[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.00,0:00:03.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's often said that you can tell\Na lot about a person
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.93,0:00:06.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by looking at what's on their bookshelves.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.68,0:00:09.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do my bookshelves say about me?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.40,0:00:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, when I asked myself\Nthis question a few years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.11,0:00:16.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I made an alarming discovery.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.13,0:00:20.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd always thought of myself\Nas a fairly cultured,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.16,0:00:22.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cosmopolitan sort of person.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.61,0:00:25.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my bookshelves told\Na rather different story.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.44,0:00:28.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pretty much all the titles on them
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.12,0:00:30.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were by British or North American authors,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.100,0:00:33.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there was almost\Nnothing in translation.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.33,0:00:38.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Discovering this massive,\Ncultural blind spot in my reading
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.20,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came as quite a shock.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.03,0:00:43.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I thought about it,\Nit seemed like a real shame.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.54,0:00:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I knew there had to be lots\Nof amazing stories out there
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.94,0:00:50.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by writers working in languages\Nother than English.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.34,0:00:53.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it seemed really sad to think\Nthat my reading habits meant
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.67,0:00:56.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would probably never encounter them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.44,0:00:59.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I decided to prescribe myself
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.32,0:01:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an intensive course of global reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.60,0:01:06.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,2012 was set to be a very\Ninternational year for the UK;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.36,0:01:08.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was the year of the London Olympics.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.46,0:01:11.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I decided to use it\Nas my time frame
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.01,0:01:15.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to try to read a novel,\Nshort story collection
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.24,0:01:19.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or memoir from every country in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.77,0:01:22.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I did.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.13,0:01:23.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was very exciting
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.78,0:01:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I learned some remarkable things
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.70,0:01:27.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and made some wonderful connections
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.84,0:01:29.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I want to share with you today.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.09,0:01:33.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it started with some\Npractical problems.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.85,0:01:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After I'd worked out which of the many\Ndifferent lists of countries in the world
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.54,0:01:40.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use for my project,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.77,0:01:43.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I ended up going with the list\Nof UN-recognized nations,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.94,0:01:45.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to which I added Taiwan,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.19,0:01:48.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which gave me a total of 196 countries.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.14,0:01:51.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And after I'd worked out\Nhow to fit reading and blogging
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.02,0:01:54.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about, roughly, four books a week
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.36,0:01:57.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around working five days a week,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.49,0:02:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I then had to face up to the fact\Nthat I might even not be able
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.22,0:02:03.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get books in English\Nfrom every country.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.55,0:02:08.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only around 4.5 percent\Nof the literary works published
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.32,0:02:10.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,each year in the UK are translations,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.99,0:02:14.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the figures are similar for much\Nof the English-speaking world.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.64,0:02:17.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although, the proportion\Nof translated books published
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.62,0:02:20.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in many other countries is a lot higher.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.10,0:02:24.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,4.5 percent is tiny enough to start with,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.43,0:02:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but what that figure doesn't tell you
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.29,0:02:28.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that many of those books\Nwill come from countries
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.99,0:02:31.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with strong publishing networks
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.19,0:02:35.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and lots of industry professionals\Nprimed to go out and sell those titles
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.38,0:02:37.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to English-language publishers.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.71,0:02:42.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, for example, although well over 100\Nbooks are translated from French
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.31,0:02:44.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and published in the UK each year,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.23,0:02:48.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of them will come from countries\Nlike France or Switzerland.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.11,0:02:51.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,French-speaking Africa, on the other hand,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.87,0:02:53.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will rarely ever get a look-in.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.28,0:02:57.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The upshot is that there are\Nactually quite a lot of nations
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.63,0:03:01.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that may have little or even no\Ncommercially available literature
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.29,0:03:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in English.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.07,0:03:06.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their books remain invisible to readers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.16,0:03:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the world's most published language.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.00,0:03:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when it came to reading the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.84,0:03:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the biggest challenge of all for me
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.64,0:03:16.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that fact that I didn't\Nknow where to start.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.20,0:03:20.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having spent my life reading\Nalmost exclusively British
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.58,0:03:22.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and North American books,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.26,0:03:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had no idea how to go about\Nsourcing and finding stories
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.87,0:03:28.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and choosing them from much\Nof the rest of the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.60,0:03:31.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't tell you how to source\Na story from Swaziland.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.01,0:03:34.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wouldn't know a good novel from Namibia.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.12,0:03:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was no hiding it --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.74,0:03:40.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a clueless literary xenophobe.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.54,0:03:42.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how on earth was I\Ngoing to read the world?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.78,0:03:45.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was going to have to ask for help.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.66,0:03:49.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in October 2011, I registered my blog,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.18,0:03:50.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ayearofreadingtheworld.com,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.98,0:03:53.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I posted a short appeal online.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.86,0:03:55.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I explained who I was,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.12,0:03:57.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how narrow my reading had been,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.15,0:03:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I asked anyone who cared to
