This year I made a goal of finding, learning about, and ultimately, reading stories set internationally. The only particular requirements are that the setting has to be outside of the United States and the book must be published in English. It can be written in English or translated from some other language, but since I can only read English, that’s a deal breaker…yeah.

Ideally the author would be living in the same country as the story setting, but that isn’t a must. Generally speaking I read 99% fiction, so again, the books will likely be in that genre. Also, at least for this challenge, I’ll probably not do any science fiction or fantasy reading. Don’t get me wrong, I love those genres as well, but in this case I’d rather read about someone else’s real life situation in a country other than my own, than about someone else’s self designed world in their own fantasy land. Maybe next year I should make the challenge the ‘year of reading out-of-this-world’, which could be extremely interesting in itself.

So far, my reading list includes the following titles:(some are read, some I am reading, and the rest are on the list to be read)

• The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, Mikhail (Russia)
• Sitti Nurbaya by Rusli, Marah (Indonesia)
• My Brother, My Executioner (Rosales Saga, #3) by José, F. Sionil (The Philippines)
• Bleak House by Dickens, Charles (England)
• Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Murakami, Haruki (Japan)
• There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In: Three Novellas About Family by Petrushevskaya, Ludmilla (Russia / USSR)
• Em and The Big Hoom by Pinto, Jerry (India) My favorite so far
• Ruins by Kuper, Peter (Mexico) This was a graphic novel
• Faceless Killers (Kurt Wallander, #1) by Mankell, Henning (Sweden)
• Young Blood by Mzobe, Sifiso (Durban, Africa)
• The Sympathizer by Nguyen, Viet Thanh (Vietnam)
• Enigma of China (Inspector Chen Cao #8) by Qiu Xiaolong (China)
• Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat (Haiti)