Cathy over at 746 Books is hosting her annual 20 Books of Summer Challenge, wherein participants attempt to read 20 (or 15 or 10 or basically any number you like) books between June 1 and September 4. I’ve followed along with this challenge before but have never “officially” joined in so… here we go!
For my 20 books (links to GoodReads) –
- I’ve started a new fantasy series – the Codex Alera books by Jim Butcher. I’ve already read the first book, and by the end of summer am hoping to read books 2-4 (there are six total, I believe).
- I’m still trying to read (or reread) books off my own shelves. By September, I’m aiming to read
- Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter, and its sequel, A Girl of the Limberlost
- Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, and ITS sequel, Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague (there are two more “Misty” books, but my guess is that they won’t happen until the fall)
- I am also still working my way through Agatha Christie’s delightful mysteries. Upcoming are Crooked House, They Came to Baghdad, and Destination Unknown
- In the random-books-off-the-TBR category we have –
- The Ransom by Grace Livingston Hill
- The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
- Life or Death by Michael Robotham
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
- The Fold by Peter Clines
- On the Fence by Kasie West
- The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly
- Money in the Bank by P.G. Wodehouse
- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
- The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson
Okay, gosh, I’m already scared. There are some beefy books on this list!!! But these are personal goals, right?? So we will see how things go! I also reserve the right to DNF any of those random books… I sometimes start books from the TBR, but if they don’t engage me in the first 80-100 pages, I’m not afraid to send them off unread! This actually part of the reason I don’t usually do these challenges where I list off my future reads. What if I change my mind?? But then I thought, “What happens if I change my mind? It’s not like Cathy is going to send the 20 Books of Summer police after me!” (Right??) So if a book doesn’t strike my fancy, I’ll replace the title with something else new and exciting, and let you all know about the update!
I’m currently in the middle of another hefty book, House of Thieves by Charles Belfoure, but I am hoping to be at least most of the way through it by Wednesday, when the challenge officially begins!
Right now, I’m way behind on reviews, so it’s possible that I may get more of these books read than I will reviewed, as I like to review books in the order I finish them, but I’m hoping to at least give a little shout-out whenever one gets checked off!
Cathy is using #20booksofsummer for Twitter updates. I’m quite dreadful at Twitter, but I’ll see what I can do. Not sure if anyone else is on Instagram?? I may incorporate the hashtag into some updates there as well. (On Twitter, I’m PopcornandBooks, and on Instagram I’m PopcornandBooks15.)
Hope to see some of you reading along this summer as well. Best of luck!!
I’m pretty terrible at sticking to lists, but heck, it’s a lot of fun to try! Good luck!
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I know, right? Which is why I reserve the right to change the list entirely! :-D
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An eclectic selection of books – I really enjoyed The Mistake I Made and Agatha Christie will be making an appearance in the second half of my choices too!
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I do believe that your review was the inspiration behind adding ‘The Mistake I Made.’ I’ve already completed all of Christie’s Poirot, Marple, and Tommy & Tuppence books, so now I am wrapping up all of her odds and ends. They actually include some of my favorites, and I’m excited about the next few as well!!
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Looking forward to your reviews of this selection, they are quite random!
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I know, right? They’re honestly just the next twenty books on my TBR shelf (which holds about twenty books, so that’s convenient). We’ll see how many of them get checked off!!!
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I changed my list last year quite often with no dire consequences! :)
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hehe I’m glad to hear that Cathy’s secret 20 Books of Summer police didn’t find you!! :-D
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The idea of a 20 Books of Summer police is hilarious, given that I am the slackest challenge host ever! DNF? Never worry. Want to change your list? Sure! If you don’t make 20 then just pretend you were doing 15 and I’ll go along with it 😉
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hehe perfect. And if it drops to 15, I’ll act like that was the plan all along. ;-)
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I’ll back you up there!
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Glad to see you “officially” in this year. Cathy is a sweetheart, so you’ll make it one way or another!
I’ve been curious about Butcher’s Codex series. I’ve read a couple in his Dresden Files series. The Gene Stratton Porter books bring back such memories! As does the mention of Marguerite Henry. And you can’t go wrong with Wodehouse!
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So far the Codex series is pretty good (I just started the second book yesterday), although a bit on the serious side for my tastes. Marguerite Henry was a childhood hero of mine, and I’ve been trying to reread some of her books – they make me feel super nostalgic!
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I read My Cousin Rachel for a Classic Club spin – it was one of my best spin choices to date, although she will probably make you feel angry!
Delighted to see Aussie Michael Robotham on your list too :-)
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Somehow, ‘Rebecca’ is the only du Maurier title that I have read, despite the fact that I think ‘Rebecca’ is brilliant writing. So I’m looking forward to trying another of her books! And I’ve heard a lot of good things about Robotham, so I’m looking forward to giving him a whirl!!
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I’ll be reading with you! You can check out my list on my blog. Love your selection. Very diverse, you won’t be bored at all. Happy reading!
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Oh thank you! Your list also looks exciting!!
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