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The Goal
Put together a group bookshelf with one fiction and one non-fiction book for every country in the world, one letter of the alphabet at a time. Once each letter is completed, I'll put the shelf up and we can move on to the next letter.

Book Nominations
Fiction - Needs to somehow represent the country. Preferably be written by a local and set in that country. This won't always be possible for every country, so we can always stretch the definition as needed!
Non-Fiction - A good historical/social/cultural representation of the country. Let's try to stay away from stereotypes, and include as many Indigenous accounts as we can.

What to do:
We've already made a start on this in another thread, so just go to the list below, and if you can fill in any of the gaps, post the info in the thread below. I'll update the list from time to time.
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THE LIST - A
The list of countries is from this link provided by Whitney:
It includes the "195 independent sovereign states in the world (including disputed but defacto independent Taiwan), plus about 60 dependent areas, and five disputed territories, like Kosovo."

1 Afghanistan
NF- The Sleeping Buddha: The Story of Afghanistan Through the Eyes of One Family
F- A Thousand Splendid Suns

2 Albania
NF- The Albanians: A Modern History
F- The Palace of Dreams

3 Algeria
NF-
F- The Stranger

4 American Samoa
NF- Alchemies Of Distance
F- Tutuila

5 Andorra
NF- The Road to Andorra
F- The Land of Right Up and Down

6 Angola
NF- Another Day of Life
F- The Book of Chameleons

7 Anguilla
NF- Under an English Heaven
F- A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean

8 Antarctica
NF- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
F- Who Goes There?

9 Antigua and Barbuda
NF-
F- Annie John

10 Argentina
NF- Around the Day in Eighty Worlds
F- Labyrinths

11 Armenia
NF-
F- Forgotten Fire

12 Aruba
NF-
F- Kantika Pa Mama Tera

13 Ascension Island
NF- Queer Dutchman
F- Falkland Pebbles

14 Australia
NF- Why Warriors Lie Down and Die
F- The Slap

15 Austria
NF- The World of Yesterday
F - Rock Crystal

16 Azerbaijan
NF- Nowhere, a Story of Exile
F-Ali and Nino: A Love Story

I can't begin to tell you what I had to do to find this one, since anything with an English translation is rare and out of print, but I was keen to find something written by a local author, and not just choose one of the cheesy romance novels set on a tropical island..

Aruba: Kantika Pa Mama Tera
I think this is a short illustrated book of poems. The author, Nydia Ecury, was originally from Aruba, but moved to neighbouring Curacao later in life. The book is bilingual - in papiamento and english. It's really cool there are lots of Aruban books published in papiamento. It's just not handy for our purposes! I did toy with the idea at one point of including a book of Aruban poems with a side-book of a Papiamento-English dictionary... but that was going too far even for me.

That said, you'd need to find a secondhand paperback copy of this on abebooks or something, as it is out of print. If you can find something that's more accessible, but still has a good level of authenticity - let us know!

Armenia
I recommended Retreat Without Song but I believe I found better book that would fit this challenge Forgotten Fire

Anna wrote: "Armenia
I recommended Retreat Without Song but I believe I found better book that would fit this challenge Forgotten Fire
"

Thanks Anna. That's a tough one. The second book is written by an Armenian-American guy, but I'm not sure he's actually lived there. It is, however, about the genocide of Armenians in Turkey. The first one is written by an Armenian guy, in an Armenian style.... but the book's set in Paris!

I'll put Forgotten Fire in for now, (the one set in Turkey) but happy to change it if we find something more.... straightforward!

Found a classic for Azerbaijan, but it's not exactly an ideal representation of Azerbaijan according to wikipedia, and some of the GR comments. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime...
F- Blood and Oil in the Orient
I do love the cover.

The only other book I've found for Azerbaijan is actually by the same (discredited) author, under his other name Kurban Said. But it is set in Baku, so that's something I guess.
Ali and Nino: A Love Story

Here's a fiction nomination for Ascension Island: Falkland Pebbles. The author has spent significant time there.

It's cool because there's a penguin on the cover :)

I actually found an interesting article about Ascension Island in The Economist, of all places, but there are no links to any literary sources. What's interesting is that it's the ONLY piece of writing I have been able to find that addresses local culture. As there are currently no permanent residents on the island, and no Indigenous population, every other document I've seen assumes there's no local culture. Might have to find a way to include this article on the shelf:

Researching some of these places is actually kinda fun when you get time to do it!

