Beastmomma

**Wow, I finished the challenge four months late! I could not give up thought because I really go love it.  This year, I took advantage of the rule that we could read more than one author from a country as I read three books from authors who were born in England.  As I look back on the list, I realize that I really did enjoy all of the books. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be The Book Thief.  I hope that this challenge returns again next year as I really enjoyed participating. **

I really should not be signing up for another challenge.  However, the Orbis Terrarum Challenge is one of my favorites.  I really enjoyed participating for the past two years and look forward to another trip around the world through the pages of some good books.

Orbis Terrarum 2010 Challenge Rules:

*The Orbis Terrarum Challenge begins April,1st  2010(you are welcome to join later) through the month of November.
*For the challenge each reader is to choose 8 books (for the 8  months of the challenge).
*Each book must from a different country, I have decided to go by the country of origin of the author, or the country he/she lives in is fine as well-meaning NOT the country the book is set in!!
*You don’t have to have a list, that means you can change your mind at any time. As long as there are 8 books you have completed the challenge.

What is different about this year in the Orbis Terrarum Challenge?? Well, there are some differences I think you will like, the above rules stay the same, but there are some options for your reading that I would like each challenger to consider.

1.) This year I am allowing all the books to be from the same country and by the same author (although I would have you not choose your OWN country, because this challenge is meant to expose you to the world not your neighborhood!) For example, if you would like to focus on South Africa because you have an intrest in that then you can read all your books from that nation if you want.

2.) I want you to worry not about me putting up a post each month where you post your reviews, but that you’d post them in the appropriate continent location as you read along. These can be found by clicking on the images to the right. It has been a nightmare to try to organize these on my own, so I am asking (BEGGING) you to please first make sure your author’s country is listed in that particular Continent list, then include the nation of origin (or where he/she resides or resided or if you are choosing to go with where the author was born) of the author, as well as the title of the book. For example: (Absent by Khedairi- Iraq)or (Half of a Yellow Sun – Nigeria)

3.) The 2010 Orbis Terrarum Challengers Raising Funds for Clean Water Worldwide (optional!)

I am a big believer in not just reading about what is going on in the world, but about doing something about it. For this reason I am going to be reading away for Living Water International during the challenge and donating an amount per book. I also ask that you consider doing the same. If every one of us just gave $1 per book we read during the challenge, that is only 8 dollars, but if we all did it it  that would be a good amount (last year we had 74 challengers, reading 8 books= $592 !)

You can make your donations directly by going to the Orbis Terrarum Challenge Fundraiser page. (They will send you a receipt for your tax deductible donation directly) Or by clicking the widget in the upper right of this challenge’s page.

However, you don’t need to feel obligated to donate!!

My selections:

1. Chocolat by Joanne Harris. The author was born in England.  I finished the book on April 14th. My review is here.

2. Everything is Broken by Emma Larkin. The author was born in Asia, but lives in Thailand. I finished the book on May 19th. My review is here.

3. The Geometry of God by Uzsma Aslam Khan The author was born in Pakistan.  I finished the book on August 26th. My review is here.

4. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. The author lives in England. I finished the book in October. You can find my review here.

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. The author was born in Afghanistan. I finished the book at the end of October. You can find my review here.

6. This Child Will be Great:Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President written by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The author was born in Liberia. I finished the book on December 10th. You can find my review here.

7. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak. The author was born in Australia. I finished the book on December 27th. You can find my review here.

8. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. The author was born in England. I finished the book in February. You can find my review here.