I’m doing quite well with my #20BooksOfSummer now – I’ve just finished the 6th book of my first 8 and I’ll probably be hopping over this weekend to make a start on my next one from the new pile (see below!) as it’s time to dig out some Trollope on the Kindle. I’ve really enjoyed the fact that it’s “made” me pick books off the side-piles that I’ve developed around the TBR, so I’m picking out another of those to add to the new list, plus some that a good friend has lent me (she also told me about this challenge, so it makes sense).
#20BooksOfSummer – The Next Seven
So, here are the next six books. And yes, I haven’t finished 7 and 8 yet, but I’m nearly there and it’s nice to have something to look forward to, right?
First up, Anthony Trollope’s “Doctor Thorne”. My Trollope reading isn’t a challenge, but I do want to make sure I pick him up regularly as I so love the books of his I’ve read so far.
“British or American English” – this is the last book on my side pile of “work books” and reflects directly on the work I do. It’s been languishing for ages, so time to pick it up!
A couple of lovely loans from Ali …
Carol Ann Duffy – “The World’s Wife” – I don’t read much poetry but I like Duffy’s stuff and this is a set of poems about the wives of famous historical characters / people from myths, etc. and looks funny, subversive and clever.
“Our Hearts were Young and Gay” by Cornelia Otis Skinner – excitement has been whipped up by Simon at Stuck-in-a-Book and Ali bought, therefore I can borrow. This is a book about Skinner travelling with a friend and looks very fun.
Now, I should read all of my lovely loans this summer, but I should pick something off the TBR, too, so my last three are these.
“Unbridled Spirits” by Stevie Davies is about the women of the English Civil War and was given to me by my friend Laura.
Dervla Murphy’s “Through Siberia by Accident” is the first of my Christmas books, from the Birmingham BookCrossing Christmas do, and anything by this author is always worth reading.
And finally Ursula le Guin’s “Tales from Earthsea” – I’ve read all of her Earthsea books and this is short stories to accompany them.
These should take me up to 15, with 5 Viragoes and Persephones to choose from in August. Can I do it? I hope so!
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Are you a #20BooksOfSummer reader? How are you doing with the project?
Adventures in reading, running and working from home 
Jul 19, 2015 @ 09:31:44
I have Dr Thorne on my TBR – he’s been sitting there for five years so its probably time I gave him a bit of a dust off. But then Old Goriot would get jealous.
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Jul 19, 2015 @ 16:24:13
I love Old Goriot. It was the first Balzac I ever read, back in the 1970s. A neighbor loaned me her old paperback which was falling apart. Literally, it was held together with a rubberband. When she told me she wanted it back, I knew it must be a special book indeed.
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 07:55:18
what a lovely story. I have taken Old Goriot from the shelves and moved him to my bedside table. which puts him a lot closer to actually being read than he has been for all those years
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 10:48:04
I’ve never read Old Goriot after trying to read it in French years ago! But Dr Thorne is next up on the Kindle TBR – hooray!
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 21:46:50
The Ellen Marriage translation of Old Goriot (titled Father Goriot) is free at Project Gutenberg as are all the books included his Human Comedy. Unlike the old days, the texts at PG are now available in numerous formats, including Kindle. Father Goriot: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1237
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Jul 22, 2015 @ 05:18:10
Oh, the format thing is good / bad for my TBR to know!
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Jul 22, 2015 @ 13:09:46
Yes, good on the pocketbook and bad on the TBR. 🙂
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Jul 19, 2015 @ 16:07:04
I hope you enjoy Our Hearts Were Young and Gay as much as Ali and I did!
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 10:48:33
It looks lovely and I can’t wait to start it!
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Jul 19, 2015 @ 16:22:08
You’ll make it! British or American English sounds interesting. I often find the different usages of the same word amazing. 🙂
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 10:49:04
Indeed – and this goes into the grammar, etc., too, as a textbook. It will be useful for my localisation work, as well as interesting.
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Jul 19, 2015 @ 19:05:19
So hope you enjoy your summer reads especially the Cornelia Otis Skinner and Carol Ann Duffy poems really looking forward to your thoughts on them.
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 10:49:29
Very much looking forward to reading those SOON, although I have a reviewing backlog at the moment …
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Jul 19, 2015 @ 20:47:12
My husband has read most of Dervla Murphy’s books, and I enjoyed Dr. Thorne very much and wrote about it on my blog today.
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Jul 21, 2015 @ 10:50:00
I’ve read a good few of hers and have always liked them. I have saved your review of Dr Thorne in my blog reader to read once I’ve read the book myself!
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State of the TBR August 2015 | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Aug 01, 2015 @ 06:03:28