I’ve set out on an adventure of reading a book from every country in the world. A list of the books I’ve read so far can be found here. I’m pretty flexible about rules:
- A book can count for a particular country if it is either set in that country or written by an author from that country (or both).
- Only books that I’ve read in December 2011 or later will count. No retroactive countries! (Though I may make an exception for Kiribati. I’ve read a pretty good book set in Kiribati and it claimed that all the other books written about Kiribati were quite boring.)
Outside of the rules, I do have some general patterns. I’m reading a variety of different kinds of books- fiction, non-fiction, and in-between. I’m not opposed to the occasional travelogue. I take a casual approach and try not to plan too far ahead what book I will read. I look for books that will tell me something new about a particular country and I don’t worry too much about whether a book is The Best/Most Famous Book From X Country. I only have reading knowledge of English, so I am limited to books which have been written in or translated into English. In general, I mostly tend towards modern/contemporary books because I’m most interested in learning the relatively recent history and culture of each country.
If you have a suggestion (particularly for countries for which it is harder to find books), please let me know.
Biblioglobal 
Random question: Do you read books which fall outside of this challenge? I have some reading challenges set for myself as well, but frequently get distracted by other books, or books given to me by well-intentioned friends. Do you ignore all “outside” reading distractions or do you occasionally veer off into works which don’t fall within the parameters of your challenge?
By: exlibrisheather on July 12, 2012
at 11:56 am
Oh, I definitely read things outside of this challenge! I figure it will take me around 10 years to finish and there’s no way I would give up on reading everything else for so long. I’ve decided to only write posts about books for the project because I’m slower at writing than reading and I don’t want to feel like I have to write about every book I read.
I did write about the book Poor Economics because it seemed very relevant and it was an amazing book that I wanted to share with other people. I will probably continue to do that occasionally and I may also post about additional books that I read from countries that I have already covered.
By: biblioglobal on July 12, 2012
at 2:02 pm
O.k. that’s good to know. You have undertaken a pretty intense reading challenge, so it’s interesting to hear how you manage it. I think it’s good that you also read other things that interest you…I find that it helps me to take a break from my challenges sometimes and recharge with other things.
By: exlibrisheather on July 13, 2012
at 1:30 pm
What a wonderful idea! “I only have reading knowledge of English, so I am limited to books which have been written in English.” Does this mean you don’t read translated books?
And thank you for following!
-M
By: mariaawrites on July 15, 2012
at 8:20 pm
Oops, I should have written that more clearly! I definitely do read translated books. (Now editing that sentence to read”books which have been written in or translated to English”)
By: biblioglobal on July 15, 2012
at 11:41 pm
I thought so! Otherwise this challenge would be quite…challenging. 🙂
By: mariaawrites on July 16, 2012
at 11:30 am
Some suggestions:
Afghanistan – A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Algeria – Ahlam Mosteghanemi (writer)
Argentina – Jorge Luis Borge (writer)
Brazil – Paulo Coelho (writer)
Cuba – My Life by Fidel Castro
France – Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Germany – The Night of the Generals by Hans Hellmut Kirst / Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
Greece – Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis / Nights Of Rain And Stars by Maeve Binchy
Ireland – Ulysses by James Joyce
Italy – The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Jordan – Fadia Faqir (writer)
Lebanon – Khalil Gibran (writer)
Russia – Fyodor Dostoyevsky / Mikhail Bulgakov (writers)
Saudi Arabia – Don’t Be Sad by Aaidh Ibn Abdullah Al-Qarni
Spain – Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Tunisia – Aboul-Qacem Echebbi (poet)
UK – Ian Rankin/Agatha Christie/Charles Dickens/Geoffrey Chaucer (writers)
USA – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzferald / The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Enjoy! =)
By: kosmically on July 30, 2012
at 11:23 pm
Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! Some of the books/authors I have read or am familiar with but others, like your suggestions for Jordan and Algeria, are entirely new to me.
