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197 Books From Around The World Challenge

@197bookslater

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📚 Reading my way around the world
🌍 197 countries. 197 books.
💬 Tell me what to read from your country!
🇷🇺Currently 001/195

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🌍 197 countries. 197 books.

My first post! I love travelling, and I love reading, so I thought I’d combine the two.

The idea is to read a book connected to every country in the world — discovering stories I might not otherwise come across, and books I might never have chosen for myself.

The books might be classics, contemporary fiction, poetry, memoirs, history or anything else that offers a meaningful connection to a country.

I’m hoping this challenge will introduce me to new places, cultures and histories, while also pushing me beyond my usual reading choices.

I’m starting with Russia 🇷🇺

Russian literature is something I’ve wanted to explore for a while, but I’ve always been a little daunted by the length and depth of the books. So this feels like the perfect excuse to finally begin.

I’m setting up this page to share the journey, hold myself accountable and connect with other readers — especially people who can recommend interesting books and authors from their own countries.

I’ve been told that reading one book a month would take around 16 years to complete the challenge, so if you’re following along, you’re in it for the long haul. 😂

I’m definitely going to need recommendations along the way.

If you could recommend just one book from your country — a classic, novel, memoir, poetry collection or anything else — what would it be?

Welcome to @197bookslater . Let’s see where the stories take us. 🌎📖

#197bookslater #ReadingChallenge #AroundTheWorldInBooks #WorldLiterature #Bookstagram taken in BOOKSTA by @197bookslater

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5 days ago

📚🌍 An early birthday present that feels like it was made specifically for me!

My love of reading literature from around the world, along with my interest in travelling, has also sparked an interest in learning languages.

I love the idea of learning languages side by side, so when I came across Comparative Grammar of Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian by @petruninmikhail , I knew I had to get my hands on it!

I’ve only had it for a week, and I already feel like I’ve made so much progress. I’m genuinely surprised by how much I’m picking up and retaining already. It’s so satisfying when something just clicks! 🧠

I’m also lucky enough to have the author himself following me on Instagram, which is pretty exciting! He has another book for learning German and Dutch at the same time, and I have to admit, it’s quite tempting… especially as I’d never really considered learning either of those languages before. 😂

I think I just love learning, and I definitely love reading! ❤️📖

So, Mikhail, I have a question for you! What country are you from, and is there a book or author from your country that you’d recommend for my challenge to read a book from all 197 countries? I’d love to add your recommendation to my reading list! 🌍

#LanguageLearning #WorldLiterature #ReadingAroundTheWorld #Bookstagram #197Countries197Books taken in BOOKSTA by @197bookslater

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🇷🇺 The Russian books that have been waiting patiently on my bookshelf…

As I’m starting my challenge to read a book from every country, I thought I’d share some of the Russian literature I’ve been meaning to get around to.

📚 Anna Karenina — Leo Tolstoy

A former colleague once told me this was her favourite book about 6 years ago, and for some reason that has always stuck with me. I’ve been curious about it ever since.

📚 War and Peace — Leo Tolstoy

This is one of those books that seems to have a reputation of its own 😂 It’s always talked about as being incredibly long and quite a challenge, so naturally I’ve been putting it off!

📚 Lolita — Vladimir Nabokov

I’ve actually already read this one! I first became curious about it because of Sting’s song Don’t Stand So Close to Me, and Lana Del Rey’s song Lolita also caught my attention. It’s interesting how music can lead you to a book.

📚 The Brothers Karamazov — Fyodor Dostoevsky

Another recommendation from my husband. Apparently, he’s helping choose my reading list whether he realises it or not!

📚 Doctor Zhivago — Boris Pasternak

My Year 8 music teacher always talked about the film being her favourite. That’s stayed in my memory all these years, but I’ve never watched the film or read the book. Maybe it’s finally time to find out what I’ve been missing.

I’m starting my challenge with Crime and Punishment, also recommended by my husband, so Russian literature is officially underway!

I’m hoping this challenge will push me to read books I might otherwise keep putting off, discover stories from around the world, and hear recommendations from people who know their country’s literature best.

💬 Have you read any of these? Which should I prioritise next?

And if you’re from Russia, I’d especially love to know: which Russian book do you think everyone should read at least once? 🇷🇺📖

#readingaroundtheworld #russianliterature #worldliterature #readingaroundtheworld #bookstagram taken in BOOKSTA by @197bookslater

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2 days ago

🇷🇺 COUNTRY 001/197: RUSSIA | CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

And we’re off! 🌍📚

I’m starting my challenge of reading a book from every country with ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Why Russia? I already have quite a few Russian classics on my bookshelf that I’ve been putting off reading. They’re often long, deep and a little intimidating tbh 😅 This one was recommended by my husband, so it felt like the perfect place to start! I also have War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Doctor Zhivago that I am interested in reading afterwards.

The idea behind this challenge is to read 197 books by authors of each country, choosing books that are classics or teach me something meaningful about that country’s history, culture or people.

I want to discover books I wouldn’t normally pick up, learn about the world through literature, and hopefully get recommendations from people who know these books and their countries far better than I do.

I’ve read 1 chapter so far, so I’m going in with an open mind! So excited. I might post a review when I’ve finished.

💬 I’d love to discuss:

🇷🇺 Have you read Crime and Punishment? What did you think of it?

📚 If you’re Russian, which book would you recommend to someone wanting to explore Russian literature?

🌍 And where in the world are you following along from? Tell me your country in the comments along with a book recommendation — it might be my next stop!

Here’s to 197 countries, 197 books, and a lot of new discoveries. ✨

#bookstagrammer #197Countries197Books #CrimeAndPunishment #RussianLiterature ReadingChallenge taken in BOOKSTA by @197bookslater

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4 days ago