Bookcrossing - what fun!! When I first joined, I had loads of fun releasing lots of books, participating in rings and challenges, and being very active. Then I downsized (gave away books, had some yard sales, and donated hundreds of books to my local library) and went to live where I didn't speak the main language, which made releasing quite different.

I've lived in several countries since: Indonesia, Laos, back to the USA for a few years, and now Ecuador.

My favorite challenge (begun when I didn't know I'd start traveling - but a nice leadin to that life) was the 2008 Olympic Challenge where I read something (book, essay, short story, poem, ...) by an author from every country participating in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Olympic Challenge:

Total Read: 205


Continent of AFRICA:

ALG Algeria: essay in For Rushdie: Essays by Arab and Muslim Writers in Defense of Free Speech, published by George Braziller (library)

ANG Angola: The Return of the Water Spirit by Pepetela

BEN Benin: Snares Without End by Olympe Bhely-Quenum

BOT Botswana: Maru by Bessie Head

BUR Burkina Faso: The Healing Wisdom of Africa by Malidoma Patrice Somé (library)

BDI Burundi: This Voice in My Heart by Gilbert Tuhabonye

CMR Cameroon: Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono

CPV Cape Verde: Last Will & Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo by Germano Almeida

CAF Central African Republic: African Tales: Folklore of the Central African Republic, ed. Polly Strong

CHA Chad: Teenager in the Chad Civil War: A Memoir of Survival, 1982-1986 by Esaie Toingar

COM Comoros: Union of the Comoros Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy Paper (World Bank Loan Application, online)

CGO Congo: Johnny Mad Dog by Emmanuel Dongala (library)

CIV Côte d'Ivoire: Grandma Nana by Véronique Tadjo

COD Democratic Republic of the Con: The Antipeople by Sony Labou Tansi

DJI Djibouti: The Land Without Shadows by Abdourahman A. Waberi

EGY Egypt: essay in For Rushdie: Essays by Arab and Muslim Writers in Defense of Free Speech, published by George Braziller (library)

GEQ Equatorial Guinea: Ndowe Tales by Enenge A'Bodjedi

ERI Eritrea: Unjust Praise by Ghirmai Yohannes (online)

ETH Ethiopia: Notes from the Hyena's Belly by Nega Mezlekia (library)

GAB Gabon: Batouala by Rene Maran

GAM Gambia: Wolof by Tijan M. Sallah (library)

GHA Ghana: The Hypocrisy of the Christian Church in the Third World by Samuel Donkor (borrowed)

GUI Guinea: The Guardian of the Word by Camara Laye

GBS Guinea-Bissau: Island by Amilcar Cabral (online)

KEN Kenya: Owen & Mzee by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, Paula Kahumbu

LES Lesotho: Blanket Boy by A. S. Mopeli-Paulus

LBR Liberia: Folk Tales of Liberia by J. Luke Creel with Bai Gai Kiahon (library)

LBA Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: The Right Course by Ibrahim al-Koni (online)

MAD Madagascar: poems by Jean-Joseph Rabearrivelo and Flavien Ranaivo in The Penguin Book of Modern Poetry (library)

MAW Malawi: Index on Censorship: Banned Poetry. Poem by Jack Mapanje

MLI Mali: The fortunes of Wangrin by Amadou Hampâté Bâ

MTN Mauritania: poetry by Oumar Ba in Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry (library>

MRI Mauritius: poetry by Edouard Maunick in Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry (library)

MAR Morocco: Racism Explained to My Daughter by Tahar Ben Jelloun (library)

MOZ Mozambique: We killed Mangy-Dog and other Stories by Luis Bernardo Honwana (library)

NAM Namibia: The Orphan Calf and the Magical Cheetah: Cheetah Poems, Essays, and Illustrations by Namibian People by Stephen De Vincent

NIG Niger: Bemba, an African Adventure by Andree Clair (library)

NGR Nigeria: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

RWA Rwanda: Left to tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza (library)

