Hooray – it’s time to do the 20 Books of Summer challenge again. This is run by Cathy from 746 Books, and I really enjoyed doing this last year (see my round-up post) even though I started late and didn’t get going until mid-June. I liked finding other readers and bloggers out there through the hashtag and the updates on Cathy’s page, and seeing how people I knew were doing.
I got a bit over-excited when I heard it was happening again, and put together this pile. Note that it’s all real books this time, no Kindle books. I expect to read some other books around these, and Kindle books will be there, but I wanted the feeling of working through a lovely pile.
Also, the lovely pile is actually a virtual pile as I couldn’t have my TBR this messy! I’ve taken the front shelf of my TBR, a couple of things off The Pile and then selected volumes I definitely want to have read by 4 September. There’s a mix of Viragoes, social history, sports biography, classics, lighter novels and Iceland stuff (given that I’m going there again later in the year) which I think represents my reading tastes quite well.
So, what have we got?
20 books of summer 2016
Michael Rosen – Alphabetical – a wander through the alphabet, history and bits of knowledge.
Charlie Hill – Books – a satire on the book industry. He’s a friend of several of my friends, too.
Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee – Swim, Bike, Run – about being a triathlete. Which I will never be, as the only one of those I can do is run. But should be inspirational in some way.
Joanna Biggs – All Day Long – a day in the life of people who do lots of different kinds of jobs
David Kynaston – Modernity Britain – can’t wait to read this one, the next instalment in his wonderful social history of Britain
Cathy Kelly – The Honey Queen – because we all need a light novel, esp amongst all that social history
Ranulph Fiennes – Cold – his adventures in cold places. I love Polar exploration and mountaineering books, and have since I was very young; this should be inspiring for my endurance training, too!
Julia Strachey – Cheerful Weather for the Wedding – one of two given to me last autumn by book blogger Jane at Beyond Eden Rocks and much looked forward to.
Ann Bridge – A Lighthearted Quest – ditto the above and I loved her Illyrian Spring
Edith Wharton – The Reef – this will be in August for All Virago/All August.
George Eliot – The Mill on the Floss – because it’s time for some more GE and another I haven’t read yet.
Nilanjan Choudhury – The Case of the Secretive Sister – light relief and a BookCrossing book to leave somewhere.
Andrew Flintoff – Being Freddie – because I like a sports autobiography and I like cricket.
Salman Rushdie – Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights – because Mr Liz wants to read this along with me, him on audio book.
Arnaldur Indriðason – The Draining Lake – because I haven’t read a Reykjavik Murder Mystery for aaaaaages.
Edith Wharton – Hudson River Bracketed – hm, another Wharton. But Karen from Kaggsysbookishramblings has this TBR, too …
Jane Smiley – The Greenlanders – one of her few I haven’t read, and takes the format of an Icelandic saga – what’s not to like?!
A.S. Byatt – Ragnarok – if I get here, I’ll be up to Christmas 2015 books!
Auður Ava Olafsdottir – Butterflies in November – an Icelandic book that’s not nordic noir!
Sogur ur Biblikunni – the book of Bible stories in Icelandic I didn’t manage to read last time …
I’ll be marking these book with the tag and linking back to this page, which will keep a note of everything together (you can see my 2015 books on there, too) Exciting! Who else is in?
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Do you think I’m biting off more than I can chew? I do have a few trips that I can take these on, and I’m trying to read more and make more time for reading – PLUS I have a whole two weeks on last year, and I only DNFd two books last year because I wasn’t enjoying them, not because I ran out of time! Have you read any of these or do you want to warn me against any?
Adventures in reading, running and working from home 
May 26, 2016 @ 07:50:27
Do audio versions count? It’s the only way I would have any chance of getting through that number of books
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May 26, 2016 @ 07:52:49
I imagine so – Cathy is pretty flexible about the challenge (pop and see her post about it that I link to). it’s fun to be part of a community doing it.
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May 26, 2016 @ 15:02:22
Great list Liz, I have a Wharton too for the summer. Might save it for August!
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May 26, 2016 @ 15:05:43
All Virago / All August is great!
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May 26, 2016 @ 15:03:02
Audiobooks are grand. Like I say, my challenges are always pretty flexible 🙂
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May 26, 2016 @ 15:06:01
As I thought!
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May 28, 2016 @ 05:54:30
Hmm now that might just mean I can join
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May 26, 2016 @ 08:09:38
Well thanks for bringing this to my attention Liz – I can never resist a challenge, and I’ve just put War & Peace in my suitcase! I have a feeling that half my summer will be spent on W&P then I’ll be cramming a book a day for the second half. *sigh* I do love reading. Great book choices you have there. Now I need to make a big messy pile of my own! 🙂
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May 26, 2016 @ 08:12:00
I think W&P should count for at least 3 or 4 books (yours is in two volumes, right??!). Glad you like my choices, I’m excited about them! Have fun! It’s a great challenge and very relaxed.
