[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.16,0:00:04.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's often said that you can tell\Na lot about a person
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.08,0:00:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the looking at what's \Non their bookshelves.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.87,0:00:10.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do my bookshelves\Nsay about me?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.66,0:00:14.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, when I asked myself\Nthis question a few years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.35,0:00:17.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I made an alarming discovery.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.47,0:00:20.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd always thought of myself \Nas a fairly cultured
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.29,0:00:22.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cosmopolitan sort of person.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.82,0:00:26.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my bookshelves told \Na rather different story.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.65,0:00:28.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pretty much all the titles on them
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.37,0:00:31.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were by British or North American authors,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.23,0:00:34.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there was almost nothing\Nin translation.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.50,0:00:37.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Discovering this massive, \Ncultural blind spot in my reading
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.79,0:00:40.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came as quite a shock.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.31,0:00:43.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I thought about it,\Nit seemed like a real shame.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.77,0:00:47.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I knew there had to be\Nlots of amazing stories out there
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.13,0:00:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by writers working in languages\Nother than English.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.50,0:00:53.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it seemed really sad to think\Nthat my reading habits
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.47,0:00:56.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meant I would probably\Nnever encounter them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.70,0:00:59.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I decided to prescribe myself\N
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.37,0:01:02.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an intensive course of global reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.76,0:01:06.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,2012 was set to be a very \Ninternational year for the UK,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.57,0:01:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was the year of the London Olympics.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.68,0:01:12.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I decided to use it\Nas my timeframe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.21,0:01:15.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to try to read a novel,\Nshort story collection,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.26,0:01:19.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or memoir from every country\Nin the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.03,0:01:22.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I did,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.38,0:01:24.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was very exciting\N
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.03,0:01:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I learned some remarkable things
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.84,0:01:30.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and made some wonderful connections\Nthat I want to share with you today.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.34,0:01:34.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it started with some \Npractical problems.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.06,0:01:38.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After I worked out which of the many\Ndifferent lists of countries in the world
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.70,0:01:40.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use for my project,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.93,0:01:44.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I ended up going with the list\Nof UN-recognized nations,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.11,0:01:45.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to which I added Taiwan,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.41,0:01:48.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which gave me a total of 196 countries.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.36,0:01:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And after I'd worked out\Nhow to fit reading and blogging
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.24,0:01:54.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about, roughly, four books a week
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.63,0:01:57.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around working five days a week,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.70,0:02:01.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I then had to face up to the fact\Nthat I might even not be able
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.32,0:02:04.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get books in English \Nfrom every country.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.82,0:02:08.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only around 4.5 percent\Nof the literary works
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.07,0:02:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,published each year in the UK\Nare translations,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.21,0:02:14.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the figures are similar for much\Nof the English-speaking world.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.92,0:02:17.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although, the proportion\Nof translated books
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.52,0:02:20.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,published in many other countries \Nis a lot higher.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.40,0:02:24.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,4.5 percent is tiny enough\Nto start with,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.37,0:02:26.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but what that figure doesn't tell you
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.56,0:02:28.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that many of those books
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.44,0:02:31.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will come from countries\Nwith strong publishing networks
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.36,0:02:35.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and lots of industry professionals\Nprimed to go out and sell those titles
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.59,0:02:38.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to English-language publishers.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.03,0:02:40.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, for example, although\Nwell over 100 books
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.63,0:02:44.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are translated from French\Nand published in the UK each year,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.41,0:02:49.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of them will come from countries\Nlike France or Switzerland.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.36,0:02:51.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,French-speaking Africa, on the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.82,0:02:54.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will rarely ever get a look in.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.65,0:02:57.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The upshot is that there \Nare actually quite a lot of nations
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.74,0:02:59.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that may have little or even no
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.88,0:03:03.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,commercially available literature\Nin English.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.31,0:03:06.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their books remain invisible\Nto readers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.54,0:03:09.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the world's most published language.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.52,0:03:11.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when it came to reading the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.86,0:03:13.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the biggest challenge of all, for me,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.85,0:03:17.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that fact that I didn't know\Nwhere to start.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.38,0:03:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having spent my life reading\Nalmost exclusively
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.31,0:03:22.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,British and North American books,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.42,0:03:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had no idea how to go about\Nsourcing and finding stories