Ruby wrote: "Here's a fiction nomination for Ascension Island: Falkland Pebbles. The author has spent significant time there.

It's cool because there's a penguin on the cover :)

I ..."

Wow that article is great. When you hear that there is no permanent population, you just assume no-one really stays long, but to read that there are adults living there who were born on Ascension totally changes that view.

I also thought it was a really interesting positive take on non-indigenous plants and animals (except for the cats). Usually what we hear is about is how awful that is for the local ecology (rabbits and Australia, Japanese knot-weed and just about anywhere it gets a toe-hold etc.) but in this case it has mostly been controlled and successful, it seems. And hydroponics in the 1940s - who'd have thought - I associate that with sci-fi.

What a fab illuminating article - just a shame it can't go onto the bookshelf, it's so detailed.

(Only negative thing was, when was "increased" replaced as part of the English language by "embiggened" I just couldn't see the need. Sorry, I'm being a pedant!)

My best idea so far for fiction for Ascenscion Island was The Commodore but only a small portion of the book is set there, so I'm sure the cute peguin will be far better!

I found this book Nowhere, a Story of Exile its a memoir by Armenian author who lived in Azerbaijan and was forced to flee to Armenia. I am not sure if this book fits the challenge but I wanted to share it.

Ruby wrote: "The only other book I've found for Azerbaijan is actually by the same (discredited) author, under his other name Kurban Said. But it is set in Baku, so that's something I guess.
Ali and Nino: A Lov..."

He (the author) sounds like a fascinatingly complex character (amongst other things) just from reading the very short biography on here!

Elise wrote: "Only negative thing was, when was "increased" replaced as part of the English language by "embiggened" I just couldn't see the need. Sorry, I'm being a pedant!..."

Hey, embiggen is a perfectly cromulent word!

Whitney wrote: "Elise wrote: "Only negative thing was, when was "increased" replaced as part of the English language by "embiggened" I just couldn't see the need. Sorry, I'm being a pedant!..."

Hey, embiggen is a..."

:D

Antarctic Navigation (fiction). I haven't read this yet so can't vouch for how good it is but its GR rating is high. I do own a copy, though, and plan on reading it one day. :D

Ruby wrote: "
8 Antarctica
NF- Who Goes There?
F- ..."

As far as I know, this is actually fiction. Although if an alien actually did attack a remote antarctic outpost, it COULD have been fairly easily covered up.

Antarctica At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

and maybe this list could help sometime in future list

Whitney wrote: "Ruby wrote: "
8 Antarctica
NF- Who Goes There?
F- ..."

As far as I know, this is actually fiction. Although if an alien actually did attack a remote antarctic outpost, it COULD have been fairly ea..."

LOL - Well spotted, thanks!

Anna wrote: "I found this book Nowhere, a Story of Exile its a memoir by Armenian author who lived in Azerbaijan and was forced to flee to Armenia. I am not sure if this book fits the challenge but I wanted to..."

That's a great find, Anna. I've put it in Azerbaijan Non-Fiction.

Petra wrote: "Antarctic Navigation (fiction). I haven't read this yet so can't vouch for how good it is but its GR rating is high. I do own a copy, though, and plan on reading it one day. :D"

So sorry, Petra. That was my bad. I put the fiction book we had under non-fiction by mistake. Is there any way we could categorise yours as non-fiction? Is it a bit "memoirey"? :P

Just remembered that Lonely Planet and Rough Guide travel guides always make some recommendations from each country. I'm sure other travel guides do too, but these are the ones I tend to buy.

I grabbed one of each from my shelves and while the Lonely Planet Croatia guide has a handful of novels, The Rough Guide to Brittany & Normandy has 3 full pages divided roughly equally between fiction and non-fiction. If anyone has copies of travel guides for these countries, these would be excellent resources for making up the bookshelves (I've got none for A).

I've only got the Lonely Planet guides for Indigenous Australia and Hong Kong/ Macau. I might check the Australian one just to see if they do recommend anything.

I've also been thinking about my recommendation for Australian Fiction. The book I nominated is a classic, but it's very dated now, very British colonial and plays into an awful lot of stereotypes. I would love to have something like The Slap up there, which gives a sense of contemporary Australia. It's just that I haven't actually read it yet, only seen the tv series (which was brilliant). Has anyone read The Slap or got a good modern Australian recommendation?

