Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Intro and my Europa Challenge books

Good morning!

My name is Josh and I am a Europa fan to the point of near snobbery for other books. I came across this Challenge through GoodReads and can't wait to share and read about our experiences with these wonderful books. I live in Washington, DC and run a book club that reads one Europa Editions book a month. The combination of universal human stories with different and sometimes challenging cultural locations and contexts has proven very rewarding.

Like many others, my Europa journey began with "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." I waded through "Zeroville" and "The Have-Nots," then really hit my stride this year. Amazon has proven to be a treasure trove for me, and I have been reading up a storm this summer! In no particular order, here is my Challenge list thus far, I will add my reviews in the coming weeks.

"The Midnight Choir" by gene Kerrigan
"A Sun for the Dying" by Jean-Claude Izzo
"Minotaur" by Benjamin Tammuz (reading now)
"A Kind of Intimacy" by Jenn Ashworth
"Death's Dark Abyss" by Massimo Carlotto
"The Queen of the Tambourine" by Jane Gardam
"The Companion" by Lorcan Roche
"Clash of Civilizations Over an elevator in Piazza Vittorio" by Amara Lakhous
"The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine" by Alina Bronsky
"Twelve who Disagree" by Valery Panyushkin (reading)
"Chalcot Crescent" by Fay Weldon
"A Novel Bookstore" by Laurence Cosse

I have read several others as well, but before July of this year.
Looking forward to posting and discussing!

Josh