By Jasmine Jones
I’m constantly writing up lists of goals and dreams. New semester begins — goal list. Summer break arrives — goal list. Weekend approaches — goal list. There are lists of goals in every folder, binder, notebook and planner I own.
After I graduated high school, of course, I made a goal list. One of the main goals on that list was to travel, specifically to visit four continents by the time I graduate college.
Well … I’m graduating from college in a few weeks, and I’ve visited one continent. North America. The continent I live on, and have always lived on.
During college, I tried to study abroad, then the pandemic happened. I tried to book summer trips, but the pandemic continued to happen. The idea of seeing the world during college went from a remote possibility to an impossibility. That overly-ambitious goal would be left unchecked.
Then, I stumbled across a TED talk on Youtube. The title of the talk was, “My year reading a book from every country in the world,” and the speaker, Ann Morgan, explained her year-long project of reading a book from every country.
Every metaphorical lightbulb short-circuited in my brain. Although I couldn’t travel the world physically, I could travel the world through words. I could experience a small slice of life through literature in countries I used to not know existed.
So, I got to work. I made an Excel spreadsheet with 196 entries, enough to include all UN-recognized countries plus Taiwan. Then, Google became my best friend. I looked at famous author lists from each country, and chose the books that interested me the most.
Some countries only had one option for a book to read, and a lot of those options were out of print or without English translations or impossible to find — even with the seemingly-infinite knowledge of Google. In Morgan’s TED Talk, she describes how she couldn’t find any English translations of literature from the African island nation São Tomé and Príncipe, but with the help of Portuguese-speaking volunteers she had the short story collection “The House of the Shepherd” by Olinda Beja translated for her to read.
With my version of the project, I included poetry collections and collected folklore stories in my book list, along with novels, memoirs, nonfiction and short story collections. My two sets of criteria for choosing a book included: the author must be from the country, and the content must reflect a truth from each country and culture. Of course, I could never understand an entire country by reading one book, but I could begin to understand the country through the eyes and words of someone who has called it home.
I made a few exceptions for countries with limited bodies of translated, commercially-available literature, but stuck to this principle for 99% of my list.
As much as I love goals, I didn’t want this project to become another box to check off my to-do list. I’ll finish reading all 196 books when it happens. There’s a lot of countries and a lot of words, but that’s OK. There’s also lots of time. Not everything needs to be accomplished by the time I graduate college.
The world is huge, and I am only one person. One person with one specific story to call my own. But there are billions of people out there with billions of stories to tell. So far, I’ve read “Letters to a Young Poet” from Austria, “Tender Is the Flesh” from Argentina, “Annie John” from Antigua and Barbuda, “The General in His Labyrinth” from Columbia, “Detective Story” from Hungary, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” from Iran, “Dubliners” from Ireland and “Things Fall Apart” from Nigeria. I am just beginning this lifelong project but have already learned so much. Mostly, I’ve learned how much more I have to learn — about world events, politics, culture, language, race, geography and literally everything.
It’s easy to get stuck on our own perspective and place in this world. But through literature and stories, we can begin to understand the world outside our own. One word at a time.
Jasmine’s Book List
196 countries. 196 books.
