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For 2020 we want to go around the world!

The Around the World in 2020 challenge is going to be a little different than some of our past challenges. This challenge is going to be a leveled challenge. The ultimate goal would be to complete all the levels. However, if you know you aren’t going to have the kind of time to devote to completing all the levels (raises hand), you can focus on one or two levels. Be warned, this challenge is potentially going to require some leg work.

Keep in mind the definition of Historical Fiction used by this group- Anything that is written and takes place 50 years after an event. Pride and Prejudice is not historical fiction. For Whom the Bell Tolls would not be considered historical fiction. Books about events that take place after 1970 do not meet our definition of historical fiction.

This thread will be the thread with all of the challenge rules and where members can ask questions. I will start a separate thread for book suggestions.

I highly recommend bookmarking Historical Novel Society's website. It is a great resource. Jasmine and I also have a Pinterest board for anyone who is on Pinterest. That link will be included in the Book Suggestion thread.

Please do not post your challenge list in this thread. Members who are participating should start their own thread in this folder to keep track of their challenge books.

Here’s how it’s going to work:

-Level 1: Countries
-Create a list of countries all from all over. This list can be as short as long as you want. If you only want to read through five countries, go for it. If you are feeling extra ambitious and you want to read through 50 countries, go for it.
-The goal is to read a work of historical fiction that takes place in all of the countries on your list. You can count the modern day country. Example - If you are reading a book that takes place in what was referred to as Czechoslovakia but is now the country known as Slovakia, you would count Slovakia as the county listed in your challenge. If you read a book that takes place in what was once the USSR but the primary setting is now known as Armenia, you would list Armenia as the country on your challenge.The only requirement is that more than half of the book’s setting is the country listed on your challenge. Example- If a book starts in Poland during WWII but within the first chapter the setting changes to England, the book would count as taking place in England. Not Poland.

-Level 2: Time Periods
-Using the list from level one, your goal is to read a book set in a different time period for each country.. Example- If England is one of your listed countries, you can choose a book from WWI. However, once you have used WWI for a country, you cannot use it for another country. Additionally, the used time periods should not be the same as your settings in level one. Example -If you read a book about Germany during WWII for level one, you can’t read another book about Germany during WWII for level two. Dual timeline stories will not count for this challenge. Books used for this level must completely take place in the time period you have selected.

-Level 3: Authors
-Again using the list you created in Level 1, you must now read a book by an author from each of those countries. The author does not have to currently live in the country listed. If an author was born in Germany but now resides in the United States, you can count their work for either Germany or the United States. You have to be able to prove the author lived in the country you have listed at some point. The book you read does not have to take place in the same country. If you read a book by a German author the book can take place in South Africa. These books do not have to be historical fiction.

-Level 4: Nonfiction
-For the final challenge level, you will use your original list and read a nonfiction book from each of your listed countries. These books do not have to be historical. Just nonfiction. They can be biographies. They can be about wars. They can be about modern politics. It doesn’t matter as long as they are nonfiction works and they are about the country from your list.

How to Set Up Your Challenge-
-Create a new thread to keep track of your list. Update with new levels and lists as needed. It should look something like this:

Level 1: Countries
England: The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
Italy: Blood & Beauty: The Borgias by Sarah Dunant
Egypt: Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge
Japan: The Dragon Sword by I.J. Parker
United States:American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie Marie Thornton
Level 2: Authors
England:The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy
Italy: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Egypt:Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Japan:Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
United States: A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger

Level 3: Time Periods
England: When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman
Italy: Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
Egypt: Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Japan: The Shogun's Queen by Lesley Downer
United States: The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss

Level 4: Nonfiction
England: George III: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert
Italy: The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici by Elizabeth Lev
Egypt:Napoleon in Egypt by Paul Strathern
Japan: Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower
United States: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

If you want to start your challenge with a list of books you plan to read, that’s fine. If you just want to find books as you go, that’s fine too. The only requirement is that you have to finish one level before continuing on to the next.

There’s no limit to the number of challenges you can do. If you want to start small and only read through two countries and all four levels for a total of eight books, go for it. If you want to read 34 books from level one and not move on to any other levels, do it. This challenge is meant to be customized. If you finish a challenge and want to move on to a new one, please make sure to start a new thread to track the new challenge.

