As before, Emma has created a questionnaire for us to help share our experience of this summer challenge. You can find the link HERE. The August linky oost will stay open for another full week so you can add any late reviews. Find that HERE. Now for the questionnaire – here are my answers:
Category: #20BooksofSummer2025
Review catch-up including no. 20 of my #20BooksofSummer2025 & #WITMonth2025: Roig, Vassell & Armitage
Some shorter reviews to help reduce the height of the pile of books I’ve read but haven’t written up yet. First my latest read for WITMonth which is also my 20th of my 20 Books of Summer. Challenge done! The Time of Cherries by Montserrat Roig, translated by Julia Sanches The Time of Cherries was Read More
The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E.Bowman – #20BooksofSummer2025 no. 19
This novella was sheer joy to read! A rediscovered masterpiece, Rum Doodle is a comic novel satirising men, their work and obsessions on an expedition to the Himalaya, first published in 1956, written by an unassuming structural engineer from Guildford, so Bill Bryson tells us in his intro to this edition. It wasn’t a huge Read More
3 for #WITMonth2025 and #20BooksofSummer2025 nos 16-18
It’s now a tradition to read books by Women in Translation each August (see my earlier post about it here). I’ve read 4 this month already – 1 will be reviewed for Shiny New Books, the other three are reviewed below – 2 hits and 1 meh, in three different languages from three different indie Read More
Making It So by Patrick Stewart – #20BooksofSummer2025 no 15
Stewart’s memoir is my favourite kind of actors’ autobiography, combining lots of Shakespeare, building from one-liner parts to the title character, then film and TV success, with more theatre all the way through. Add to that an interesting working class Yorkshire childhood, and the fact that he’s a humble and lovely bloke, it was perfect. Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – Nos 11 & 14 – Newman and Barry
My internet is back, but it’s patchy, so I bought a wireless home hub to fill in the outages! I’ve now read 17/20 books of my 20 Books and have some reviewing catch-up to do. Here’s two more for you… Sandwich by Catherine Newman There was a time when my parents rented the same cottage Read More
20BooksofSummer2025 – July Questionnaire
As she did for our June reading, Emma has created another fun questionnaire. Do join in! Get the link here. Now here are my answers this month:
Women in Translation Month – #WITMonth2025
For many years now, August has been Women in Translation Month – #WITMonth, hosted by Meytal. I’m not sure whether she’s continuing to run it formally this year, but I along with many others I’m sure will continue to support the initiative informally. At the beginning of the month, I usually go back over my Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – August (into Sept for late reviews)
June started the 2025 20 Books campaign off brilliantly and July continued the trend. Emma and I have been delighted with your wonderful response, and we hope you’ve enjoyed visiting some of the posts too. It was lovely to see so many linking in with #parisinjuly2025 too. August brings another chance to join in two tags at Read More
Shiny Linkiness, #parisinjuly2025 #20BooksofSummer2025 #TranslationThursday
Every Thursday it’s #TranslationThursday as founded by Stu (I’m never quite sure if I get that tag right), and this and last week, I posted reviews at Shiny New Books of translated fiction old and new. Today, my post is about the new Penguin Maigret Capsule Collection – 12 hand-picked titles from the 75 Maigret Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 no 10 – Bad Actors by Mick Herron
I’m managing to keep up with my 20 books – just finishing reading 12 & 13 at the moment, and nos 13 & 14 will be a double bill of Maigrets in new editions which I’ll be reviewing for Shiny New Books and tying into Emma’s Paris in July tag. Having read many Maigrets as Read More
Lost in the Garden by Adam Leslie – #20BooksofSummer2025 No 9 and a DNF
I’m currently reading my 11th book of my 20, loving Sandwich so far – a brilliant summery read. But I had one DNF too – let me get that out of the way with a few comments. The Appeal by Janice Hallett – DNF, 55/445 pages This novel has been a huge bestseller – I’ve Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – Nos 7-8, Herron & Osman
Nine books now read, time for reviews of numbers 7 & 8, which just begged to be paired together, as both involve crime / spies, but both later volumes in series, where I don’t want to say too much – so shorter write-ups are game here. Slough House by Mick Herron, (Slow Horses #7) First Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – mid-season reading…
June started the 2025 20 Books campaign off brilliantly with tons of you linking, commenting and tweeting etc giving Emma and I, and you, of course, loads of wonderful reviews to explore. It’s been particularly lovely making so many new blog connections. If you still need to pick up the logos for the different numbers of books, Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – June Recap & Questionnaire
Emma and I hope you had a great month of summer reading. The July post with the linky for your July reviews will be here tomorrow. I’ve had a good start to my 20 books, reading 8 and reviewing 6 – I hope July will be equally productive, although I have managed to sign myself Read More
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub – Book 5 of my #20BooksofSummer2025
That’s 8 summer books read now, so it’s time for another review, I’m getting behind in them. I’ve been meaning to read more novels by Emma Straub ever since I read her debut, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures, which I loved. Despite its central SF conceit of time travel which may put some non-SF readers Read More
Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey (with Ginny) #20BooksofSummer2025 No 6
So that’s 7 books read – I hope to fit in an 8th before the month is out, but have a couple of review copies to cover first. But I’m on track for my 20 books with the holidays and more reading time to come soon. Time for a review, accompanied by a photo from Read More
The Wild Swimmers by William Shaw – Alex Cupidi 5 – #20BooksofSummer2025 – Book No 3
William Shaw is one of my favourite UK crime writers. His DS Alex Cupidi novels, which are set in Kent and around Dungeness in particular, are particularly strong for their sense of place, but also there’s always a social justice theme running through them. It’s probably better to have read some of the others before Read More
Invisible Kitties by Yu Yoyo, #ReadingtheMeow2025 #20BooksofSummer2025
Translated by Jeremy Tiang It’s great to be able to cover two challenges with one book – as well as being one of my 20 Books of Summer, Invisible Kitties is also for Mallika’s Reading the Meow 2025, the third year of her feline reading challenge, and what a super book I picked! I really had my Read More
Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived by Penelope Lively – Book Group report and #20BooksofSummer2025 -No 2
When our Book Group, which is picking flora or fauna related titles at the moment, didn’t pull this one out of the hat for ‘J’, we recycled it for ‘O’! Published in 1994, Lively’s memoir centres on her childhood in Egypt in the 1930s. Her father worked for an Egyptian bank in Cairo; her mother Read More
Dinner Party: A Tragedy by Sarah Gilmartin – #20BooksofSummer2025 no 1
I read Irish author Gilmartin’s second novel, Service, a couple of years ago, which featured a three part #MeToo storyline involving a chef/patron of a top-end Dublin restaurant, his wife and one of the waiting staff, taking narration duties in turn. I enjoyed it a lot, planning to return to her first novel, which I’ve Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – all systems are go!
Thank you, thank you all for your fantastic responses to Emma and I keeping 20 books going. The number of sign-ups and comments on the planning post is just brilliant. If you still need to pick up the logos for the different numbers of books, or the bingo card, do visit the original post HERE. Read More
#20BooksofSummer2025 – how I pick my 20 books…
Any challenge requiring reading a particular stack of books is a no-no for me. I have enough reading commitments in review copies and blog tours, without adding more. So I use a different way to pick my 20 books – it’s the ‘Bookcase plus’ scenario. Next to my bed is a small bookcase absolutely crammed Read More
20 Books of Summer is back! With new hosts
When Cathy of 746 books announced last year that she would not host 20 Books of Summer this year after ten successful years, Emma of Words and Peace and I both volunteered to take it on. Summer reading IS the 20, 15 or 10 Books challenge to us! We couldn’t let Cathy’s wonderful challenge fall Read More