Might be worth checking the guide; my Croatian one was mostly fairly contemporary stuff (last 20 years, anyway).

Elise wrote: "Might be worth checking the guide; my Croatian one was mostly fairly contemporary stuff (last 20 years, anyway)."

Wow - thanks Elise. Just checked my Australian Indigenous LP Guide and there's a really great selection of Indigenous books there. My own reading on the subject has been limited to books about the particular regional groups I've been working with, so there's plenty here to keep me busy on all the other regions. I'm thinking that The Slap is probably still a good all-round fiction book, and Why Warriors.. a good mix of history, culture and anecdotes designed for non-Indigenous readers - Between the two of them they cover a lot of ground.

Great - be warned, though, I may pester you to give me the titles of the other books in your LP guide when I get as far as Australia on my challenge!

I think my parents have either LP or Rough Guide to Australia (maybe both) from when they spent a couple of months there after they retired 3 or 4 years back. Next time I'm at their house, I may go hunting. Both series do seem to try to give a good selection.

Elise wrote: "Great - be warned, though, I may pester you to give me the titles of the other books in your LP guide when I get as far as Australia on my challenge! ..."

I can list you a selected few of the Indigenous LP picks here:
Scream Black Murder
Don't Take Your Love to Town
No Sugar
True Country
My people: A Kath Walker collection
Auntie Rita
The Kadaitcha Sung
I'd also suggest Palm Island: Through a Long Lens, which has been recommended to me by Indigenous colleagues.

I wonder what literature they've recommend in the generic Australian LPGuide?

Ruby wrote: "Elise wrote: "Great - be warned, though, I may pester you to give me the titles of the other books in your LP guide when I get as far as Australia on my challenge! ..."

I can list you a selected f..."

These look really interesting - so many books, so little time!

Ruby wrote: "So sorry, Petra. That was my bad. I put the fiction book we had under non-fiction by mistake. Is there any way we could categorise yours as non-fiction? Is it a bit "memoirey"? :P
..."

LOL! That's okay, Ruby. How about Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage for a NF selection for the Antarctic? Some of my GR friends have read it and really enjoyed it. I haven't gotten to it myself yet but I trust their opinions.

Nice one. I've always wanted to read some of those books, but I wasn't really sure where to start, there's so many!

Okay - Given up and totally stolen the Anguilla books from the Around the World in 80 Books group!

Fiction: A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
Non-Fiction: Under an English Heaven

Siege by Ismail Kadare takes place in Albania, the author's native country.

Peter wrote: "Siege by Ismail Kadare takes place in Albania, the author's native country."

Thanks, but we already have an Ismail Kadare book in the Fiction slot for Albania (see the list above).

Ruby wrote: "Peter wrote: "Siege by Ismail Kadare takes place in Albania, the author's native country."

Thanks, but we already have an Ismail Kadare book in the Fiction slot for Albania (see the list above)."


Ismail Kadaré looks like he's written lots of fantastic books - only problem is which one to start with.

Since we, in desperation, have started to snaffle the odd suggestion from other groups, here's another one to check if we get desperate:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

Only any good of you want historical fiction suggestions, though. (Oh, and you have to be choosy, as every third suggested book turns out to be the author pimping their own book, no matter how inappropriate to the topic in hand - the reason I am no longer a member. That still makes about 2 out of 3 suggestions decent!)

NF for Afghanistan

Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan.

and NF for Andorra

The Road to Andorra. This is a autobiography/travel log from a family that lived in Andorra for a spell.

Thanks Lisa. I've put both in, although non-fiction really is a minefield. I never know if they're a good representation of the country or not, particularly if they're not written by locals..

very true. I've read some of the articles that preceeded the Veiled Threat, the reporter was deeply involved with the women. I think she gives an accurate account of the situation.

Lisa wrote: "very true. I've read some of the articles that preceeded the Veiled Threat, the reporter was deeply involved with the women. I think she gives an accurate account of the situation."

That's the thing. Without really knowing the culture, I don't know if the authors are seeing things through their own cultural lens, (which has to skew things), or from the "insider" cultural perspective which would explain things more "accurately". I struggle to explain this well..

