Read Around the World Challenge: Reading a Book From Every Country in The World.

Welcome to my World Reading Challenge!

In an effort to diversify my reading, I decided to read at least one book set in or written by an author from every country in the world. I curated a list of countries, territories, and regions with their respective books below. While some of these territories and regions are technically part of larger countries, I felt it would be defeating the purpose of exploring diverse perspectives if I didn't mention them separately. Many of these areas have their own unique history and culture. For example, I listed Hawaii and Alaska separately, even though they are states of the USA, and for the United Kingdom, I separated England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

I will highlight in green the books I've read and link the ones I've reviewed.

To track my progress, I've included a pie chart below that shows the number of countries I've read from so far. This is an ongoing challenge, so I'm slowly but surely making my way around the world through books!

Let's challenge ourselves and travel the world through books!

EXPLORING THE WORLD ONE BOOK AT A TIME:

• A

• Afghanistan- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

• Albania- The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare

• Algeria- Algerian White by Assia Djebar & The Stranger by Albert Camus

• Andorra- The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó

• Angola-Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki

• Antigua and Barbuda- A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

• Argentina-He who Searches by Luisa Valenzuela, Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, & Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges

• Armenia- The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

• Australia-The Secret River by Kate Grenville

• Austria- The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig, & Extinction by Thomas Bernhard

• Azerbaijan-Ali and Nino by Kurban Said

• B

• Bahamas- Thine is the Kingdom by Garth Buckner

• Bahrain-The Meeting Point by Lucy Caldwell

• Bangladesh- A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

• Barbados-How the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones & Washington Black by Esi edugyen

• Belarus- King Stakh's Wild Hunt by Uladzimir Karatkevich

• Belgium- The Misfortunates by Dimitri Verhulst

• Belize- Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell

• Benin- The Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin

• Bhutan- The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden & Married to Bhutan by Linda Leaming

• Bolivia- American Visa by Juan De Recacoechea

• Bosnia and Herzegovina-The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić

• Botswana- The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

• Brazil - The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector & Symphony in White by Adriana Lisboa

• Brunei - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem by Jillian Lauren

• Bulgaria- Stork Mountain by Miroslav Penkov

• Burkina Faso- The Parachute Drop by Norbert Zongo

• Burundi- Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

• C

• Cabo Verde- The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo by Germano Almeida

• Cambodia- First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung

• Cameroon- Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono

• Canada- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood & Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

• Cayman Islands- Reflections From a Broken Mirror by J.A. Roy Bodden

• Central African Republic (CAR)- Co-wives, Co-Widows by Adrienne Yabouza

• Chad- Told by Starlight in Chad by J. Brahim

• Chile- The Women by Marcela Serrano

• China- Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, Empress Orchid by Anchee Min, & The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu

• Colombia- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• Comoros- A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir

• Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

• Costa Rica- A Beach House to Die For by K.C. Ames

• Cote d'Ivoire- Allah is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma

• Croatia- On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleža

• Cuba- Dancing to "Almendra" by Mayra Montero

• Curaçao- The House of Six Doors by Patricia Selbert

• Cyprus- The Sunrise by V. Hislop

• Czechia- The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

• D

• Denmark- The Exception by Christian Jungersen -Greenland-The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

-The Faroe Islands- The Old Man and His Sons by Heðin Brú

• Djibouti- In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman A. Waberi

• Dominica-The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey & The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid

• Dominican Republic- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by J. Diaz

• E

• Ecuador- Cumanda by J. Mera

• Egypt- Palace Walk by N. Mahfouz & Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
  

• El Salvador- Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benítez

• Equatorial Guinea- By Night the Mountain burns by J. Laurel

• Eritrea- Heart of Fire: One Girl's Extraordinary Journey from Child Soldier to soul Singer by Senait G. Mehari

• Estonia- The Man Who Spoke Snakish by A. Kivirähk

• Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)- When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn

• Ethiopia- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

• F

• Fiji- Maya by Jostein Gaarder

• Finland- The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

• France- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr & Happening by Annie Ernaux

• G

• Gabon- Mema by Daniel M. Mengara

• Gambia- Reading the Ceiling by Dayo Forster

• Georgia- A Man Was Going Down the Road by Otar Chiladze

• Germany- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak & All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

