I’m so happy it’s finally summer! This year, I’ve been avoiding TBR lists and trying to take some of the pressure off of what and how I read. But I’ll make an exception for the 20 Books of Summer Challenge, hosted by Cathy at 746books.com, because it’s a pretty laid back challenge and summer feels like a good time to set some reading goals.
My list is a combination of book club reads, ARCs, library holds, and physical books that are sitting on my shelf. A few, like Queenie and Weather, are on the list because they are on the Women’s Prize longlist. A few are new releases from favorite authors (Paulette Jiles, Elizabeth Acevedo, David Mitchell) and a few are science fiction novels I’ve been wanting to read (The City in the Middle of the Night, The City We Became). And a few will count towards challenges, like Read Harder, Reading Nonfiction, Mount TBR, and Reading Around the World.
I’m cheating a teeny bit because there are a few books I recently started, that I know I won’t finish before June 1. For now, I’m counting them.
- The Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
- Vox by Christina Dalcher
- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
- Craigslist Confessional by Helena Dea Bala
- Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
- Weather by Jenny Offill
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
- The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
- Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson
- The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
- The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
- The City We Became by NK Jemisin
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- The Only Plane in the Sky by Garret M. Graff (currently listening)
- The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See (currently listening)
I’m averaging about 10 reads a month, so reading 20 over 3 months won’t be difficult – it’s sticking to the list that’s the challenge. But this is meant to be a NO STRESS challenge, so I’m not going to worry if I don’t read this exact list. I never do.
Will you be participating in 20 Books of Summer? If so, please share a link to your 20 (or 15 or 10) books list. And if not, what are your summer reading plans?
