20 Books of Summer 2020

My goodness! 20 Books of Summer is just around the corner!

I’ve participated in this fun challenge for the past 3 years now? It can’t be 4 right? I’m pretty sure this is the 4th year? Who knows anymore! What is time? It’s an annual challenge hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. This year the challenge kicks off on Monday 1 June and finishes on Tuesday 1 September.

What follows is probably the messiest planning for 20 Books of Summer anyone has ever seen! I offer no apologies, I’ve just experienced personal losses to me and the thought of doing formal planning is just not going to happen. But I’m truly okay with it this year because I’ve always said at the end of every challenge, that I need to develop a partial list of books and then let the others arrive organically. I have always swapped out a great number of books from my original list(s) each year, so this year there will definitely be no fretting at all. And that’s completely okay. Times are weird, my 20 Books of Summer List can be weird too.

As what happened to everyone everywhere, my library also closed in March, so will they reopen during 20 Books of Summer timelines? (It’s been so long they have been closed, the two books I had before the shutdown now have a fine layer of dust on them. 🙁 ) If they do open, I’ll be flooded with books. It makes sense these would be the bulk of books that shape my summer reading for this challenge. However, as you’ll see I also have a great many other books to choose from this year.

However, our library did announce they might be opening for curb-side pick up, which I think is awesome! Either way, I’m definitely knowing the flooding will occur. 😉

Below are all the books I currently have On Hold at my library (plenty of these will be repeats because I know I mentioned them before, but who knew the world would be shut down and the list of books to read would be put so on hold?!):

Book of Longings, Sue Monk Kidd; City of Tears, Kate Mosse; The Deep, Alma Katsu; The End of the Day, Bill Clegg

Hamnet and Juliet, Maggie O’Farrell; The Margot Affair, Sanae Lemione; Migrations, Charlotte McConaghy; Ridgerunner, Gil Adamson; Sisters, Daisy Johnson

Universe of Two, Stephen P. Kiernan; What’s Left of Me is Yours, Stephanie Scott; Confession, Jessie Burton; Utopia Avenue, David Mitchell; The Dazzling Truth, Helen Cullen; Exile Music, Jennifer Steil

That would mean 15 of the 20 are already spoken for? Or would some of these be coming out post-Labour Day? I don’t even know anymore. I can’t tell which are already out in the world or which are meant to be coming out in the Fall.

But I also have a number of great titles from Netgalley to read too – these are just some of them: 😉

An Elegant Woman, Martha McPhee; A Bend in the Stars, Rachel Barenbaum; Liberation, Imogen Kealey; The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls, Ursula Hegi (!); Fast Girls, Elise Hooper and I Give It to You, Valerie Martin.

I was in Guelph for my Dad and bought a few books there (comfort purchases): Mrs. Everything, Jennifer Weiner; The Long Flight Home, Alan Hlad; Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow;The Brideship Wife, Leslie Howard; Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton and Caitlin Press sent me The Kissing Fence.

So honestly, I have no shortage of books to read or to plug in for my 20 Books of Summer. Lots of great sounding books right? I think I’m saying I’ll be reading a rather fluid list for this challenge, I won’t “set” a concrete list, will just let my reading take me where it takes me this summer! (I still can’t believe we’re planning our summer reading!)

Happy 20 Books of Summer Reading!