Other Reading Challenges in 2011

>

Besides the reading challenges listed in my sidebar a number of challenges sounds very appealing to me:

• “Italy in books” – reading challenge 2011. Read  at least 12 books that are set in Italy from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011.
• British Books Challenge 2011.  Read 6 books by British authors in 2011 (Winston Churchill level, International Friend)

My problem is that I’ve already signed for quite a number of challenges and I presume I won’t be able to make it. However, before my GP have a serious look at it, I’ll participate in these challenges, although I won’t make it official, at least yet.

For the Italian challenge I’m currently reading Involuntary Witness by Gianrico Carofiglio and I have in my TBR pile: Marco Vichi – Death in Florence, at least five Montalbanos by Andrea Camilleri, and a couple of Lucarellis. For a total of nine books set in Italy.

For the British Challenge I have: Mark Billingham – Bloodline, Ann Cleeves – White Nights, Val McDermid – A Place of Execution, Phillip Kerr – If the Dead Rise Not, three Rankins, and I have read so far this year Belinda Bauer – Darkside. For a total of eight.

Besides I’m planning to buy at least: RJ Ellory – A Quiet Believe in Angels, Elly Griffiths – The Crossing Places, Craig Russell – Lennox and a Martin Edwards’ Lake District, at least as soon as I lift my ban on new acquisitions.     

International Dagger Speculation (2011) Update

>

Karen at Euro Crime has provided us with excellent information about  the list of translated crime novels published between June 2010 and May 2011, eligible this year for the International Dagger Shortlist. The Shortlist will be announced at a later stage. I don’t pretend to read them all, there are 52 so far but I have read a few and I’m looking forward to read some more before the final announcement is made.

So far I’ve read:

Ernesto Mallo – Needle in a Haystack
Roslund-Hellstrom – Three Seconds
Liza Marklund – Red Wolf
Teresa Solana – A Short Cut to Paradise
Henning Mankell – The Troubled Man
Domingo Villar – Death on a Galician Shore

I do have sitting in my TBR pile and plan to read anytime soon:

Jo Nesbo – The Leopard

I’m interested in and plan to read as well:

Andrea Camilleri – The Wings of the Sphinx
Karin Fossum – Bad Intentions
Marek Krajewski – The Phantoms of Breslau
Hakan Nesser – The Inspector and Silence
Andrea Maria Schenkel – Bunker
Yrsa Sigurdardottir – Ashes to Dust
Camilla Ceder – Frozen Moment
Jan Costin Wagner – Silence
Pablo de Santis – Voltaire’s Calligrapher
Esther Verhoef – Rendezvous
Bernhard Schlink – The Gordian Knot
Simone van der Vlugt – Shadow Sister
Mari Jungstedt – The Dead of Summer
Fred Vargas – An Uncertain Place
Jussi Adler-Olsen – Mercy
Lars Kepler – The Hypnotist

Now the problem is that I don’t know whether it will be a good idea to read some of the above (at least the ones in bold) if I have not read first the previous ones in their series. Any suggestion?