STP Sao Tome and Principe: Ossobo: Essays on the Literature of Sao Tome and
Principe by Donald Burness

SEN Senegal ring: Ambiguous Adventure

SEY Seychelles: Indian Ocean Folktales by Lee Haring (library)

SLE Sierra Leone: The Devil That Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna

SOM Somalia: Desert Flower by Waris Dirie (library)

RSA South Africa: Something Out There by Nadine Gordimer

SUD Sudan: Minaret by Leila Aboulela (library)

SWZ Swaziland: All the King's Animals by Cristina Kessler, foreword by Mswati III, King of Swaziland (library)

TOG Togo: An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie

TUN Tunisia: I Introduce Myself To The World by Amina Saïd (online) and The Colonizer and the Colonized by Abert Memmi (library)

UGA Uganda: Snakepit by Moses Isegawa (library)

TAN United Republic of Tanzania: The Princess Who Lost Her Hair by Tololwa Mollel

ZAM Zambia: Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens (library)

ZIM Zimbabwe: Zenzele by J. Nozipo Maraire



Continent of OCEANA:

ASA American Samoa: Alchemies of Distance by Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard

AUS Australia: The Children Must Dance by Tony Maniaty

COK Cook Islands: Cook Islands Legends by Jon Jonassen

FSM Federated States of Micronesia: Micronesian Legends by Bo Flood

FIJ Fiji: Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers. Story by Raymond Pillai

GUM Guam: Micronesian Legends by Bo Flood, et. al.

KIR Kiribati: The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost

MHL Marshall Islands: Marshall Island Legends by Daniel A. Kelin

NRU Nauru: Stories from Nauru

NZL New Zealand: The Little Kowhai Tree

PLW Palau: Micronesian Legends by Bo Flood

PNG Papua New Guinea: Gutsini Posa by Regis Stella

SAM Samoa: The Birth and Death of the Miracle Man by Albert Wendt

SOL Solomon Islands: The Confession and Other Stories by Julian Maka'a

TGA Tonga: Langakali by Konai Helu Thaman

TUV Tuvalu: Songs of Tuvalu by Gerd Koch

VAN Vanuatu: Black Stone by Grace Mera Molisa



OCA Continent of ASIA:

AFG Afghanistan: Devil's Playground by Said Yassin Zia

BRN Bahrain: Quixotiq by Ali Al Saeed

BAN Bangladesh: Brick Lane by Monica Ali

BHU Bhutan: The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden

BRU Brunei Darussalam: 'Punched' Lines: Sit-Down Comedy from Southeast Asia ed. Helena Hon

CAM Cambodia: A Cambodian Odyssey by Haing Ngor

TPE Chinese Taipei: The Butchers Wife by Ang Li (library)

PRK Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Second Encounter by Han Ung-bin (online)

HKG Hong-Kong: The Feng Shui Detective by Nury Vittachi (library)

IND India: The Tiger Ladies by Sudha Koul

INA Indonesia: The Girl from the Coast by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (library)

IRQ Iraq: essay in For Rushdie: Essays by Arab and Muslim Writers in Defense of Free Speech, published by George Braziller (library)

IRI Islamic Republic of Iran: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

JPN Japan: Mon The Gate by Natsume Soseki

JOR Jordan: Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif

KAZ Kazakhstan: Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko (library)

KOR Korea: Korea Unmasked by Won bok Rhie

KUW Kuwait: A Man's Staff by Fatima Yousef al-Ali (online)

KGZ Kyrgyzstan: The Place of the Skull by Chingiz Aitmatov (library)

LAO Lao People's Democratic Republic: Stories from Laos by Outhine Buunyauong (online)

LIB Lebanon: Beirut Blues by Hanan Al Shaykh

MAS Malaysia: Kadazan Folklore by Rita Lasimbang

MDV Maldives: Various (online)

MGL Mongolia: The Khan's Daughter by Laurence Yep (library)

