KENDRA CONNOCK
Stephen King described books as a “uniquely portable magic”, and Neil Gaiman said they are “a dream you can hold in your hands”. Part of what makes books special is the way they are able to transport us from where we are – be it the library or under a blanket reading by torchlight – to an entirely different place. Reading is a simple and cost-effective way to travel the world from the comfort of your own home; something which has become even more valuable in recent months. If you have a wandering soul, and you want to quench your wanderlust, or if you just need an escape from your own reality, here are 80 books that will take you on a journey from one side of the planet to the other.
Afghanistan – And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Albania – Broken April by Ismail Kadare
Algeria – The Plague by Albert Camus
Angola – A General Theory of Oblivion by Jose Eduardo Agualusa
Argentina – The Lighthouse at the End of the World by Jules Verne
Armenia – Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian
Australia – Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington
Botswana – When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head
Brazil – Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils by Rob MacGregor
Brunei – Devil of a State by Anthony Burgess
Cambodia – First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
Canada – Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
Chile – The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
China – Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
Colombia – One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Costa Rica – The Lonely Men’s Island by Jose Leon Sanchez
Cote d’Ivoire – The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
Cuba – The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons
Democratic Republic of the Congo – The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Denmark – The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
Ecuador – Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Egypt – Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
El Salvador – Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez
England – Atonement by Ian McEwan
England – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Finland – The Most Dangerous Game by Gavin Lyall
France – All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Germany – Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Ghana – The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah
Greece – The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell
Hong Kong – Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester
Hungary – The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson
Iceland – Absolution by Olaf Olafsson
India – Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Indonesia – Journey to the End of the Whale by John David Morley
Iran – The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah
Iraq – The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad and Jenna Krajeski
Ireland – What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
Israel – The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy
Italy – The Boy Who Was by Grace Taber
Hallock
Japan – Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami
Malawi – The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer
Mali- The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
Morocco – King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
New Zealand – The Quiet Earth by Craig Harrison
Nigeria – Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Oman – The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye
Pakistan – A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
Palestinian Territory – Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Panama – The Tailor of Panama by John Le Carre
Peru – The Heights of Macchu Picchu by Pablo Neruda
Romania – Dracula by Bram Stoker
Russia – War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Rwanda – A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche
Saudi Arabia – Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
South Africa – Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful by Alan Paton
South Africa – Fiela se Kind by Dalene Matthee
South Korea – The Court Dancer by Kyung-Sook Shin
Spain – Nada by Carmen Laforet
Sri Lanka – Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera
Sudan – Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Sweden – After the Flood by P. C. Jersild
Switzerland – Daisy Miller by Henry James
Syria – The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
Tanzania – Twilight’s Last Gleaming by John Michael Greer
Thailand – The Beach by Alex Garland
The Netherlands – The Kaiser’s Last Kiss by Alan Judd
Tunisia – The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith
Turkey – Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
Turkmenistan – Unknown Sands: Journeys Around the World’s Most Isolated Country
Uganda – The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden
Ukraine – Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich
United States of America – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
United States of America – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Uruguay – The New Troy by Alexandre Dumas
Venezuela – Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest by William Henry Hudson
Vietnam – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Yemen – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
Zambia – Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
Zimbabwe – Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
*DISCLAIMER: This list is by no means comprehensive. If you have any opinions on books that did not make it onto the list, feel free to reach out to PDBY; we would love to hear your suggestions!
Image: Kayla Thomas
Illustration: Cassandra Eardley