Global Reading Initiatives Round #1: The Recommendations
Published on July 11, 2025
Dear Fulbrighters, the first round of the Global Reading Initiative, which ran from June 13th until July 11th is now over and we have gotten 81 recomendations from 38 Fulbrighters, referencing 21 different countries!
We hope you enjoy this curated list and that you reach out to your colleagues to let them know what you thought of their recommendations once you've read them!
Each one of the 38 participants was added to the online raffle only once, despite the number of recommendations they shared.
Lucky Fulbrighters Ayşe AKPINAR, George Kalpadakis and Maria Zirenko were randomly selected via an online draw and will now get the chance to choose a book from this list that they'll get as gift from The Fulbrighter platform! If you're one of the lucky winners, please email [email protected] to arrange the details.
We hope you enjoyed this initiative and that you participate on round #2, where we are looking for recommendations on books about music-related topics. Click here and participate now!
| Book | Author | Recommended by | Country it references | Why it was recommended |
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Several titles |
Taiye Selasi | Cigdem Sengul | N/A |
"This TED Talk - one of her books will be added to my reading list next."
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A Brief History of Time |
Stephen Hawking | Cigdem Sengul | N/A |
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The Reader |
Bernhard Schlink | Cigdem Sengul | Germany |
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The Little Prince |
Antoine de Saint-Exupery | Cigdem Sengul | N/A |
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The Grapes of Wrath |
John Steinbeck | Cigdem Sengul | U.S. |
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My name is Red |
Orhan Pamuk | Cigdem Sengul | Turkey |
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Pedro and Marques Take Stock (Os Supridores, in Portuguese) |
José Falero | Bruna Passos Amaral | Brazil |
"I was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil and this book crafts a fierce, funny, and razor-sharp story that pulls you right into the lives of two supermarket stock clerks trying to escape the grind of poverty with a plan that starts small—and escalates fast. Falero doesn’t romanticize life in the Porto Alegre favelas—he tells it like it is, from the inside out, with a clarity and intensity that makes the pages fly by. It’s a story about friendship, hustle, and survival in a city where economic injustice is so baked-in, it feels like concrete under your feet. And yet, somehow, it’s also full of humor, heart, and moments of real beauty. This novel doesn’t just show the class struggle—it lives it. And it leaves you thinking long after the last chapter. A must-read for anyone who wants literature that’s raw, real, and impossible to ignore. I also really like the design of the cover :)"
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The Great Man Theory |
Teddy Wayne | Mike Gallagher | U.S. |
"A satiric look at life through the mind of a professor, trying to salvage his career and family while making a splash."
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Absalom, Absalom!
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William Faulkner |
Clary St. John Loisel |
U.S. |
"A U.S. masterpiece! A difficult read but well worth the time and trouble."
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José de Alencar | Ana Carolina Soares (Eiras Coelho) | Brazil |
'To understand how femininity, marriage, class, and morality were imagined and enforced in 19th-century Brazil, Alencar’s “urban novels” are essential. These three iconic protagonists — Emilia (Diva), Aurélia (Senhora), and Lúcia (Lucíola) — each embody different tensions between female autonomy and patriarchal expectations in the imperial era. Though written by a male author, these novels became symbolic blueprints for the “ideal woman” in Brazilian culture — and thus, prime material for feminist critique. In my book, Moça Educada, Mulher Civilizada, Esposa Feliz: Relações de Gênero e História em José de Alencar, I explore how these narratives reflect and reproduce gender norms, while also revealing subtle contradictions and points of resistance. These novels are part of Brazil’s national literary canon — but they must be read critically, as documents of a gendered imaginary that continues to shape our present."
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Moby Dick
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Herman Melville | Clement Gelly | U.S. | "An oldie but a goodie: this is a must read for American literature!" |
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Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” |
Héctor Tobar | Eliseo Jacob | U.S. | "As someone who was born in the U.S., but whose parents are from Guatemala, I would recommend this book. The author explores what does it mean to be Latino in the United States." |
| The Metamorphosis | Franz Kafka | Ayşe AKPINAR | Czech Republic | "Recommend it with my all heart." |
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Atonement
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Ian McEwan | Ayşe AKPINAR | UK / France | "I am from Istanbul, Turkey. This is my favourite book. It was a life-changing romance and betrayal story. I have read it many times." |
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Where the Crawdads Sing |
Delia Owens | Amber Gaudet | U.S. | "A fiction story about a girl abandoned by her family who is accused of murder, but it paints a beautiful portrait of the South. The author is a zoologist who incorporates a lot of culture, landscape and wildlife through scene, and the writing is superb. There’s also a movie on Netflix, but the book is better." |
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The Forty Rules of Love
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Elif Shafak | Ecem Bozkurt | Turkey | "A wonderful book that is easier to read and illuminates Rumi's philosophy, sufism." |
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Memed, My Hawk
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Yashar Kemal | Ecem Bozkurt | Turkey |
"The first book in his tetralogy. I loved all the books in that series. The story follows a young boy who stands up against the injustices in his village. This book serves as a reminder of the power of bravery in difficult and seemingly impossible situations."