Afghanistan
“The Kite Runner”
Khaled Hosseini
Albania
“The General of the Dead Army”
Ismail Kadare
Algeria
“Morituri”
Yasmina Khadra
Andorra
“The Teacher of Cheops”
Albert Salvadó
Angola
“The Book of Chameleons”
José Eduardo Agualusa
Antigua and Barbuda
“Annie John”
Jamaica Kincaid
Argentina
“Tender Is the Flesh”
Agustina Bazterrica
Armenia
“My Name is Aram”
William Saroyan
Australia
“Picnic at Hanging Rock”
Joan Lindsay
Austria
“Letters to a Young Poet”
Rainer Maria Rilke
Azerbaijan
“Ali and Nino”
Kurban Said
The Bahamas
“Thine is the Kingdom”
Garth Buckner
Bahrain
“The Randomist”
Ali Al Saeed
Bangladesh
“A Golden Age”
Tahmima Anam
Barbados
“More”
Austin Clarke
Belarus
“Voices from Chernobyl”
Svetlana Alexievich
Belgium
“The Flax Field”
Stijn Streuvels
Belize
“Beka Lamb”
Zee Edgell
Benin
“Autobiography of the Lower East Side”
Rashidah Ismaili
Bhutan
The Circle of Karma
Kunzang Choden
Bolivia
“Turing’s Delirium”
Edmundo Paz Soldán
Bosnia and Herzegovina
“The Bridge on the Drina”
Ivo Andrić
Botswana
“Maru”
Bessie Head
Brazil
“The Alchemist”
Paulo Coelho
Brunei
“Four Kings”
Sun Tze Yun
Bulgaria
“The Physics of Sorrow”
Georgi Gospodinov
Burkina Faso
“The Parachute Drop”
Norbert Zongo
Burundi
“Weep Not, Refugee”
Marie Thérèse-Toyi
Cabo Verde
“The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo”
Germano Almeida
Cambodia
“First They Killed My Father”
Loung Ung
Cameroon
“The Old Man and the Medal”
Ferdinand Oyono
Canada
“All My Puny Sorrows”
Miriam Toews
Central African Republic
“Daba’s Travels from Ouadda to Bangui”
Makombo Bamboté
Chad
“Told by Starlight in Chad”
Joseph Brahim Seid
Chile
“Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair”
Pablo Neruda
China
“The Day the Sun Died”
Yan Lianke
Colombia
“The General in His Labyrinth”
Gabriel García Márquez
Comoros
“The Kafir of Karthala”
Mohammed Toihiri
Congo, Republic of the
“Johnny Mad Dog”
Emmanuel Dongala
Costa Rica
“Cadence of the Moon”
Oscar Núñez Oliva
Côte d’Ivoire
“In the Company of Men”
Véronique Tadjo
Croatia
“Café Europa”
Slavenka Drakulić
Cuba
“Before Night Falls”
Reinaldo Arenas
Cyprus
“Ledra Street”
Nora Nadjarian
Czech Republic
“Too Loud a Solitude”
Bohumil Hrabal
Denmark
“Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow”
Peter Høeg
Djibouti
“Land Without Shadows”
Abdourahman Waberi
Dominica
“It Falls into Place”
Phyllis Shand Allfrey
Dominican Republic
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”
Junot Díaz
East Timor (Timor-Leste)
“The Crossing”
Luís Cardoso
Ecuador
“Wolves’ Dream”
Abdón Ubidia
Egypt
“Woman at Point Zero”
Nawal El Saadawi
El Salvador
“Small Hours of the Night: Collected Poems”
Roque Dalton
Equatorial Guinea
“Shadows of Your Black Memory”
Donato Ndongo
Eritrea
“The Consequences of Love”
Sulaiman Addonia
Estonia
“Treading Air”
Jaan Kross
Eswatini
“Weeding the Flower Beds”
Sarah Mkhonza
Ethiopia
“Beneath the Lion’s Gaze”
Maanza Mengiste
Fiji
“We Are the Ocean”
Epeli Hau’ofa
Finland
“The Year of the Hare”
Arto Paasilinna
France
“In Search of Lost Time”
Marcel Proust
Gabon
“Mema”
Daniel M. Mengara
Gambia, The Republic of
“Folk Tales and Fables from the Gambia”
Dembo Fanta Bojang and Sukai Mbye Bojang
Georgia
“A Man Was Going Down the Road”
Otar Chiladze
Germany
“Perfume”
Patrick Süskind
Ghana
“Changes: A Love Story”
Ama Ata Aidoo
Greece
“Kassandra and the Wolf”
Margarita Karapanou
Grenada
“The Ladies are Upstairs”
