One of the best things about reading is that you’re able to explore other cultures through writers from around the world. Over time, there are classics that become associated with different countries as being one of the most important pieces of literature from the region. You may want to be a worldly reader, but where to start? If only you had a map of the world’s books to look to…
Now you do!
Reddit user BackForward24 has created a map where each country is represented by a book that is seen as either the most well-known or important work to come from that country. Some of the books include Tolstoy’s War and Peace as Russia, Les Miserables as France, Cloudstreet as Australia, and To Kill a Mockingbird as the United States. Luckily for us, they also listed each country and its adjacent book!
And some close-ups:
North and Central America
South America
Africa
Europe
Asia
Oceania & Southeast Asia
Of course, there is some debate over some of the book choices. While Austen is a great choice for the United Kingdom, what about Charles Dickens? Or William Shakespeare? How can you not include Don Quixote for Spain? But, the beauty of this is that it allows you think of more books to add to your list!
Now that you have 196 books to expand your to-read list, it’s time to start your world book adventure!
All images courtesy of Backforward24