So many things to love about the coming of summer, long bright days (we hope), seaside holidays, ice-cream, reasonably priced strawberries, sitting in the park with a good book. To that (very incomplete list) we can now add 20 books of summer brought to us by Cathy of 746 books – which we all enjoyed last year, and I am glad to say is back.
Last year I very nearly failed this challenge, I spent ages putting together a lovely, tempting pile of books – confident, as I can easily read 20 books in three months, so I thought I had plenty of wriggle room. I hadn’t realised what a fickle reader I can be. Once I had started on my list I found myself constantly wanting to read other things. Still I think I just about completed it – by the skin of my teeth.
Of course I am a sucker for a reading challenge especially when there is a hashtag involved. So I am joining in again – having learnt from last year, so with Cathy’s permission I have chosen thirty books – from which I will attempt to read twenty books between 1st June and 5th September. The challenge for me isn’t so much in the number of books, but in sticking to the list.
1. Fingers in the sparkle jar by Chris Packham
2. The Green Road by Anne Enright
3. Zofloya by Charlotte Dacre
4. Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
5. Ghostbird by Carol Lovekin
6. A Dedicated Man (short stories) by Elizabeth Taylor
7. Monday or Tuesday by Virginia Woolf
8. The Great Fortune – by Olivia Manning
9. Flush – by Virginia Woolf
10. The Shutter of Snow – by Emily Holmes Coleman
11 The World my wilderness – by Rose Macaulay
12 So Long see you tomorrow – by William Maxwell
13 Stay up with me – (short stories) by Tom Barbash
14 The way of all Flesh – by Samuel Butler
15 The Godwits Fly – by Robin Hyde
16 Virginia Woolf by Nigel Nicolson
17 Salem Chapel – Mrs Oliphant
18 The Hog’s Back mystery – by Freeman Wills Crofts
19 Miss Hargreaves – by Frank Baker
20 Troy Chimneys – by Margaret Kennedy
21 Different Class – by Joanne Harris
22 Reader I married him (short stories) ed by Tracy Chevalier
23 Love – by Elizabeth von Arnim
24 Telling the bees – by Peggy Hesketh
25 A Quiet Life – by Beryl Bainbridge
26 A Weekend with Claude – by Beryl Bainbridge
27 Who was changed and who was dead – by Barbara Comyns
28 Princes in the land – by Joanna Cannan
29 Challenge by Vita Sackville West
30 The Land of spices – Kate O’ Brien
Phew – well after typing out all those I better succeed now.
I have tried to pick a real variety of things, old books, new books, classics, short stories and biography. I have had to consider reading challenges, like #Woolfalong, Beryl Bainbridge week and All Virago All August – I hope I have them all covered.
Happy summer reading to you all – would love to know which of those books I definitely shouldn’t be missing out.
I’m like you Ali – the minute I commit to something that restricts my reading I immediately want to read something else!! Having said that, you have a great selection there – the Manning is great and I think you’ll love Miss Hargreaves!
I first read The Balkan trilogy at least twenty years ago and I know I loved it. Of course I no longer had my huge omnibus edition but then spotted that first volume in a second hand bookshop.
Ali…you sound as happy about summer as I do about winters…this is what different geographies do to us! LOL! Wonderful list…I love Butler’s The Way of All Flesh…and I love Margaret Oliphant and Margaret Kennedy! Happy Reading!
Thank you. I bet our summers are still colder than your winters. 😁
I loved Flush by Virginia Woolf and I have read and loved quite a few of Von Arnims’ books but I haven’t read Love. Enjoy the challenge.
Thanks. Really looking forward to more von Arnim I often wonder why I haven’t just gobbled up all her books.
What a great selection of books – I do enjoy looking through other reader’s selections even if I’m too fickle to stick any sort of reading list of my own! 20 from a possible 30 is a good way of incorporating some flexibility, so I’m sure you’ll be fine. Can’t wait to hear what you think of Desperate Characters and the Manning – I have a combined volume of the Balkan trilogy in one of the piles at home.
Desperate Characters was bought entirely because of your review so I am looking forward to it.
Lovely selection (just posted mine, too https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/20booksofsummer-2016/ ) I cannot BELIEVE we don’t have any of the same books on ours!! I would say don’t leave out the Oliphant, however I am planning on “doing” her next year (maybe). You’ve got a good selection there, and good idea doing the 30 to choose from thing!
Just going over to look at your list now. I ‘m hoping the 30 will give me enough flexibility this year.
All these books can be bought or borrowed easily.Nothing worse than seeing mega expensive,rare novels being promoted.
Well I talk about the books I happen to have and read. Occasionally I might choose to read something that’s harder to find and so I will talk about that too.