• Ghana- Changes by A. Atido & His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie

• Greece- Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis & Circe by Madeline Miller

• Grenada- Pynter Bender by Jacob Ross

• Guadeloupe-Crossing the Mangrove by Maryse Condé

• Guatemala- The President by M. Ángel

• Guinea- The Dark Child by Camara Laye

• Guinea-Bissau- Unity and Struggle by Amilcar Cabral

• Guyana- Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas

• H

• Haiti- Claire of the Sea Light by E. Danticat & What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J.A. Chancy

• Honduras- The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux

• Hungary- Embers by Sándor Márai

• I
  

• Iceland- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent & Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness

• India- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry & The White Tiger byAravind Adiga

• Indonesia- Saman by Ayu Utami

• Iran- Reading Lolita in Tehran by A. Nafisi & Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

• Iraq- Dreaming of Baghdad by H. Zangana

• Ireland- The Wonder by E. Donoghue & Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

• Israel- A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz & Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

• Italy- The Day of the Owl by Leonardo Sciascia (Sicily) & The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

• J

• Jamaica- Augustown by Kei Miller & A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

• Japan- The Windup Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

• Jordan- Time of White Horses by Ibrahim Nasrallah

• K

• Kazakhstan- The Silent Steppe by M. Shayakhmetov

• Kenya- Out of Africa by Karen Blixen

• Kiribati- A Pattern of Islands by A. Grimble

• Kosovo- The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley

• Kuwait- Pearling in the Arabian Gulf: A Kuwaiti Memoir by Saif Marzooq al-Shamlan

• Kyrgyzstan- Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov

• L

• Laos- Mother's Beloved: Stories from Laos by Outhine Bounyavong

• Latvia- Among the Living and the Dead by Irana Verzemnieks

• Lebanon- Gate of the Sun: Bab Al-Shams by Elias Khoury

• Lesotho-Little Suns by Zakes Mda

• Liberia- She Would be King by Wayefu Moore

• Libya- In the Country of Men by H. Matar

• Liechtenstein- Ludmila: A Story Of Liechtenstein by Paul Gallico

• Lithuania- Vilnius Poker by Ričardas Gavelis

• Luxembourg- The Expats by Chris Pavone

• M

• Madagascar- Voices From Madagascar by Jacques Bourgeacq and Liliane Ramoarosoa

• Malawi-The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer

• Malaysia- The Garden of Eden Mists by Tan Twang Eng

• Maldives- Folk Tales of the Maldives by Xavier Romero-Frias (Translation)

• Mali- The Fortunes of Wangrin by Amadou Bâ

• Malta- The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monsarrat

• Marshall Islands- Marshall Islands Legends and Stories by Daniel A. Kelin (Editor)

• Martinique- Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau

• Mauritania- Travels in Mauritania by Peter Hudson

• Mauritius- The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah

• Mexico- Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, & Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

• Micronesia- The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

• Moldova- The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov

• Monaco- The Grace Kelly Years: Princess of Monaco by Frédéric Mitterrand

• Mongolia- The Blue Sky Galsan Tschinag

• Montenegro- The Mountain Wreath by Petar II Petrović Njegoš

• Morocco-Secret Son by Laila Lalami

• Mozambique- Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto

• Myanmar (formerly Burma)- Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi

• N

• Namibia- Troubled Waters by Joseph Diescho

• Nauru- The Undesirables: Inside Naru by Mark Isaacs

• Nepal- Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay

• Netherlands- The Dinner by H. Koch

• New Zealand- The Luminaries by E. Catton

• Nicaragua- Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand: A Novel of Adam and Eve by Gioconda Belli

• Niger-The Epic of Askia Mohammad by N Malio

• Nigeria-Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe & The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

• North Korea- In Order to Live by Y. Park

• North Macedonia (formerly Macedonia)- A Spare Life by L. Dimkovska

• Norway- The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder, The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave & Hunger by Knut Hamsun

• O

• Oman- The Turtle of Oman by N. Shihab

• P

• Pakistan- Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid & The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid

• Palau- Being a Palauan by Homer G. Barnett

• Palestine- Mornings in Jenin by S. Abulhawa

• Panama- The Golden Horse: A Novel About Triumph and Tragedy Building the Panama Railroadby Juan David Morgan

