About Me
Hi! I'm Caroline, or Carrie, and I live in the UK with my husband and adorable elderly rescue cat, Wispa.
I have always been an enthusiastic reader since I was old enough to pick up a book, but throughout my adult life the amount of time I have dedicated to reading has fluctuated drastically! After many vague new year's resolutions to 'read more' and a huge reading slump followed by a sudden rekindled desire to read everything I could get my hands on (thank you, Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other), in May 2022 I set out to pursue a more specific goal that would encourage me to read more widely and with purpose.
I have a deep interest in human behaviour and I'm lucky enough to work in a field that brings me into regular contact with people from all over the globe; I love understanding the world through different cultural perspectives. I had thought this was something that was reflected in my reading choice as I love reading international works and considered my book shelf to be quite diverse, but on totting up the number of countries I had read books from, I was shocked to find it only totalled a measly 13. I had even missed entire continents! And so, my desire to intentionally read the whole world was born. I immediately took about doing research on how to approach the task and quickly found many other people who had done, or were doing the same, and it was like a switch went off in my brain - I was all in for this challenge!
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My other main hobby is crafting, so I quickly set about creating a journal to track my progress (and a companion Excel spreadsheet...) and my experiences of 'visiting' each country. To start with though, I wasn't sure about sharing my journey with others - while I've always enjoyed sharing and discussing my other hobbies online, I shied away from reviewing books or writing up my thoughts because I feel that I don't necessarily have anything unique or insightful to say. However, after lurking the online RTW communities on Goodreads and Instagram and finding so many like-minded people, and realising just how much I appreciated their commentary and recommendations, I grew in confidence and decided to take the plunge! Sharing my thoughts with others has also encouraged me to reflect a little deeper on what I have read and learnt. I have created this blog in the hope of providing some inspiration or direction to others who may also want to broaden their reading horizons - whether just dipping in their toes in a few new literary destinations, or undertaking the whole challenge.
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I enjoy mainly literary fiction - both historical and contemporary, as well as (some of) the classics, and this challenge has also led me to a new found love of memoirs. I have also been reading more non-fiction of late and mainly enjoy reading about psychology, social issues and nature. When I'm not reading or browsing my local second hand bookshop, you can usually find me scrapbooking or painting, enjoying a coffee and cake before a slow walk in the woods or a trip to the cinema, or cuddling up with Wispa and a video game.
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I love befriending fellow readers and especially other challengers - if you're interested in chatting, have any questions, or have a book recommendation, please feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @196books. You can also find me on Storygraph under the same username.
