I’ve been over-thinking my goal of reading a book by an author from every country of the world. I’ve been trying to write a meaningful essay or develop a fun format. At the beginning of 2024, I decided this was the year. I’ve even read a couple of great books towards my end goal. And yet, it’s February 6, and my Around the Globe in 193 Books Personal Challenge still isn’t on my blog.

Time to stop letting perfect be the enemy of good. So here we go…

I was 22 when someone first handed me a copy of The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. Her style of writing and use of magic realism have made her my favorite author from that moment forward! 

Because of my love for Isabel Allende, I started exploring literature by other Latin American authors. From there, I started reading more and more authors from other countries. I’d taken Asian literature classes in college, but then I started picking up more modern Asian literature of my choosing. My life has absolutely been enriched by reading books by authors from around the world.

Still, when I look at my permanent book shelves, (not my TBR, but books I want to keep and cherish and re-read), I realize that though I have a fairly wide representation, there are still significant holes. I own quite a few books that come from North and South America and a substantial number from Asia. But I have only a half shelf of fiction from African authors and none representing the Pacific Islands or Australia. Also, other than British, I have very few European authors in my permanent collection.

There is still a wide world’s worth of authors for me to discover!

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Quick facts – 

• I plan to start off my exploration with the 193 Member States of the United Nations. 

• I’m not setting a time limit. 

• I will add review links to the respective countries as I read them.

• I’m a mood reader so I’m not going to try and go in alphabetical order. I’m also not making a list in advance.

The 193 Member States of The United Nations

A

Afghanistan

Albania – Free – Lea Ypi

Algeria – The Streets of Algiers and Other Poems – Anna Greki

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan – Stone Dreams by Akram Aylisli

B

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

C

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China – Waiting to Be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil

Colombia

Comoros

Congo

Costa Rica

Cote D’Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyrpus

Czechia

D

D.R. Congo

Denmark – Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

E

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

F

Fiji – A Disappearance in Fiji by Nillima Rao

Finland

France

G

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Guyana

H

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary – The Remarkable Mrs. Anderson – Miklos Banffy

I

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

J

Jamaica

Japan – The Kamogawa Food Detectives – Hishashi Kashiwai

Jordan

K

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Kuwait

Kyrgystan

L

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

M

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia – The Weight of Our Sky – Hanna Alkaf

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico      

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

N

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

Netherlands 

New Zealand – Sisters Under the Rising Sun – Heather Morris

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

North Macednoia

Norway

O

Oman

P

Pakistan – The Centre – Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

Palau

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland – The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman – Andrzej Szczypiorski

Portugal

Q

Qatar

R

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

S

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and Grenadines

Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa – The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years – Shubnum Khan

South Korea

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

T

Tajikistan

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

U

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom – Leadon Hill by Richmal Crompton

United Republic of Tanzania

United States

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

V

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Vietnam

Y

Yemen

Z

Zambia 

Zimbabwe