Every reader has a home shelf: the books, languages and places that feel familiar. Reading beyond it is not a duty but a pleasure — the pleasure of being surprised by how differently a story can be told.
When a reading circle moves from Lagos to Naples to Tokyo in a single season, something happens to the conversation. Members stop asking only “did I like it?” and start asking “why was it written this way?” — about structure, silence, humor, and what a writer assumes the reader already knows.
Translation as an act of hospitality
Translators are the quiet hosts of international reading. Their choices make a voice audible in a new language, and paying attention to them — naming them, discussing them — is part of reading well.
Reading across borders is less about collecting countries and more about learning new ways to listen.
Starting small
You do not need a grand plan. Pick one book from a region you have not read before, bring one question to your next discussion, and let the conversation do the rest.
