Cathy at Cathy746 has a yearly challenge to read twenty books over the summer months starting on 1 June 2015 and running until 4 September 2015, and this year I’ve decided to join her. I had already rationed myself from requesting quite so many review copies so the choices I make will be in addition to those that I have obligations to read and review.
As I’m competitive I’m signing up for the full twenty. My personal challenge is to read these twenty books from my bookshelf that I already own with at least half being physical books. Funnily enough I have plenty to choose from…
The only drawback with this challenge is I want to experience choosing a book that fits my mood so I have decided to begin by choosing a spread of genre to list the first ten books for my summer reading.
The links below will take you to the Goodreads description
The Night Watch – Sarah Waters
The Anatomy of Death – Felicity Young
Letters to the Lost – Iona Grey
The Maul and the Pear Tree – P.D. James & T.A. Critchley
The Disappearance of Emily Marr – Louise Candlish
Every Secret Thing – Emma Cole
Dancing for the Hangman – Martin Edwards
Rutherford Park – Elizabeth Cooke
The Whicharts – Noel Streatfeild
I will be joining Cathy by tweeting my way through the challenge using the hastag #20booksofsummer and I will provide (a yet to be decided logo) to demonstrate when one of my reads is part of this challenge!
There’s still time to join in and Cathy has also provided a 10 Books of Summer image for those of you who feel aiming for 20 is quite frankly ridiculous. Visit Cathy to get the full details here
So what do you think to my choices? Do you have any suggestions on where I should start or perhaps you think some of these need to be put back on the shelf and forgotten about? All comments welcomed!
Cleopatra Loves Books 
Good luck! And what a great way to enjoy books on your own shelf. I am curious about The Night Watch. Have fun!
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Thank you Laurel, hopefully I’ll stick to the plan 😉
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Good luck! I think it’s a fantastic idea! Although I think I might need to include review books to make up the full 20. I’m quite tempted to join you guys !
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I do hope you decide to join us – the more the merrier!
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Good luck! I too have Dancing for the Hangman, but haven’t read it yet – Martin Edwards books are always good, so you could start with that one. I haven’t read any of the other books on your list, although I’ve read other books by Reginald Hill, P D James and Sarah Waters – so I would start with one of their books, I think.
I’m thinking of doing this challenge too, but I’m doing the TBR Pile Challenge, which also requires you to identify in advance the books you’re going to read – and so far this year I’ve read just two of them! It seems that by putting books on a list I resist reading them.(:
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Thank you so much for your comments and the three authors you picked out are firm favourites of mine too!
We can be contrary can’t we? I am determined to at least try to read those I’ve selected this time but we’ll see 😉
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Well, I would never dream of telling anyone to put a book back on the shelf as reading is such a subjective and personal pastime. I know you’ll be able to read all 20. What I am wondering about though is if you’ll be able to stop buying and requesting! Though it is something I have done myself. Especially through my reading dry spell! No need to keep adding more to that huge pile. Looking forward to hearing how you get on x
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Haha – I’m not terribly good at listening to advice I don’t want anyway 😉 It might not look like it but I’ve resisted lots of books lately so I do have some time in-between review books over the summer months – I have a feeling reading all the other entrants choices may only serve to increase the books I choose to buy though! Thank you and watch this space for my progress….
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Thanks for joining in Cleo! The only one there I’ve read us The Night Watch which I loved. Here’s to a great summer of reading!
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Thank you Cathy for giving me the motivation I needed to clear some of the TBR – I’m very pleased with my first ten choices – I’ll post the next soon…
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I haven’t read any of those so I can’t really tell you where to start. Good luck with the challenge though. I may just do 10 books of summer. Would be more realistic for me 😀
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We’d love to see you join in 🙂
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How fun! 20 books for summer. Think I could probably do that – 20 books, I mean. Have not read any of your books listed, but agree with Margaret that Martin Edwards is always good. Good luck and enjoy!
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Thank you – I think it’s been decided that Dancing for the Hangman is the first one!
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Oh, you have some great reading ahead of you, Cleo! I particularly liked the Edwards, the Young and the Hill. Looking forward to your reviews!