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May 26, 2016 @ 08:19:05
Terrific list. Challenges are not for me but I shall be stealing some of your list to listen to on audio, especially the Rushdie. Btw, I do hope audio books are included in any challenge. This is important for anyone with VIsual Impairment. Good luck with your list. I’m looking forward to the reviews.
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May 26, 2016 @ 08:26:27
Oh, I’m sure they are, especially in this one, which is very free and inclusive and lovely. I’ll let you know when we do the Rushdie – Matthew is enjoying Fight Behaviour on audiobook at the moment and I’m not sure if he’ll want to have a sci fi one between them as they are probably sufficiently different …
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May 26, 2016 @ 09:41:10
That’s a challenge and a half but I know you can do it. I like the variation, but will never see the fascination in cricket, am I a terrible person?
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May 26, 2016 @ 11:11:30
I should theoretically be able to read these and more, esp as we have a few trips lined up (plus a day after running my marathon in August when all I’ll be able to do is lie around …). It’s fun to join in with everyone and I enjoyed creating the pile. Cricket isn’t for everyone …
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May 27, 2016 @ 12:38:56
Although I’m not a fan of cricket, I enjoy sitting around and watching all the suffering in the mountains on the Tour de France. Good look with the marathon…the lengths you will go to for an excuse to read for a day!
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May 26, 2016 @ 10:01:37
Great list, really eclectic. Love Michael Rosen, Hadn’t heard of the Byatt, so will definitely look that one up.
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May 27, 2016 @ 14:57:30
The Byatt is a retelling of the Norse End of Days – can’t wait to see what she does with it. The Rosen looks SO good – I picked it up to have a look and had to force myself to put it back on the shelf!
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May 26, 2016 @ 10:05:01
Nice selection Liz! If I thought I could choose a pile and not instantly want to read everything that’s not on it, I would join in – but I know myself too well. However, at the moment I certainly intend to read the Wharton in August! 🙂
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May 26, 2016 @ 11:13:01
Ah, good, I’ll look forward to reading that with you. I might do the OTHER Wharton before August, not sure (I have plenty of v substantial Viragoes to add to my August reading!). It’s easier when you read in order, although the ones from the back shelf are not just the first tranche on that shelf. I was quite good last year, so I think I can do it (I also seem to have chosen them in gobbets rather than all at once).
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May 26, 2016 @ 11:41:40
Great list. I loved The Reef by Edith Wharton but don’t have that other one. Really hope you enjoy All Day Long I think it’s the kind of books you’ll find interesting.
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May 26, 2016 @ 11:46:14
Still can’t believe we have no overlap – how has that happened? I got the other Wharton from Verity when she had her big clearout. I have five volumes that size – eeps! I’m very much looking forward to All Day Long. In fact I want to read them all, NOW!
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May 26, 2016 @ 17:30:14
Not familiar with some on your list, but the G Eliot is good – if not her best. I’d like to hear your opinion of the two E Wharton books, too, having just started reading her this year.
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May 27, 2016 @ 07:13:17
I’m slowly working my way through the rest of GE having only read Middlemarch for ages, so I’ll see what I think of it. Weird to read them all in my 30s and 40s but there you go. I made a slight Wharton error doubling up but there you go – a friend is reading Hudson and I want to read a good few Viragoes in August. I’ll look out for your reviews of them, too, although won’t read them before I read the books if you get to them first!
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May 26, 2016 @ 18:34:34
Good luck 🙂 I am excited for you to start them and hopefully review them 🙂
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May 27, 2016 @ 07:16:08
Thank you and welcome to the blog – I think this is your first comment. I will review all of them that I read, it’s very rare for me to not review something! Are you taking part in 20 Books of Summer, too?
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May 27, 2016 @ 11:23:10
thanks 🙂 I won’t sadly but I can’t wait to see what everyone recommends 🙂
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May 26, 2016 @ 21:33:18
The only one I’ve read is The Mill on the Floss which I enjoyed.
Still working on my list. Swim, Bike, Run looks interesting. I have a couple about running which will probably go on my list.
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May 27, 2016 @ 07:08:38
I’ve been working my way through Eliot as I’ve seen the books, so am excited about that one. Which running books have you got? My favourite ever is Haruki Murakami’s one!
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May 27, 2016 @ 19:47:48
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is one of the ones I plan to place on my list! Also on the list will be Run to Overcome by Meb Keflezighi and probably Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.
