Ten years ago, writer and editor Ann Morgan published the enthralling “Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer” in which she charted her year long quest to read her way around the globe’s 196 independent countries (plus one extra), sampling one book from each nation. Taking in classic works, folk tales, contemporary favourites, commercial triumphs she read novels, short stories, biographies, narrative poems and more. Her literary adventures - from Afghanistan (“The Patience Stone” by Atiq Rahimi, translated by Polly McLean) to Zimbabwe (“The Hairdresser of Harare” by Tendai Huchu) - shed light on issues that affect us all, whether personal or political; and led her to muse on such crucial questions as: What is cultural heritage? How to we define national identity? And: How can writing celebrate, challenge and change our world?
Now Morgan’s remarkable new book, “Relearning to Read” draws on a whole decade of her subsequent interactions with booklovers around the globe which have only served to deepen her appreciation of the world’s complexity and richness. From notions of what makes an ‘authentic’ voice to the endless variations in what we find funny, “Relearning to Read” is a remarkable analysis of what goes on in our minds when we read, distilling all that Morgan has learned from reading and researching so omnivorously. Built on the premise that to read widely we must make friends with incomprehension - ‘because no one can be an expert in all the world’s literature’ - this open-hearted and gently challenging book examines the assumptions we make as readers, arguing that by embracing all the things we don’t know, we can richly enhance our understanding.
Published 1 October 2025 (Renard Press)