By: biblioglobal on July 31, 2012
at 9:21 am
Glad you found them useful. I have a few more suggestions:
Bosnia and Herzegovina – How The Soldier Repairs The Gramophone by Saša Stanišić
India – Homi K. Bhabha (writer)
South Africa – Nadine Gordimer (writer)
Sweden – Pär Lagerkvist
Trinidad and Tobago – Raymond Ramcharitar (poet/writer) / Keith Jardim (writer)
Enjoy! =)
By: kosmically on August 1, 2012
at 12:28 pm
What a super idea and challenge! I back tracked to here from your comment on my site (thanks!) and now that I have found you I will be pleased to follow your postings. However, I note your list of countries omits Scotland. I understand why, but with our own literature and history and now parliament, it would be an awful pity if a Scottish title could not be included. (We Scots are notorious for our special pleading!) I’ll be happy to suggest a title or two if you feel your rules can be bent a little to accommodate us. 😉 Norman
By: Milemuncher on September 11, 2012
at 3:31 pm
Well, if Scotland votes for independence I’ll formally add it to my list! Alternatively, I have a vague intention to eventually include locations such as Palestine and Vatican City, which aren’t UN member countries, so Scotland could fall there.
Regardless, I’d certainly be interested to hear your suggestions for a Scottish book or two.
By: biblioglobal on September 11, 2012
at 4:02 pm
Hey there,
I have sure added your blog to my blog list.
I do blog about African Literature. Please visit my blog and have a look.
http://www.maryokekereviews.blogspot.com
Thanks.
By: Mary Okeke on November 7, 2012
at 3:37 pm
Thanks for stopping by! Your blog is full of books that I’ve been thinking about reading, so I’ll definitely be following it as well.
By: biblioglobal on November 7, 2012
at 4:18 pm
Sounds like a fine idea to me, cannot imagine that you will run out of countries the way the maps a re being redrawn by politics… 😀
Best wishes!
By: beeseeker on November 10, 2012
at 3:12 pm
I certainly anticipate that there will be some extra countries added before I am done. Which are the most likely I wonder? Scotland? Western Sahara? Palestine? Probably someplace I wouldn’t expect at all!
By: biblioglobal on November 10, 2012
at 4:19 pm
But there is a whole back catalogue too; Nyassaland, Rhodesia, Palestine etc etc – never ending: Mission Impossible 8.5 perhaps?
By: beeseeker on November 10, 2012
at 6:02 pm
I had thought much about previously existing countries. That would be hard even to come up with a list, let alone the books themselves!
By: biblioglobal on November 10, 2012
at 10:58 pm
Hi! I’ve nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award. I have appreciated reading your thought-provoking content. If you’re interested in participating, you can see the rules here: http://misfortuneofknowing.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/a-lovely-interruption-to-regular-content/
By: A.M.B. on November 12, 2012
at 9:41 am
Not sure if you have already heard of them, but there are two beautiful books from my home country, Brazil, called ‘1808’ and ‘1822’, which tell incredible stories about Brazil’s history. They are written in Portuguese, though, and I’m not 100% sure if there are English translations. Nevertheless, two very good reads!
Daniel
http://www.myworldatyourfingers.com
By: Daniel on March 14, 2013
at 2:21 am
I took a quick look, but it doesn’t look like they’ve been translated. It’s often surprising how many things don’t get translated. Thanks for the suggestion though.
By: biblioglobal on March 14, 2013
at 4:32 pm
Of course I love what you are doing; reading the world. Looking forward to reading about new books and hollering when you review a book that i’ve read or intend to.
By: Kinna on April 7, 2013
at 4:14 am
Thanks! I’m very much enjoying reading your blog. Your recent posts about language in particular really made me think.
By: biblioglobal on April 7, 2013
at 3:20 pm
What a unique and interesting project! Your current country and reading list is impressive. All the best for your endeavor!
By: Dancing Fingers Singing Keypad on May 7, 2013
at 2:09 pm
Thanks! It’s going to take me a while, but it’s a lot of fun!
By: biblioglobal on May 7, 2013
at 2:48 pm
Recent book: By Night the mountain burns, from Juan Tomás Ávila Laureal, writer from Equatorial Guinea
By: Juan on May 26, 2014
at 7:50 am
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ve added it to my reading list!
By: biblioglobal on May 26, 2014
at 9:41 am
I am thrilled to have discovered your blog! I absolutely love your idea. I’d like to even follow in your footsteps, maybe when my life settles down a bit more. I have long wanted to systematically study every country in the world, but I’d never thought of reading a book from each country! My mind is blown! Thank you for making my day!!
By: Sarrah J. Woods on July 23, 2014
at 10:05 am
I’m glad to hear you are enjoying my blog! It has been a fun adventure so far. I like the idea of studying each country too. Reading books set in each country almost always results in me reading more about that country. (At least looking up the Wikipedia page!) It would be neat to be more systematic about it.