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.97,0:03:28.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and choosing them from much\Nof the rest of the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.83,0:03:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't tell you how to\Nsource a story from Swaziland.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.80,0:03:35.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wouldn't know a good novel\Nfrom Namibia.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.45,0:03:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was no hiding it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.07,0:03:40.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a clueless \Nliterary xenophobe.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.79,0:03:44.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how on earth was I\Ngoing to read the world?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.04,0:03:45.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was going to have to ask for help.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.99,0:03:48.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in October 2011, \NI registered my blog
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.83,0:03:51.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ayearofreadingtheworld.com,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.33,0:03:54.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I posted a short appeal online.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.09,0:03:55.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I explained who I was,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.25,0:03:57.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how narrow my reading had been,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.25,0:03:59.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I asked anyone who cared to
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.20,0:04:01.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to leave a message suggesting\Nwhat I might read
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.73,0:04:04.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from other parts of the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.12,0:04:08.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I had no idea whether\Nanyone would be interested,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.12,0:04:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but within a few hours\Nof posting my appeal online,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.04,0:04:13.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people started to get in touch.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.99,0:04:16.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At first, it was friends and colleagues.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.68,0:04:18.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then it was friends of friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.52,0:04:21.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And pretty soon, it was strangers.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.72,0:04:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Four days after I put that appeal online,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.32,0:04:28.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got a message from a woman\Ncalled Rafidah in Kuala Lumpur.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.97,0:04:31.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She said she loved the sound\Nof my project,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.45,0:04:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could she go to her local\NEnglish-language bookshop
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.08,0:04:38.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and choose my Malaysian book\Nand post it to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.16,0:04:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I accepted enthusiastically
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.88,0:04:41.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a few weeks later,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.39,0:04:46.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a package arrived containing\Nnot one, but two books.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.52,0:04:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rafidah's choice from Malaysia,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.12,0:04:55.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a book from Singapore\Nthat she had also picked out for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.81,0:05:00.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, at the time, I was amazed \Nthat a stranger,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.54,0:05:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than 6,000 miles away,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.80,0:05:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would go through to such lengths
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.10,0:05:07.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help someone that she\Nwould probably never meet.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.89,0:05:11.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Rafidah's kindness proved\Nto be the pattern for that year.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.62,0:05:15.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Time and again, people went out\Nof their way to help me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.13,0:05:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some took on research on my behalf,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.12,0:05:21.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and others made detours \Non holidays and business trips
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.12,0:05:24.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to bookshops for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.02,0:05:26.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out, if you want to \Nread the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.94,0:05:30.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you want to encounter it\Nwith an open mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.43,0:05:33.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the world will help you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.40,0:05:35.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it came to countries with \Nlittle or no
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.74,0:05:38.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,commercially available \Nliterature in English,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.11,0:05:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people went further still.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.90,0:05:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Books often came from surprising sources.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.62,0:05:47.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My Panamanian read, \Nfor example, came through
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.17,0:05:50.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a conversation I had with \Nthe Panama Canal on Twitter.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.91,0:05:55.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, the Panama Canal\Nhas a Twitter account.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.97,0:05:58.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I tweeted at it \Nabout my project,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.22,0:06:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it suggested that I might\Nwant like to try
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.05,0:06:05.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get hold of the work of the \NPanamanian author Juan David Morgan.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.21,0:06:07.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found Morgan's website\Nand I sent him a message
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.65,0:06:09.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,asking if any of his\NSpanish-language novels
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.76,0:06:12.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had been translated into English.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.76,0:06:13.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said that nothing\Nhad been published,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.10,0:06:17.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he did have an unpublished translation\N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.46,0:06:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of his novel "The Golden Horse".
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.86,0:06:21.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He emailed this to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.50,0:06:24.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowing me to become one of\Nthe first people ever
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.50,0:06:27.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have read that book in English.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.15,0:06:30.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Morgan was by no means\Nthe only wordsmith
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.01,0:06:32.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to share his work with me\Nin this way.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.24,0:06:35.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From Sweden to Palau, writers\Nand translators\N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.49,0:06:37.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sent me self-published books
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.53,0:06:40.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and unpublished manuscripts of books\Nthat hadn't been picked up
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.94,0:06:45.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by Anglophone publishers\Nor that were no longer available,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.34,0:06:49.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,giving me privileged glimpses\Nof some remarkable imaginary worlds.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.15,0:06:53.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I read, for example, about\Nthe Southern African king
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.18,0:06:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ngungunhane who led the resistance\N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.90,0:06:59.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against the Portuguese \Nin the 19th century.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.19,0:07:02.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And about marriage rituals\Nin a remote village
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.05,0:07:05.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the shores of the Caspian sea\Nin Turkmenistan.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.72,0:07:11.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I met Kuwait's answer to \N"Bridgette Jones".
