Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge

I started this journey back in 2012 (for 2013).  It was originally sponsored by Stacey over at Have Books, Will Travel as the Around the World in 80 Books Reading Challenge.  But something happened and her blog seems to have gone away. Tanya over at Mom's Small Victories has adopted it in partnership with I’m Lost in Books and Savvy Working Gal and renamed it the Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge. They have graciously allowed those of us who had started the journey with Around the World to claim the countries already "booked" and continue our trip from there.

New Rules for this challenge: 

The Goal 
Travel the world in books, of course! Expand your horizons and read books set in or written by authors from countries other than the one you live in. Visit as many different countries in books as you wish. 

The “Rules”

And the “rules” are simply this…YOU choose your own adventure! These are your goals but you can change them any time.

1. Determine length of time you will participate in the challenge. Just one month, An entire season, a year or 5 years?

2. Determine how many countries you would like to read about during your adventure. What criteria are you using to determine the number of countries you read about (ex. book setting, author background or both)?

3. How will you track the countries you visited in books? You could create a map in Google Maps, track on your blog or on a Goodreads shelf.

4. Determine your book list or genre if you like. Will you be listing specific books you would like to read? Do you aim to read fiction, nonfiction or a mixture of both?

5. Link up your posts. Linkies will be available for sign up/goals, wrap up, and a linky for each continent for you to add your book reviews whenever you are ready.

6. Please follow each of our 3 hosts by at least one social media or bloglovin, RSS, GFC so you can keep informed of news, updates and events regarding this challenge. We have a Travel the World in 80 Books Readathon in the works for September!

That’s it, are you ready to travel the world in books? Grab the button and “arrivederci”, “bon voyage”, “sayonara” and enjoy your travels!

My original commitment was five years to complete a voyage of 80 countries. I began on October 1, 2012 and my end date is September 30, 2017. And I decided to read books set in a particular country. If a book takes place in multiple countries, then I will use only one of them for the challenge. My commitment was the equivalent of 16 books each year in order to count the challenge towards that year's goal. That is to say, I must meet the following goals by the end of each year to count the challenge:

Year one = 16 books read
Year two = 32 books read
Year three = 48 books read
Year four = 64 books read
Year five = 80 books read

Additionally, I pledged to donate 80 books to my local library--pledge completed July 14, 2014.

 List of books read and location:
1. The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime by Michael Sims, ed (11/5/12) [England]
2. The Bone Is Pointed by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (11/16/12)
3. The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas  [France] (12/15/12) 
4. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke [US] (12/19/12) 
5. The Man Who Went up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Hungary] (1/8/13)
6. Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards by Kit Brennan [Spain] (2/9/13)
7. The Perfect Landscape by Ragna Sigurdardottir [Iceland] (3/12/13)
8. The Lady Vanishes (aka The Wheel Spins) by Ethel Lina White [takes place on train ride through the "Balkans" which could conceivable be part of several countries. I have arbitrarily decided that the bulk of the action takes place in Bulgaria] (3/17/13) 
9. The African Queen by C. S. Forester [Tanzania] (4/6/13) 
    Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye [Tanzania] (6/25/13)
10. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen [Argentina] (4/30/13) 
11. The Talking Sparrow Murders by Darwin L. Teilhet [Germany] (5/6/13) 
12. Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon [Wales] (5/18/13)
13. Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon [Ireland] (5/23/13) 
14. The Curse of the Bronze Lamp by Carter Dickson [Egypt] (5/27/13) 
15. Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley [Kenya] (6/8/13)
16. Devoured by D. E. Meredith [Malaysia (& England)] (6/22/13)

Year One Challenge Goal met!
 
17. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov [Russia] (6/23/13)
18. The Scarlet Macaw by S. P. Hozy [Singapore] (8/10/13)
19. The Monster of Florence by Magdalen Nabb [Italy] (8/17/13)
20. Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen [Denmark] (8/20/13)  
21. Cold Earth by Sarah Moss [Greenland] (10/18/13)
22. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell [Sweden] (1/5/13)
23. The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton [Mexico](1/18/14)
24. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [Turkey] (2/4/14)  
25. Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis [Vatican City] (3/5/14) 
26. The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd [Tahiti (French Polynesia)] (3/8/14) 
27. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane [Tangier, Morocco] (4/5/14) 
28. Decoded by Mai Jia [China] (4/5/14) 
29. Gale Warning by Hammon Innes [Norway/Norwegian Sea] (4/15/14) 
30. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Souroudi [Greece] (4/26/14) 
31. 20.12 by Dustin Thomason [Guatemala] (6/6/14) 
32. DeKok & Murder in Ecstasy [Netherlands] (6/27/14) 

Year Two Challenge Goal Met!

33. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell [Arctic Circle] (6/29/14)
34. Murder at the Villa Rose by A. E. W. Mason [Monaco] (7/14/14)
35. The Tattooed Man by Howard Pease [Panama--one of major stops/scenes of action in the sea-faring tale] (7/17/14) 
36. The Dark Ring of Murder by Misa Yamamura [Japan] (11/19/14) 
37. A Dead Man in Trieste by Michael Pearce [Austria] (1/27/15)
38. Death Over Deep Water by Simon Nash [Malta] (2/8/15)
39. Into the Valley by John Hersey [Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] (2/28/15) 
40. The Wilberforce Legacy by Josephine Bell [Trinidad & Tobago] (4/19/15)
41. Safari by Parnell Hall [Zambia] (4/21/15) 
42. Double Cross Purposes by Ronald A. Knox [Scotland] (6/3/15)
43. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood [Canada] (8/16/15)
44. Death in Kashmir by M. M. Kaye [India] (8/25/15)
45. The Bat Flies Low by Sax Rohmer [Egypt] (9/10/15)
46. The Albert Gate Mystery by Louis Tracy [France & Italy] (9/14/15)
47. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen [Poland] (9/14/15)
48. Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich [Brazil] (9/23/15)


Year Three Challenge Goal Met!

49. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie [then--Yugoslavia in what is now present-day Croatia] 9/23/15 
50. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters [Egypt] (9/28/15)
51. Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne [France] (10/11/15)
52. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood [Australia & England] (10/16/15)
53. In Spite of Thunder by John Dickson Carr [Switzerland] (11/7/15)
54. The Red Redmaynes by Eden Philpotts [England & Italy] (11/14/15)
55. The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth [England] (1/9/16)
56. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham [Hong Kong] (2/5/16)
57. The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin [Australia] (2/13/16)
58. The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (2/22/16)
59. The Calcutta Affair by George S. Elrick [India] (2/28/16)
60. House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon [Scotland] (3/7/16)
61. The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin [Switzerland & Germany] (3/11/16)
62. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas [France] (4/21/16)
63. Death in Cyprus by M. M. Kaye [Cyprus] (4/22/16)
64. The Family Tomb by Michael Gilbert [Italy] (5/10/16)

Year Four Goal Met!

65. Running Blind by Desmond Bagley [Iceland] (5/11/16)
66. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Sweden] (5/20/16)
67. Good Blood by Aaron Elkins [Italy] (5/23/16)
68. Murder in Amsterdam by A. J. Baantjer [Netherlands] (6/3/16)
69. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji [Japan] (7/2/16)
70. The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler [Poland] (7/17/16)
71. The Mirabilis Diamond by Jerome Odlum [begins & ends in Mexico (Baja California)] (7/31/16)
72. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre [East Germany/Germany] (8/24/16)
73. The Seventh Mourner by Dorothy Gardiner [Scotland] (9/21/16)
74. Death in the Andamans by M. M. Kaye [India] (9/25/16)
75. Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child [waters off the coast of Chile] (10/28/16)
76. Black Widower by Paticia Moyes [Caribbean] (11/6/16)
77. Grendel by John Gardner [Denmark] (12/28/16)
78. Murder at the Masque by Amy Myers [French Riviera]  (1/16/17)
79. When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin [China] (1/24/17)
80. Spice Island Mystery by Betty Cavanna [Grenada] (2/10/17)

Year Five Goal Met! 