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Thank you Margot – I have a feeling I got the Edwards and the Young on the strength of your recommendations and the Hill is courtesy of Fiction Fan – I am now committed to reading this pile 🙂
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So glad you’re joining in too! And a nice mix of books there – delighted to see Reginald Hill on your list! I’ve cheated by starting my first book last night – Humber Boy B. Looking good so far! 🙂
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Thank you – I’m hoping I’ll stay on track with this challenge. The Reginald Hill was one you recommended many, many months ago! This is how fast I don’t read the books I choose to buy! Glad to hear Humber Boy B is going well so far although I’m not sure whether I approve of the cheating 😉
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I only cheated a very little bit! Honest! 😉 You’ve made me want to re-read a Hill or two – must add one to my second batch…
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Fun! I hope to complete 10-20 books this summer, but have been really bad with commitments lately! But I’ll look forward to many other participating!
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So far it looks like we will have a good spread of books through this challenge having checked out other entrants choices – I’m just hoping I don’t end up adding too many to my own TBR in the process.:-)
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Glad you’re playing, Cleo. I am also. It’s hard to resist a Challenge. 🙂
I’ll be curious to see what you think of The Night Watch. I see Cathy mentioned loving it.
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I read the first couple of books by Sarah Waters and then read The Paying Guests last year and wondered why I stopped – looking forward to this one very much! I’ll be looking out for your reviews along the way too.
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I had never heard of The Wicharts until last week. Samantha Ellis talks about it in How to be a Heroine. According to her, when Streatfeild was commissioned to write a children’s book she rewrote The Wicharts with younger characters and it became Ballet Shoes.
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I found this book nearly four years ago and bought it because Noel Streatfeild was one of my favourite children’s authors and then discovered as you said, this was the original version of Ballet Shoes – shocking that it has taken me this long to get around to reading it.
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Great post, I haven’t heard of most of the books but I am looking forward to seeing your reviews 🙂
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I’m looking forward to yours too – thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I was at BookExpo in NYC on Thursday and picked up nearly 20 ARCs of forthcoming crime novels, including what seems to be the full Fall lists of Soho and the new Prometheus crime list. There were lots of other crime goodies there.
Oddest moment:
I drifted past the Mystery Writers of America stand during the morning and noticed that one of the three books being signed by their respective authors looked pretty intriguing. On the other hand, there was a long queue for the free signed books and, arrogant bastard that I am, I don’t do queues for such things. A while later I found myself there again: the queues had disappeared and the three authors were packing up to make room for the next three. An officious organizer got in the way of my reaching the stand; just as I finally got to it, the author of the book that had caught my attention earlier put her remaining two copies back up on the shelf at the back.
“Excuse me,” I said, “might I have a look at your book?”
“No!” snapped the organizer from my elbow. “People aren’t allowed just to look at these books!”
Stunned, I thought she was joking.
The author thought she was joking.
She wasn’t.
So much for the organization that supposedly promotes crime auhors’ interests!
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Your tale of BookExpo is shocking – It makes you wonder what this person thought their job was?
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All new to me so looking forward toyour thoughts on them.
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Thank you 🙂
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Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Sarah Waters – I still haven’t read The Paying Guests despite it being on so many ‘Best Books of 2014’ lists.
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It was on my Best Books of 2014 too – I don’t have favourites out of this list but I am especially looking forward to this one.
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This sounds like a good challenge. Good luck! I have only read The Night Watch from your first 10 but really enjoyed it. Hope you do too. Emma
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Thank you – I’m hoping it will give me the incentive I need to read some of the lovely books I already own… I think The Night Watch will be read early on in the challenge…
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Love the sound of this. Hope you enjoy your 20 picks 🙂
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I haven’t made my list for summer, yet. Is it summer already? Perhaps you could order your books by page count. Start with the shortest and work your way up? Or longest to shortest? 😀
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I love this challenge and will have to check it out! You have chosen a nice variety. I am a mood reader like that too and find it almost impossible to choose books ahead of time. I have chosen nine books for my summer reading lineup, but have left room to fit some spur of the moment reads in too. Best of luck with meeting your goal.
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Good luck with your list 🙂 I am afraid I haven’t read any of your choices so I can’t help you decide where to start.
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Ooh Cleopatra, OOH – the Noel Streatfield!!! Like you, I adored her as a child, and had no idea there was an adult ‘Ballet Shoes’ A must have, a must have – this sounds delicious and I must quickly scurry and investigate
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Sob, sob, sob………out of print, used copies on Amazon MarketPlace only at outrageous jaw dropping prices, unobtainable at other outlets, no copies in any of the London Libraries………..a summer of charity shop searches looms…..
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Oh no – I got my copy a few years back – good luck on the search there must be a copy to be had somewhere… surely!
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Perhaps reviews of it will spur re-publication or a Kindly version
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