Read Around the World Challenge

I’m reading my way across the world, one country at a time.

This is my personal challenge to explore every country through books written by women, discovering new voices, cultures, and perspectives along the way.

Why this challenge

I’ve always believed that books can take us places we haven’t been yet.
This challenge started as a way to explore the world more intentionally, not just through travel, but through stories and perspectives I might never encounter otherwise.

By reading books written by women from every country, I want to discover voices that are often underrepresented and experience each place in a deeper, more personal way.

How this works

For each country, I choose one book written by a female author.

Some I’ve already read, some I’m currently reading, and many are still waiting to be discovered.

This list is always evolving, just like the journey itself.

How are books chosen

Each book is chosen with intention.

I look for stories written by women who have a strong connection to the country, voices that offer a glimpse into its culture, atmosphere, or lived experience.

Sometimes I’m drawn to well-known titles, other times to quieter, lesser-known works that feel just as meaningful.

How to use this page

You can explore the list by country, follow along with what I’m currently reading, or find inspiration for your own reading journey.

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.

The List

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

Afghanistan
- The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
Albania
- Sworn Virgin by Elvira Dones
Algeria
- Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade by Assia Djebar
Andorra
- The Gravedigger’s Son by Teresa Colom
- Death Has a Thousand Doors by Patricia Grey
Angola
- Loose Ties Yara by Nakahanda Monteiro
Antigua and Barbuda
- Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Argentina
- Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
- Eva Perón: A Biography by Alicia Dujovne Ortiz
Armenia
- Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan
Australia
- Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright
Austria
- The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
Azerbaijan
- The Orphan Sky by Ella Leya

B

Bahamas
- Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mather
Bahrain
- The Pearl Thief by Noor Al Noaimi
- Yummah by Sarah A. Al Shafei
Bangladesh
- A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
- Revenge: A Fable by Taslima Nasrin
Barbados
- How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones
Belarus
- Down Among the Fishes by Natalka Babina
Belgium
- Hygiene and the Assassin by Amélie Nothomb
- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Belize
- Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell
Benin
- Autobiography of the Lower East Side by Rashidah Ismaili
- Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music by Angelique Kidjo
Bhutan
- The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden
Bolivia
- Sleeping Dragons by Magela Baudoin
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
Botswana
- Far and beyon' by Unity Dow
- Call and Response by Gothataone Moeng
Brazil
- The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
Brunei
- The Fisherman King by Kathrina Mohd Daud
Bulgaria
- Everything Happens as It Does by Albena Stambolova
- Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova
Burkina Faso
- So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo
Burundi
- Weep Not, Refugee by Marie‑Thérèse Toyi

C

Cabo Verde
- The Madwoman of Serrano by Dina Salústio
Cambodia
- In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
- First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
Cameroon
- How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
Canada
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Central African Republic
- Co‑Wives, Co‑Widows by Adrienne Yabouza
Chad
- Al-Istifakh or the Romance of My Friends by Marie-Christine Koundja
- The Payment by Deborah Melom Ndjerareou
- Told by Starlight in Chad by Joseph Brahim Seid, Translated by Karen Haire Hoenig
Chile
- The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
China
- River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
- Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Colombia
- Abyss by Pilar Quintana
Comoros
- The Fire Within by Touhfat Mouhtare
Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)
- Two Poems by Marie-Léontine Tsibinda
- Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou, translated by Helen Stevenson
Costa Rica
- The Madwoman of Gandoca by Anacristina Rossi
- Disobedience by Julieta Pinto
Côte d'Ivoire
- Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet
Croatia
- Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić
Cuba
- Broken Paradise by Cecilia Samartin
Cyprus
- Between the Orange Groves by Nadia Marks
Czechia
- Gerta by Kateřina Tučková

D

Democratic Republic of Congo
- How Dare The Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyiman
Denmark
- The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen
Djibouti
- Les enfants du khat by Mouna-Hodan Ahmed
- Saving Safa: Rescuing a Little Girl from FGM by Waris Dirie
- Why Do You Dance When You Walk? by Abdourahman A. Waberi, translated by David and Nicole Ball
Dominica
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
- Island Man: A Novel by Joanne Skerrett
Dominican Republic
- Dominicana by Angie Cruz
- In the Time of the Butterflies: A Novel by Julia Alvarez

