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I haven’t participated in this challenge for several years.
So far, as I prepare this post, I have read 17 books in translation in 2020 (plus 28 books in French), so this is not really a challenge. I’m joining more for the social aspect and connecting with other readers of world literature.
So am shooting for the Linguist Level = 10+, I wish there were a higher level.
SO I HAVE ACTUALLY DECIDED TO CHALLENGE MYSELF TO 20 BOOKS
I will be updating the list here as I go along.
I start the year with the Japanese Literature Challenge, so by the end of March, I should already have read 9 books in translation.
The links will send you to my review
- The Book of Psalms
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 1/6/21 - The Sound of Waves, by Yukio Mishima
translated from the Japanese
by Meredith Weatherby
finished on 1/16/21 - Some Prefer Nettles, by Junichiro Tanizaki
translated from the Japanese
by Edward G. Seidensticker
finished on 1/22/21 - The Book of Job
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 1/23/21 - N.P., by Banana Yoshimoto
translated from the Japanese
by Ann Sherif
finished on 1/25/2021 - In Praise of Shadows, by Junichiro Tanizaki
translated from the Japanese
by Edward G. Seidensticker
and Thomas J. Harper
finished on 2/4/21 - The Book of Proverbs
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 2/8/21 - A Cat, a Man, and Two Women, by Junichirō Tanizaki
translated from the Japanese by Paul McCarthy
finished on 2/9/21 - The Half-Finished Heaven, by Tomas Tranströmer
translated from the Swedish
by Robert Bly
finished on 2/13/21 - Dans l’œil du démon / Devils in Daylight, by Junichirō Tanizaki
translated from the Japanese into French by Patrick Honoré and Ryoko Sekiguchi
finished on 2/13/21 - The Book of Ecclesiastes
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 2/27/21 - The Book of the Song of Songs
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 3/1/21 - The Book of Wisdom
translated from the Greek
audiobook finished on 3/1/21 - Kusamakura, by Natsume Sōseki
translated from the Japanese. by Meredith Weatherby
finished on 3/5/21 - The Book of Sirach
translated from the Greek
audiobook finished on 3/8/21 - The Book of Hosea
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 3/13/21 - The Book of Amos
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 3/13/21 - Le Mineur, by Natsume Sōseki
translated from the Japanese into French by Hélène Morita
finished on 3/20/21 - Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
translated from the Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot
finished on 3/21/21 - To the Spring Equinox and Beyond, by Natsume Sōseki
translated from the Japanese by Kingo Ochiai and Sanford M. Goldstein
finished on 3/29/21 - The Black Lizard and Beast in the Shadows, by Edogawa Rampo
translated from the Japanese by Ian Hughes
finished on 3/30/21 - The Book of Micah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/4/21 - The Book of Joel
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/4/21 - The Book of Obadiah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/4/21 - The Book of Jonah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/4/21 - The Book of Nahum
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/5/21 - The Book of Habakkuk
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/5/21 - The Book of Zephaniah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/5/21 - The Book of Haggai
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 4/5/21 - The Swedish Cavalier, by Leo Perutz
translated from the German by John Brownjohn
finished on 4/6/21 - The Old Capital, by Yasunari Kawabata
translated from the Japanese
finished on 4/22/21 - First Person Singular, by Haruki Murakami,
translated from the Japanese
finished on 4/28/21 - The Book of Zechariah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 5/10/21 - The Book of Malachi
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 5/10/21 - The Book of Isaiah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 5/13/21 - People Like Them, by Samira Sedira
translated from the French
finished on 5/16/21 - The Book of Jeremiah
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 5/24/21 - Flight of the Raven, by Jean-Pierre Gibrat
translated from the French
finished on 5/31/21 - The Book of Baruch
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 6/11/21 - The Book of Lamentations
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 6/12/21 - The Book of Ezekiel
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 6/24/21 - The Book of Daniel
translated from the Hebrew
audiobook finished on 6/26/21 - The Apothecary Diaries, vol 1, by Natsu Hyuuga
translated from the Japanese
finished on 6/30/21 - Cats of the Louvre, by Taiyo Matsumoto
translated from the Japanese
finished on 7/6/21 - The Apothecary Diaries, vol 2, by Natsu Hyuuga
translated from the Japanese
finished on 7/17/21 - Midaq Alley, by Naguib Mahfouz
translated from the Arabic
finished on 7/17/21 - Le Village aux Huit Tombes, by Seishi Yokomizo
translated from the Japanese (into French)
finished on 8/30/21 - Rider on the Rain, by Sébastien Japrisot
translated from the French
finished on 9/4/21 - The New Testament, by David Bentley Hart
translated from the Greek
finished on 10/27/21 - The Invention of Morel, by Adolfo Bioy Casares
translated from the Spanish
finished on 11/9/21 - Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love, by Haruki Murakami
translated from the Japanese
finished on 11/29/21 - Ficciones, by Jorge Luis Borges
translated from the Spanish
finished on 12/16/21
TOTAL = 52.
