Resources for Finding World and Travel Literature

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Post any helpful websites for finding book settings and world authors here.

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Some great links to help you find books set around the world (and a few things to complement your books):


Africa Book Club: http://www.africabookclub.com/
Lists African authors by country

African Books Collective: http://www.africanbookscollective.com/
Has many hard-to-find books from Africa

African Writers Series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_...
List of books by African writers published by Heineman since 1962

All About Romance
http://www.likesbooks.com/set.html
Lists romance novels by world setting

Allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/World-C...
World recipes sorted by region

AmazonCrossing: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&n...
Translated foreign language books from around the world

Arab Women Writers: http://arabwomenwriters.com/
Books by female authors from the Middle East

Around the World in 80 Books' Bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
Over 39,000 books categorized by setting

Around the World in 80 DI's (Edinburgh Public Library):
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?...
Detective mysteries set around the world

Australian Rural Romance http://australianruralromance.com/
Contemporary and historical romance novels set in Australia

Better World Books http://www.betterworldbooks.com/
Online bookstore who donates a book to someone in need for every book sold. Great selection and prices!

Book Browse: http://www.bookbrowse.com/category/
Browse by genre, time period, geographical setting and a wide range of themes

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/
Online bookstore with free shipping worldwide

Book Drum http://www.bookdrum.com/
Great cultural resource! Adds pictures, videos, maps, & music for the reader to further experience a book

Books Set In: http://www.bookssetin.com/
Books sorted by setting

The Book Trail: http://www.thebooktrail.com/
Find books by types of settings

Carol Hurst's Childrens Literature Site: http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/us...
Children & YA books sorted by US state setting

Canada Reads: http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/
Awesome resource for Canadian literature

Celebration of Women Writers: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/wome...
Search books by female author's country or ethnicity

The Complete Review: http://www.complete-review.com/mainde...
Reviews of books from around the world

Conde Nast Traveller: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/200...
Their list of the 69 best fiction travel books of all time

Conde Nast Traveller: http://www.cntraveller.com/recommende...
Suggested books to read while on holiday, by setting

Cooperative Children's Book Center https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books...
Children's through teens books by world setting

Cozy Mystery List: http://www.cozy-mystery.com/
Comprehensive list of cozy mysteries

Culture Trip http://explore.theculturetrip.com/
Books, movies, and art by country

Dalkey Archive Press: http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/catalog/...
Books sorted by country

Dalkey Archive Press: http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/catalog/...
Fiction sorted by continent

Detective and the Toga: http://histmyst.org/
Mysteries set in ancient Rome and Greece

Detectives Beyond Borders http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogsp...
International crime fiction and detective novels

dmoz Open Directory Project http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/W...
Huge directory of literature links arranged by nationality

Epic Reads: The United States of YA http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-uni...
YA books set in each of the 50 US states

Euro Crime http://eurocrime.co.uk/
Site dedicated to British and European crime fiction

Fantastic Fiction: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/cou...
Search for authors by country or by name

Fictional Cities http://www.fictionalcities.co.uk/
Fiction and films set in London, Venice, and Florence

Flashlight Worthy: http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/
Recommendations and book lists by topic

Goodreads Literature at Every Latitude: http://www.goodreads.com/featured_lis...
Book recommendations by country

Goodreads Places: http://www.goodreads.com/places/
Lists all book settings for those book that have a settings link

Google Lit Trips: http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleL...
Mainly children's and YA literature

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/serie...
World literature tour

HerStory Novels: http://herstorynovels.com/
Historical fiction by and about women, categorized by time period

Historical Novel Info: http://www.historicalnovels.info/inde...
Over 5,000 historical novels categorized by time and place

Idlewild Books: http://s75333.gridserver.com/
World literature and travelogues sorted by country

Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/a...
Guide to literary Africa

Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...
Crime fiction set around the world

International Children's Library:
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Free multi-language digital lending library for children's world literature

International Noir Fiction http://internationalnoir.blogspot.com/
Reviews and ideas for crime novels around the world

Italian Mysteries http://www.italian-mysteries.com/loca...
Mysteries set in Italy, arranged by region

Keene Public Library http://keenepubliclibrary.org/kids/Gl...
Global fiction by setting for middle grade readers

Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/groups/re...
Reading globally

Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/topic/131906
List of fiction books by European setting

LibriVox: http://www.librivox.org
Free audio versions of public domain books

Longitude Books: http://www.longitudebooks.com/
Recommended reading for travelers

Literature Map: http://www.literature-map.com/
Find new authors based on authors you have already read

MacMillan World Literature Classics: http://us.macmillan.com/all/editorsli...
Lots of author bios and some good book descriptions of books around the world

Mappit: https://www.mappit.net/bookmap/
Books mapped by location

The Modern Novel http://www.themodernnovel.com/
World fiction and authors arranged by country

Mystery Readers International http://mysteryreaders.org/journal-index/
Mysteries by world setting

NEA Read Across America: http://www.nea.org/grants/13235.htm
Children's & YA adult books sorted by US state setting

New York Public Library: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/07/22/...
Children's books organized by world setting

New York Review Books: http://www.nybooks.com/books/browse/i...
International literature

Online Courses: http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2...
Travel spots associated with popular books

Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/
Borrow books in ebook format. Lots of hard to find and out of print books

Oxygen Books: http://www.oxygenbooks.co.uk/
Literary collages of world cities

Packabook: http://www.packabook.com/
Fiction, memoirs, and travelogues, sorted by country

PEN Atlas http://www.englishpen.org/pen-atlas-h...
Showcases international authors

Placing Literature http://www.placingliterature.com/
Maps scenes from literature and sorts books by location

Politics & Prose: http://www.politics-prose.com/fiction...
List of fiction books by country

Project Gutenburg: http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/
Books sorted by foreign language

Read Me Something You Love http://readmesomethingyoulove.com/?pa...
Online podcasting project where people read aloud and discuss their favorite books

Stop, You're Killing Me!: http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/Loc...
Murder mysteries sorted by world setting

Teen Blog http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blogs/teens/in...
YA novels by world setting

Three Percent: http://www.rochester.edu/College/tran...
A resource for international literature at the University of Rochester

A Traveler's Library: http://atravelerslibrary.com/
Books and movies to inspire travel

TrekEarth: http://www.trekearth.com/
Photography from places all over the world

TripFiction: http://www.tripfiction.com/
Search for fiction books by location

The United States of YA Literature: http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-uni...
YA books from each US state

What Should I Read Next?: http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/se...
Book recommendations and suggestions based on past books you have enjoyed

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...
List of novelists by nationality

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category...
Novels by country of setting

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...
Novels sorted by world city settings

Women in Translation List Challenge https://www.listchallenges.com/a-huge...
List challenge featuring 2245 translated works by women

Words without Borders: http://wordswithoutborders.org/books/
Online magazine of international literature

World Digital Library http://www.wdl.org/en/
Books searchable by continent

World Literature Forum: http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/f...
Discussions on world literature

World Literature Today: http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/
Website and blog for magazine about world literature

[Connie]

http://www.caribousmom.com (click on challenges)

[Arda]

http://wordswithoutborders.org/books

[Dlmrose]

Longitude Books- Recommended Reading for Travelers

Mostly non-fiction: travel narratives, bio/autobiography, natural history, etc. but some fiction. A retail site, they do offer a monthly e-letter with featured destinations

[Dee]

i've found, by using the catalog at the libary, if I search by county+fiction, or country+biography etc, I tend to get some good hits and have found quite a few books that way

[Jayme Pendergraft]

I picked up a great book- Reading on Location: A Guide to Great Books Set in the World's Top Destinations. It was really helpful for the last challenge. It basically gives a few fiction and nonfiction books for a whole bunch of countries and is really easy to look through.

[Deedee]

I'm not sure where to put this info .... It relates to finding books set in the Western States of the USA. There is a website dedicated to Zane Grey that lists all of his novels, provides a one- to two- sentence summary, and lists which Western State the novel is set in. Here's the link:
http://www.zgws.org/frontier.php

And, Louis L'Amour's website has an even better setup. Here's the link of his novels, grouped by year published:
http://www.louislamour.com/chronology...
Click on a title; the page that comes up has a link to a detailed map of the area that novel is set in.
Or another way into Louis L'Amour's site:

http://www.louislamour.com/Maps/map_t...