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.38,0:07:17.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I read about an orgy\Nin a tree in Angola.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.09,0:07:24.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But perhaps the most amazing example\Nof the lengths that people
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.59,0:07:27.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were prepared to go to\Nto help me read the world
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.31,0:07:29.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came towards the end of my quest
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.91,0:07:31.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I tried to get hold of a book\N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.81,0:07:34.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the tiny, Portuguese-speaking \NAfrican island nation
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.58,0:07:37.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Sao Tome and Principe
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.36,0:07:39.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, having spent several months\N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.04,0:07:40.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying everything I could think of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.69,0:07:44.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to find a book that had been translated\Ninto English from the nation,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.29,0:07:47.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it seemed as though the only option \Nleft to me was to see
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.33,0:07:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if I could get something\Ntranslated for me from scartch.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.62,0:07:53.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was really dubious about whether\Nanyone was going to want
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.43,0:07:57.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help me with this and give \Nup their time for something like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.78,0:08:02.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, within a week of me putting\Na call out on Twitter and Facebook
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.05,0:08:03.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for Portuguese speakers,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.100,0:08:07.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had more people\Nthan I could involve in the project,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.55,0:08:10.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including Margaret Jull Costa,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.73,0:08:13.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a leader in her field\Nwho has translated the work
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.70,0:08:18.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.30,0:08:20.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With my nine volunteers in place,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.69,0:08:23.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I managed to find a book by\Na Sao Tomean author
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.29,0:08:25.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I could buy enough\Ncopies of online.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.82,0:08:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here 's one of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.52,0:08:30.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I sent a copy out to each\Nof my volunteers.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.96,0:08:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They all took on a couple of\Nshort stories from this collection,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.37,0:08:37.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stuck to their word, sent\Ntheir translations back to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.88,0:08:42.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and within six weeks,\NI had the entire book to read.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.75,0:08:46.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In that case, as I found so often\Nduring my year of reading the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.98,0:08:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my not knowing and being open\Nabout my limitations
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.20,0:08:54.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had become a big opportunity.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.20,0:08:55.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it came to Sao Tome and Principe,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.89,0:08:59.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was a chance not only\Nto learn something new
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.31,0:09:02.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and discover a new collection of stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.35,0:09:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also to bring together\Na group of people
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.32,0:09:09.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and facilitate a joint\Ncreative endevour.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.04,0:09:14.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My weakness had become\Nthe project's strength.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.14,0:09:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The books I read that year\Nopened my eyes to many things.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.84,0:09:19.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As those who enjoy reading will know,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.69,0:09:23.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,books have an extraordinary power\Nto take you out of yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.76,0:09:25.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and into someone else's mindset,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.61,0:09:27.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that, for a while at least,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.70,0:09:30.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you look at the world through \Ndifferent eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.51,0:09:33.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That can be an uncomfortable experience,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.16,0:09:35.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particularly if you're reading a book\Nfrom a culture
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.88,0:09:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that may have quite different values\Nto your own.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.78,0:09:41.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it can also be really enlightening.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.26,0:09:45.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wrestling with unfamiliar ideas\Ncan help clarify your own thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.77,0:09:48.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it can also show up blind spots\Nin the way
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.32,0:09:51.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you might have been looking at the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.39,0:09:53.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I looked back at much\Nof the English-language literature
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.85,0:09:55.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd grown up with, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.91,0:09:59.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I began to see how narrow\Na lot of it was
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.21,0:10:02.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared to the richness \Nthat the world has to offer.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.07,0:10:05.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, as the pages turned,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.27,0:10:08.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something else started\Nto happen, too.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.38,0:10:11.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Little by little, \Nthat long list of countires
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.31,0:10:13.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I'd started the year with\N
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.19,0:10:18.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,changed from a rather dry, academic\Nregister of place names
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.09,0:10:21.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into living, breathing entities.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.71,0:10:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I don't want to suggest\Nthat it's at all possible
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.38,0:10:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get rounded picture of a country\Nsimply by reading one book.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.07,0:10:32.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But cumulatively, the stories\NI read that year
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.86,0:10:35.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made me more alive\Nthan ever before
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.90,0:10:42.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the richness, diversity and complexity\Nof our remarkable planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.56,0:10:46.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was as though the world's stories\Nand the people who'd gone
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.02,0:10:48.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to such lengths to help me \Nread them
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.69,0:10:52.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had made it real to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.36,0:10:54.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These days, when I look\Nat my bookshelves
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.89,0:10:57.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or consider the works on my E-reader,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.98,0:11:00.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they tell a rather different story.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.65,0:11:04.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the story of the power books have\Nto connect us
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.32,0:11:08.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,across political, geographical, cultural,\Nsocial, religious divides.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.98,0:11:12.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the tale of the potential\Nhuman beings have
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.12,0:11:14.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to work together.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.98,0:11:18.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, it's testament to the\Nextraordinary times we lives in,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.52,0:11:21.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where, thanks to the Internet,\Nit's easier than ever before
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.72,0:11:26.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a stranger to share a story,\Na worldview, a book
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.93,0:11:31.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with someone she may never meet\Non the other side of the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.92,0:11:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hope it's a story I'm reading\Nfor many years to come.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.24,0:11:38.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I hope many more people\Nwill join me.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.10,0:11:40.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we all read more widely,\Nthere'd be more incentive
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.58,0:11:43.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for publishers to translate more books,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.32,0:11:45.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we'd all be richer for that.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.93,0:11:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)