August saw me racing against the calendar, hoping I’d be able to claim success with the #10booksofsummer project.
In the end I managed eleven books in total; ten novels and one work of non fiction. I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. I’d be even more pleased if I’d actually written reviews of all of these … but that’s another story.
This was my ninth year with the Books of Summer reading event and the most enjoyable to date. I’m sure it was because I didn’t create a reading list in advance, choosing instead to read whatever took my fancy. My only “rule” was that the book had to already be on my TBR shelves at the start of summer — library books and new purchases wouldn’t count.
This relaxed approach meant I could choose whatever suited my mood at the time instead of feeling pressured to read what was on my list. So this is the way I’ll go in the future.
What I Read for #10 Books of Summer
Links take you to my reviews where they exist.
The Arsonist by Chloe Wood: non fictional account of a wildfire in Australia 2009 and the investigation into the perpetrator
Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson: crime fiction series set in a fictional island community
Oh William by Elizabeth Strout: exploration of relationships in this follow on from Anything is Possible
Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller: superb novel about two siblings who are outsiders in society
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain : the wife here is the first Mrs Ernest Hemingway. The novel traces the relationship from first encounter to their separation amid his infidelity.
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh: a satire on the world of newspaper journalism, particularly the way it manufactures and sensationalises “news” in order.
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout: Strout delves further into the relationship between William and Lucy as they are thrown together during the Covid pandemic.
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles: Towles’s first novel tells the story of a twenty-five-year-old unexpectedly thrown into the world of cocktails, fine dining and chic parties.
Birnham Wood by Eleanor Catton: environmental activists go head to head with a billionaire in a New Zealand national park.
On the Beach by Neville Shute: in the aftermath of a war, a radioactive cloud makes it way across the world. The few remaining survivors in southern Australia await their fate.
The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux: three linked stories of travellers to India who find their expectations of the country overturned.
The One/s That Got Away
A fellow member of our Nordic Walking group was insistent that I take her copy of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Though I’d find it interesting to read about the women who worked in the code breaking team at Bletchley Park, I’d rather a straight forward narrative. Quinn’s novel has too much of a thriller aspect. So it’s gone into the donations box.
Joining it was Whispers on the Wind by R K Willmett which is a novel based on the author’s research into her family’s history. I’ve no idea why I have this but it holds no interest for me.
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