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Brazilian dramatic literature - 8 plays
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Several | Paulo Ricardo Berton | Brazil | "Dear colleagues, the research center that I coordinate - NEEDRAM/UFSC - has as its main focus the promotion and defense of the relevance and importance of dramatic literature of all times and all cultures. Since we are linked to a Brazilian university, I leave here as an (arbitrary but reliable) suggestion eight fundamental plays of this tradition." |
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Tail of the Whale
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Alice Sant’Anna | Sarah Catao de Lucena | Brazil | "Contemporary literature from Brazil!" |
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The Head of the Saint
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Socorro Acioli | Sarah Catao de Lucena | Brazil | "Contemporary literature from Brazil!" |
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The House in Smyrna |
Tatiana Salem Levy | Sarah Catao de Lucena | Brazil | "Contemporary literature from Brazil!" |
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Barren Lives (Vidas Secas) |
Graciliano Ramos | Mauricio Antonio Dos Santos | Brazil | "This work is a classic of Brazilian literature. It tells a story of a family of five people trying to survive during the dry season in the northeast of the country." |
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Der Ausbruch
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Florian Gaab (Fulbright Alumni) | Florian Gaab | Germany |
"Genre: Thriller / Technothriller
What if your boring everyday life suddenly spirals into a world of surveillance, underground resistance, and simulated realities? Der Ausbruch is a German technothriller set in modern-day Hamburg. It follows Norman Beckmann, a disillusioned programmer whose quiet life is upended when a mysterious woman involves him in a high-stakes conspiracy. As Norman breaks into his own company’s servers to help a supposed civil rights group, he tumbles deeper into a game of deception—until a final twist forces him to question the very nature of his reality. This novel offers a fast-paced yet emotionally grounded story exploring the tension between digital freedom and control. It blends real-world tech, personal growth, and speculative near-future elements—perfect for anyone curious about where our digital society might be headed. 📚 Currently available in German only." |
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Señor Presidente
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Miguel Angel Austerias, translation by David Unger. | Emma Hokoda | Guatemala | "A staple of Guatemalan literature, his is known as the quintessential Latin American dictator novel that provides a window into the region's politics. This book is fiction, but is based on President Manuel Estrada Cabrera's regime at the turn of the 20th century. This book also uses magical realism to take the reader inside the whimsical and sinister world of Cabrera's dictatorship." |
| The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) |
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa |
Diletta Cordani | Italy | "A beautifully written historical novel that deals with social changes in Sicily at the time of the Italian unification in the 19th century. Highly recommend the 1963 movie adaptation too!" |
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Kairos
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Jenny Erpenbeck | Mira Knoche | Germany | "An intriguing, well researched and experimentally written story set in East Germany, just before and after the Wall came down. Written from the perspective of a young woman. It won the Booker prize last year. Great piece of literature!" |
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Clare Hunter | Catherine Bovill | Scotland / Others | "This is an amazingly accessible overview of the history of embroidery and sewing from an author based in Scotland. It includes many examples from Scotland, but in the chapters covering the role of sewing and embroidery in prisons, communities, in creating banners for protest, and for communicating history, she also travels more widely including to China, the US, France." |
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Patriot
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Alexei Navalny | Maria Zirenko | Russia | "A memoir and prison diary of the most prominent Russian oppositional politician killed in Russian prison in 2024." |
| I love Russia: reporting from a lost country | Elena Kostyuchenko | Maria Zirenko | Russia | "An independent journalist documents descriptions of brutal realities of Russia." |
| The Changing World Order | Ray Dalio | Elizabeth Techman | Several | "It deserves a book club ! Great conversation starter and thought provoker." |
| The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois | Honoree Fanonne Jeffers | Halle Cathey, MPH | U.S. | "A great historical fiction book based in the US. It captures the journey of a Black family who is a mix of Indigenous, African, and European (like most of us) to present day." |
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Drifting Cities
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Stratis Tsirkas | George Kalpadakis | Greece | "I urge anyone interested in understanding Greece to read this book. The author masterfully captures the fragmentation of identity across Jerusalem, Cairo, and Alexandria in a time of collapse. Through the eyes of a wandering poet torn between revolutionary ideals and intimate human longing, we witness a deeply personal reckoning with Hellenism's political traumas from afar." |
