THE 2025 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE
My Sign Up Post
This is my sign up post for the 2025 European Reading Challenge. To join the challenge yourself (and I hope you do), go to the main challenge page, here.
Even though this is the 13th year I've hosted the challenge, I haven't been very good about my own participation. Last year, I even forgot to do a sign up post! I resolve to do better in 2025.
I haven't picked any particular books for the challenge. Those in the photo are possibilities. My real goal is to read books by authors from, or set in, countries I don't often visit in books. I always read many books set in the UK or by UK authors. France is a close follow up. I usually manage to visit Italy, Greece, and a couple of Scandinavian countries (thanks to Nordic Noir). But I seldom get to the Baltics, Balkans, or micro states. And I read pathetically few books in translation. I hope to address both these weaknesses this year.
I want to pay particular attention to the Balkans this year because my sister and I are taking our 85-year-old mother on a cruise this summer. We will go to Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. I want to read a book by an author from each of these countries, preferably set in each country, before I go.
Any suggestions? Here's what I came up with as possibilities:
GREECE: Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
MONTENEGRO:
CROATIA:
SLOVENIA:
ITALY: Bread and Wine by Ignazio Silone
I have no ideas for the three countries left blank. I could be talked out of the two I picked for Greece and Italy. I picked books on my TBR shelves.
I'm going to go back to the review pages for prior years of this challenge and see if I can find any for the missing three countries.
