I am on an epic bookworm quest to read a book by an author from every country in the world in alphabetical order. I’m a little behind on writing reviews for each book, because I was busy drafting my next novel, but whew, I’m nearly caught up.

I am using this list to keep track of the countries I need to read. It includes 197 countries – 193 UN members, two UN observers (Palestine and Vatican City), Kosovo, and Taiwan. However, the definition of what constitutes a country does vary depending on where you come from (feelings! politics! maps! it’s a hot mess!) and I am keeping track of countries not included in the “official” list over here and I would eventually like to scoop up those countries as well.

Here’s my ongoing list of my favorite authors from this quest.

p.s. I post about this quest regularly on TikTok @CourtneyHenningNovak.

1. Afghanistan: My Pen is the Wing of a Bird, a collection of short stories by Afghan women.
2. Albania: The Doll, by Ismail Kadare.
3. Algeria: Fantasia, An Algerian Cavalcade, by Assia Djebar.
4. Andorra: The Teacher of Cheops, by Albert Salvado.
5. Angola: The Return of the Water Spirit, by Pepetela.
6. Antigua and Barbuda: Annie John, by Jamaica Kincaid.
7. Argentina: Eva Peron: A Biography, by Alicia Dujovne Ortiz.
8. Armenia: Three Apples Fell from the Sky, by Narine Abgaryan.
9. Australia: The Secret River, by Kate Grenville.
10. Austria: The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek.
11. Azerbaijan: The Orphan Sky, by Ella Leya.
12. The Bahamas: Uncertain Kin, by Janice Lynn Mather.
13. Bahrain: Yummah, by Sarah A. Al Shafei.
14. Bangladesh: Revenge, by Taslima Nasrin.
15. Barbados: How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, by Cherie Jones
16. Belarus: Secondhand Time, by Svetlana Alexievich.
17. Belgium: I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
18. Belize: Beka Lamb, Zee Edgell.
19. Benin: Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music, Angelique Kidjo.
20. Bhutan: Folktales of Bhutan, by Kunzang Choden.
21. Bolivia: American Visa, by Juan De Recacoechea (Currently reading! One chapter in, and I’m totally hooked.)
22. Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Bride of the Drina, by Ivo Andric
23. Botswana: Call and Response, by Gothataone Moeng.
24. Brazil: The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, by Machado de Assis (so. freaking. excited.)
25. Brunei: Written in Black, by K.H. Lim
26. Bulgaria: Sinfonia Bulgarica (after some feedback on TikTok, I’m strongly considering switching this to something a little less dark)
27. Burkina Faso: Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman, by Malidoma Patrice Somé.
28. Burundi: Baho! by Roland Rugero. (Already biased in favor of this book because who doesn’t love a book with an exclamation mark in the title)
29. Cabo Verde: Chiquinho: A Novel of Cabo Verde, by Baltazar Lopes. (Just explaining in this post why I picked the book!)
30. Cambodia: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, by Loung Ung.
31. Cameroon: How Beautiful We Were: A Novel, by Imbolo Mbue.
32. Canada: Five Little Indians: A Novel, by Michelle Good.
33. Central African Republic: Co-wives, Co-widows, by Adrienne Yabouza.
34. Chad: Next one I need to pick and buy!