Merle Collins
Guatemala
“The President”
Miguel Ángel Asturias
Guinea
“The Dark Child”
Camara Laye
Guinea-Bissau
“The Ultimate Tragedy”
Abdulai Silá
Guyana
“University of Hunger”
Martin Carter
Haiti
“Dance on the Volcano”
Marie Vieux-Chauvet
Honduras
“Points of Light”
Guillermo Yuscaran
Hungary
“Detective Story”
Imre Kertész
Iceland
“The Fish Can Sing”
Halldór Laxness
India
“Kaalam”
M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Indonesia
“Stories from Blora”
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Iran
“Reading Lolita in Tehran”
Azar Nafisi
Iraq
“The Madmen of Freedom Square”
Hassan Blasim
Ireland
“Dubliners”
James Joyce
Israel
“A Tale of Love and Darkness”
Amos Oz
Italy
“Divine Comedy”
Dante Alighieri
Jamaica
“Augustown”
Kei Miller
Japan
“Snow Country”
Yasunari Kawabata
Jordan
“The Cry of the Dove”
Fadia Faqir
Kazakhstan
“Abai: Book of Songs”
Abai Kunanbayev
Kenya
“One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir”
Binyavanga Wainaina
Kiribati
“Waa in Storms”
Teweiariki Teaero
Korea, North
“The Girl with Seven Names”
Hyeonseo Lee
Korea, South
“The Vegetarian”
Han Kang
Kosovo
“Call Me By My Name: Poetry from Kosova”
Flora Brovina
Kuwait
“The Chronicles of Dathra: A Dowdy Girl from Kuwait”
Danderma
Kyrgyzstan
“Jamilia”
Chinghiz Aitmatov
Laos
“Mother’s Beloved”
Outhine Bounyavong
Latvia
“Soviet Milk”
Nora Ikstena
Lebanon
“Voices of the Lost”
Hoda Barakat
Lesotho
“Basali! Stories By and About Women in Lesotho”
Various authors
Liberia
“The Lazarus Effect”
H.J. Golakai
Libya
“Escape to Hell and Other Stories”
Mu’ammar Al-Qadhdhāfī
Liechtenstein
“Seven Years in Tibet”
Heinrich Harrer
Lithuania
“Memoirs of a Life Short Cut”
Ričardas Gavelis
Luxembourg
“In Reality: Selected Poems”
Jean Portante
Madagascar
“Almost Dreams”
Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo
Malawi
“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”
William Kamkwamba
Malaysia
“The Garden of Evening Mists”
Tan Twan Eng
Maldives
“Dhon Hiyala and Ali Fulhu”
Abdullah Sadiq
Mali
“Caught in the Storm”
Seydou Badian Kouyaté
Malta
“The Play of Waves”
Immanuel Mifsud
Marshall Islands
“Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter”
Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner
Mauritania
“The Desert and the Drum”
Mbarek Ould Beyrouk
Mauritius
“Eve Out of Her Ruins”
Ananda Devi
Mexico
“The Body Where I Was Born”
Guadalupe Nettel
Micronesia, Federated States of
“Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia”
Various authors
Moldova
“The Good Life Elsewhere”
Vladimir Lorchenkov
Monaco
“Two Plays”
Armand Gatti
Mongolia
“The Blue Sky”
Galsan Tschinag
Montenegro
“Head Full of Joy”
Ognjen Spahić
Morocco
“The Sand Child”
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Mozambique
“Sleepwalking Land”
Mia Couto
Myanmar (Burma)
“A Man Like Him: Portrait of a Burmese Journalist”
Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay
Namibia
“The Purple Violet of Oshaantu”
Neshani Andreas
Nauru
“Stories from Nauru”
Ben Bam Solomon
Nepal
“Mad Country”
Samrat Upadhyay
Netherlands
“The Twin”
Gerbrand Bakker
New Zealand
“Plumb”
Maurice Gee
Nicaragua
“Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand”
Gioconda Belli
Niger
“The Epic of Askia Mohammed”
Nouhou Malio
Nigeria
“Things Fall Apart”
Chinua Achebe
North Macedonia
“A Replacement Life”
Lidija Dimkovska
Norway
“Hunger”
Knut Hamsun
Oman