• Papua New Guinea- Maiba, a Papuan Novel by Russell Soaba & Euphoria by Lily King

• Paraguay- I The Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos & At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay by John Gimlette

• Peru- Conversation in the Cathedral by M. Vargas

• Philippines- State of War by N. Rosca

• Poland- House of Day, House of Night by Olga

• Portugal- Blindness by José Saramago

• Puerto Rico- When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

• Q

• Qatar- The Corsair by Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud

• R

• Romania- The Land of Green Plums by H. Miller

• Russia- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

• Rwanda- Our Lady of the Nile by S. Mukasonga

• S

• Saint Kitts and Nevis- Only God Can Make a Tree by Bertram Roach

• Saint Lucia- They Called us Brigands: The Saga of St. Lucia's Freedom Fighters by Robert J. Devaux

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines- Spirits in the Dark by H. Nigel Thomas

• Samoa- Free Love by Sia Figiel

• San Marino- The Republic of San Marino: The Oldest and Smallest Republic of the World by Giuseppe Rossi

• Sao Tome and Principe-Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares

• Saudi Arabia- Girls of Riyadh by R. Alsanea

• Senegal- So Long a Letter by M. Bâ

• Serbia- Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić

• Seychelles- Voices: Short stories from the Seychelles Islands by Glynn Burridge

• Sierra Leone- A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

• Singapore- Fistful of Colours by Suchen Christine Lim

• Slovakia- Seeing People Off by Jana Benová

• Slovenia- Heaven in a Blackberry Bush by Nataša Kramberger

• Solomon Islands- Devil-Devil by Graeme Kent

• Somalia- Links by N. Farah

• South Africa- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah & Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

• South Korea- Please Look After Mom by Chi-Young Kim

• South Sudan- First Raise A Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War but Lost the Peace by Peter Martell

• Spain- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

• Sri Lanka- Reef by Romesh Gunesekera

• Sudan-Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

• Suriname- The Free Negress Elisabeth by Cynthia McLeod & On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer

• Sweden- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, Beartown by Fredrik Backman & The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

• Switzerland- The Pledge by Friedrich Dürrenmatt,

• Syria- Sabriya: Damascus Bittersweet by Ulfat Idilbi

• T

• Taiwan- Notes of a Desolate Man by T. Chu

• Tajikistan- The Disobedient Wife by A. Milisic-Stanley

• Tanzania- Paradise by A. Gurnah

• Thailand- Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj

• Timor-Leste-The Crossing: A Story of East Timor by Luís Cardoso

• Togo- Do They Hear You When You Cry by Fauziya Kassindja

• Tonga- Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau' ofa

• Trinidad and Tobago- A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul & Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud

• Tunisia- A Tunisian Tale by Hassouna Mosbahi

• Turkey- My Name is Red by O. Pamuk

• Turkmenistan-Unknown Sands: Journeys Around the World's Most Isolated Country by John W. Kropf

• Turks and Caicos Islands- Water and Light: A Diver's Journey to a Coral Reef by Stephen Harrigan

• Tuvalu- Where The Hell Is Tuvalu?: How I became the law man of the world's fourth-smallest country by Philip Ells

• U

• Uganda- Abyssinian Chronicles by Moses Isegawa

• Ukraine- Wave of Terror by Theodore Odrach

• United Arab Emirates (UAE)- The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai by Maha Gargash

• United Kingdom (UK):- -England-Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel & My Name is Why by Lemn Sissay -Scotland-Clear by Carys Davies -Wales- How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn -Northern Ireland- Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Mayhem in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
  

• United States of America (USA):- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

-Alaska- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

-Hawaii- Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

• Uruguay- The Shipyard by Juan Carlos Onetti

• Uzbekistan- A Collection of Uzbek Short Stories by Mahmuda Saydumarova

• V

• Vanuatu- Laef Blong Mi: From Village to Nation by Sethy John Regenvanu

• Vatican City (Holy See)- When in Rome: A Journal of life in the Vatican City by Robert J. Hutchinson

• Venezuela- Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos

• Vietnam- The Sympathizer by Viet Nguyen

• Y

• Yemen- I am Nujood, age 10 and Divorced by N. Ali

• Z

• Zambia- Bitterness by Malama Katulwende

• Zimbabwe- Without a name and Under Tongue by Yvonne Vera