Join the around the world reading challenge and read books set in each country. It’s the perfect free reading challenge idea for avid readers looking to expand their horizons and track the countries about which they read at the same time. You’ll also get a printable PDF checklist to take away with you. Let’s get literary!
Why You Should Take the Around the World Reading Challenge
Reading books set in a variety of countries expands your worldview, knowledge, and empathy. Within the pages of a book, you can walk a mile in someone else’s shoes somewhere else. It can also provide a great escape or teach you about a place you are visiting.
As a reader of 100-150 books per year myself, I was disappointed in how few countries I have read books about to date (and also how many countries I never even heard of — yes, really!) If you’re in the same boat as me, this is all the more reason to challenge yourself to read at least one book set in each country.
Note: This is the type of reading challenge for adults that you can easily do concurrently with another one. For example, I am hosting a Reading Challenge for the Rory Gilmore book list, in which you can participate! And I also have a 50 States of America Reading Challenge and recommend books for POPSUGAR’s reading challenge.
Free Printable PDF Book Challenge Tracker
If you’re ready to get started, simply download, print, and fill in the free reading tracker below with the books you read set in each country around the world. Take this challenge on your own and at your own pace.
WORLD READING CHALLENGE PRINTABLE
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Around the World Reading Challenge Ideas
Below is a full list of countries in the world and the books I recommend for the countries about which I have read.
It is not complete, as I have not yet read a book in every country of the world that I can now personally recommend to you. It’s meant as a starting point, and I will continue to update this list as I read about more countries over time, so you may want to bookmark it.
Afghanistan: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia: The Dry by Jane Harper
Austria
Azerbaijan
The Bahamas: The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana: Spare by Prince Harry
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon: Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Canada: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile: Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
China: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Colombia: Infinite Country
Comoros
Congo, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Costa Rica
Cote d’Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba: When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleton
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark: The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic: Dominicana by Angie Cruz
East Timor (Timor-Leste)
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Gabon
The Gambia
Georgia
Germany: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Ghana: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Greece: The Odyssey by Homer
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India: A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (Related Post: Best Irish Authors)
Israel: A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Related Posts: Books Set in Florence | Books Set in Italy)
Jamaica: Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Japan: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Micronesia, Federated States of
Moldova
Monaco: The Girl in White Gloves by Kerri Maher
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar (Burma)
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
Norway: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Oman
Pakistan: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru: Secret of the Andes by All Nolan Clark
Philippines
Poland: Night by Elie Wiesel
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Rwanda
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
Singapore: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwon
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa: Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais
South Sudan
Spain: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden: Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Switzerland: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania: The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
United States of America: Check out my United States of America reading challenge for recommendations by state.
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City (Holy See)
Venezuela
Vietnam: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Conclusion
This around the world reading challenge helps you expand your horizons and track the countries about which you read at the same time. Use our free printable PDF to track your books as you walk a literary mile in someone else’s shoes.
Love the list. I have a suggestion for Cambodia: The Rent Collector by Camron Wright.
Nice challenge, I’m making it too.
Just a small tip, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are two different countries.
I like your idea of reading around the world and I realised I have actually already read a lot of books that are set in other countries. I made my own list and I have some suggestion for you:
Afghanistan Khaled Hosseni The kite runner, a thousand splendid suns, and the mountains echoed
Australia Lucinda Riley The pearl sister
Diney Costeloe The Throwaway Children
Brazil Lucinda Riley The seven sisters
Cuba Amando Lucas Correa The German girl
France Anthony Doerr All the light we cannot see
Sarah Jio All the flowers in Paris
Germany Anna Ellory The Rabbit Grils
India Per J Andersson Amazing Story of the Man Who Cycled from India to Europe for Love
Iran Marjan Kamali The Stationary shop of Teheran
Ireland Lucinda Riley The missing sister
Italy Elena Ferrante The Lying Life of Adults
Paolo Cognetti The eight mountains
Kenya Lucinda Riley The sun sister
Lebanon Pierre Jarawan The Storyteller
Mexico Jeanine Cummins American Dirt
Norway Lucinda Riley The storm sister
Spain Lucinda Riley the moon sister
Syria Christy Lefteri The Beekeeper of Aleppo
United Kingdom Lucinda Riley the Shadow sister
Jennifer Donnelly the tea rose
United States of America Beck Dorey-Stein From the corner of the oval
I like historical fiction and Lucinda Riley’s seven sisters series. The Storyteller, the tea rose, American Dirt and the Rabbit Girl are my favorites.
I hope to add more book to my list in the future. I have found many books on your list that I would like to read too.
Amazing list! I am so grateful you shared and found some new reads too. 🙂