Iusedtothinkofmyselfasafairlycosmopolitansortofperson,butmybookshelvestoldadifferentstory.ApartfromafewIndiannovelsandtheoddAustralianandSouthAfricanbook,myliteraturecollectionconsistedofBritishandAmericantitles.Worsestill,Ihardlyevertackledanythingintranslation.MyreadingwasconfinedtostoriesbyEnglish-speakingauthors.So,atthestartof2012,Isetmyselfthechallengeoftryingtoreadabookfromeverycountry(well,all195UN-recognisedstatesplusformerUNmemberTaiwan)inayeartofindoutwhatIwasmissing.WithnoideahowtogoaboutthisbeyondasneakingsuspicionthatIwasunlikelytofindpublicationsfromnearly200nationsontheshelvesofmylocalbookshop,Idecidedtoasktheplanet’sreadersforhelp.IcreatedablogcalledAYearofReadingtheWorldandputoutanappealforsuggestionsoftitlesthatIcouldreadinEnglish.Theresponsewasamazing.BeforeIknewit,peopleallovertheplanetweregettingintouchwithideasandoffersofhelp.Somepostedmebooksfromtheirhomecountries.Othersdidhoursofresearchonmybehalf.Inaddition,severalwriters,likeTurkmenistan’sAkWelsaparandPanama’sJuanDavidMorgan,sentmeunpublishedtranslationsoftheirnovels,givingmearareopportunitytoreadworksotherwiseunavailabletothe62%ofBritswhoonlyspeakEnglish.Evenwithsuchanextraordinaryteamofbibliophilesbehindme,however,sourcingbookswasnoeasytask.Forastart,withtranslationsmakinguponlyaround4.5percentofliteraryworkspublishedintheUKandIreland,gettingEnglishversionsofstorieswastricky.Buttheeffortwasworthit.AsImademywaythroughtheplanet’sliterarylandscapes,extraordinarythingsstartedtohappen.Farfromsimplyarmchairtravelling,IfoundIwasinhabitingthementalspaceofthestorytellers.InthecompanyofBhutanesewriterKunzangChoden,Iwasn’tsimplyvisitingexotictemples,butseeingthemasalocalBuddhistwould.TransportedbytheimaginationofGalsanTschinag,IwanderedthroughthepreoccupationsofashepherdboyinMongolia’sAltaiMountains.WithNuNuYiasmyguide,IexperiencedareligiousfestivalinMyanmarfromatransgendermedium’sperspective.Inthehandsofgiftedwriters,Idiscovered,bookpackingofferedsomethingaphysicaltravellercouldhopetoexperienceonlyrarely:ittookmeinsidethethoughtsofindividualslivingfarawayandshowedmetheworldthroughtheireyes.Morepowerfulthanathousandnewsreports,thesestoriesnotonlyopenedmymindtothenutsandboltsoflifeinotherplaces,butopenedmyhearttothewaypeopletheremightfeel.Andthatinturnchangedmythinking.Throughreadingthestoriessharedwithmebybookishstrangersaroundtheglobe,IrealisedIwasnotanisolatedperson,butpartofanetworkthatstretchedallovertheplanet.Onebyone,thecountrynamesonthelistthathadbegunasanintellectualexerciseatthestartoftheyeartransformedintovital,vibrantplacesfilledwithlaughter,love,anger,hopeandfear.Landsthathadonceseemedexoticandremotebecamecloseandfamiliartome–placesIcouldidentifywith.Atitsbest,Ilearned,fictionmakestheworldreal.
