posting a review?

seana graham said...

Well, you could always start one, just for the sake of participating.

Dorte H said...

Paz: I think some challenge hosts allow participants to review books and send them per email, but I really think the simplest idea is for you to start a blog, as Seana says. And if you don´t enjoy it, you can always scrap it when you have finished the challenge.

But I warn you, blogging tends to grab you ;)

choose and book said...

Hi, I've signed up for the Easy Challenge and have submitted one review so far. I think this challenge is a great idea for booklovers!

Anonymous said...

Seana; I am planning on starting a blog, but I don't feel like I have enough posts to get started just yet.
Dorte H; Any recommendations on getting started?

Dorte H said...

Paz: I suggest you try out "Blogger" (Same system as this blog). It is free and simple, and fairly easy to experiment and get the knack of.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dorte H! It may be a week or so but I'm definitely going to try starting a blog!

Anonymous said...

I've been working on this since January but I'm just now signing up! I'm aiming for Expert, but maybe sign me up for Medium?

I signed up as Erin W.

Dorte H said...

Erin: nice to have you onboard. And it is quite okay to sign up for medium now and wait and see how far you get.

JaimeLynn88 said...

I just learned about this challenge, and I think it's a fantastic idea. I have a question before I commit, though. The rules specify reading NOVELS from each continent. What about other types of books, such as memoir and drama? For instance, I'm currently reading the memoir Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which is about the author's childhood in Central Africa. Does that count as an African book? If I read an Athol Fugard play, would that count for Africa? Or do they have to be novels?

Dorte H said...

Jamie: I´d certainly count memoir and drama. Using the word ´novel´ was just because I thought a short story was too short. I have not decided on any official length either, but at work (I am a teacher) we count something as ´a work´ when it is more than 50 pages. So in that way it is also possible to count a collection of stories which take place in e.g. Africa.

And finally, I have no plans whatsoever about policing anyone :D

JaimeLynn88 said...

Awesome! Well, in that case, I'm on board for the Expert level.

Fiona said...

I'm late to the party (as usual) but would love to take part. It will be good for me to move out of my comfort zone because I have become extremely lazy in my reading habits.

I'll start with the medium level and aim to reach extreme.

Dorte H said...

Jamie: great decision.

Fiona: that is exactly why I came up with the challenge! Enjoy!

Unknown said...

It looks like I've got some ground to catch up on here, but I'm up for the medium challenge.

Fiona said...

Forgive me if this has been covered already:do you count the author's nationality or the setting of the book as the Country? I've just started a crime novel by a Singaporean set in Bali......just curious :) (I do realise that there are very few native Antarctic authors LOL)

Kerrie said...

Fiona, Dorte gave this answer earlier:
With regard to your question, my own main criterion is that the author should live in, or have grown up in the continent. I think that will force us to read more new authors than if we accept British or American writers who write books that take place abroad.

Of course the best books are ones where both the author and the action are from the continent, but it is not a strict rule. The main idea is to read some new authors and get new experiences.

For myself, I am generally looking at the setting

jayme said...

I just wanted to say that I think this is a great idea / challenge.
I don't know if anyone has come across Global Novel, which is also really exciting. Here's a link if anyone's interested: www.globalnovel.com

Dorte H said...

Jayme: thank you for the link.

Anonymous said...

Dorte,
I've finished the Extreme level and posted reviews for the following books;
The Expert Challenge

List

Europe

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By Stieglitz Larsson
Sweden

2.
The Club Dumas
By Arturo Perez-Reverte
Spain


Australasia

1. Cloudstreet
by Tim Winton
Austrailia

2.Where We Once Belonged
by Sia Figuel
Samoa

Asia

1. Prairies of Fire
By Ibrahim Nasrallah
(story takes place in Saudia Arabia) Nasrallah lives in Jordan

2.The Secret Life of Saeed
by Emile Habiby
Israel (Palestine)
Habiby was an Arab-Israeli

Africa

1. The Sand Child
by Tahar Ben Jelloun
Morocco


2.Life & Times of Michael K
by J. M Coetzee
South Africa

Antarctica

1. The Big Bang Symphony
Lucy Bledsoe

2 The City of the Dead
By Kevin Brockmeier

North America

1. The Sparrow
by Mary Doria Russell
United States

2. The Apprenticeship of Duddie Kravitz
By Mordecai Richter
Canada

3. The Black Minutes
By Martin Solares
Mexico

South America

1. Alone in the Crowd
By Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza
Brazil

2. Doctor Brodie's Report
Jorge Luis Borges
Argentina

I think I'll go on to the Extremist Level.

Linda

Kerrie said...

Well done Linda

Dorte H said...

Congratulations, Linda, and it is great that you are soldiering on :D

Bookscount Blogs said...

Signing up late so signing up for the medium challenge. Wish me luck.

Dorte H said...

Good luck, Bookscount :D

Medium is a fine aim, and you can always upgrade if you get as addicted as some of the other members :D

Laura (Literate Thoughts) said...

Creating a blog soon. Then I'll finally be able to post my reviews!

Dorte H said...

Paz: have fun with your new blog!

JaimeLynn88 said...

I've scanned all the comments, but I haven't seen an answer to this question: What are we counting Caribbean books as? North American? South American?

Dorte H said...

Good question, Jaime.

I have just googled it, and it seems that the Islands of the Caribbean are usually considered part of the North American continent.

Here is one of the sources I found: http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/whichcontinent.htm

But as I have said before, no one is going to ´police´ your choices; I hope you are all going to have some good reading experiences, and that you will move outside your comfort zone once in a while :D

Dorte H said...

Niz: I don´t know how you got the idea we want spam or commercials here - WE DON´T.

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