This is about the regular amount of translated books I read every year.
Though it’s only 39% of all the books I have read this year. In 2020, translated fiction was 50% of all the books I read.
To that, you could add 32 books in French actually.
Recap of languages translated from:
Arabic: 1
French: 3
German: 1
Greek: 3
Hebrew: 23
Japanese: 18
Spanish: 2
Swedish: 1
So from 8 different languages, same number as in 2020
Words And Peace 
Oh, this challenge is so tempting. I did it years and years ago. But I think this coming year I’ll just watch your blog and see how you do. Best of luck!
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You sure? The first level is not very high. Am I a tempter? I hope so, lol
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Oh goodness, I counted 8 translated books I’m aiming for during the first half of the year. Hmmm …. I just might do it. You ARE a tempter!
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That’s a great compliment, lol
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I only read 7 this year. Last year I read 10. I must do better in 2021.
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funny, I thought you were reading a lot in translation
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I’m giving this a try too! Good luck!
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Let me know if you need great titles translated from the French or the Japanese
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Great, I love Japanese literature, I’ll be reading your reviews with interest 🙂
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And looking forward to read yours! If you are looking for titles, there’s also the list of those I read last year. At the end of the post you can find my recap, with links to my reviews: https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/12/16/japanese-literature-challenge-13/
So far for 2020, I have actually read 17 books translated from the Japanese, and I will probably add 2 mangas to that before the end of the year, so that will be double of the books read during the challenge
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Thanks Emma 🙂
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And thanks for your comments on my blog. You are in the top three for December: https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/12/31/2020-december-wrap-up/
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This challenge is perfect for you, Emma! And, wow, twenty books!
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It’s fascinating to read books in translation, you see a different emphasis
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Good luck with this challenge! If I were more ambitious I’d try it lol.
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Maybe one year?
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Great challenge, I would like to also read more books in translation but I think I’ll stay on the sidelines this time.
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well, you are reading some in German and French I believe, so that’s already huge
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Thanks for joining in! I always have a hard time setting levels. It’s so difficult to find a balance between setting the bar low enough so that newbies aren’t afraid to sign up but setting it high enough to be a real challenge.
Good luck!
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Yes, difficult balance
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This looks interesting. Looking forward to the list that you’re going to come up with.
Happy Reading.
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Mostly Japanese probably
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That’s fine. I love reading books from all around the world, so I’m sure I’ll find a book or two (or three, or four …). Maybe you’ll also find some international ones on my page.
Happy New Year!
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I’m sure. What’s your blog? It doesn’t show on your ID when you comment, it only shows your email address. I suggest you change your ID, so it’s easier for readers to find your blog when you leave a comment somewhere
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Thanks for letting me know. The trouble is, my blog is with blogspot and when I comment on your posts, I get asked to log in with WordPress (which I don’t have), Twitter (which I also don’t have) or Facebook. Don’t know how to change that because if it doesn’t show on your page, it also doesn’t show on other blogs like that. 😞
But for the time being, this is my blog.
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Hmm, I didn’t realize you needed that type of sign up to comment, I’ll see if there’s anything I can change on my side. But I can see that you did manage to change your comment ID, now you blog url does show on the comment ID
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Well, it seems to work now. Let me know if you can’t get to my blog from this comment. Thanks.
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This is a riot, your blog url is not accompanying this comment, but it was with the previous one. Go figure
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So sorry for that. I have no idea what to do other than leaving my link directly when I comment on your page. I just wonder how many other people have that problem when I comment on their WordPress page and never told me. ;(
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well, maybe others don’t bother taking time to visit bloggers who commented, but for me it’s courtesy. But I do know commenters who automatically post their homepage link on their comment. Good idea, you will get more visitors this way
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I will probably have to do that. And you are right, some people never answer. But I’m the happier with those who do. Because it usually means we have similar interests and they make the effort to get back to you.
I know there are people who don’t like it if you always answer with a link but I guess they will either understand or not comment anyway.
Marianne @ Let’s Read
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exactly
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Some challenges are great for the actual challenge and some are great for the networking. Sounds like this will connect you with lots of other people who love books in translation!
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Definitely
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I like the sound of this and if I hadn’t already signed up for a European Reading Challenge I might have joined you. I shall just watch with interest what you read – no doubt it will mean I add more books to my wishlist……
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you can use the same books in two different challenges
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I have done that a few times but I thought it was a bit of a cheat to use it in successive months
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Why?
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because it would have been so easy for me to just link to the same books!
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I see, I guess I’m not that strict
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Congratulations on completing the challenge! I like the idea of listing the languages your books were translated from.
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Seeing the challenge, it kind of makes sense
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