Wow, this challenge is really interesting. I think I'm going to try it. :)

Linda, please delete your post here and post it in the thread for recording progress: /topic/show/...

This thread is only for questions and help.

Question: Can I do Levels 1 and 4 only? Or must I go through all of the levels to do 4? Thanks?

You have books listed from England. Are we counting England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as separate countries? (I'm doing a UK challenge so would like to read books from all these areas as well as some other countries.)

Yes. The countries that make up the UK can count as separate countries.

The point of the challenge is to level up. So in order to get to level four you, need to finish 1-3. If you only want to get to level 3, you would still have to complete levels 1-2.

Okay, sounds good. Thanks, Gretchen.

how long is this challenge?

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "how long is this challenge?"

This is going to be a year-round challenge, so you'll have all of 2020.

Gretchen wrote: "Yes. The countries that make up the UK can count as separate countries."

Thank you, Gretchen.

May we use the same books for this challenge and the Centuries challenge?

Shannon wrote: "May we use the same books for this challenge and the Centuries challenge?"

Yes. You can use the same book for any ongoing challenge. However, for this challenge, books don't count until after January 1, 2020.

Thanks Gretchen, and noted :)

Is there a page minimum? I've found a number of titles that will work for some of my off-beat countries that are slightly less than our usual 200 pages.

What counts as a "time period"? A century? A decade? An event (e.g. WW2, French Revolution)?

Cheryl A wrote: "Is there a page minimum? I've found a number of titles that will work for some of my off-beat countries that are slightly less than our usual 200 pages."

It wasn't something I thought about when I was creating this challenge. I'm going to leave it up to you. If you want the extra challenge of keeping to books over 200 pages, go for it. If you would prefer to focus on reading a wide variety of books from a wide variety of countries, I wouldn't worry about the page number.

Fiona wrote: "What counts as a "time period"? A century? A decade? An event (e.g. WW2, French Revolution)?"

Medieval. Renaissance. Victorian. Revolutionary War America. Those kinds of time periods.

Would it count as a different time period if it is taking place in different centuries? For example a book that takes place in 70 BCE count as the same time period as 300 CE? I'm asking because I want to read a book about ancient Egypt and a book about the end of the Roman Empire but didn't know if it would count as the same time period. Also when we get to the level about the authors, can we read a book that takes place in a time period we already read? Thanks

Monica wrote: "Would it count as a different time period if it is taking place in different centuries? For example a book that takes place in 70 BCE count as the same time period as 300 CE? I'm asking because I w..."

I'm assuming you are readying a book about Ancient Egypt that takes place in Egypt and a book about the end of the Roman Empire that takes place somewhere else? If that's the case, then they would both count because they are set in different locations. If you are looking at books set in the same location, I would say it's up to you if you want to count Ancient Egypt and the end of the Roman Empire as different time periods. It would depend on what any personal research tells you.

As far as the authors, the rules there are just that the author has to have existed in the country of choice at some point. The book can be any genre or time period.

Thank you! I understand now.

Can I use the same author twice? I am choosing Chile and want to use 2 books by Isabel Allende. As long as the time period is different, is it ok?

Nancy wrote: "Can I use the same author twice? I am choosing Chile and want to use 2 books by Isabel Allende. As long as the time period is different, is it ok?"

I'll allow it......I feel like a judge on a courtroom drama. :)

LOL! Thanks, Gretchen!

This will be my first challenge! Ready!!

Can we start early?

Jennifer wrote: "Can we start early?"

Books need to be read in 2020.

Could all the books read in 2020 which suit this challenge be used for this challenge? e.g. if I read a book in 2020 before completing the Countries but which suits one of the other categories be posted for Time Periods or Authors later when I start that particular category? Or books should be read only in order for the different categories? Thanks.

The point of the challenge is to work up to different levels. So all books for level one need to be completed before moving on to level 2. Level two needs to be finished before moving on to level three and so on.

Gretchen wrote: "The point of the challenge is to work up to different levels. So all books for level one need to be completed before moving on to level 2. Level two needs to be finished before moving on to level t..."

Thanks, Gretchen.

I have a few queries:

1. Where would the books for Scandinavia fall? e.g. Viking era.

2. Would books under the category Vikings could be used for Scandinavia. I find some of them are set even in Scotland and Ireland (viking occupied areas)?

