We are more than half-way through 2019, time sure flies, and summer is a great time to evaluate progress on your goals for the year. One of my goals was to complete this 24-book travel-themed reading challenge. I have read more than 24 books already this year, some of which fit in more than one category from this challenge. Some categories have been easy for me, reading more than one book that fulfill it and there are a few I have left to meet my goal.

✓ A book written by an author from a country you are visiting (or want to)

Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

✓ A book read entirely on an airplane/train/car

Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years - Nelson Mandela

✓ A book recommended by someone you’ve traveled with

Factfulness - Hans Rosling

✓ A book translated from a foreign language (or in it, if you dare)

Mon Hamster Veut Aller à L’école - JP Chabot

✓ A book borrowed from a fellow traveler

Men Without Women - Haruki Murakami

✓ A book with a mode of transportation on the cover

Longitude: The True Story Of A Lone Genius Who Solved The Greatest Scientific Problem Of His Time - Dava Sobel

✓ A book whose main character has a career you wish you had or admire

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

✓ A book by an author you've never read before

The Brain Defense - Kevin Davis

✓ A book you own but have not read

The Weight of Glory - C. S. Lewis

✓ A book with a color in the title or author’s name

Black Like Me - John Howard Grififin

✓ Three books on a single topic or by the same author

The Global Achievement Gap - Tony Wagner 

Radical: Fighting to Put Students First - Michelle Rhee

Savage Inequalities - Jonathan Kozol

Books set on every continent

✓ Africa

The Last Train to Zona Verde - Paul Theroux

✓ Asia

Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata

✓ Australia

In A Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson

✓ Europe

Gravity’s Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon

✓ North America

A Little Life - Hanya Yanaghara

Books Left to Complete

❏ A book that is set in a country you want to visit/are visiting

❏ A book picked up on vacation

❏ A book published the year you were born

❏ A book about a country you’ve been to and miss

❏ A book set in Antarctica

❏ A book set in South America (currently reading The Mapmaker’s Wife)

The biggest surprise for me was In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson used to fulfill the Book Set In Australia category. Australia is the only inhabited continent I haven’t visited and I really had no desire to. I didn’t understand the appeal of a place that speaks English, has slightly warped English customs, and where all the animals try to kill you. But after reading his book my perception of Australia has changed and now I actually want to check Australia off my list!

Did you commit to a reading challenge this year? What are you reading? What book has created the biggest impact so far? Do you have recommendations for books to fulfill my last few categories? Comment below!