2021 Reading Challenge for Travelers: Grow Your Global Perspective

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Hey everyone! New year, new reading aspirations, am I right? If you’re like me, you’re probably someone who buys WAYY more books before even finishing the ones you already have. It’s not a problem, it’s a lifestyle boo. So while I usually try to meet my own personal reading goals each year, I thought it might be fun to create a little 2021 Reading Challenge if any of you wanted to join me!

Anndddd, since I am a travel blogger and all, it only makes sense that the 2021 Reading Challenge be based on the theme of travel. I’ve broken up the list by different travel themes for easy digestion. I’ll also include a recommendation (or two or three) for each item, but you are completely free to choose whatever book you want!

If you can, for this 2021 Reading Challenge, I’d recommend ordering the books from your local bookstore, or even a small online bookstore that gives back to their community. Or for a free option, contact your local library and ask that they stock books for you (if they don’t already have a copy).

However, I know that’s not feasible or accessible for everyone. And Amazon gift cards are all the rage, so I’ve linked affiliate links to the books on Amazon.

Okay, enough with the explanation, LET’S READ SOME BOOKS and get started on this 2021 Reading Challenge!

Location-Based

I mean, we’re all travel lovers right, so it only makes sense that we read books that take place in other countries and cities, right? A major component of my 2021 Reading Challenge will center around different locations.

1. A Book Set in an Arab Country or Region

It is a HUGE part of the world, but one that is seldom included in most book clubs. Admittedly, I’ve only read a few myself, so I’m looking forward to reading another one for the 2021 Reading Challenge. I think I might try out The American Granddaughter by Inaam Kachachi (about the Iraqi War), or Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan (magical realism in pre-Islamic Egypt and Syria). Here are a few of my recommendations that I’ve already read:

• The Old Woman and the River by Ismail Fahd Ismail
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Dubai Wives by Zvezdana Rashkovich

2. A Book That Takes Place in a Country You’ve Never Been To

I mean, this could literally be ANYWHERE, so I don’t have any specific recommendations for you. Or really for myself either. But since I haven’t been to most countries anyway, this will probably be an easy one for me to find haha. It’ll probably be the simplest item on your 2021 Reading Challenge list!

3. A Graphic Novel That Takes Place in Another Country

Likewise, this is less of country specific hurdle for me. Rather, finding a good graphic novel can be difficult. If you’ve never been to Japan, you can go ahead and pick up a classic Japanese manga series to read. Since I’ve been to Japan, the biggest challenge will probably be finding a graphic novel set in another country that is in English haha. I’ve heard good things about Two Brothers by Fábio Moon (Brazil), so I think I’ll give that one a try.

4. A Book That Takes Place in the Caribbean

I currently have a few books that fall under this category, but if you need a few recommendations, check out my list of books about Cuba! Most of them take place on the Caribbean island of Cuba. If you want to do this 2021 Reading Challenge on HARD mode, try finding a book written by a Caribbean author as well!

5. A Book Where the Main Character Travels to More Than One Country

I know a lot of my friends LOVE The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, but I’ve never actually read it! So that’s going to be the one for this item on the 2021 Reading Challenge. But if you’ve already read that book, then I recommend is Runaways by Rachel Sawden, which follows the main character as she sets off with her friends around Southeast Asia. Or the classic, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

6. A Book Set in Your Home City/State

This is highly varied, obviously. Since I’m originally from Los Angeles, California, it’s not that hard to find a book from there. So I’m going to find a book set in Portland, Oregon, my current home base.

7. A Fantasy/Sci-Fi Book Set in Another Universe/Planet

Soo…basically any fantasy book, haha. There are tons of options out there, but if you want to join me, I’m currently reading Children of Blood and Bone! It’s been a great start to my 2021 Reading Challenge!

8-14. Books Set in Each Continent

Ah yes, this item in the 2021 Reading Challenge has multiple parts! You can find literally A TON of books on each continent, but here are some of my suggestions:

• Africa: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• Antarctica: Sun at Midnight by Rosie Thomas
• Asia: I have a whole list of Singaporean books!
• Australia: The Yield by Tara June Winch
• Europe: Normal People by Sally Rooney
• North America: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• South America: The Queen of Water by Maria Virginia Farinango

Culture-Based

We’ve all heard that representation is VITAL. And it is, in basically every sector of society. So I think it is important that the books we read follow that as well! So in my 2021 Reading Challenge for travelers, we will also be reading books from a variety of different voices and perspectives.

