Read Around the World: 40 Countries, 120 Books
Forty countries, three books each — a journey through world literature from Lagos to Kyoto, Naples to Port-au-Prince. Each country has a main pick, chosen as a beloved doorway into its literature, plus two more if that one isn't for you or isn't on your library's shelf. Read any of them and the country counts: tick it below or tap it on the map, and watch your reading map fill in. Progress saves in this browser automatically.
Most readers have already visited 5 to 12 of these countries on the page. Over 20 and your bookshelf has serious air miles. All 40? Write to us — we want your passport.
Turn this list into a year
Thirty of the forty below is a year's reading — a book every twelve days — and wide enough to cover every inhabited continent properly. Start with the country you are most curious about, not the top of the list.
The rules
- A book counts for a country if the author is from there, or the book is substantially set there. Author origin is the stronger claim when you have a choice.
- One book per country. Nigeria and Kenya are separate entries; 'Africa' is not an entry.
- Translations absolutely count, and are rather the point.
- No order. Start with the country you are most curious about.
Why bother
Your reading is narrower than you think
Translated fiction is a famously small share of what is published in English — the figure usually quoted is around three per cent. Without deliberate effort, an English-language reader's shelf ends up overwhelmingly American and British.
It is the fastest cure for a reading rut
A slump is usually sameness rather than fatigue. Reading a Nigerian novel after a run of American ones resets your palate more effectively than taking a break does.
You get the country, not the guidebook
A novel written from inside a place tells you things no travel writing does — what is funny there, what is shameful, what goes unsaid. It is the closest reading gets to actually going.
The structure makes it finishable
'Read more world literature' is a wish. 'One book from each of thirty countries, ticked off a list' is a plan, and plans get finished.
One of these books is free to read. They're in the public domain, and Read free opens a carefully proofread ebook from Standard Ebooks, a volunteer nonprofit. For more, browse our public domain books.
Africa7 books
From Lagos to Cairo to Harare — the continent that rebalanced the world's bookshelf in a single generation of writers.
Asia & the Middle East10 books
Ten books, ten countries, a century of masterpieces — from Meiji Japan to modern Seoul.
Europe9 books
Beyond the usual English canon — the continent's modern voices from Naples to Oslo.
Checking boxes is fun. Tracking books is better.
Parch keeps your whole reading life (every book on this list, your streaks, notes and stats) in one beautiful, private app. And when a book here makes you think of someone, send it to them with a note, by text or email.
The Americas9 books
From Green Gables to the Boom and beyond — two continents' worth of storytelling.
Oceania, Islands & the Far North5 books
The corners of the literary map most lists forget — don't.
Your score: 0 of 40
Every reader starts at zero — pick the one that's been on your list the longest.
About this list
How were these books chosen?
Each country has a main pick chosen as a genuine doorway — beloved in its own country or definitive of its literature abroad, and a great read in translation — from Nobel laureates like Mahfouz, Laxness, and Han Kang to modern classics like Ferrante and Danticat. The two extra picks per country add a different era or a shorter way in.
Do I have to read the main pick?
No. Any of a country's three picks counts, and so does any other book by an author from that country or substantially set there. The picks are there so you never get stuck when one book isn't for you or isn't available.
What does 'Short' mean on a pick?
Under about 250 pages, or a book of stories you can read one at a time. They're the quickest way to tick off a country.
Does my checklist progress save?
Yes — progress saves automatically in your browser with no account needed. Clear your browser data and it resets, so for a permanent record with dates, notes, and reading stats, track your books in the Parch app.
What counts as having read a book?
Your list, your rules — but we'd say: finished it in any format. Audiobooks absolutely count. Watching the adaptation, alas, does not.
What counts as a book for a country?
Either the author is from that country, or the book is substantially set there. Where you have the choice, an author writing from inside a place is the stronger claim — it is the perspective you cannot get elsewhere.
Do translations count?
They are the point. Translated fiction is a very small share of English-language publishing, so a challenge that avoided translations would defeat its own purpose.
Where should I start?
The country you are most curious about, not the top of the list. If you have no instinct either way, Things Fall Apart, My Brilliant Friend, and Pedro Páramo are three of the most approachable doorways here.
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