My Around the World Reading Challenge Goals for 2025

My Around the World Reading Challenge 2025 goals as I travel the world in books to more countries and cultures I haven’t read about yet! Join me!

Note: This blog contains affiliate links or referral links. Purchases from these links provides a small commission or discounts towards future purchases to me at no extra cost to you. Medical and health information and these recommendations are from my personal experience and do not constitute medical advice. Please seek professional medical advice for your health. Refer to my Full Privacy Policy and Disclaimers here.

I’ve already read 96 books set in 35 different countries so far since I started this endeavor in 2014. As much as I want to expand my cultural and reading horizons, I’ve noticed I still tend to read lots in India (where my family is from), Japan, China, France, England and Australia. In 2023, I was happy that made a bit of a dent in some African countries, including one of my all time favorites (Cutting for Stone set in Ethiopia) but then I started working full time again and somehow even my reading took a hit.

My Around the World in Books Reading Challenge Goals for 2025

1. Read 25 Books from Around the World
2. Read 15 Books from Around the World I already own
3. Read books from 15 countries i haven’t read about yet
4. Review every book I read in my Around the World Reading Challenge Coloring Journal (it’s so cute!)

In 2023, I had this huge goal to read a book a week set in a different country. I didn’t quite make it as far as I liked so I still have this great list of books I wanted to read. here’s what I have left to read by continent, even Antarctica, that last book looks so cute!

I’m also hosting and doing the Shop My Shelves TBR Reading Challenge for 2025 since I’ve been collecting books for this challenge for years . I’ve marked the ones i own with SMS so I remember to count them for my Shop My Shelves challenge too.

Books Set in Africa

• Books set in Ethiopia ideas
• South Africa – Born a Crime – Trevor Noah (SMS)
• Nigeria – Half of a Yellow Sun – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (SMS)
• Sudan – A Long Walk to Water – Linda Sue Park
• Rwanda – Baking Cakes in Kigali – Gaile Parkin
• Malawi – The Boy who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba
• Morocco – The Alchemist – Paolo Coelho (SMS)
• Madagascar –

Books Set in South America

• Trinidad and Tobago – The White Woman in the Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey (SMS)
• Colombia – Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez (SMS)
• Brazil – the Seven Sisters – Lucinda Riley (SMS)
• Argentina – On a Night of a Thousand Stars – Andrea Yaryura Clark
• Ecuador – the Inheritance of Orquidea Dovina – Zoraida Cordova
• Guyana – Of Marriageable Age – Sharon Maas
• Peru
• Chile-
• Venezuela –
• Aruba

Books set in Australia and Oceania

• Australia –What Alice Forgot (SMS)or Nine Perfect Strangers (SMS) – Liane Moriarity
• Fiji – The Trouble with Paradise – Jill Shavis
• New Zealand – the Colour – Rose Tremain
• Various – South Sea Tales – Jack London
• Tahiti – Breadfruit – Celestine Hitiura Vaite
• Various oceania islands – The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific – Paul Theroux
• Cook Islands – An Afternoon in Summer: my year on a South Sea Island, Doing Nothing, Gaining Everything and Finally Falling in Love by Kathy Giuffre

Book set in Europe

• Balkan Peninsula – Tiger’s Wife – Tea Obrecht (SMS)
• France – the Painted Girls – Cathy Marie Buchanan (SMS)
• Ireland – Brida – Paulo Coelho (SMS)
• England – The House at Riverton – Kate Morton (SMS)
• Italy – Beautiful Ruins – Jess Walter (SMS)
• Scotland – Island of Wings – Karin Altenberg (SMS)
• Spain – the Nautical Chart – Arturo Perez Reverte (SMS)
• Norway – the Storm Sister – Lucinda Riley (SMS)
• Cyprus – the Island of Missing Trees – Elif Shafak
• Greece – the Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller

Books set in Asia

• India – The Space Between Us – Thrity Umrigar (SMS)
• Cambodia – In the Shadow of the Banyan – Vaddey Ratner (SMS)
• Philippines – The Mango Bride – Marivi Soliven (SMS)
• China – Peony in Love – Lisa See (SMS)
• Tibet – Ethics for the New Millenium – Dalai Lama XIV (SMS)
• Syria – the Sandcastle Girls – Chris Bohjalian (SMS)
• Malaysia – the Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo (SMS)
• Iran – the Stationery Shop – Marjan Kamali
• Singapore – Rich People Problems – Kevin Kwan

Books Set in North America

• Canada – A Trick of the Light – Louise Penny (SMS)
• Mexico – Margarita Wednesdays: Making a New Life by the Mexican Sea – Deborah Rodriguez (SMS)
• Panama – The World in Half – Cristina Henriquez
• Belize – the Layover – Lacie Waldon
• United States – the Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd (SMS)

Books Set in Antarctica

• Away with the Penguins – Hazel Prior

Support indie bookstores and buy the Around the World Reading challenge books here

Buy these books on Amazon – see my Around the World Reading Challenge 2025 shopping list

Join the Around the World Reading Challenge 2025

I would love if you’d join the Around the World Reading Challenge with me. The challenge is super simple. There are a few ways to join in the fun, do one, do them all, it’s up to you. I just love talking about great books so I’ve given you plenty of options on how to join in the fun! My goal is simply to encourage you to read more books from all over the world.

1. Leave a comment below telling me you’re in!
2. Sign up for my weeklyish reading newsletter and get challenge updates, what we’re reading, the free bingo boards I’ll be using throughout the year, and all the other bookish printables I offer for free.
3. Check out our Around the World Reading Challenge Journal to encourage you and track your global reading journey.
4. Join the free Around the World Reading Challenge Facebook group so we can chat about our reading adventures and have book club events.
5. Find me on instagram where I’ll be sharing my books, thoughts and reading journal pages as I complete and color them in! Use the hashtag #aroundtheworldreadingchallenge to connect to the challenge!

More Reading Challenge Ideas You Might Like

• Fun Reading Challenges and Bookish Games to Encourage Reluctant and Unmotivated Readers
• Fall Reading Challenge Ideas to Read More and Cozy up with Good Books
• 10 Big Books Worth Reading to Travel the World in Books
• 25 Reading Challenge Ideas To Inspire You to Read More + FREE Workbook to Create Your Own Challenge
• A Huge Roundup of 2025 Year Long Reading Challenges

What recommendations do you have for me to add to the list? I would love this challenge to be a resource for the world’s best books! Join me in the challenge and let’s read around the world together!