My Mission
I started this blog in July 2006. Here’s what I wrote then:
I am aiming to read 100 books from 100 different countries in one year. These books will include novels, short stories, poetry, maybe non-fiction books…it all depends what I come across through my browsings in libraries and bookshops. This may seem like an arbitrary goal, which I suppose it is really, but I’m hoping to get a lot from my year of word literature. A better knowledge of geography for a start…
My love of wasting time drifting aimlessly round bookshops prohibits me from making lists of all the books/authors I would like to read this year (that, and the fact that as soon as I slap something onto one of my ‘Must Read’ lists I immediately lose all will to pick it up), so I’m just going to see what happens. Actually, I know what happens, because I went to a secondhand bookshop and then the library a few days ago, meandered, and discovered my first few books.
May 2007: I’m not going to get through 100 books by July unless someone lends me a time machine, but I’m loving my challenge so much I intend to keep going until I do reach 100 countries. After that, I’ll probably try to read something from every country in the world, just because I can. I intend to keep this going as a general world literature blog, so keep checking in to see what discoveries I’ve been making.
stedawa said
Hope you continue with your journey through literature. What an admirable goal!
One question – how much research do you do before you decide which book you will read? Do other websites give you information?
Stories are universal, though, and I guess almost any story from another country will have something good in it.
Maybe you can form a group to help you finish it. Power in numbers. Maybe it could be done in blocks of 5 or 10 books which a certain group of people would order and read by a certain time, and then share ideas.
Just an idea. Kind of like a World Book-of-the-Two-Moons Club.
stedawa
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CES said
Excellent and ambitious goal! Literature allows amazing insight into the cultures of the world. The books you have read or have already read, are they translated into English from the source text or are these book originally written in English? I am trying to increase demand for translated foreign works into English. Please check out my blog http://worldlostintranslation.blogspot.com/. I’d love your input and recommendations, if you’ve read anything good that you’d like to add. Good luck!
(If you haven’t read something from Algeria try The Last Summer of Reason. It’s not plot driven, but the prose is beautiful.)
M said
I just found your blog and have subscribed. I also intend to look through works you’ve already read. This is such a great idea and world lit is my favorite “genre”. Look forward to seeing your future entries!