Around the World

This is the page where I will keep track of my progress in the Reading All Around the World Project, for which I’m trying to read books from at least 50 different countries of the world. There are links to reviews on my blog where applicable.

Here’s a map with the countries I’ve “visited” so far indicated (created in Google Maps).

Two stars** after the author name indicates the author is a native of the country described. One star* indicates the author’s ethnic background is from that country. Other books have a strong and well-researched setting; usually the author has lived in the country for an extended period.

Europe

• Sweden – War Diaries by Astrid Lindgren** – January 2017
• Netherlands – I Was a Stranger by John Hackett – January 2017
• Greece – The Praise Singer by Mary Renault – June 2017
• Switzerland – The Gilded Chalet by Padraig Rooney  – July 2017; The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain – April 2020
• Spain – Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes** – July 2019
• Iceland – Burial Rites by Hannah Kent – February 2020
• Ireland – Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor** – May 2020

Americas

• Mexico – Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan* – September 2017
• Brazil – Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson – January 2018
• Venezuela – Octavio’s Journey and Black Sugar by Miguel Bonnefoy** – February 2018
• Chile – The House of the Spirits and My Invented Country by Isabel Allende** – January 2020

Africa and Middle East

• Nigeria – Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie** – July 2017
• Lebanon – An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine** – August 2017
• Sudan – Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Sahil** – November 2017
• Egypt – The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson – August 2018
• Saudi Arabia – Daring to Drive by Manal Al-Sharif** – December 2019
• South Africa – Born a Crime by Trevor Noah** – December 2019
• Ghana – All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou* – January 2020
• Palestine/Israel – Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye* – May 2020

Asia and Australia

• China – Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan** – March 2017
• Cambodia – The Last Gods of Indochine by Samuel Ferrer – July 2017
• Afghanistan – One Half from the East by Nadia Hashimi* – September 2017
• Australia – My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin** – October 2019
• Korea/Japan – Pachinko by Min Jin Lee* – January 2020
• India – The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sunja Massey* – February 2020
• Bhutan – Married to Bhutan by Linda Leaming – February 2020