3. How to determine the historical books about their setting - in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Sorry about my poor historical knowledge. I need help with this!

Viji wrote: "I have a few queries:

1. Where would the books for Scandinavia fall? e.g. Viking era.

2. Would books under the category Vikings could be used for Scandinavia. I find some of them are set even in..."

Scandinavia is the area. Places like Norway, Sweden, etc. are the countries. It's the countries you need to focus on.

I'm confused about the question of Vikings. Wherever the Vikings are is where the book takes place. The place is what counts. If they are in England, you use England as your setting. If the book takes place in Sweden, you use Sweden as your setting.

Most books should state in the blurb where they take place or give you an idea of where they take place within the first few chapters.

Gretchen wrote: "Viji wrote: "I have a few queries:

1. Where would the books for Scandinavia fall? e.g. Viking era.

2. Would books under the category Vikings could be used for Scandinavia. I find some of them ar..."

Thanks, Gretchen.

Just for clarification. If I start today 2/3/20, may I use books that I have read since 1/1/2020?

If I select United Kingdom as a country may I use the separate counties of Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales in different levels?

For example Wales for Time Period, Scotland for author, etc.

Wanda wrote: "Just for clarification. If I start today 2/3/20, may I use books that I have read since 1/1/2020?

If I select United Kingdom as a country may I use the separate counties of Scotland, England, Nort..."

If you want to include any book you've read since the start of the year, that's up to you. You just have to complete one level before moving on to the next.

You can decide how you want to use the United Kingdom if you want to use it at all. Personally, I would break it apart and use England, Scotland, Ireland, etc. separately because I find it to be a bit more challenging. That's just me. If you want to use the United Kingdom as a country and then use the smaller units for each level, that's fine too.

This challenge was meant to encourage people to broaden their reading while at the same time providing a little bit of flexibility. Kind of like a choose your own adventure.

Gretchen wrote: "Wanda wrote: "Just for clarification. If I start today 2/3/20, may I use books that I have read since 1/1/2020?

If I select United Kingdom as a country may I use the separate counties of Scotland,..."

Thank you for the clarification. Now I will just have to choose my countries! Always looking for a new adventure in reading!

Hi Gretchen
I read through all the questions but I’m still uncertain about one thing. In the first level, country, can the books be set in the same time period? Thanks! Louise

Louise wrote: "Hi Gretchen
I read through all the questions but I’m still uncertain about one thing. In the first level, country, can the books be set in the same time period? Thanks! Louise"

Books just need to take place in different countries for the first level. You can read six books that take place during the same period but they have to take place in different countries. For the next levels, when required, your books have to take place in a time period different from periods you've already read. The goal is to read a variety of different books from times and places.

Thanks Gretchen!

W.M. wrote: "Sounds interesting! I’m Canadian and an author. My trilogy takes place in the USA, England, South America and Italy! And of course different time periods. Could really help with this challenge. ..."

See the group rules on self promotion. This post is going to be deleted.

Gretchen I am so sorry. Didn’t realize. Won’t happen ever again!

Would The 7th Woman by Frédérique Molay work for the Level 3 - France (Author)? Or should it be only H.F. for this level? Thanks.

I have a question about the time periods. I understand that we can use the same time periods for the first levels but in different countries.

In the second level can we use any of those same time periods or do they have to be all new time periods?

Viji wrote: "Would The 7th Woman by Frédérique Molay work for the Level 3 - France (Author)? Or should it be only H.F. for this level? Thanks."

The author level can be any genre.

Wanda wrote: "I have a question about the time periods. I understand that we can use the same time periods for the first levels but in different countries.

In the second level can we use any of those same time ..."

There's no time period requirement in the second level. Those books can be any genre. The authors have to be from the countries you used in the first level.

This is one of those not-really-a-question posts, but I'm a little worried about continuing. I don't own or have access to ebooks for all the books on my list, and the library is now closed until further notice. Not sure how I'm going to do this.

I am having this very same issue with a lot of my other challenges. I would love to just buy the books I want to read but that’s not really an option right now. We just have to do our best.

I'm going to comb through my TBR and see if I can find replacements :) here's hoping!