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.03,0:04:01.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to leave a message suggesting\Nwhat I might read
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.62,0:04:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from other parts of the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.91,0:04:07.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I had no idea whether\Nanyone would be interested,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.01,0:04:11.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but within a few hours\Nof me posting that appeal online,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.15,0:04:13.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people started to get in touch.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.61,0:04:16.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At first, it was friends and colleagues.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.47,0:04:18.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then it was friends of friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.38,0:04:20.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And pretty soon, it was strangers.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.40,0:04:24.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Four days after I put that appeal online,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.22,0:04:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got a message from a woman\Ncalled Rafidah in Kuala Lumpur.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.29,0:04:30.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She said she loved\Nthe sound of my project,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.99,0:04:33.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could she go to her local\NEnglish-language bookshop
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.91,0:04:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and choose my Malaysian book\Nand post it to me?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.91,0:04:39.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I accepted enthusiastically,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.69,0:04:41.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a few weeks later,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.22,0:04:45.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a package arrived containing\Nnot one, but two books --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.26,0:04:49.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rafidah's choice from Malaysia,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.91,0:04:54.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a book from Singapore\Nthat she had also picked out for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.43,0:04:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, at the time, I was amazed
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.89,0:05:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that a stranger more than 6,000 miles away
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.49,0:05:04.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would go to such lengths to help someone
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.44,0:05:06.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she would probably never meet.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.10,0:05:10.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Rafidah's kindness proved\Nto be the pattern for that year.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.24,0:05:14.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Time and again, people went\Nout of their way to help me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.23,0:05:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some took on research on my behalf,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.86,0:05:20.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and others made detours\Non holidays and business trips
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.91,0:05:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to go to bookshops for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.53,0:05:26.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out, if you want\Nto read the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.79,0:05:30.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you want to encounter it\Nwith an open mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.21,0:05:32.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the world will help you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.12,0:05:34.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it came to countries
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.36,0:05:37.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with little or no commercially\Navailable literature in English,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.89,0:05:39.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people went further still.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.69,0:05:43.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Books often came from surprising sources.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.54,0:05:47.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My Panamanian read, for example,\Ncame through a conversation
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.60,0:05:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had with the Panama Canal on Twitter.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.50,0:05:55.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, the Panama Canal\Nhas a Twitter account.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.73,0:05:58.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I tweeted at it about my project,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.13,0:06:01.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it suggested that I might like to try\Nand get hold of the work
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.53,0:06:04.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the Panamanian author\NJuan David Morgan.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.90,0:06:07.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found Morgan's website\Nand I sent him a message,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.49,0:06:09.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,asking if any of his\NSpanish-language novels
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.95,0:06:11.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had been translated into English.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.43,0:06:14.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said that nothing\Nhad been published,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.89,0:06:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he did have an unpublished translation
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.34,0:06:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of his novel "The Golden Horse."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.89,0:06:21.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He emailed this to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.25,0:06:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowing me to become\None of the first people ever
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.41,0:06:26.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to read that book in English.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.93,0:06:29.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Morgan was by no means the only wordsmith
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.60,0:06:31.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to share his work with me in this way.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.02,0:06:33.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From Sweden to Palau,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.80,0:06:37.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,writers and translators\Nsent me self-published books
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.82,0:06:39.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and unpublished manuscripts of books
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.57,0:06:42.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that hadn't been picked\Nup by Anglophone publishers
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.47,0:06:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that were no longer available,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.52,0:06:49.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,giving me privileged glimpses\Nof some remarkable imaginary worlds.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.01,0:06:51.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I read, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.18,0:06:55.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the Southern African king\NNgungunhane, who led the resistance
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.80,0:06:58.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against the Portuguese\Nin the 19th century;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.11,0:07:01.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and about marriage rituals\Nin a remote village
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.91,0:07:04.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the shores of the Caspian sea\Nin Turkmenistan.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.52,0:07:10.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I met Kuwait's answer to Bridget Jones.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.45,0:07:12.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.30,0:07:16.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I read about an orgy\Nin a tree in Angola.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.87,0:07:23.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But perhaps the most amazing example
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.05,0:07:25.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the lengths that people\Nwere prepared to go to
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.47,0:07:27.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help me read the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.12,0:07:29.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came towards the end of my quest,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.60,0:07:33.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I tried to get hold of a book\Nfrom the tiny, Portuguese-speaking
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.46,0:07:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,African island nation\Nof São Tomé and Príncipe.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.36,0:07:41.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, having spent several months\Ntrying everything I could think of to find
