HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This morning, the very first of a whole brand new year, I counted up the countries I've covered in this blog so far ... 16 ... and decided I need to take it up a notch. My theme for the year 2016 is JOY! And books top the list of things that feel joyful to me. Writing about books has proven to be harder than I anticipated, and finding the right book to read for a specific country is downright impossible sometimes. But as 2016 gets underway, I will endeavor to embrace and enjoy ... joyfully ... the entire process.
I've selected all of the titles I plan to read for the rest of the "B" countries. No, you can't have a sneak preview. You'll have to wait until I read them and write about them. But here's what I can tell you:
Belarus - I really struggled to find a book I was excited about for this tiny, former Soviet country. Once identified, I had to special order it, and it's taking its time getting here. Now that I'm thinking about, all of the smaller Soviet block countries are challenging for me, perhaps because search engines may pull them up as "Russia" but I'm searching on the nation's current name. I could use help here, so if anyone has suggestions of books set in this part of the world, please share.
Belgium - Harder than I thought it would be, but I'm happy with my choice.
Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burma - Excited about these!
Belize, Bolivia, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi -
Found some, but open to ideas. Email me if you have any suggestions!
The process of searching for these books was a lot of fun. I spent several hours digging through web sites and following links and trying different combinations of words in Google. Occasionally, I'd look up and realize an hour had passed, feel guilty, and then remind myself that it's okay to spend time on what bring you joy.
I'm still reluctant to set a timeframe for myself when it comes to this book-reading journey, but I would like to do better than 16 books in 12 months, especially since I read nearly 60 in all of 2015. Perhaps my word of the year should be "discipline?"
Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burma - Excited about these!
Belize, Bolivia, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi -
Found some, but open to ideas. Email me if you have any suggestions!
The process of searching for these books was a lot of fun. I spent several hours digging through web sites and following links and trying different combinations of words in Google. Occasionally, I'd look up and realize an hour had passed, feel guilty, and then remind myself that it's okay to spend time on what bring you joy.
I'm still reluctant to set a timeframe for myself when it comes to this book-reading journey, but I would like to do better than 16 books in 12 months, especially since I read nearly 60 in all of 2015. Perhaps my word of the year should be "discipline?"
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