Invisible Cities: Exploring the Globe One Shelf at a Time

It has been quite some time since I have posted, however, the pandemic has given me time to re-evaluate my priorities. Reading and sharing the experience have surfaced as two of the most important priorities I have moving forward. Keep your eyes peeled for a year in review post (non-bookish & bookish) so we can catch up with one another. 

Today I am thrilled to be announcing a new initiative that a group of BookTubers and myself have come up with to explore the many cultures across the globe through translated literature, and occasionally foreign films. We are calling this initiative the Invisible Cities Project. This idea came through many discussions about the lack of support/publicity for translated literature, and the urge to travel in a post pandemic world. 

Each month we (the seven founding members) will choose three randomly generated countries to experience. Experiencing the country of your choice can take the form of many activities: reading a translated work, reading a non-fiction account, cooking a dish from that region, or watching a foreign film that is set in/discusses the chosen country. 

King, A., & Cole, B. (2008). World Map - Political. Retrieved November 07, 2020, 

from https://geology.com/world/world-map.shtml

Meet Our Hosts: 

Yamini (ShakespeareandSpice)

Nicole (Nicole Is Here To Learn)

Michael (KnowledgeLost Blog, KnowledgeLost YouTube)

Agnese (BeyondTheEpilogue, BeyondTheEpilogue Blog)

Stephanie (TimeToRead!)

Natalie (Curious Reader)

Myself 

The countries chosen for January are... 

• Argentina
• Morocco
• Japan

In January I will be focussing on Japanese culture and translated works! I am excited to delve deeper into the translated cannon for this country outside the realm of popular authors such as Murakami, though I am sure I will read something by Murakami to create a well rounded experience. In addition to translated fiction, I intend on reading one nonfiction account of japanese history to expand the depth and breadth of my knowledge. 

Personal Project Goals: 

There are many goals that I have for the coming year, as I am sure you all can relate. However, in the coming year I am going to be focussing on smaller attainable goals to give positive momentum to my life. For this reason I am choosing three monthly goals and one big picture goals to strive for throughout this experience. 

Monthly: 

1. To read at minimum, one translated work of fiction from the chosen country. 
1. My hope in reading a work of fiction is to experience story telling from regions different than my own and to explore hard hitting socio political themes through a broader lens.
2. To share my thoughts on each work consumed, and discuss current news and events within each chosen country in the context of what I have read. 
1. With this goal I simply want to create a discussion and sense of community surrounding reading translated works.
3. To read at a minimum, one nonfiction work about/translated from the focal country. 
1. In doing this I aim to expand my understanding of history and view events through a global perspective instead of the narrow Western view I was raised with.  

Big Picture: 

Through this project I will strive to expand my narrow Western worldview by listening to the wisdom, knowledge, experiences, art, and morals that each highlighted country has to offer.

Join the Project: 

Our goal for the project is to create a discussion surrounding translated works, in order to do this we have a variety of ways for participants to interact. To chat with us in real time, please head over to the discord channel and introduce yourself. To follow the host's updates throughout the month please check out their individual channels/blogs or see the group Instagram page. 

Discord: https://discord.gg/kyRDcSHz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/invisiblecitiesreadingproject/