The Sleeping Buddha: The Story of Afghanistan Through the Eyes of One Family is my only find for an Afghan non-fiction book written by an Afghan. However, since I've not read it yet, I can't exactly recommend it, just suggest it as a possibility.

Edit: Well, there were others, I think, but the reviews were atrocious on both GR and amazon, so I left them off my Afghanistan shelf, and I don't remember them now.

Four more titles and we're done!

Since you want to avoid the same writer for the fiction and non-fiction categories, how about replacing Annie John with Oh Gad!: A Novel for Antigua fiction and putting A Small Place in Antigua non-fiction?

I know we were trying to steer away from books about war, but I found this nonfiction for Algeria, I, Nadia: Wife of a Terrorist. It is written by an Algerian journalist based on interviews with a woman she met.

Just thought I'd throw it out there. I haven't read it.

A few suggestions for the gaps:

Algeria - NF - A Dying Colonialism - not by an Algerian author (he was from Martinique, another French colony), but by a real authority on "decolonialisation". Apparently it looks at how the Algerian people embraced traditional beliefs/practises as a cultural counterpoint to their fight to drive out the French colonialists (who had apparently been supressing these practises). Downside to this one is it may be "highly academic" - i.e. pure textbook - I'm not sure since it's another "blind" recommendation of mine (tbr list only).
(F - I know we already have The Stranger as a fiction choice for Algeria, but The Last Summer of Reason, would, I guess, be a better choice from the point of view of using an Algerian writer. However, it's yet another book on my tbr list, not one I've read. So as others have read and loved Camus' book, in terms of a reliably good read that would be the better choice. I think it looks interesting because like the protagonist, Tahar Djaout was a secularist and was assassinated for his beliefs.)

Antigua - Whitney's suggestion seems better than anything I've dug up.

Armenia - NF - except for The Cuisine of Armenia ;) it's really difficult to find NF books by Armenian writers. However, Armenia: A Journey Through History seems to be by an Armenian (Armenian-American anyway, not actually sure which country he was born in, but definitely ethnically Armenian from what I could find via google) better yet, it's reasonably priced and available on kindle!

Aruba - NF - Aruba: a short History - not an Aruban writer, as far as I can tell, but other than guidebooks, I've drawn a total blank on NF, other than this.

Ruby wrote: "Okay - Given up and totally stolen the Anguilla books from the Around the World in 80 Books group!

Fiction: A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
Non-Fiction: Under an Englis..."

Erm, Ruby, aren't both of your "stolen" Auguilla suggestions non-fiction? The "fiction" one looks like a memoir of sorts.

I've just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns as part of my personal countries challenge and I have to say what a fantastic book - a brilliant fiction choice for Afghanistan for this shelf!

Ruby wrote: "Elise wrote: "Great - be warned, though, I may pester you to give me the titles of the other books in your LP guide when I get as far as Australia on my challenge! ..."

I can list you a selected f..."

@Ruby

I can't help with the Australian LP Guide, but I have borrowed my parents' Eyewitness Guide and I can list some of them to see if you agree they are a good representation of Australian literature:

The Eye of the Storm
Fortunes Of Richard Mahoney
Remembering Babylon
The Conversations at Curlow Creek
Voss
A Fringe of Leaves
The Twyborn Affair
My Brilliant Career
The Harp In The South
A Fence Around The Cuckoo
Schindler's List

As an afterthought it mentions My Place as an "Aboriginal" selection.

I don't like the Eyewitness Guides, I think they're all pretty pictures and no substance, and I find the Rough Guides to have the best lists of books - a real shame because I had thought that it was a Rough Guide to Australia that my parents had used when they visited. Though, for all I know it's a brilliant list, it just looks a bit too colonial, that's all.

The only books on the list I've heard of are: My Brilliant Career and Harp in the South. (They're old classics). My Place is a little dodgy I think - I haven't read it, but I've heard mutterings!

Ruby wrote: "The only books on the list I've heard of are: My Brilliant Career and Harp in the South. (They're old classics). My Place is a little dodgy I think - I haven't read it, but I've heard mutterings!"

I read Remembering Babylon and thought it quite good. It's concerns are definitely very Australian, dealing with Australian colonials and their relations to their home countries and (rather obliquely) to the natives. I'm definitely not qualified to comment on the authenticity of its representation, but it had a light touch and an authentic ring to it.