20 Books of Summer 2024
Twenty books. It doesn't sound like a huge number, does it? And in theory I have three months in which to read (and review - always my stumbling block) them all. But then take out the whole of August, when I will be in Edinburgh, running from one show to another like a demented bluebottle, and the trams are so full that I can't even open a book as I sail up and down Leith Walk - and that leaves me with eight weeks, or 2-3 books per week.
And I'll be away three times in June too.
Nevertheless she persevered (and indeed, 'persevere' is Leith's motto.)
So here, in no particular order, are the twenty books I have chosen for this year's challenge, which is generously, not to say flexibly, managed by Cathy of 746Books.
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Le Grand-Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun
Mrs Pargeter's Public Relations by Simon Brett
A Cornish Secret by Emma Burstall
In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
Gilr, Woman, Other By Bernadine Evaristo
A Wedding in Provence by Katie Fforde
All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle
Monsieur de Brillancourt by Claire Harkness
The Call of the Cormorant by Donald S Murray
A Keeper by Graham Norton
The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh
Poison in the Pen by Patricia Wentworth
Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine by Georges Simenon
Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy by Chitra Ramaswamy
West End Girls by Barbara Tate
Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
Provence, 1970 by Luke Barr
Maeve's Times by Maeve Binchy
I'm involved in a few other challenges this year, so most of these books fit one or other of them - the preponderance of books set in France is driven by Paris in July, and the Lilian Jackson Braun by Reading the Meow Week. Some of the others work for various prompts in the 52 Book Club 2024 Reading Challenge. And an embarrassing trilogy on this list are books kindly sent to me for review - I have actually read all three of them before, but so long ago that I don't remember much about them, and of course I singularly failed to write reviews at the time, so now I need to start from the beginning, and serves me right too.
In the past, 20 Books has helped me to get through long books that had been languishing on my shelves for far too long - Writing At The Kitchen Table, Artemis Cooper's biography of Elizabeth David, was a particular highlight, and I'm so glad I finally read this excellent book. This year, however, I am all too aware of my time constraints. I don't like feeling that I've failed so I've chosen mostly shorter, easier books - the Luke Barr is perhaps the exception, but this looks so interesting (it's about Julia Child, James Beard, MFK Fisher and a few other iconic culinary figures who all found themselves on the Cote D'Azur in the winter of 1970) that I couldn't resist.
Seven days till we start. The books are ready, and so, I hope, am I.
Great to have you on board again Rosemary and sure half the fun is trying! Best of luck and happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI also have Le Grand Meaulnes on my list. Will you be reading it in French? It's one of my all-time favorite books. Georges Simenon is another fantastic mystery writer.
ReplyDeleteGirl, Woman, Other and Le Grand Meaulnes are both wonderful and I have Diary of a Naturalist on my list. I didn't know of the Maeve Binchy so will be adding that to my wishlist! Have fun with your reads!
ReplyDeleteI've read Girl, Woman Other and Diary of a Naturalist, both really good. I hope you enjoy your summer reading!
ReplyDeleteMy list last year included Middlemarch so anything is shorter than that! However, at my last book group everyone said they were glad I had coaxed them to read it (and also grateful I stretched it over two months). I thought I had read every Katie Fforde but that one does not look familiar and a book with the same title/different author came up at my library - maybe I should read it anyway!
ReplyDeleteI read the Wentworth recently. It would be interesting to compare it to other poison pen mysteries.