MYA Myanmar: Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi

NEP Nepal: Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay

OMA Oman: Behind the Veil by Unni Wikan (library)

PAK Pakistan: Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidwa

PLE Palestine: Sharon and My Mother-in-law by Suad Amiry (library)

CHN People's Republic of China: The Good Women of China

PHI Philippines: Filipino Children's Favorite Stories by Liana Romulo (library)

QAT Qatar: Qatari Women: Past and Present by Abeer Abu Saud

KSA Saudi Arabia: Princess Sultana's Daughters by Jean Sasson

SIN Singapore: The Bondmaid by Catherine Lim

SRI Sri Lanka: Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers by Shyam Selvadurai

SYR Syrian Arab Republic: Index on Censorship: Banned Poetry. Poem by Adonis

TJK Tadjikistan: Index on Censorship: Banned Poetry. Poem by Bozor Sabir and
A Love Poem by Iskandar Khatloni

THA Thailand: Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap (library)

TLS Timor-Leste: Black & White Christmas by Afonso Busa Metan and
Maubere Poems (online poems)

TKM Turkmenistan: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy by Jonathan Maslow (library)

UAE United Arab Emirates: The Wink of the Mona Lisa by Mohammad Al Murr

UZB Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan On the Threshold of the Twenty-First Century by Islam Karimov

VIE Viet Nam: The Tapestries by Kien Nguyen (library)

YEM Yemen: Sold: Story of Modern-day Slavery (ring)



EOC Continent of EUROPE:

ALB Albania: The Three-Arched Bridge by Ismail Kadare

AND Andorra: Views from the Bridge of Europe (story by Michele Gazier)

ARM Armenia: The Buddha by David Kherdian

AUT Austria: Wittgensteins Nephew by Thomas Bernhard

AZE Azerbaijan: The Girl From the Golden Horn by Kurban Said, aka Lev Nussimbaum

BLR Belarus: Pack of Wolves by Vasil Bykov

BEL Belgium: In The Shadow of the Ark by Anne Provoost (library)

BIH Bosnia and Herzegovina: Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic

BUL Bulgaria: Views from the Bridge of Europe (story by Blaga Dimitrova) and works of Elena Alexieva

CRO Croatia: Cafe Europa: Life After Communism by Slavenka Drakulic (library)

CYP Cyprus: online poems and prose by Nora Nadjarian

CZE Czech Republic: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera

DEN Denmark: I am David by Anne Holm

EST Estonia: ray A Selection of Hyperboles by E. Spriit

FIN Finland: The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson

MKD Former Yugoslav Republic of Ma: Hourglass by Danilo Kis (library)

FRA France: Stairway C by Elvire Murail

GEO Georgia: The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin (library)

GER Germany: Laura's Star by Klaus Baumgart

GBR Great Britain: The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

GRE Greece: Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis (library)

HUN Hungary: In Praise of Older Women by Stephen Vizinczey

ISL Iceland: Absolution by Olaf Olafsson

IRL Ireland: The Horse Goddess by Morgan Llywelyn

ISR Israel: My Michael by Amos Oz

ITA Italy: A Woman by Sibilla Aleramo

LAT Latvia: online Latvian Poetry

LIE Liechtenstein poem Free as a Bird by Elisabeth Buchel (online)

LTU Lithuania: Poetry from Lithuania (online)

LUX Luxembourg: Views from the Bridge of Europe (story by Guy Rewenig)

MLT Malta: The Fixer by Joe Sacco (library)

MNE Montenegro A Stranger's Supper: an Oral History of Centenarian Women in Montenegro by Zorka Milich

MON Monaco: But Do Blondes Prefer Gentlemen by Anthony Burgess (library)

NED Netherlands: The Assault by Harry Mulisch

NOR Norway: The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

POL Poland: This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski

POR Portugal: Blindness by Jose Saramago

MDA Republic of Moldova: Views from the Bridge of Europe (story by Vitalie Ciobanu)

