EDIT 23/11/16: You can read my concluding thoughts on this - including why it remains uncompleted - here.
On completing my We Need Diverse Books Challenge for 2015, I realised that, for all the books I had read had diverse characters, the settings were still remarkably uniform: 14/20 were set in the USA, and 18/20 were set in either the US or UK. You can read my initial thoughts about that here.
The realisation that there is a massive Earth-shaped hole in my reading lists has lead me to strike out on my own this year, reading from different countries and cultures across the globe. I'm calling it Beyond a Single Story after Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's wonderful TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story:
To ensure I get some level of understanding of a place, I intend to pick a location and then read at least three books set there. The idea is that it will be one historical, one contemporary and one non-fiction, but I expect I'll have to compromise with some countries. It still won't be comprehensive, but it's a damn sight more than the next-to-nothing I somehow managed to do last year.
I am also aware that me waltzing into a particular national literary scene, reading a book or two, and then waltzing out again is problematic in so many ways. I'm not trying to position this as 'I read three books about a place, draw some conclusions and become an expert'. That's not my place. All I'm aiming for with this is to become slightly less Western-centric in my outlook, and gain a small working knowledge of other nations' histories, societies and cultures, where currently I have none. If you think I'm straying from that, you can always let me know.
In an ideal world, I'd only read authors from the same country or culture as that depicted in their book, but this would probably result in a very small project since a) I can only read English, restricting many romances written in other languages for local audiences and b) foreign literary ficiton is much more likely to get published for a foreign market than foreign genre fiction. Having said that, there are also many countries across the globe where local English-langauge romance scenes do exist, particularly in former British colonies, and so, where I can find something by an author from that national or cultural context, I'll read that over a external/foreign author. If I've already read a book by a foreign author, but you know of a local one I missed, please drop me a line.
As for non-fiction, the main determinant as to whether I pick a book by a local or foreign author will be accessibility. I'm a student, so I don't have the funds to buy physical copies of hard-to-find books (have you seen the shipping rates to Australia??). Ditto spending more than about ten dollars on an e-book. If there is already a book about a particular country in my massive non-fiction TBR pile, I will read that before looking for something new. However, outside of those constraints, I will do my best to pick books by local authors. I'll also do my best to stay away from work written on the Global South/'Third World' is part of the development discourse that removes or limits the agency and self-determination of these countries and their people. However, it's probably inevitable I'll pick wrong at some point.
I'll add the books I'm reading here, classed by country, and any recommendations or suggestions (such as anything I should stay away from) will be gratefully received: either leave a comment here, or send me a tweet. Even if I've already listed my three reads for a particular country, there is nothing to stop me reading more if I receive a recommendation or come across something interesting.
I also read Finding X by Miles Tan (3 stars) and One Night at the Palace Hotel by Bianca Mori (3.5 stars), but didn't review them.
Non-Fiction
Ideas welcome
On completing my We Need Diverse Books Challenge for 2015, I realised that, for all the books I had read had diverse characters, the settings were still remarkably uniform: 14/20 were set in the USA, and 18/20 were set in either the US or UK. You can read my initial thoughts about that here.
The realisation that there is a massive Earth-shaped hole in my reading lists has lead me to strike out on my own this year, reading from different countries and cultures across the globe. I'm calling it Beyond a Single Story after Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's wonderful TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story:
To ensure I get some level of understanding of a place, I intend to pick a location and then read at least three books set there. The idea is that it will be one historical, one contemporary and one non-fiction, but I expect I'll have to compromise with some countries. It still won't be comprehensive, but it's a damn sight more than the next-to-nothing I somehow managed to do last year.
I am also aware that me waltzing into a particular national literary scene, reading a book or two, and then waltzing out again is problematic in so many ways. I'm not trying to position this as 'I read three books about a place, draw some conclusions and become an expert'. That's not my place. All I'm aiming for with this is to become slightly less Western-centric in my outlook, and gain a small working knowledge of other nations' histories, societies and cultures, where currently I have none. If you think I'm straying from that, you can always let me know.
In an ideal world, I'd only read authors from the same country or culture as that depicted in their book, but this would probably result in a very small project since a) I can only read English, restricting many romances written in other languages for local audiences and b) foreign literary ficiton is much more likely to get published for a foreign market than foreign genre fiction. Having said that, there are also many countries across the globe where local English-langauge romance scenes do exist, particularly in former British colonies, and so, where I can find something by an author from that national or cultural context, I'll read that over a external/foreign author. If I've already read a book by a foreign author, but you know of a local one I missed, please drop me a line.
As for non-fiction, the main determinant as to whether I pick a book by a local or foreign author will be accessibility. I'm a student, so I don't have the funds to buy physical copies of hard-to-find books (have you seen the shipping rates to Australia??). Ditto spending more than about ten dollars on an e-book. If there is already a book about a particular country in my massive non-fiction TBR pile, I will read that before looking for something new. However, outside of those constraints, I will do my best to pick books by local authors. I'll also do my best to stay away from work written on the Global South/'Third World' is part of the development discourse that removes or limits the agency and self-determination of these countries and their people. However, it's probably inevitable I'll pick wrong at some point.