E

Ecuador
- Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda
Egypt
- The Open Door by Laila Al Zayyat
- Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed
El Salvador
- Slash and Burn by Claudia Hernández
Equatorial Guinea
- La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono
Eritrea
- Heart of Fire by Senait Mehari
Estonia
- Purge by Sofi Oksanen
Eswatini
- When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn
Ethiopia
- The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

F

Fiji
- A Remarkable Rotuman Woman by Jacinta Tonga
Finland
- Things that Fall From the Sky by Selja Ahava
France
- The Inseparables by Simone de Beauvoir

G

Gabon
- The Fury and Cries of Women by Angèle Rawiri
Gambia
- Reading the Ceiling by Dayo Forster
Georgia
- The Eighth Life (For Brilka) by Nino Haratischvili
Germany
- Good Girl by Aria Aber
- Higher Ground by Anke Stelling
Ghana
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Greece
- Why I Killed My Best Friend by Amanda Michalopoulou
Grenada
- Angel by Merle Collins
Guatemala
- I, Rigoberta Menchú by Rigoberta Menchú
Guinea
- My Heart Will Cross This Ocean by Kadiatou Diallo
Guinea-Bissau
- Tiara by Filomena Embaló
Guyana
- The Far Away Girl by Sharon Maas

H

Haiti
- Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Honduras
- Don’t Be Afraid, Gringo by Elvia Alvarado
Hungary
- The Door by Magda Szabó

I

Iceland
- A Fist or a Heart by Kristín Eiríksdóttir
- Karitas Untitled by Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir
India
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Indonesia
- Maryam by Okky Madasari
Iran
- The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
- The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
Iraq
- The Beekeeper: Rescuing the Stolen Women of Iraq by Dunya Mikhail
Ireland
- Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy
- The Gathering by Anne Enright
- The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien
- A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa
Israel
- All the Rivers by Dorit Rabinyan
Italy
- The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

J

Jamaica
- Cannibal by Safiya Sinclair

Japan
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

Jordan
- Pillars of Salt by Fadia Faqir

K

Kazakhstan
- The Nanny by Aigul Kemelbayeva
- The School by Zaure Batayeva
- The Beskempir by Zira Naurzbayeva
Kenya
- Dust Yvonne by Adhiambo Owuor
Kiribati
- Teaote and the Wall by Marita Davies
Kuwait
- The Ringing Body by Fatima Yousef al-Ali
Kyrgyzstan
- An Orange Lemon by Alla Pyatibratova

L

Laos
- How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
Latvia
- Among the Living and the Dead: a Tale of Exile and Homecoming by Inara Verzemnieks
- Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena
Lebanon
- One Thousand and One Nights (A new re-imagining) by Hanan Al-Shaykh
- Always Coca-Cola by Alexandra Chreiteh
Lesotho
- Singing Away the Hunger by Mpho ‘M’atsepo Nthunya
Liberia
- The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
- Fugee by Hawa Jande Golakai
Libya
- ‘Melting Sun’ by Laila Neihoum
- Fight or Flight by Heba Shibani
Liechtenstein
- Man wortet sich die Orte selbst (Wording the Places Oneself) by Iren Nigg
Lithuania
- Shadows on the Tundra by Dalia Grinkevičiutė
- Change is not just a hashtag by Žydrūnė Vitaitė
Luxembourg
- Tentative by Anna J Leader

M

Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
- The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
- Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
- The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani
Mozambique
Myanmar (formerly Burma)

N

Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
- The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
- The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
- My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
- Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

O

Oman
- Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

P

Pakistan
- Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Palau
Palestine State
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
- Dekada '70 by Lualhati Bautista
- Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn
- How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future by Maria Ressa
- Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
- Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista
- State of War by Ninotchka Rosca
Poland
- Flights by Olga Tokarczuk
Portugal

Q

Qatar

R

Romania
- The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller
Russia
Rwanda
- Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga

S

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
- The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
- The Vegetarian by Han Kang
- Kim Jiyoung, born 1985 by Cho Nam-joo
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
- Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria

T

Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
- The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
Tunisia
Turkey
- There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
- The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu