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DinaraWrites - A Literary Compass for the Global Soul

DinaraWrites: A Literary Compass for the Global Soul

If you believe that the best way to understand a country is through its stories rather than its brochures, Dinara Bekmagambetova is your ideal guide. Originally from Kazakhstan and now navigating her new life in Berlin, Dinara is on a monumental quest: to read a book from every country in the world. Her Substack, DinaraWrites, is the record of this journey experiencing a thoughtful intersection of literature, history, and the visceral experience of travel.

Dinara’s approach to history is deeply intimate. She doesn’t just look for facts; she seeks out diaries and personal memoirs that “bring together the personal and the historical.” In her recent explorations of her new home, she bridges the gap between the past and the present.

When she reads Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer or A Woman in Berlin, she isn’t just reviewing books; she is walking the streets of Charlottenburg and the Zoological Garten, overlaying the harrowing experiences of the 1940s onto the vibrant city she sees today. This “eagle-eye view” of history allows her to explore heavy themes like collective trauma and national identity with empathy and intellectual rigor.

But Dinara’s world isn’t just found between the pages. She is an avid traveler who has undergone a profound transformation in how she experiences the world. Moving away from the “obsessive planning” of her early twenties (where every specialty dish was scouted and every landmark was a checkbox) she has embraced the “less is more” philosophy. Her recent trip to Paris was defined not by museums, but by eating rotisserie chicken by the side of the road and stumbling upon tiny Egyptian restaurants. She champions the “mishaps” and the “unplanned,” recognizing that these are the stories that define our travels.

On DinaraWrites, you’ll find a growing map of the world, from the “bleeding wounds” of China’s Cultural Revolution in Cocoon to the political upheaval of Iran. Dinara is a polyglot soul, learning German while sharing the “Reading the World” challenge with a community of fellow explorers. If you’ve ever felt that literature is the ultimate form of travel, or if you’re looking to broaden your horizons beyond American and British classics, join Dinara on her journey. It is a beautiful place to start a worldwide quest.

Dinara is systematically moving through the globe. Here is a snapshot of her “Reading the World” progress: https://substack.com/@dinarawrites