I'll add the books I'm reading here, classed by country, and any recommendations or suggestions (such as anything I should stay away from) will be gratefully received: either leave a comment here, or send me a tweet. Even if I've already listed my three reads for a particular country, there is nothing to stop me reading more if I receive a recommendation or come across something interesting.
Argentina
Historical/Contemporary
The Things They Didn't Bury by Laekan Zea Kemp (3 stars) deals with Argentina's right-wing military junta and the resulting war. It's the story of Liliana, coming back to Argentina in the 1990s after her father fled with her during the war, and her mother Isabella, who was a victim of the regime in the 1970s.
The Things They Didn't Bury doesn't fit easily into either 'historical' or 'contemporary', so I'm classing it as both.
Historical/Contemporary/Other
Ideas welcome; this one is a wild card because The Things They Didn't Bury covered both genres in one.
Non-Fiction
Ideas welcome
Ideas welcome
China
Historical
My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin is a Pygmalion tale about the son of a court official and a teahouse girl set during the Tang dynasty.
Contemporary
Planning to read Love's Prey by Meg Xuemei X.
Non-Ficton
The Long March Remembered by Edward Stourton examines the foundational myth of Communist China.
Ghana
Historical
Rise of the Queen by Chatna Rand (3.5 stars) follows the power struggle of a woman, Nabeela, after her husband, a prince, dies on their wedding night, and so she consummates her marriage with another man, Rafan instead. She thinks she'll never see him again, but their paths cross again.
NB: Rand's book is set in the medieval Kingdom of Ghana, which, as I found out in the Author's Note at the end of the book, was actually located in modern-day Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. So I haven't read a historical from Ghana, as we know it today, at all. If anyone has any suggestions about Ghanaian historicals, let me know.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to leave Rise of a Queen here, despite the fact that it's incorrect, because I think it's an interesting example of how my lack of knowledge comes into play. However, in doing so, I don't intend to imply that there is a common or interchangable culture between the current Ghana and the other West African countries that once made up the ancient Ghana Empire.
NB: Rand's book is set in the medieval Kingdom of Ghana, which, as I found out in the Author's Note at the end of the book, was actually located in modern-day Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. So I haven't read a historical from Ghana, as we know it today, at all. If anyone has any suggestions about Ghanaian historicals, let me know.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to leave Rise of a Queen here, despite the fact that it's incorrect, because I think it's an interesting example of how my lack of knowledge comes into play. However, in doing so, I don't intend to imply that there is a common or interchangable culture between the current Ghana and the other West African countries that once made up the ancient Ghana Empire.
Contemporary
In Most Eligble Bachelor by Empi Baryeh (3 stars), journalist Chantelle Sah is sent to interview Ghana's most eligible bachelor, Lord McKenzie.
Non-Fiction
Ideas welcome
Nigeria
Historical
His Princess by Kiru Taye (3.5 stars) is set in pre-colonial South-Eastern Nigeria, where Prince Emeka is given a servant, Ezinne, as a 'companion' by his wife to keep him company in her absence.
Contemporary
Planning to read Love's Persuasion by Ola Awonubi
Non-Fiction
Ideas welcome
Pakistan
Historical
Haveli by Zeenat Mahal (5 stars) eased my worries that I wouldn't be able to find a historical set in Pakistan, since it's such a young country. Set in the 1970s, Haveli is the humorous story of a young woman called Chandni, and her love-hate relationship with a boy she derisively calls 'Alpha Male'.
Contemporary
Ideas welcome
Non-Fiction
Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi by Steve Inskeep (recommended) is a biography of Karachi, which also draws in many other interesting and important threads.
The Philippines
Historical
Under the Sugar Sun by Jennifer Hallock (4.5 stars), which is set in the aftermath of the Philippine-American War. It features American schoolteacher Georgina Potter, who has taken a job in the colony hoping to find her brother, and mestizo sugar baron Javier, who helps her adjust to her new world.
Under the Sugar Sun by Jennifer Hallock (4.5 stars), which is set in the aftermath of the Philippine-American War. It features American schoolteacher Georgina Potter, who has taken a job in the colony hoping to find her brother, and mestizo sugar baron Javier, who helps her adjust to her new world.
Contemporary
Welcome to Envy Park by Mina V. Esguerra (4 stars) was the first book I read for this challenge. The main character, Moira, is having a quarter-life crisis after moving back to Manila from working overseas. She plans to head off overseas again soon, and a good apartment and the possibility of a relationship with her neighbour Ethan isn't going to change anything.
Welcome to Envy Park by Mina V. Esguerra (4 stars) was the first book I read for this challenge. The main character, Moira, is having a quarter-life crisis after moving back to Manila from working overseas. She plans to head off overseas again soon, and a good apartment and the possibility of a relationship with her neighbour Ethan isn't going to change anything.
I also read Finding X by Miles Tan (3 stars) and One Night at the Palace Hotel by Bianca Mori (3.5 stars), but didn't review them.
Non-Fiction
Ideas welcome
Russia
Historical
Ideas that aren't The Bronze Horseman welcome
Contemporary
In Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon (5 stars), disgraced American figure-skater Carrie Parker takes a job skating in - and for - Russia.
Non-Fiction
Kicking the Kremlin by Marc Bennetts looks at dissidence in Putin's Russia.
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