15. A Book Featuring an LGBTQ+ Main Character in Another Country

There are such a huge range of books you could choose for this item on the 2021 Reading Challenge list. I know that I personally would like to read more books featuring LGBTQ+ characters (in a wide range of themes, genres, and plotlines), so I’ll just list some of the books that have been recommended to me by others:

• Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai (Sri Lanka)
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (UK)
• The Carpet Weaver by Nemat Sadat (Afghanistan)
• Oracle Bone by Lydia Kwa (Singapore)
• Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht (Argentina)

16. A Book that Explores Pre-Colonial Themes in the Americas

Now that could be in the form of the characters, mythologies, timelines, or even alternative universes. I read a book this year that touched on this, Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I absolutely loved it!! Highly recommend. It’s all about a woman in Mexico that gets wrapped up in a war between Mayan Gods. It’s awesome. In fact, I just love her writing in general – but anways back to the 2021 Reading Challenge.

I think this point specifically will probably be the hardest for me. I also read Sister Raven by Kara Rae Levine, which was amazing as well, but I haven’t heard of many others. Let me know if you have suggestions in the comments below!

17. A Book with a Muslim Main Character in Another Country

I definitely think more non-Muslim readers need to pick up a book with Muslim main characters. ESPECIALLY if you are a fiction writer. Last year, I read Internment by Samira Ahmed. Very relevant since I like in the USA. A few that I’m excited to read for the 2021 Reading Challenge are:

• Love From A to Z by S. K. Ali
• The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi
• The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad
• When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah
• Not the Girls You’re Looking for by Aminah Mae Safi
• The City of Brass by S. Chakraborty

18. A Book Where Main Character That Speaks More Than Two Languages

We love a multi-lingual main character!!! However, there are a lot of main characters who may be bilingual, so I wanted to challenge myself to see if there were any main characters that spoke 3+ languages.

I honestly…haven’t seen this much, even though I have a ton of friends that are triculture kids and speak multiple languages. I thinkkk the only novel I’ve read like this was Mexican Gothic…I think the main character speaks Spanish, English, and Latin…but don’t quote me on that.

Anyways, some leads that I will check out are:

• The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell
• Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
• The Scar by China Mieville

19. A Book That Time Travels

I refuse to read The Time Traveler’s Wife. Now that we have that out of the way, I think I’m going to read Kindred by Octavia Butler. I think A Wrinkle in Time would also fit here, and I actually bought it last year, but I never read it and now I can’t find it. Hahah.

20. A Book Written by an Indigenous Author from Turtle Island (North America)

YESSS!!! Indigenous literature is incredible! I have so many books stacked up that I am spoiled for choice honestly. I even wrote a blog post about some of my favorite books by Native American authors (specifically within the USA occupied lands), and I have so many others to read by First Nation authors, Inuit authors, Metis authors, and throughout the Americas.

For the most current recommendations, I’d recommend following Dani (@thunderbirdwomanreads) and Erin (@erins_library) on Instagram! They even run an Instagram book club that focuses on Indigenous literature. Their theme for 2021 is Indigenous Memoirs.

21. A Travel Memoir

Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of memoirs. Or non-fiction in general. But I think it’s important to push outside of my normal genre comfort zone, so I’ve included this in the 2021 Reading Challenge.

I just bought Letters from Everywhere by Woni Spotts, the first Black woman to visit every country (and continent!). It’ll be interesting to read about her life and journey as such a trailblazer in the travel industry. I think Anthony Bourdain has a memoir as well, so I might pick that one up too.

22. A Book That Touches on Immigration or Immigrating

I mean, you can’t have a reading list based on travel and NOT touch on immigration. I mentioned it earlier, but Internment would be a good book on this. However, for 2021, I really want to read happier or more hopeful and positive stories that center on immigration. Like seriously, can we get some books with a little bit of love or humor??