All Westerns would count for USA. However, different westerns would count for different states for those of us doing the 50 state challenge.

[LindaD]

Deedee wrote: "I'm not sure where to put this info .... It relates to finding books set in the Western States of the USA. There is a website dedicated to Zane Grey that lists all of his novels, provides a one- t..."

nice, thanks!

[Dee]

don't know if anyone knew about this, but every month GR picks a country for its Literature at Every Latitude and highlights a book - the link can be found here - http://www.goodreads.com/featured_lis...

i've already read most of the countries - but there are a few that are new to me

[Halban]

We publish fiction, memoirs, history, biography, books on the Middle East and of Jewish interest. Please take time to explore our books and come back regularly for the latest reviews and upcoming events.

http://www.halbanpublishers.com/index...

[Dee]

I found this blog of someone who is doing a world of reading in a year - she has some good reviews and it appears as though she is focusing on getting local writers, vice just books set in the country - http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/the...

[Shriya]

AMAZING COLLECTION, thank you! <3

[Packabook]

Hi - thank you to linking to Packabook in the resources above - just wanted to let you know, that while I do list travelogues and memoirs, as has been written above, the main focus of the site is on fiction...
Thanks again,
Suzi

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Packabook wrote: "Hi - thank you to linking to Packabook in the resources above - just wanted to let you know, that while I do list travelogues and memoirs, as has been written above, the main focus of the site is o..."

Suzy, I edited the list to reflect that. Thanks so much for calling it to my attention. I love your website!

[Packabook]

Thanks Diane - it's a huge labour of love, and with more wonderful books coming out all the time I will never have them all on there - but I love discovering all the amazing books out there set in fascinating countries. Now, if only I had time to read them all!

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Packabook wrote: "Thanks Diane - it's a huge labour of love, and with more wonderful books coming out all the time I will never have them all on there - but I love discovering all the amazing books out there set in ..."

I know exactly what you mean! :)

[LindaD]

This is an app I found on my surface RT (windows 8) and is available as an app on windows 8 desktop and tablets. It has a wonderful catalog of open source sites to use for download. Some are foreign language sites as well.

[LindaD]

Diane wrote: "Some great links to help you find books set around the world:


Africa Book Club: http://www.africabookclub.com/
Lists African authors by country

African Books Collective: http://www.africanbooksc..."

this is a great list

[Susan]

Here is a list Eastern European writers
http://www.complete-review.com/mainde...

That whole website has an index according to nationalities if you look under review index.

[John]

The Reading the World website at www.readingtheworld.co.uk charts a round the world journey by reading a book from every country which started back in 2009 and is still ongoing... There are more than 270 destinations listed and all books are set after 1990 (they are a mix of fiction and travel-lit non-fiction memoirs)

[R.L.]

Hi I have found this great website:
www.bookssetin.com It comes complete with a drop down menu of countries and searchable lists of books set in all parts of the world. There's links to amazon, if you feel tempted.

[Dlmrose]

A new find
TripFiction

[Norman]

This is such a helpful thread - thank you!

[bermudianabroad]

Another you may want to add: Eland Publishing- they specialise in older, classic travel writing. Reprints and rediscovered. A sprinkling of travel based fiction as well. A very eclectic mix.

[Jana]

Dlmrose wrote: "A new find
TripFiction"

From all of the bunch this one looked the most interesting tbh! Only one thing: I guess you can't really tell if the reviews are really that valuable when there certainly isn't that big of a community as on goodreads. Still giving it a try, thanks! :3

[Butterfly]

Thank you so much for this awesome collection

[Kristina]

Hi there,

You may have already seen this link but A Year of Reading the World is a blog that looked at books from all over the world during one year

http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/the...

Thought it might be interesting to some members of this group

[Inis]

Wow! Thanks you so much for making all those websites available! Really amazing to be able to find so many wonderful books from so many different countries!

[Simón]

Hi, for Chilean literature there is this site of important national writers and culture: http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-p... (By the way, is in spanish)

[Dorothy]

I'm hoping to find some books containing images relating to the Arctic Circle. Crossing my fingers. Any suggestions?

[Thebooktrail]

Hi everyone!

