Nokukhanya Ntsaluba, the South African book influencer behind the popular Instagram page @pretty_x_bookish, has announced the return of her annual #AroundTheWorldInBooks reading challenge for 2025. As anyone who knows Ntsaluba’s work can attest to, she love books and travel.  This challenge brings those two things together. Readers can join her to explore global literature by exploring books from twelve carefully selected countries. [Go here for the

Now in its second year, the challenge encourages participants to broaden their literary horizons and embrace diverse narratives. “I strongly believe that reading diversely and widely makes us all better citizens of the world,” Ntsaluba shared, “and it is also just so much more interesting and fun than reading the same familiar stories and books!”

For 2025, the challenge will focus on the following countries:

Vietnam
Malaysia
Cameroon
Scotland
Ghana
Trinidad and Tobago
Argentina
Syria
Canada (with a nudge to explore Indigenous voices)
Morocco
Pakistan
Colombia

Ntsaluba encourages participants to read at their own pace and in any order. Here is an example of the list. Go here to find full list.

Ntsalubal hopes that book lovers would join her to “travel the world through the pages of a book.” She also encourages readers to tag her in their posts and stories, adding that she’s looking forward to seeing everyone’s selections and progress.

For those interested in joining, a graphic tracker is available on her Instagram stories to help participants track their reading journey.

Follow @pretty_x_bookish on Instagram to join the conversation and participate in this year’s challenge!