Where In the World? - 2022/2023 edition.
About a year ago I pondered the question: Where has my fictional reading taken me over the last 10+ years? Apparently, not all that far! I thought that most of my reading had been based in the UK and US and, as you can see below, I was largely correct. Now, as mentioned last time, I have no great intention to read at least one book from *every* country on the planet but I would like to see if I can spread the love beyond the Anglo-American and even the Western world. As mentioned last time, these are fictional locations rather than the nationality of the author. I’m only counting books that take place mostly in a single country (with the odd exception) and am not counting Fantasy or SF. I wasn’t expecting much from my first year's efforts to change this, but things should (I hope) get better going forward. Changes and additions since last year are in BOLD.
Afghanistan – 2Australia - 1
Canada - 1
China – 1
Crete - 1
Cuba – 2 (+1)
England – 56 ½ (+10 ½)
Estonia - 1
France – 11 (+1)
Germany – 5 ½ (+½)
Greece – 2 (+1)
Holland - 1
India – 2
Ireland – 1
Italy – 4 (+1)
Jamaica - 1
Japan – 1
Norway – 1
Malaya - 1
Portugal – 3 (+1)
Russia – 4 (+2)
South Africa – 1 (NEW)
Spain – 2
Sweden - 3
Scotland – 2
Turkey - 2
Ukraine – 1 (NEW)
USA – 45 (+8)
It’s good to see I’ve at least added a few countries, although at this rate I’ll take a lifetime to add enough to make much difference! As before, rather sadly given my overall aim, the biggest growth by far is in the US/UK axis. It seems that it’s going to take some time and effort to turn this juggernaut around. Let’s see what progress I can make this time NEXT year [lol].
5 comments:
I haven't read a book set in Ukraine, but have read books with many other international settings. My book review post this week has a book set in Singapore, and one in the U.S. with Chinese Americans.
https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/
There's HUGE chunks of the Earth missing from both my fiction and non-fiction reading. At least I'm *buying* books based in some of regions I know little about. Now I just need to actually *read* them!
It really is remarkable how much effort it takes to read outside of one's geographical sphere... not that there is anything wrong with staying in it, but there is so much beauty and knowledge and adventure in exploring other realms. :)
I'm intrigued by your 2 Cuba reads - anything you would recommend there?
Looking back at my Reading the World list (which is in progress), I could readily recommend An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie, which would give you some insight into two countries at once (Togo and Greenland). It was a fantastic and true adventure tale. Does include a bit of hunting violence if I remember correctly, and some unsavory social situations, but overall I still think it was a great read.
P.S. by "effort" I think I just mean steering one's self out of one's initial comfort zone... publishers have got better at highlighting other countries' literature, I'm thinking especially of the New York Review Books series :)
@ Marian: It is *so* easy to stay in your lane! I do try though - at least when I *buy* books - if not (so much) when I read them! But as you say - there's a LOT out there, especially these days. I picked up a book a while ago about a Caribbean immigrant living in Canada. That'll be an interesting mix to explore...
The best of my Cuba reads was only recently here:
https://cyberkittenspot.blogspot.com/2023/02/just-finished-reading-havanna-bay-by.html
It's mostly political/crime related but is almost entirely based in Cuba and has a lot of cultural/historical insights you might enjoy.
Moving outside of your comfort zone in any sense is difficult. After all, they call it a *comfort* zone for a reason, right? But it is worth the effort - plus I do so enjoy learning new things about new places.
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