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.04,0:07:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a book that had been translated\Ninto English from the nation,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.40,0:07:46.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it seemed as though\Nthe only option left to me
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.67,0:07:49.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was to see if I could get something\Ntranslated for me from scratch.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.40,0:07:51.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I was really dubious
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.93,0:07:54.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether anyone was going\Nto want to help with this,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.35,0:07:56.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and give up their time\Nfor something like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.52,0:08:01.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, within a week of me putting\Na call out on Twitter and Facebook
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.81,0:08:03.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for Portuguese speakers,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.79,0:08:07.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had more people than I could\Ninvolve in the project,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.38,0:08:11.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including Margaret Jull Costa,\Na leader in her field,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.77,0:08:17.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who has translated the work\Nof Nobel Prize winner José Saramago.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.44,0:08:20.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With my nine volunteers in place,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.40,0:08:22.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I managed to find a book\Nby a São Toméan author
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.01,0:08:25.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I could buy enough copies of online.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.55,0:08:26.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's one of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.27,0:08:30.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I sent a copy out\Nto each of my volunteers.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.86,0:08:34.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They all took on a couple\Nof short stories from this collection,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.05,0:08:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stuck to their word, sent\Ntheir translations back to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.70,0:08:41.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and within six weeks,\NI had the entire book to read.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.42,0:08:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In that case, as I found so often\Nduring my year of reading the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.91,0:08:50.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my not knowing and being open\Nabout my limitations
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.02,0:08:53.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had become a big opportunity.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.94,0:08:56.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it came to São Tomé and Príncipe,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.15,0:08:59.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was a chance not only\Nto learn something new
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.52,0:09:02.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and discover a new collection of stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.22,0:09:05.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also to bring together\Na group of people
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.18,0:09:08.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and facilitate a joint creative endeavor.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.90,0:09:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My weakness had become\Nthe project's strength.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.93,0:09:17.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The books I read that year\Nopened my eyes to many things.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.51,0:09:19.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As those who enjoy reading will know,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.72,0:09:23.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,books have an extraordinary power\Nto take you out of yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.52,0:09:25.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and into someone else's mindset,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.69,0:09:27.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that, for a while at least,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.56,0:09:29.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you look at the world\Nthrough different eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.39,0:09:32.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That can be an uncomfortable experience,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.88,0:09:34.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particularly if you're reading a book
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.67,0:09:38.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a culture that may have quite\Ndifferent values to your own.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.60,0:09:40.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it can also be really enlightening.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.40,0:09:45.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wrestling with unfamiliar ideas\Ncan help clarify your own thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.74,0:09:47.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it can also show up blind spots
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.93,0:09:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the way you might have\Nbeen looking at the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.07,0:09:53.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I looked back at much\Nof the English-language literature
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.98,0:09:55.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd grown up with, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.69,0:09:58.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I began to see how narrow a lot of it was,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.75,0:10:01.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared to the richness\Nthat the world has to offer.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.89,0:10:05.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as the pages turned,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.07,0:10:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something else started to happen, too.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.15,0:10:09.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Little by little,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.32,0:10:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that long list of countries that\NI'd started the year with, changed
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.63,0:10:17.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a rather dry, academic\Nregister of place names
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.02,0:10:20.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into living, breathing entities.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.48,0:10:24.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I don't want to suggest\Nthat it's at all possible
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.22,0:10:28.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get a rounded picture of a country\Nsimply by reading one book.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.01,0:10:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But cumulatively, the stories\NI read that year
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.62,0:10:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made me more alive than ever before
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.71,0:10:41.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the richness, diversity and complexity\Nof our remarkable planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.65,0:10:44.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was as though the world's stories
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.67,0:10:48.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the people who'd gone\Nto such lengths to help me read them
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.60,0:10:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had made it real to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.09,0:10:54.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These days, when I look at my bookshelves
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.64,0:10:57.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or consider the works on my e-reader,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.79,0:10:59.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they tell a rather different story.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.65,0:11:03.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the story of the power\Nbooks have to connect us
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.02,0:11:08.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,across political, geographical,\Ncultural, social, religious divides.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.42,0:11:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the tale of the potential\Nhuman beings have to work together.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.32,0:11:15.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, it's testament
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.69,0:11:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the extraordinary times we live\Nin, where, thanks to the Internet,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.33,0:11:22.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's easier than ever before
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.27,0:11:26.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a stranger to share a story,\Na worldview, a book
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.73,0:11:30.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with someone she may never meet,\Non the other side of the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.60,0:11:34.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hope it's a story I'm reading\Nfor many years to come.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.07,0:11:37.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I hope many more people will join me.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.95,0:11:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we all read more widely,\Nthere'd be more incentive
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.58,0:11:43.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for publishers to translate more books,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.16,0:11:45.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we would all be richer for that.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.71,0:11:46.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.89,0:11:50.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)