Today is World Book Day, a celebration of reading, learning, and exploring ourselves and the world through books. To celebrate this fun day, our team has picked out some of our favorite international books to share with you all!

Caroline Feeney, Educational Assistant

City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp

By Ben Rawlence
I am currently reading City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence and it has easily become one of my favorite international books. At home in San Diego, I have worked with the International Rescue Committee where I have seen an outsiders, statistical perspective of refugee camps and the relocation aspect of being a refugee. This book gives me an alternative viewpoint of reading about what life is like at Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, the largest refugee camp in the world run by the UNHCR. The stories about the differing roles that one can play in a refugee camp show what life is like in limbo. Overall, this is a very disturbing, but eye opening book about life in Dadaab.

Lily Bodinson, Global Fellow

100 Years of Solitude

By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

As an aficionada of all things Latin America, my favorite international author is the legendary Gabriel Garcia Marquez of Colombia. After a mostly failed attempt at reading No One Writes the Colonel in Spanish for a university course, I picked up an English copy of 100 Years of Solitude at a small used bookshop in Guatemala in late 2014. I was blown away. His exploration of the magical realm that confronts our daily reality and personal relationships is so captivating – if not a little dark at times. As I read more of his work, I find myself in awe of his ability to write stories that intertwine dark aspects of Colombian history with the normality of one’s everyday life – plus a touch of fantasy. A must-read author!

Amanda Jolly, Programs and Membership Manager

Persepolis

By Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel chronicling the coming-of-age of author Marjane Satrapi in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution. Satrapi’s work gives the reader a personal and human look at one of the most critical moments in recent Middle East political history from a perspective we are seldom allowed. Though I haven’t read it in years, Persepolis is one of those books that never quite leaves you.

Eve Pech, Education Director

Paris to the Pyrenees

By David Downie

Paris to the Pyrenees by David Downie – an account of two people who make a pilgrimage on the Way of St. James. Walking through Burgundy and the south of France, they contrast the modern with the multi-layered history of the region rich with the history of the Romans, Gauls, the French Resistance, and the legacy of Mitterand.

 

So tell us, what’s your favorite book? What are you reading right now? Happy World Book Day!