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……