From the Heart of Europe
The best known books set in each country: Zimbabwe – and a note on my methodology
The Baby in the Park, a consolidated account
Burning Brightly: 50 Years of Novacon, ed. Ian Whates
Mean Streets, by Terrance Dicks
Wednesday reading
The Partition: Ireland Divided, 1885-1925, by Charles Townshend
The Twist, by George Mann et al
The New Machiavelli, by Jonathan Powell
The best known books set in each country: Zambia
The Casuarina Tree, by W. Somerset Maugham, and The House of Doors, by Tan Twan Eng
The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge and the Murders that Stunned an Empire, by Julie Kavanagh
Silence: A Christian History, by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Wednesday reading
The Emperor of Portugallia, and Jerusalem, by Selma Lagerlöf
Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy, by Serhii Plokhy
Howul: A Life’s Journey, by David Shannon
The Years, by Annie Ernaux
The best known books set in each country: Cambodia
Oppenheimer; and American Prometheus: the Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
A tale of two chapels
Histoire de Jérusalem, by Vincent Lemire and Christophe Gaultier
Glorious Exploits, by Ferdia Lennon
Het Zoet Water door de eeuwen heen, by Jean Binon and Paul Coeckelbergh
Wednesday reading
The Last Unicorn, and Two Hearts, by Peter S. Beagle
Mother Ross: An Irish Amazon, by G.R. Lloyd
The best known books set in each country: Ecuador
Behind Frenemy Lines, by Zen Cho
Doctor Who: Lux, by James Goss
J.R.R. Tolkien and Dorothy L. Sayers
Final Cut, by Charles Burns
Omega, by Mark Griffiths and John Ridgway
Wednesday reading
Science(ish): The Peculiar Science Behind the Movies, by Rick Edwards & Dr Michael Brooks
’Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King
September 2025 books
Ghost Devices, by Simon Bucher-Jones
Annie Bot, by Sierra Greer
The best known books set in each country: the Netherlands
Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
Beijing and Chengdu, September 2025
Musings on Mothering, ed. Teika Bellamy
The School of Death, by Robbie Morrison et al
Wednesday reading
Thirst, by Amelie Nothomb
@Wouters Wondere Wereld, by Guy Gilias
The Principle of Moments, by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
The best known books set in each country: Guatemala
Irish Conflict in Comics: Rebellion, Nazi Spies and the Troubles, by James Bacon
Winning online Diplomacy as France, against six AIs
Black Mountain and other stories, by Gerry Adams
Old Babes in the Wood, by Margaret Atwood
A Tall Man In A Low Land: Some Time Among the Belgians, by Harry Pearson
The Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy L. Sayers
Wednesday reading
Somna: a bedtime story, by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay
London Centric: Tales of Future London, ed. Ian Whates
The Women Could Fly, by Megan Giddings