Making progress on my Read the World Challenge, where you read a book by an author from each country in the world. I’m going alphabetical by country, limiting myself to the 193 member states of the UN, and including a mix of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Next four books finished:

Belgium – Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon
1931 novel that introduces Inspector Jules Maigret, a pipe-smoking Parisian detective, as he investigates the mysterious identity of an infamous con man, Pietr the Latvian, who appears in Paris with a double, leading to a trail of bodies and intrigue. Rating: 4/5

Belize – Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer by Rosita Arvigo
The compelling memoir of herbologist Rosita Arvigo’s quest to preserve the knowledge of Don Elijio Panti, one of the last surviving and most respected traditional healers in the rainforest of Belize. Rating: 4/5

Benin – Missing in Action and Presumed Dead: Poems by Rashidah Ismaili
Poetry collection thatsings beautifully of the whole African diaspora, from Harlem to Brazil, from an urban woman who lacks the money to pay her AT&T bill, to an African village woman who has no words for death by bombing. Rating: 4/5

Bhutan – Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti by Kunzang Choden
A collection of twenty-two stories set in four different regions of Bhutan. The presence of the yeti is ubiquitous to the kingdoms of the Himalayas, where beliefs and attitudes related to it go beyond scientific judgment and analysis. Rating: 3/5

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