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Marilynne Robinson | Heidi Rockwell | U.S. | "I've loved every book by this writer who explores middle America (Iowa) family dynamics and values. Her writing is masterful and her storytelling both enveloping and engaging." |
| A Gentleman in Moscow | Amor Towles | Jyotika Ramaprasad | Russia | - |
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All the Light we Cannot See
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Anthony Doerr | Jyotika Ramaprasad | Germany / France | - |
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All the books by Fredrik Bachman
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Fredrik Bachman | Jyotika Ramaprasad | N/A | - |
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Barbara Kingsolver's novels
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Barbara Kingsolver | Jyotika Ramaprasad | N/A | - |
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Braiding Sweetgrass
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Robin Wall Kimmerer | Jyotika Ramaprasad | N/A | - |
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Heart Lamp
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Banu Mushtaq | Jyotika Ramaprasad | "Winner of the Booker Prize, 2025." | |
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Ann Patchett's novels
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Ann Patchett | Jyotika Ramaprasad | N/A | - |
| Quiet | Susan Cain | Jyotika Ramaprasad | N/A | - |
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Louise Erdrich | Cecilia Woloch | U.S. | "Any novel by this author offers a great read and a window into American history and (especially Native) American life." |
| Xueños | Miguel Quintana Pali | Maria Green (C.) | Mexico | "By the founder of Xcaret Aquatic Park, considered the best park in the world. His vision of how he created the park and the economic and social impact in the area is superb. He is a pioneer in ecotourism and sustainability." |
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Damon Copperhead
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Barbara Kingsolver | Mike Gallagher | U.S. | "Using David Copperfield as a rough allegory, she sheds light on the current opioid problem our country faces." |
| Beautiful World Where Are You? | Sally Rooney | Mike Gallagher | Ireland | "Wrestles with fitting traditional cultures into our times and problems." |
| The House of Doors | Tan Twan Eng | Mike Gallagher | Malaysia / UK | "Depicts a fantastic interaction between Somerset Maugham, his friends in Malaysia and their tales of acceptance and redemption." |
| Burmese Days | George Orwell | Mike Gallagher | Myanmar / UK | "George Orwell's tale drawing on his experiences as an English officer. The story is tragic and provocative as he explored clashes between cultures." |
| Mistborn (series) | Brandon Sanderson | Giana Ortiz | N/A | - |
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The Ascent
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Nikos Kazantzakis | Konstantinos (Kostas) Kormas | Several | "The author's newly discovered work. It has been translated in several languages and several more translations are underway. You can see more information here. |
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Tyll
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Daniel Kehlmann | Ulrike Lämmer | Germany | "It uses magical realism (and quite a bit of humor)and a classical German tale to depict the realities of the Thirty Years' War." |
| My son's story | Nadine Gordimer | Thomas Glave | South Africa | |
| Sula | Toni Morrison | Thomas Glave | U.S. | |
| The House of the Spirits | Isabel Allende | Thomas Glave | Chile | |
| Slaugterhouse 5 | Kurt Vonnegut | Dr. Detlef Männig | U.S. | "I recommend anything by Kurt Vonnegut, starting with this one." |
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Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
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Hwang Bo-reum | Hollis J. Gillespie | South Korea | - |
| La mirada en el tiempo | Arturo Marasso | Lucia Romina Pereyra | Argentina | "It explores geography, history, culture, society and language through the memories of the narrator who uses very rich descriptions. I like it because it reflects a part of a Northwestern Argentina which is not popular worldwide." |
| The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas | Sophie Chambers (Pyrtle) | U.S. | "The best book of the last decade that describes what race relations and protests have been like in mid-sized rural American cities of the same decade. It addresses an unlawful traffic stop, a police shooting, modern-day racism, and local activism all told from the perspective of the 16-year-old female protagonist." |
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Cantos de Vida y Esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope)
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Rubén Darío | Nicaragua | "This is a poetry book written by the founder of a movement know as modernismo. “[…] Reflects both Dario’s anguished sense of modern life and his ecstatic vision of transcendence, freedom, and the transformative power of art”.(Derusha & Acereda, 2004)" | |
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Hitler's People
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Richard J Evans | Lucene Wisniewski | Germany | "Currently reading this and trying to see if studying the past helps me understand the present." |
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How Fascism Works, Politics of Us and Them
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Jason Stanley | Michael Givel | Several | - |
| Nexus | Yuval Noah Harari | Laurence Warner | World | - |