A few months ago, I found this book by Ann Morgan about reading a book from every country in the world in a single year. The math was…interesting: 195 countries, about 3.75 books per week, roughly 134 pages daily. A year felt ambitious, but I loved the idea—and what better way to escape my daily routine than to read my way around the world? I started my own version (i.e. thinking I’d do this over a lifetime, not just a year) and it’s become my favorite weekend project.
The Book Hunt
Half the fun is actually finding the books. I’ve become this amateur literary detective—messaging random people on Reddit, diving into obscure Goodreads lists, following translators on Twitter like they’re indie band recommendations. Last week a stranger online helped me find an author from Angola I’d never heard of. There’s something weirdly satisfying about tracking down a great book from, say, Suriname or Burundi. I’m keeping a messy running list: Chinese Cinderella from China, The Kite Runner from Afghanistan, Small Country from Burundi. Some I’d heard of, many I hadn’t. The discovery process is honestly addictive.
Breaking Out of the Bubble
Living in Silicon Valley, it’s easy to get trapped in a very specific worldview—everything revolves around startups, optimization, and the next tech trend. But reading Persepolis or The Memory Police is like stepping into completely different realities. Suddenly I’m thinking about family dynamics in Korea or what it was like growing up during Iran’s revolution. It’s a surprisingly effective way to get outside the tech bubble without actually going anywhere.
Why I’m Sharing This
It’s turned into such a fun project that I figured others might want to try it too. Maybe start a podcast where I chat with people about books from their countries, or just keep building this weird international reading list. Plus, I’m always looking for recommendations—what should I read from your corner of the world? Note: I’m especially hunting for books from Switzerland and Antarctica (yes, really). Send help.