ROM Romania: A Bar in Brooklyn by Andrei Codrescu

RUS Russian Federation: A Week Like Any Other by Natalya Baranskaya

SMR San Marino: library How To Travel With A Salmon & Other Essays by Umberto Eco

SRB Serbia: The Days of the Consuls by Ivo Andric and St Sava and the Devil (online)

SVK Slovakia: Views from the Bridge of Europe (story by Martin Simecka)

SLO Slovenia: Poems by Lucija Stupica (online)

ESP Spain: Abel Sanchez and other stories by Miguel De Unamuno

SWE Sweden: April Witch by Majgull Axelsson (library)

SUI Switzerland: The White Masai (ring)

TUR Turkey: Snow by Orhan Pamuk

UKR Ukraine: Two Lands, New Visions: Stories from Canada and Ukraine



PASO Continent of AMERICAs:

ANT Antigua and Barbuda: The Man Who Loved Attending Funerals by Frank Collymore

ARG Argentina: Pubis Angelical by Manuel Puig

ARU Aruba: Poetry by Rosabelle Maria Illes (online)

BAH Bahamas: Poems by Nicolette Bethel and Christian Campbell in The Caribbean Writer, Vol 16

BAR Barbados: Flickering Shadows by Kwadwo Agymah Kamau

BIZ Belize: Stories by Julie Babcock in The Caribbean Writer, Vol 16

BER Bermuda: Mesoamerican Mythology by Graham Faiella (library)

BOL Bolivia: Turing's Delirium by Edmundo Paz Soldan

BRA Brazil: Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

IVB British Virgin Islands: The Answer by Jennie N Wheatley (online)

CAN Canada: The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

CAY Cayman Islands: So, You Want to Live on an Island by Gay Morse

CHI Chile: Paula by Isabel Allende

COL Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

CRC Costa Rica: And We Sold the Rain. Stories by Samuel Rovinski, Carmen Naranjo

CUB Cuba: The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier

DMA Dominica: ray Rhythm & Revolt - Tales of the Antilles

DOM Dominican Republic: Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez (library)

ECU Ecuador: The Galapagos Phat Guide by Antonio Adrian

ESA El Salvador: One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta

GRN Grenada: tide running by Oonya Kempadoo

GUA Guatemala: El Señor Presidente by Miguel Asturias (library)

GUY Guyana: Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers. Story by Rooplall Monar

HAI Haiti: Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

HON Honduras: And We Sold the Rain. Stories by Roberto Castillo, Julio Escoto, et al

JAM Jamaica: Summer Lightning and Other Stories by Olive Senior

MEX Mexico: The Law of Love by Laura Esquivel

AHO Netherlands Antilles: The Sign of Jonah by Boeli Van Leeuwen

NCA Nicaragua: The Inhabited Woman by Giaconda Belli (library)

PAN Panama: And We Sold the Rain. Stories by Pedro Rivera, Bertalicia Peralta

PAR Paraguay: excerpt from Hijo de hombre by Augusto Roa Bastos in Latin American Literature Today

PER Peru: story by Ciro Alegria in Latin American Literature Today

PUR Puerto Rico: Perez and Martina: A Puerto Rican Folk Tale (library)

SKN Saint Kitts and Nevis: A Distant Shore by Caryl Phillips (library)

LCA Saint Lucia: Collected Poems 1948-1984 by Derek Walcott (library)

VIN Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Story by Cecil A Williams in The Caribbean Writer, Vol 16

SUR Suriname: ray Rhythm & Revolt - Tales of the Antilles

TRI Trinidad and Tobago: Stories by Winston Hackett and others in The Caribbean Writer, Vol 16

USA United States of America: Bad Habits by Dave Barry

URU Uruguay: The House on the Dunes by Roberto Viola

VEN Venezuela: story by Arturo Uslar Pietri in Latin American Literature Today

ISV Virgin Islands: Seasoning for the Mortar; Virgin Islanders Writing in The Caribbean Writer