By: biblioglobal on July 23, 2014
at 10:35 am
Thank You for stopping by!! I love your blog and ambition…what could be more liberating than reading and that too reading about the world without limiting yourself to a-type literature….Very inspiring!!
By: cirtnecce on July 23, 2014
at 5:51 pm
This is so inspiring….Your reading is like truly letting go and expanding beyond geographical/literary boundaries…I am so looking forward to reading some of the books in your list!! Also a big thank you for stopping by my blog!!
By: cirtnecce on July 23, 2014
at 7:15 pm
I’m so glad I checked my spam folder. For some reason your comments ended up there. I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog! I look forward to reading more of your blog also.
By: biblioglobal on July 28, 2014
at 11:00 pm
Yeah!!! I know something went wrong…but thank you for the kind words…I too am really looking forward to reading a lot of different stuff …thanks to you!! 🙂
By: cirtnecce on August 1, 2014
at 1:38 pm
Hey, it’s great to meet another person interested in the very wide world literature. I’m not bound to English only, but for now I have to rely on books in Polish from local library. Hopefully maybe I’ll be able to read some of the books on your list.
I made a challenge of reading the books from various countries, but I’ll revise the rules and new edition will start in January 2015. Maybe you’d be interested in joining.
If you need some inspiration by country (but not just books) from what I saw/read in 2014, you can find it here. https://forculturessake.wordpress.com/2014-lists/2014-by-authors-country/ Yet I’d suggest using country tags, as I don’t have a list for 2013, when I started the blog.
Brazil – definitely Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of The Star.
Czech – Josef Nesvadba was translated into English.
Poland – I’d suggest Stanislav Lem, a classic of science-fiction. Best known works are probably Solaris and Futurological Congress, both had adaptations. Congress is more oriented on Earthly issues, so I’d suggest that.
Russia – Michail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. One of my favourite books ever. 😀
South Africa – Heartland (by Jann Turner) isn’t the best book but it was an interesting read. Set after the apartheid has officially ended but not for people in a certain small valley. 😉
Have fun reading! 🙂
By: Kama on December 1, 2014
at 10:31 am
I’m always excited to find others who are reading globally too. I find it frustrating when books haven’t been translated into English. That must be even more of a challenge when you’re relying on books translated into Polish!
Thanks for all your suggestions. I like the idea of reading some Stanislaw Lem for Poland. I’ve wanted to read some of his work, but I somehow hadn’t thought of reading it for my book-from-every-country project!
By: biblioglobal on December 1, 2014
at 12:48 pm
Actually, there are some books that have (or had) Polish translations before English ones. Belarusian writer Ihar Babkou’s book, for example, or even some South Korean books. A lot of books have been translated into Polish. Sure, things like Kiribati etc. are (I think) impossible to get in Polish, but I don’t think it’s too bad generally. Except, I’m using mostly local libraries, which makes it even more difficult. 😛
The local libraries for adults sort books (general fiction) by author’s country, so it’s easy to search. That’s why I came up with the idea for A to Z reading challenge.
Have fun reading Lem. Let’s discuss his books too. I just read 3 stories (all on blog) but I’m eager to read more. 😛
By: Kama on December 1, 2014
at 3:21 pm
That’s a good point. The rate amount of translation into English is lower than for a lot of other languages. English just has the advantage of being the starting language for so many books.
That’s really convenient that your library is organized by country! The fiction in my local public library is organized alphabetically. The university library more or less groups literature by country, which means that I sometimes come home with more than one book per country.
By: biblioglobal on December 1, 2014
at 5:22 pm
What a great challenge, and a great idea for a blog. I love it!
By: DebraB on January 29, 2015
at 6:35 pm
Thanks! It has been a lot of fun so far. It’s great that you host an Around the World challenge and get lots of people reading globally!
By: biblioglobal on January 29, 2015
at 10:13 pm
what a great blog, glad I found it! 🙂
By: thepocobookreader on January 7, 2016
at 8:46 am
Thank-you! Welcome! (I’m glad to have now found your blog also.)
By: biblioglobal on January 7, 2016
at 3:34 pm
Hello. I love the picture. Where is it? All the best.
By: precioso thierry (@tierry_precioso) on October 29, 2018
at 1:54 pm
Unfortunately, I don’t know! I’m pretty sure it was just a default picture from WordPress, but I kept it because I liked it.
By: biblioglobal on October 29, 2018
at 2:32 pm