Summer is fast approaching which means it’s time once more for the #20BooksofSummer #20BOS26 reading challenge.

I’ve joined in every year for the past ten years but have never once got close to reading twenty books.  So I’m being realistic this year and shooting for the #10booksofsummer option while hoping to do do a little better than that.

That’s what I love about this “challenge” — it’s so flexible. Though we have a new host this year thanks to AnnaBookBel, she is remaining true to the no-pressure spirit of the event.

The idea is to decide what you’d like to read between Monday 1st of June and Monday 31st of August and then read 10,15,20 of those titles. If you’re the kind of reader that loves to plan, you can list specific book titles knowing that if some of those books don’t work out you can swap for something else.

In the past I did make a reading list but I’ve learned that approach doesn’t work well for me. So I’m opting instead to go for categories instead of specific titles.

The books I’ll count for #10booksofsummer will all come from these categories:

Classics Club

i still have 29 books to read to complete my second classics club list. Ideally I’d like to read four of these during the summer. Quartet by Jean Rhys is a definite read because it’s my Classics Club spin book. I’m also going to succumb to Mr Booker’s exhortation to read of East of Eden by John Steinbeck (anything for a quiet life!). After that, who knows where the mood will take me.

African Adventures

I’m hoping the summer reading challenge will give me the impetus to make inroads into my collection of titles by African authors. I’ve sadly neglected this of late. If I manage two or three I’ll be happy.

NetGalley TBR

I stayed away from NetGalley last year out of guilt for all the books I’d yet to read. I’m going to try and assuage my guilt by reading at least two of the books mentioned in my last TBR Book Jar Pick: Communion by Jon Doyle which has a Welsh connection and Midwinter by Fiona Melrose.

Will I follow through on these ideas or will I end up reading 10 entirely different books? Only time will tell……

29 responses to “#10Books of Summer — a sort of plan”

  1. Glad you’re able to join in. Going for 10 is a good plan.

    1. You’re the one who deserves the thanks for picking up the baton from Cathy. It’s a big task

      1. Aw, thanks Karen.

  2. I had Quartet on my spin list, but it did not come up for me this time. Good luck!

    1. I have it ready to pack for my holiday

  3. East of Eden is also my favorite by Steinbeck. Enjoy your summer reads!

    1. It’s ready to be added to my suitcase for our holiday

  4. I’ve so enjoyed your reviews of African authors. I’ve read many, but that was in the 90s. I should read more.

    1. You have to go hunting for them I think – they’re not much in evidence in bookshops I’ve visited

      1. Back when I started reading African authors I had to use reference books to find them! Then on NPR’s Fresh Air and All Things Considered programs I finally heard of a few. Buchi Emecheta. Ben Okri, Things Fall Apart and Cry, The Beloved Country was about the only book the USA had ever heard of. The movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” or Apartheid was all we seemed to know here. Peace Corps introduced me to a few authors–but in ’89 — 91 it was still a lot of Colonial stuff and a few like V S Naipaul that Peace Corps volunteers brought with them. Sadly the Malawians knew more Shakepeare than African authors.

        1. Contemporary authors like Chimimanda Adichie have helped raise the profile of African writers but I’m afraid many of them go unnoticed

        2. Outside of University African American studies or in perhaps in a city/area with a significant [name an African ethic group] population, they are unknown in the USA.

  5. I’ve foolishly excluded NetGalley and other review copies from my TWENTY books of summer … I usually manage somehow, though. Have fun with yours!

    1. Ah but you read far more than I do so I’m sure you’ll manage to get to 20 anyway

  6. Definitely think a loose approach to this is best, and I like the idea of categories. Good luck!

    1. It’s about my only chance for getting to 10.

  7. I deliberately didn’t sign up for any NetGalley books after April, but I’ve still got two BookSirens books overdue that I haven’t even read yet, a review of an internet friend’s e-book and I’ve got a physical copy of a nonfiction book somebody sent to me for review. I’m looking forward to June and getting the chance to read some of my own books. If I’m late with those, nobody else cares.

    1. Reviewing. a friend’s book sounds tricky. If you don’t rate it will your friend take offence?

      1. I held off requesting it for a long time but she started teasing it with quotes that persuaded me it was worth reading and I loved it. I wish I’d helped with proofreading, though. I will have to slip in an aside about poor word choice in my review to keep it honest, but it would be lovely if my review could give her book a boost, however small. In any case, she is an online friend on the other side of the world, so not close enough to make things awkward if I’d hated it.

        1. Sounds like you’ve found an appropriate way to maintain the integrity of your blog post without upsetting her too much

  8. I thought you’d become a Challenger Refuser? This sounds daunting ….

    1. Sigh, you’re right.I’m nothing if not inconsistent.

  9. Staircase Wit Avatar
    Staircase Wit

    Midwinter has a stunning cover but the story sounds pretty bleak.

    1. I know – but I’m still intrigued

  10. I’m intrigued. Why is Mr Booker so keen for you to read East of Eden?

    1. Me too!

      And I understand the NetGalley guilt – I’m aiming to read as many as I can this winter (I read much more over our winter months than I do over summer, so it should be do-able)
      Good luck 🙂

      1. Some of my NetGalley books are years old……

        1. That makes me feel better, thanks 😀

    2. Because he thought it was excellent!

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