Would love to hear what you think of the new Booktrail site -
Thebooktrail we've got books you can search for via location (Paris etc) or setting - ie books set in a house, books set on a beach etc. Would love to know what you think and suggest books you'd like to see?

Love this list of resources above - you can never have too many!

Clare x

[Thebooktrail]

Simón wrote: "Hi, for Chilean literature there is this site of important national writers and culture: http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-p... (By the way, is in spanish)"

Fantastic thank you for sharing! Love Spanish language books

[Jennifer]

Oh, this is a handy thread! So glad somebody started it!

[Julie]

Diane wrote: "Post any helpful websites for finding book settings and world authors here."

Thank you for this. Very helpful! I start here on Goodreads and have stumbled onto other resources but always glad to have more...

[Mary]

Wow. Thanks so much for these resources

[Glorious]

Library Genesis: http://gen.lib.rus.ec/
where I find almost all the books I read for free, including world literature

[Michelle]

For those of us who cannot resist adding to the already overflowing bookcases in our house....
These are publishers, mostly or entirely focused on translated or international books, that I keep a close eye on:
*Anansi International - http://houseofanansi.com/collections/...
*Archipelago Books - https://archipelagobooks.org - the books themselves are gorgeous, and a 12 month subscription works out to about $13/book, a double-bonus!
*And Other Stories - http://www.andotherstories.org
*Coffee House Press - http://coffeehousepress.org/books/
*Deep Vellum - http://deepvellum.org
*Europa Editions - http://www.europaeditions.com/catalog...
*New Directions - http://www.ndbooks.com/books/
*Norvik Press - http://www.norvikpress.com/new-public... - exclusively Scandinavian translations
*Milkweed Editions – www.milkweed.org
*Restless Books - http://www.restlessbooks.com
*One World Publications - https://oneworld-publications.com/cat...
*Open Letter Books - http://www.openletterbooks.org
*Dalkey Archive Press (referenced in a post above) is another good one.

This one just started in 2015, but has already published translations from some "less-popular" countries and languages (Burundi, Mongolia, Moldova):
Phoneme - http://www.phoneme.media/#!books/cee5

[Michelle]

Other Press - http://www.otherpress.com/all-books/

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Michelle wrote: "For those of us who cannot resist adding to the already overflowing bookcases in our house....
These are publishers, mostly or entirely focused on translated or international books, that I keep a c..."

Good stuff. Thanks! I love Open Letter books. I'll check out the rest.

[Jennifer]

I've used TripFiction and Packabook a lot, but several of these websites I hadn't heard of before. Thanks for compiling this amazing list!

[Anne]

Le French Book -- www.lefrenchbook.com -- publishes translations of mysteries and thrillers from France. They've got noir, French-style cozies, espionage, action & adventure, police procedurals, historical thrillers and more.

[Heather]

Stories from the City - www.storiesfromthecity.co.uk - helps readers (and city-breakers!) find the best books on favourite European cities. It focuses on fiction and non-fiction, including translations, as well as films, literary places to visit, literary walks, literary cafes and sometimes literary gifts!

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

Thank you for this fantastic thread. I was wondering whether there is a website that lists native classics that are commonly taught in schools in the respective countries? Bonus points if English translations are available.

[Negar]

traveling around the world and see every place of erth is very amazing and cool! learn and travel with this website (http://irandehkadeh.com/tour.cfm?id=132)

[Terrence]

Writers and Readers of Sri Lankan Books
I am interested in contacting writers and readers of books with Sri Lankan backgrounds.

[Mehreen]

Snapshots is a historical travel book. It is free now for promo from the following website.

http://www.cosmicteapot.net/press-rel...

[Rebecca]

Hi everyone! I'm currently studying for a postgrad in Publishing, and as part of my thesis I'm researching travel writing as a genre. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you wouldn't mind sparing two minutes to complete this survey. Thank you in advance!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...

[Kristen]

Posted to Reddit today, a link to a list of the most iconic book set in 150 countries around the world.

https://geediting.com/blog/most-iconi...

[Rowen]

This is something I just found from TED. The maps that are included are really useful. If you click on a red place marker a book for that country is displayed.
https://ideas.ted.com/your-guide-to-r...