“Earth Weeps, Saturn Laughs”
Abdulaziz Al Farsi
Pakistan
“Songs of Blood and Sword”
Fatima Bhutto
Palestine
“Out of Place”
Edward W. Said
Palau
“Spirits’ Tides”
Susan Kloulechad
Panama
“The Golden Horse”
Juan David Morgan
Papua New Guinea
“The Crocodile”
Vincent Eri
Paraguay
“I, The Supreme”
Augusto Roa Bastos
Peru
“Death in the Andes”
Mario Vargas Llosa
Philippines
“Sins”
F. Sionil José
Poland
“Nothing Twice”
Wisława Szymborska
Portugal
“Blindness”
José Saramago
Qatar
“The Corsair”
Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud
Romania
“Musics and Tricks”
Ovidiu Verdes
Russia
“Crime and Punishment”
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Rwanda
“Teta: A Story of a Young Girl”
Barassa
Saint Kitts and Nevis
“Only God Can Make a Tree”
Bertram Roach
Saint Lucia
“White Egrets”
Derek Walcott
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
“The Moon is Following Me”
Cecil Browne
Samoa
“Telesa: The Covenant Keeper”
Lani Wendt Young
San Marino
“A Short History of the Republic of San Marino”
Giuseppe Rossi
Sao Tome and Principe
“Native Dance: An African Story”
Gervásio Kaiser
Saudi Arabia
“The Dove’s Necklace”
Raja’a Alem
Senegal
“So Long a Letter”
Mariama Bâ
Serbia
“Hourglass”
Danilo Kiš
Seychelles
“Voices: Short stories from the Seychelles Islands”
Glynn Burridge
Sierra Leone
“A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”
Ishmael Beah
Singapore
“Tilting Our Plates To Catch The Light”
Cyril Wong
Slovakia
“Rivers of Babylon”
Peter Pišťanek
Slovenia
“Integrals”
Srečko Kosovel
Solomon Islands
“The Alternative”
John Saunana
Somalia
“From a Crooked Rib”
Nuruddin Farah
South Africa
“July’s People”
Nadine Gordimer
Spain
“The Shadow of the Wind”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Sri Lanka
“Swimming in the Monsoon Sea”
Shyam Selvadurai
Sudan
“Season of Migration to the North”
Tayeb Salih
Sudan, South
“Carrying Knowledge up a Palm Tree”
Taban Lo Liyong
Suriname
“The Cost of Sugar”
Cynthia McLeod
Sweden
“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared”
Jonas Jonasson
Switzerland
“The Pollen Room”
Zoë Jenny
Syria
“Damascus Nights”
Rafik Schami
Taiwan
“Taipei People”
Pai Hsien-yung
Tajikistan
“Hurramabad”
Andrei Volos
Tanzania
“Desertion”
Abdulrazak Gurnah
Thailand
“Moving Parts”
Prabda Yoon
Togo
“An African in Greenland”
Tété-Michel Kpomassie
Tonga
“A Providence of War”
Joshua Taumoefolau
Trinidad and Tobago
“Measures of Expatriation”
Vahni Capildeo
Tunisia
“Talismano”
Abdelwahab Meddeb
Turkey
“Istanbul: Memories and the City”
Orhan Pamuk
Turkmenistan
“The Tale of Aypi”
Ak Welsapar
Tuvalu
“Tuvalu: A History”
Simati Faaniu
Uganda
“Snakepit”
Moses Isegawa
Ukraine
“Your Ad Could Go Here: Stories”
Oksana Zabuzhko
United Arab Emirates
“The Wink of the Mona Lisa and Other Stories from the Gulf”
Mohammad Al-Murr
United Kingdom
“Pride and Prejudice”
Jane Austen
United States
“East of Eden”
John Steinbeck
Uruguay
“Springtime in a Broken Mirror”
Mario Benedetti
Uzbekistan
“A Poet and Bin-Laden”
Hamid Ismailov
Vanuatu
“Laef Blong Mi: From Village to Nation”
Sethy John Regenvanu
Vatican City
“When in Rome: A Journal of Life in Vatican City”
Robert J. Hutchinson
Venezuela
“The Sickness”
Alberto Barrera Tyszka
Vietnam
“Paradise of the Blind”
Duong Thu Huong
Yemen
“The Hostage”
Zayd Mutee’ Dammaj
Zambia
“The Old Drift”
Namwali Serpell
Zimbabwe
“This Mournable Body”
Tsitsi Dangarembga