******************************

List of books donated:
Had a clear-out of books today (11/11/12)
1. Some Men Are More Perfect Than Others by Merle Shain
2. The Four Million & Other Stories by O. Henry
3. All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
4. The Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer
5. Weeping on Wednesday by Ann Purser
6. Theft on Thursday by Ann Purser
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
8. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
9. My Fair Lady by Monica Dickens
10. The Romance of Tristan & Iseult retold by Joseph Bedier
11. The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley
12. I Been There Before by David Carkeet
13. J.B. by Archibald MacLeish
14. The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco
15. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
16. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
17. The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel
18. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
19. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
20. Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
21. Time Flies by Bill Cosby 
22. The School of Night by Louis Bayard (donated 11/17/12)
23. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (donated 11/17/12)
24. Death in the Memorial Garden by Kathy Deviny (donated 12/8/12) 
25. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke (donated 12/21/12) 
26. The Cat Who Came to Christmas by Cleveland Amory (donated 12/21/12) 
27. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey (donated 1/13/12)
28. Whip Smart by Kit Brennan (donated (2/9/13) 
29. Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie (donated 2/16/13)
30. A Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie (donated 2/16/13)
31. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (donated 2/16/13) 
32. The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith (donated 3/7/13) 
33. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (donated 3/9/13) 
34. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (donated 3/11/13)
35. A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield (donated 3/24/13) 
36. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (donated 4/9/13) 
37. The Silence of Herondale by Joan Aiken (donated 4/21/13) 
38. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen (donated 4/30/13) 
39. And Having Writ... by Donald R. Bensen (donated 5/11/13)
40. How Not to Murder Your Grumpy by Carol E. Wyer (6/21/13)
41. Mystery Train by David Wojahn (6/21/13) 
42. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (7/6/13)
43. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (8/6/13) 
44. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (8/10/13)
45. Age of Desire by Jennie Fields (8/13/13) 
46. The Temple of Death by A. C. & R. H. Benson (9/16/13) 
47. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (10/6/13) 
48. Unsinkable by Richard Cibrano (10/12/13) 
49. The Water Room by Christopher Fowler (10/25/13)
50. The Ten-Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler (10/25/13) 
51. Kemp's Last Case by M. R. D. Meek (11/4/13)
52. Commodore by Simon Sobo (12/21/13)
53. A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (12/21/13)
54. A Habit for Death by Chuck Zito (12/21/13) 
55. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson
56. Smart & Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People by Jane Bryant Quinn
57. Yes, You Can Become a Successful Income Investor! by Ben Stein & Phil DeMuth 
58. Braid by Roger Mitchell 
59. Shakespeare's Planet by Clifford D. Simak (1/11/14) 
60. Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (3/5/14)
61. The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie (3/5/14) 
62. Erasmus-Luther: Discourse on Free Will by Ernst F. Winter (trans & ed) [3/12/14]
63. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings by John Dillenberger (ed) [3/12/14]
64. John Calvin & Jacopo Sadoleto: A Reformation Debate by John C. Olin (ed) [3/12/14] 
65. John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars by Roland Hughes (3/16/14)
66. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (3/18/14)
67. The Awakening & Selected Stories by Kate Chopin (3/18/14)
68. Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye by Kenneth P O'Donnell & David F. Powers w/Joe McCarthy (3/18/14)
69. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (3/18/14)
70. The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence (3/18/14)
71. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence (3/18/14)
72. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (3/18/14) 
73. A Deadly Place to Stay by Josephine Bell (3/29/14) 
74. Naked Is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenberg (4/8/14) 
75. My Antonia by Willa Cather (4/20/14) 
76. Undead & Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson (6/22/14) 
77. The Day They Kidnapped Queen Victoria by H. K. Fleming (7/3/14)
78. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (7/3/14) 
79. Selections from the Essays of Montaigne by Michel de Montaigne (7/14/14)
80. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell (7/14/14)