20 Books of Summer 2018

Hosted again by Cathy at 746 Books – her 20 Books of Summer challenge is one I’d followed for a few years, finally taking part last year – I managed 11 out of my pile of 20.  I shall try to better that this summer.  This morning I have picked my pile of twenty books – all except the Hamid have been in my TBR for some time, many years in several cases. I shall use this post as a central record to track my progress. Here are my 20 books of summer 2018…

They are:

  • Billie by Anna Gavalda (translated from French) – #6 (8.5/10) Review
  • The Brontes Went to Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson
  • Concrete Island by J G Ballard – #2 (9/10) Review
  • Elmet by Fiona Mozley
  • Exit West by Mohsin Hamid – #4 (7.5/10) Review
  • La Femme de Gilles by Madeleine Bourdouxhe (tr from French) – #7 (9/10) Review
  • The Hustler by Walter Tevis
  • Inglorius by Joanna Kavenna
  • Lazarus is Dead by Richard Beard
  • Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner couldn’t get started
  • Mobius Dick by Andrew Crumey
  • Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf – #1 (10/10) Review
  • The Painter of Signs by R K Narayan
  • Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (translated from French)
  • A Private Place by Amanda Craig
  • The Singer’s Gun by Emily St John Mandel
  • Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
  • Vicious Spring by Hollis Hampton-Jones
  • Wabisabi by Francesc Mirailles (translated from Catalan) – #5 (8.5/10) Review
  • Weightless by Sarah Bannan – swapped in – #4 (10/10) Review
  • What a Way to Go by Julia Forster – #3 (7/10) Review

But which to pick first?  

21 thoughts on “20 Books of Summer 2018

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      Love a bit of Ballard. So that’s my first two chosen – Haruf and Ballard. 🙂

  1. Helen C says:

    Good luck Annabel! 20 books read in the summer is an impressive goal. I normally set my Goodreads yearly challenge to about that. I like reading in the summer months, I find I read different genres depending on the season and in summer light chick lit is my fav to read. There’s fair amount of titles you have shown that I haven’t heard of which is refreshing. Happy reading! 🙂 xx

    Helen | Helen’s Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      Thanks Helen. I have the long school holidays, so tend to read more in the summer – but this is a good challenge to do alongside my other reviewing commitments to help with the TBR piles.

  2. Jenny @ Reading the End says:

    Ooh, I pick either Exit West or The Singer’s Gun to start with — I liked both of those a lot. Exit West is dreamy and strange, and The Singer’s Gun is one of those books with an elegant clockwork of a plot, which Emily St. John Mandel seems to specialize in.

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      I loved Station Eleven so much, I’m glad to hear that her earlier book is worth reading too – with its ‘elegant clockwork of a plot’

  3. Liz Dexter says:

    I’d go for the Narayan, although as he does little books that are quick reads, maybe save him for when you’re flagging or panicking about getting everything read in time! Have fun with the challenge. I’m going to post my pile on Friday when I know what’s what.

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      That book has languished on my shelves for too long. Glad you can recommend Narayan. THank you.

  4. Harriet says:

    You are so organised, and so ambitious. I could never do this as I read almost entirely on a whim and never know what I’m going to feel like next. Good luck!

    • AnnaBookBel says:

      The nice thing about having a pile of 20 books, which I deliberately chose to have a range of reading, is that I can do the whim bit with them. Anything that helps with the TBR piles.

  5. Brona says:

    I love the flourishing of #20books posts filling my feed atm. I cold, windy, wet w/e is predicted for Sydney, & I’m looking forward to going around to see what everyone has picked.

    Good luck with your list and your summer 🙂

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