Great list Ali, I think we’ll have quite a lot of cross-over of authors, if not the same titles. I’ve only just found about about this challenge so my list will be a little delayed, but I’m now going to have a lot of fun choosing!
Choosing the books is great fun. I look forward to your list.
This list is a bit like an old fashioned sweet shopaholic! Where to begin? I’m looking forward to checking them out on audio. Just wish they would record some of the older, rarer books. Persephone…please note!
Yes it’s frustrating that those books are still not accessible to all.
I’m just like you Ali – listing books to read means I always find I want to read others. I did this challenge last year and hoped I would do better if I restricted it to listing 10 books – I managed 6 off my list!
I’ve read just three of the books you list and loved them all, so I would say do read The Great Fortune (I see you first read it years ago!). I’ve read the first two in the trilogy – maybe I’ll put the third on my summer list. Also Flush is lovely (and so short), plus The Quiet Life, which is a brilliant book.
I’m interested in the Chris Packham book – may have to get it!
It looks as though you have a great summer’s reading lined up.
I will be seeing Chris Packham at Hay Festival so will probably want to read the book soon after hearing him speak about it.
Enjoy! I’m still putting my list together. I usually go with 10, to give me time to read unplanned books and outsmart myself, since I have trouble with sticking to lists as well. But maybe this year, I’ll do what you did and simply pick more than 20.
I think doing either picking 10 to start with and then another 10 or starting with a longer list does give more flexibility. Good luck putting your list together.
Your tactic of picking 30 and reading 20 is perfect Ali, gives a bit of flexibility.
Yes I hope it will help me stick to it 😊
I have the same problem as you – sticking to the list! But I might give it a try this year, just for fun! Enjoy your books!
Thank you. I would love to see what books you would choose.
Tempting selection. And an Elizabeth Taylor novel I haven’t even heard of! Can recommend Miss Hargeaves. An enjoyable romp if you’re feeling the pressure.
The Elizabeth Taylor is short stories. I have been saving three collections of her stories for years. 😊 Not sure what I was saving them for.
It’s a wonderful selection and adding an extra ten was a good idea. I’m terrible with challenges like this. The moment a books in a list I loose interest.
Ha ha I am glad it’s not just me. It seems lots of us have the same problem with lists.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I haven’t even heard of most of these. I did read Telling the Bees a couple of years ago. It was okay.
There are so many books out there, we can’t know about all of them, that’s why I love book blogs so much.
I like that idea of adding an extra ten so you have choices. This summer I”m not going to even jinx myself by making a list, but I hope to read at least ten books off my own shelves. Troy Chimneys is one of them, so I’ll be very interested to see what you think about that one.
Troy Chimneys looks good. Happy summer reading to you.
So many of them are new books for me. I should patiently go through your list again. Or perhaps wait for the reviews. I am most keen on The Green road. I can’t wait for my copy to arrive. I did hear that the Tracy Chevalier book is pretty great too.
I have read so many great reviews of The Green Road I don’t know why I have waited so long to read it.
I wasn’t wowed by it. The Gathering is much stronger book
Redder I Married Him was discussed on the BBC Front Row edition last night from the Hay Festival. I was intrigued by the different ways the authors interpreted that phrase though was amused to hear Lionel Shriver say all she could remember of Jane Eyre was that she liked it! .
She obviously hasn’t read Jane Eyre as often as I have. 😁
Its a tremendous book for re-reading
I’m afraid I haven’t read any of the books on your list to help recommend what you should start with, but I do wish you all best with your list and lots of happy reading! I am also hoping to take part in this event however with only 10 books as I think 20 would be over ambitious for me 🙂
Good luck with your summer reading list.
What a delicious pile! Miss Hargreaves is a great favorite of mine. It’s so clever, so different from anything else I’ve read. I own a few of these, but haven’t read most. But then, that’s the case with all my books!
A list of 20 for the summer… I was once a very fast reader, but now I’m much slower. When I’m taking notes about a book I can be positively glacial.
Can’t wait to read your reviews. Meanwhile, I’m #Woolfalong -ing. 🙂
Looking forward to Miss Hargreaves for some reason I have had it for years.
What a tempting list, Ali! I also have The Shutter of Snow, The World my wilderness, and Challenge on my TBR, so I am looking forward for your reviews of those books. Happy Sumnmer reading! 🙂
Arranging so many great looking books into piles means it’s difficult to know where to start. Happy summer reading to you too.
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I love your list. So many books I’d love to get to one day. I’ll be very curious to see what you think of Reader, I Married Him in particular.
Like you, my problem is not reading 20 books in 3 months, the problem is sticking to a set list! My solution is leave a few free spots 🙂
Yes that’s a good solution I had considered doing that.