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May 30, 2016 @ 11:25:16
Interesting ones. I must re-read What I Talk About as it’s SO inspiring!
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May 26, 2016 @ 21:52:33
I’m still thinking about whether to join in again this year – I enjoyed it last year but ended up so far behind with review copies I’ve never really recovered. I’m thinking this year I might do 20 books off my reviewing backlog.
Your list looks intriguing. The only one I’ve read is the Rushdie, which I really enjoyed, so you have another 19 chances to tempt me…
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May 27, 2016 @ 07:09:34
You could certainly do that – last year it made me attempt a couple of books from the Pile that I wouldn’t have worked on otherwise! I am looking forward to the Rushdie, though have to wait until Mr Liz starts it on audiobook …
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May 29, 2016 @ 17:28:05
I think you will have fun with your list, Liz! I am particularly curious about Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (this book is also on my TBR). And Swim, Bike, Run sounds so interesting! 🙂
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May 30, 2016 @ 11:24:43
I’m glad you like the list. I have been saving some other people’s reviews of Cheerful Weather and am looking forward to reading it. Swim, Bike, Run might be good or it might not be, depending on how good the writer was – we’ll see! I am quite desperate to start reading this pile, even though I am finishing two good books at the moment!
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May 31, 2016 @ 03:08:43
Good luck with your list, Liz! I have not read any of these, and I have only heard of Edith Wharton and Salman Rushdie. Glad to see you are going to read a diverse range of books and I look forward to hearing about how you like all (or if not all, hopefully at least most) of these books.
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May 31, 2016 @ 07:31:53
Thank you! I have read quite a lot of Wharton and a bit of Rushdie before, and am working my way through George Eliot after having only read Middlemarch for years; I have also read one by Charlie Hill and the previous two Kynaston volumes, and I like Cathy Kelly and Arnaldur Indriðason for easier reads, so hopefully there’ll be a lot of enjoyment. I didn’t finish two last time I did this – one was not what I was expecting and one was so hard I just read the bits I needed for my research!
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20 Books of Summer 2016! | 746 Books
Jun 01, 2016 @ 08:31:38
State of the TBR June 2016 and start of #20booksofsummer | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Jun 01, 2016 @ 17:01:03
Jun 01, 2016 @ 18:46:15
I absolutely loved Ragnarok–I thought Byatt’s writing was amazing and now I want to read more from her.
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Jun 01, 2016 @ 19:22:56
How interesting – I’ve come at it from already loving her books and being a bit obsessed with Iceland and its literature. Her novels are marvellous, a real treat in store for you!
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Jun 01, 2016 @ 20:01:16
You’ve got a great pile! Cathy’s round-up has helped me learn about new bloggers, too, so I’m hoping we can all follow each other.
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Jun 02, 2016 @ 07:13:01
Thank you – yes, it’s a good opportunity to find some new blogs to follow and pick up some more comments and points of view. I’ll go and check out your 20books now and add you to my feedly reader. Happy reading!
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Jun 02, 2016 @ 04:47:17
Fascinating list – love the Icelandic additions – don’t see those on very many lists!!
All Virago/All August? What is that? A personal challenge or is it a thing (that is a thing that I could be tempted by too ?)
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Jun 02, 2016 @ 07:27:23
Thank you, and no you don’t – area you an Icelandophile as well? I have a few other Iceland books on the TBR that I want to get finished before I go back in August, so hope I can push through to those.
AV/AA was invented by the Virago Modern Classics group on LibraryThing – so it is a Thing, but only there (find the group here http://www.librarything.com/groups/viragomodernclassics ) you do need to be a member of LibraryThing to join but you can get free membership. It’s not prescriptive, and Persephones count, too, but it’s great fun, getting through those green spines!
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Jun 02, 2016 @ 19:39:53
That is a hefty pile you have there, but I’m sure you can do it! Trips are the best time for cramming in reading, especially when you have a lot of time to spare.
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Jun 03, 2016 @ 07:13:30
Thank you for your comment and welcome to the blog! I should be able to do it – I’m on about 8 books a month at the moment and I’ve already finished one of these. Trips are great, especially as we always go by train …
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Jun 05, 2016 @ 21:22:02
You have a lofty sounding list. I hope you have some fun books crammed onto your list, too. Here is mine: My 20+Summer2016Challenge
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Jun 06, 2016 @ 07:19:37
Oh – all the books are fun to me! And the Cathy Kelly, Arnaldur Indriðason, Chaudhury and Anne Bridge and the sports biographies are definitely what you’d call “light” books. I’ll pop and look at your pile – hope you’re enjoying it so far!
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Jul 07, 2016 @ 10:01:29