• The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
• The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
• The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
• Behold the Dreamers by Impolo Mbue
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

23. A Book Where the Main Character Uses a Wheelchair

Literally, it is HARD finding a fiction novel with a main character who is disabled. I hoped that it would happen organically last year, and it never did. So this year I’m setting it as a goal and I’ve made a list of a few potential selections (hopefully that aren’t written from an abliest perspective)!

• The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver
• The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

Theme-Based

Yesss, we’re getting down to the end of our 2021 Reading Challenge! The last little bit would be books that follow a certain theme or trope. So the book itself isn’t what you’re searching for, but what happens *~*inside of it*~*

Or whatever.

24. A Book That Involves a Boat or Cruise

I’ve never been on a crusie, and as someone who gets violently sea sick, honestly I’m a bit hesitant. But that doesn’t mean I can’t read about it! A surprising amount of cruise books are murder-mystery…

• The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
• The Last Cruise by Kate Christensen
• Dead on the Water by RWK Clark
• Cruise Ship Doctor by Gerry Yukevich

25. A Book That Involves a Road Trip

Y’all know I love a good road trip. I try to take a least one every year. So why not read about them too? I can’t recall reading any in my life so far…so let’s change that in the 2021 Reading Challenge! I’m excited to dig into some books that have been recommended to me!

• America For Beginners by Leah Franqui
• Flaming Iguanas by Erika Lopez
• Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham
• Road Tripped by Pete Hautman
• The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade Chang
• Barely Missing Everything by Matt Mendez

26. A Book Where the Love-Interest/BFF is from Another Country

I mostly just want to read a cute romance novel that has all the silly quirks that come with dating someone from another culture. But if you’re not into romance, or just want a more platonic read, go for the best friend route!

• Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
• Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
• The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
• My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn

27. A Poetry Book Written by an Author from Another Country

I’m not a huge poetry fan. But the overarching theme of this 2021 Reading Challenge is pushing myself out of my own comfort zone.

I knowww a lot of people love Rupi Kaur, but she’s notttt my absolute personal favorite. I KNOW I KNOW SHE’S AWESOME AND I’M IN THE MINORITY HERE. But if you’re like me, (or have already read her works, OR are from Canada), here are some other suggestions:

• Arabian Love Poems by Nizar Kabbani (Syrian)
• Cicatrices by Fernando Laureano (Puerto Rican)
• Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Vietnamese)
• Sacrament of Bodies by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Nigerian)
• All Things Other by Litvinova Natalia (Argentinian)
• The Undressing by Li-Young Lee (Indonesian)
• Crossfire: A Litany for Survival by Staceyann Chin (Jamaican)
• The Careless Seamstress by Tjawangwa Dema (Botswanian)
• Born Palestinian, Born Black by Suheir Hammad (Palestinian-American)
• Think of Lampedusa by Josué Guébo (Ivorian)
• In a Language That You Know by Len Verwey (South African)
• And After All by Rhina Espaillat (Dominican)

Some of these are hard to find, so just grab whatever you can find!

28. A Book by an Author from Your Favorite Country

Omggg there are so many good options to complete this tick on the 2021 Reading Challenge. My favorite countries are Mexico and Japan. Though, I’ve read a lot of Mexican literature last year, so I’m going to read more Japanese fiction for the 22021 Reading Challenge!

I have a few suggestions based on local authors if your favorite country happens to be one of the following:

Books by Singaporean authors

Books by Cuban authors

29. A Book Where the Main Character “Finds Themselves” During a Journey

Eh this theme is also pretty common in the “travel realm.” The most popular would probably be Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It’s somewhere in my pile of books, so I’ll go with that one.

30. A Book With Different Narrators

And last but not least for the 2021 Reading Challenge, a book where the main perspective switches! I’m going to leave this one open and hope I stumble upon something that has this aspect! But if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment them!

2021 Reading Challenge: Conclusion

Yoooo!! That’s a lot of books, but believe me, by the time you finish, you will have gained SO MUCH. And I’m not just saying that because I came up with this 2021 Reading Challenge hahah. Are you going to take up this challenge? What point are you most excited to check off?

I think I’ll be most pumped to read some of my picks in the location-based challenges.

Let me know in the comments below which books come to mind when you see this list! Print out my 2021 Reading Challenge graphic and leave it at your desk for some extra motivation!

2021 Reading Challenge Print-Out

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