Saturday, January 13, 2018

Indigo child goes worldwide!


Each of us holds within a point of light and pride, I am proud to call myself a reader.


Before I go on, I will leave you in a context of this post. In 2016, I was part of the larger international IWP family (that is the International Writing Program in Iowa) and I was also a traveler across the globe. Aided by my love for the words I had started to see the world with its people, with its places and in books. The world wasn't just continents floating around the great blue mass pinned over each atlas I opened, it was alive and bursting with stories.


My reading however, wasn't. I could talk for hours about the newest YA novel, about intellectual inspirations in local literature but with all my head-buried in books days I still couldn't tell you what was the most exciting Icelandic book I've read, or what was trending in Armenia. I couldn't even talk about modern Arab fiction properly. I am a polyglot which means I get access to the literature in its different languages yet I am unable to grasp the rich essence of the world.


This year and likely the first half of next year  I want to attempt to change these reading habits. I want to spend the next (78 weeks) reading the world (following the example of Ann Morgan). Now I am being realistic with the goal since I work 5 days a week and I would need to read 196 books for all the UN recognized countries (replacing the Holy See with Scotland and adding Taiwan to my list courtesy of my best friend) but I trust that I can make it. For ease of access I will only be reading in both English and Arabic to keep time for reflections.


I would like to hear from you what are your favorite books from around the world by localities/country?. What are the local books trending where you are in the world? Which authors' works left you speechless?


My only take on this that the books to be linked to nationals of the countries not to what others slot as a certain literature of that country. I love fiction and poetry but I will also be dabbling with non-fiction and memoir, I would try to avoid the YA genre having spent years reading the genre I would like to see the world with adult eyes.


I leave this chance for you to inspire me with your suggestions and I will make sure I keep updating with the most striking of reads as time floats by.

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