April 23 is UNESCO World Book Day – and just because the Global Voices team loves blogs, doesn’t mean we have forgotten other forms of the written word! In fact, because we think reading literature is such an enjoyable way to learn about another culture, we have a fun challenge for all Global Voices contributors and readers, and bloggers everywhere.
The Global Voices Book Challenge is as follows:
2) Write a blog post about it during the week of April 23.
UPDATE: Tag your posts with #gvbook09 so we can find your posts.
If you would like to know what you should be reading from Vietnam, Bolivia, Mozambique or New Zealand, or any other country, just ask in the comments below! Someone is sure to give you suggestions.
And if you have any recommendations for any must-read works from your own country, please leave a comment too.
Once you have read your book (and written a post!) let us know – we’d love to discover what you learned on your literary expedition.
Feel free to use the images above and below to spread the word of the Global Voices Book Challenge!
63 comments
Thanks Ayesha =)
Books from Bangladesh:
* Of Blood and Fire: The Untold Story of Bangladesh’s War of Independence by Jahanara Imam and Mustafizur Rahman
* Banker to the Poor by Mohammad Yunus
* Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Mohammad Yunus
* Maj. Rafiqul Islam – A Tale of Millions : Bangladesh Liberation War – 1971
* The Golden Age by Thamima Anam
* Art and Life in Bangladesh by Henry Glassie
* Books by Rabindranath Tagore
http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/bookbazaar/book_tagore.html
* Bangladesh (Bradt Travel Guide)
Essential reading – recommended books and movies of Bangladesh:
http://www.joybangla.info/2009/02/11/essential-reading-recommended-books-and-movies-of-bangladesh#more-135
More reading:
https://www.vedamsbooks.com/bangladesh.htm
A place to get books from Bangladesh:
http://www.boimela.com/
If you are interested in Arab literature, there are quite a few suggestions here:
http://battutabahrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/your-book-recommendations-needed.html
Francophone African writers : Ahmadou Hampaté BAH (Amkoullel, l’enfant Peul or Various “Books of Peul tales”), Ahmadou Kourouma (Waiting for the Vote of the Wild Animals and Allah is Not Obliged), Alain Mackanbou (African Psycho), Ben Okri
French Caribeans : Simone Schwarz-Bart (Pluie Et Vent Sur Telumée Miracle)
Cajun litterature (francophone Canada, Louisiana) : Antonine Maillet(Pélagie, the Return to Acadie)
I would love to read something from Jordan… preferably something modern and rather urban than rural, but I’m open for everything.
You might try the Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov; his books have been translated into English.
If you want a book that’ll take you to all four corners of the earth, check out “Don’t Call Me a Crook! A Scotsman’s Tale of World Travel, Whisky, and Crime.” It’s a recently discovered memoir by a Glaswegian marine engineer. The author, Bob Moore, candidly relates his experiences sailing around the globe and the fun he had conning, stealing, and drinking like a fish. Moore was a total rogue, but also a wonderful storyteller. James Kelman, the Booker Prize-winning novelist, contributed the afterword. This book is about as politically correct and sensitive as your favorite dirty joke and twice as funny!
Thanks a lot guys :)