The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe - Tapa dura

Only a writer like Morgan could make reading about reading so sublimely fascinating: over a year, she immerses herself in a book from every country on the globe, and shares the profound fruits of her pursuit.

Morgan knows how important it is to see things from other perspectives, to dispel the myths of superiority that our cultures have instilled in us. Her project and her book are important, vital even, in an ever-expanding global community.--Jonathan Russell Clark

In her lively, debut book, journalist and blogger Morgan, regretting that she has been 'a literary xenophobe, ' recounts her project to spend a year reading one book, translated or written in English, from every country in the world...Morgan's intrepid literary project underscores the crucial importance of stretching the boundaries of one's aesthetic and intellectual worlds.

As journalist Morgan relates in this introspective debut, she took it upon herself to learn more about international literature after looking at her shelves and realizing that her reading has been almost exclusively British and North American... The book's themes include the difficulties of getting published in other languages, the imperfection of translation, and the inequities of a global cultural tradition still dominated by Western imperialism... The reward for readers in this volume is a greater appreciation for global literature and the inspiration to reexamine one's own reading habits.

This book has a very neat conceit...Morgan covers the 'landscape' of global literature, the state of publishing...the politics of translation and how the west is represented in non-occidental literatures. It is a vast field but the breezy style, infectious enthusiasm and nicely pitched tone mean it is both diverting and illuminating.--Stuart Kelly

The World Between Two Covers is an exquisitely written book that manages to be both a compelling quest narrative and a moving exploration into the joys of reading. Ann Morgan is a wonderful writer--astute and accessible, lyrical and lush--and this is a book so compelling it's impossible to put down.--Molly Antopol, author of The Un-Americans

Following an impulse to read more internationally, journalist Ann Morgan undertook first to define the world and then to find a story from each of 196 nations. Tireless in her quest and assisted by generous, far-flung strangers, Morgan discovered not only a treasury of world literature but also the keys to unlock it. Whether considering the difficulties faced by writers in developing nations, movingly illustrated by Burundian Marie-Therese Toyi s Weep Not, Refugee; tracing the use of local myths in the fantastically successful Samoan YA series Telesa; delving into questions of censorship and propaganda while sourcing a title from North Korea; or simply getting hold of The Corsair, the first Qatari novel to be translated into English, Morgan illuminates with wit, warmth, and insight how stories are written the world over and how place geographical, historical, virtual shapes the books we read and write."