Since Summer 2017, I have been (slowly...) working towards a challenge of reading a book from every country. For most books, I try to find someone I know from the given country for a recommendation (perks of PhD life is meeting people from all around the world! :) ).
In general, I try to choose either fiction or auto-biographies, and for formerly colonized countries to pick authors that aren't actually from the colonizing country (like Albert Camus for Algeria). I also have a slight preference for books with an interesting prose style, and were written by a female author, or from an underrepresented community.
By the list below, I still have a long ways to go :) Please email me for recommendations for countries (megha at cs dot stanford dot edu)!
In general, I try to choose either fiction or auto-biographies, and for formerly colonized countries to pick authors that aren't actually from the colonizing country (like Albert Camus for Algeria). I also have a slight preference for books with an interesting prose style, and were written by a female author, or from an underrepresented community.
By the list below, I still have a long ways to go :) Please email me for recommendations for countries (megha at cs dot stanford dot edu)!
- Algeria: The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud (recommended by my creative writing instructor at 65 High St., Oxford)
- Australia: The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey (recommended by the staff at The Brunswick Street Bookstore in Fitzroy, Melbourne)
- Belarus: Alindarka’s Children by Alhierd Bacharevič (recommended by the staff at City of Asylum bookstore in Pittsburgh which was recommended by Zach)
- Brazil: The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector (recommended by Gabriel)
- Canada: Mudflowers by Aley Waterman (found at the lovely Nooroongji Books during NeurIPS 2024 in Vancouver)
- China: Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin (曹霑)(recommended by Bingbin)
- Costa Rica: Antologia Femenina de Escritura Magica by many Costa Rican female authors (recommended by the staff in a bookstore in San José)
- Denmark: Lucky Per by Henrik Pontoppidan (recommended by Thomas)
- Dominican Republic: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julie Alvarez (first read in Harvard-Westlake, still think about it years later)
- France: A Girl's Story by Annie Ernaux (recommended by the staff at L'Écume des Pages in Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, Paris), also Et la joie de vivre by Gisèle Pelicot (an incredible woman)
- Ghana: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (recommended by a Stanford Open-Mic event during undergrad)
- Greece: Fool's Gold by Maro Douka (recommended by Isabel)
- Hungary: Abigail by Magda Szabó (found in Beacon Hill Books & Cafe)
- Iran: Savushun by Simin Daneshvar (recommended by Yeganeh)
- Ireland: Normal People by Sally Rooney(recommended by Erin)
- Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (I forget who recommended this to me!)
- India: Boats on Land by Janice Pariat (recommended by Instagram's algorithm)
- Japan: Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima (recommended by Shannon), also The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, also Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki (recommended by Amy)
- Mexico: Ojos de lagarto by Bernardo Fernández (recommended by a stranger in a bookstore in Mexico City who thought I was interested in specifically scifi books because of my terrible Spanish skills)
- Morocco: Dreams of Tresspass by Fatima Mernissi (recommended by a stranger in a bookstore in Rabat)
- Netherlands: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (inspired to read after visiting Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam)
- Pakistan: The Crow Eaters by Bapsi Sidhwa (recommended by Salman)
- Palestine: Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad (recommended by the staff in a bookstore in Palo Alto)
- Philippines: Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn (recommended by the staff at Dog Eared Books in San Francisco)
- Poland: The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk (recommended by the staff at Dog Eared Books in San Francisco)
- Serbia: The Fortress by Mesa Selimovic (recommended by Ljubica)
- South Korea: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (recommended by so many people!)
- Switzerland: Voting Day by Clare O'Dea (technically, the author is Irish not Swiss, but has lived in Switzerland for 20 years... When I was interning at ETH Zurich, my favorite area for hiking quickly became Appenzell (Falensee), and I was surprised to learn women in that canton only got the right to vote in 1990! This book is about an earlier referendum (1959), where the majority of Swiss men voted against female disenchranchisement -.- ... but from the perspective of 4 women! Found this book at Beacon Hill Books & Cafe.)
- Turkey: Snow by Orhan Pamuk (stolen from Gates 256 during my undergrad when I was part of p-lambda)
- United Kingdom: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (recommended by my Literature & Psychosis professor)
- Australia: The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey (recommended by the staff at The Brunswick Street Bookstore in Fitzroy, Melbourne)