Read a book from every country
Summary
I would like to read a book that has a connection to every country in the world. It is an opportunity to learn about other cultures, places, and story-telling traditions.
Criteria
I will favour books that have a direct link to a country through the background of the author and the setting of its story. Satisfying both conditions is preferable.
More detailed criteria
- The list of countries is based on countries that are generally recognised by other nations. I am not making any judgement of what is and isn't considered a country. I merely want a realistic, current list of countries.
- The author should be a native of the country or have spent a significant period in that country. It will not be possible to satisfy this for every country.
- In addition to the background of the author, it is preferable that the story is partially based in the country, or that the culture of a country influences the story in a significant manner.
- Preferably, the story is contemporary. In some cases, there are literary classics that I will choose instead.
Stretch goal
Read more than one book from a country.
Some additional, optional criteria to aid in the choice of an additional book are:
- A non-fiction book focused on the country;
- A book by another notable writer from that country;
- A travel memoir based in the country written by a foreigner.
List
Afghanistan ✅
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ✅
- An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan by Jason Elliot ✅
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
- Mr. Potter: A Novel by Jamaica Kincaid
Austria
Azerbaijan
- Ali And Nino by Kurban Said
- The Orphan Sky by Ella Leya
Bahamas
- An Evening in Guanima: A Treasury of Folktales from The Bahamas by Patricia Glinton-Meicholas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan ✅
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brunei
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
- Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou
Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic ✅
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic ✅
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
- The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
Fiji
Finland
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
- The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Honduras
Hong Kong
India ✅
Indonesia
Ireland ✅
- The Playboy of the Western World by John M. Synge ✅
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde ✅
- Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift ✅
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce ✅
- House Don't Fall on Me by Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé ✅
Israel
Italy ✅
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
- Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao
Madagascar
Malawi
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar (Burma)
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal ✅
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
- Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
- Honey Hunger by Zahran Alqasmi
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Philippines
- Bibliolepsy by Gina Apostol 🔜
- Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco 🔜
- America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
Puerto Rico
- The Passion according to Antigona Perez by Luis Rafael Sánchez
- United States of Banana by Giannina Braschi
Qatar
Russian Federation ✅
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
- The Attic by Danilo Kiš 🔜
- Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić 🔜
- When Pumpkins Blossomed by Dragoslav Mihailović
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
- A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman 🔜
- The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje 🔜
- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka