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Jun 9, 2017

"Books are humanity in print. " --Barbara Tuchman

My Year Reading a Book from Every Country in the World

Several years ago, Ann Morgan, a writer from London, looked at her bookshelf and realized it held almost no books from other countries -- an oversight she called a "massive cultural blindspot." In a nod to the Olympics, she decided to read a book from every country (196 total) and blog about it. But she quickly learned that finding books in English would be a challenge. Only about 4.5 percent of literary works published in the U.K. were translations. So she turned to the Internet for help. There, she learned about kindness when strangers went above and beyond to help her select and translate books. She learned that stories have the power to connect us despite our differences. And she learned about the richness and diversity of our world. In this 12-minute TED talk, a bubbly and enthusiastic Morgan recounts her journey in international literature. . . and shares lessons in human nature.