It’s my eighth year participating in the 20 Books of Summer challenge, this year co-hosted by Annabel and Emma after Cathy stepped down. #20BooksofSummer2025 starts on 1 June and runs through 31 August. In some previous years I have chosen a theme, even something as simple as “books by women.” Last year I combined two criteria and managed to get through 20 hardback books I owned by women. The problem with setting even simple boundaries like that is that I seem to almost immediately lose interest. Even more dangerous to pick 20 specific books, lest I go off them right away. Nonetheless, that’s what I’ve done. Expect substitutions galore, however; most years I read only half (or less) of what I’ve earmarked.
My only firm rule is that all 20 books must be from my own shelves. Ideally, they wouldn’t overlap with my usual reviewing commitments, book club reads, or other themed challenges (e.g., June: Reading the Meow, Father’s Day, Scotland holiday; August: Women in Translation), though it would be no problem if they did. I’m the only one enforcing this!
Other themed June reading options.
I like to work towards multiple goals, so I’ve chosen five books each in four categories.
Books I acquired new this year:
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Hungerford Bookshop) – I pre-ordered this, a super-rarity for me, and read the first 20-some pages before petering out. I think it’s fair to say it won’t be a favourite of hers for me, but I’d still like to read it in its publication year.
The Hotel by Daisy Johnson (Hungerford Bookshop with Christmas gift token) – Creepy short stories by an author whose long-form fiction I’ve really enjoyed. Also counts toward my low-key goal of reducing the list of authors by whom I own two or more unread books.
Girl by Ruth Padel (Hungerford Bookshop with Christmas gift token) – A poetry collection about girlhood through history and in myth. A repeat appearance on my summer reading list; I reviewed her Emerald in 2021. Good to add it in for variety, and a quick win length-wise.
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters (Bookshop.org) – I bought this to show solidarity with trans women after a short-sighted legal ruling here in the UK. Detransition, Baby was awesome but I haven’t managed to get into this yet. It contains three long short stories plus a novella.
How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto (Hungerford Bookshop with Christmas gift token) – I believe it was Susan’s review that put this on my radar, though the title and the fact that it’s an academic satire would have been enough to get it onto my TBR.
Catch-up review copies:
A couple of these date back to 2023…
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino – “At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space … , a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno … recognizes that she is different: She possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives.” Quirky; well received by blog and Goodreads friends.
The Sleep Watcher by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan – I’ve read her other two novels but for some reason didn’t pick this up when it was first sent to me. “When she is sixteen, Kit suffers a summer of sleeplessness that isn’t quite what it seems; her body lies in bed while she wanders through her family home, the streets of her run-down seaside town and into the houses of friends and strangers.” Bonus points for being set during summer.
Museum Visits by Éric Chevillard – My one selection in translation. This hybrid collection of short pieces might be deemed essays or stories. “This ensemble of comic miniatures compiles reflections on chairs, stairs, stones, goldfish, objects found, strangers observed, scenarios imagined, reasonable premises taken to absurd conclusions, and vice versa.”
Storm Pegs by Jen Hadfield – New in paperback. I knew I had to read a Shetland-set memoir, and had enjoyed Hadfield’s piece in the Antlers of Water anthology. “In prose as rich and magical as Shetland itself, Hadfield transports us to the islands as a local; introducing us to the remote and beautiful archipelago where she has made her home”.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese – Cutting for Stone is brilliant but I was daunted by the even greater heft of this follow-up. I hope I’ll find just the right time to sink into it. “Spanning the years 1900 to 1977,” set “on India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere.”
Summer-themed books / four in a row on the Bingo card:
I’d be aiming to complete the second row with this quartet:
(Book set in a vacation destination)
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (40th birthday gift from my husband, purchased from Hungerford Bookshop) – “the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962 and resurfaces fifty years later in Hollywood. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to the backlots of contemporary Hollywood, this is a dazzling, yet deeply human roller coaster of a novel.”
(Book from a genre you rarely read)
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (Little Free Library) – I’ve only ever read King’s book on writing, which of course is not representative of his oeuvre. Sounds like this could be a good introduction to his horror work. Rural Maine + dead animals in the woods + grief theme. A chunky but lightweight paperback; I fancy it for my solo train ride home from Edinburgh.
(Book featuring ice cream or summer foods)
Ice Cream by Helen Dunmore (Community Furniture Project) – A short story collection, facing out because the spine is faded to illegibility rather than to show off the naked lady. I’ve enjoyed Dunmore’s stories before (Love of Fat Men). The plots are described as “ranging from … the death of a lighthouse keeper’s wife to the birth of babies from the Superstock catalogue.”
(Book published in summer)
The Stirrings by Catherine Taylor (Bookshop.org with Christmas gift token) – This was originally published in August 2023, and it’s also set mostly during two pivotal summers: “the scorching summer of 1976 – the last Catherine Taylor would spend with both her parents in their home in Sheffield” and “1989’s ‘Second Summer of Love’, a time of sexual awakening for Catherine, and the unforeseen consequences that followed it.”
Plus my one reread of the challenge:
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (Little Free Library) – “From her outpost in an isolated mountain cabin, Deanna Wolfe, a reclusive wildlife biologist, watches a den of coyotes that have recently migrated into the region. She is caught off-guard by a young hunter who invades her most private spaces and confounds her self-assured, solitary life.”
I have a number of other potential summery reads, too.
“Just because” books
At the start of the year, I pulled out two huge piles of books I had no particular excuse to read yet was keen to get to. My plan was to pick up one per week or so. Of course, I’ve not so much as opened one yet. Three of these are from that stack, with two more from my BIPOC shelf.
Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis (passed on by Laura T. – thank you!) – I’ve meant to read this for ages, plus it sounds like a good readalike for Heartwood. “The sole survivor of a plane crash, seventy-two-year-old Cloris Waldrip finds herself lost and alone in the unforgiving wilderness of Montana’s rugged Bitterroot Range … Intertwined with her story is Debra Lewis, a park ranger struggling with addiction, a recent divorce, and a new mission: to find and rescue Cloris.”
Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez (new from Amazon some years back) – I love Nunez and aim to read all of her books. This sounds very different from the four I know! “His family’s sole survivor after a flu pandemic …, Cole Vining is lucky to have found refuge with the evangelical Pastor Wyatt and his wife in a small town in southern Indiana. As the world outside has grown increasingly anarchic, Salvation City has been spared much of the devastation, and its residents have renewed their preparations for the Rapture.”
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (charity shop, possibly a decade ago?) – One I’ve always meant to read. My token classic for this challenge, though there are plenty more to choose from on the bookcase in the lounge, e.g. an Austen for Brona’s #ReadAusten25 challenge. “Through six turbulent months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family.”
Names of the Women by Jeet Thayil (gift from my wish list several years ago) – A novella on the stack will be welcome; this is “about the women whose roles were suppressed, reduced or erased in the Gospels. … Together, the voices of the women dare us to reimagine the story of the New Testament in a way it has never before been told.”
Moving Mountains, ed. Louise Kenward (gift from my wish list last year) – “A first-of-its-kind anthology of nature writing by authors living with chronic illness and physical disability. Through 25 pieces, the writers … offer a vision of nature that encompasses the close up, the microscopic, and the vast.” It will be nice to have a book of short nature pieces on the go.
The above list is more fiction-heavy than usual for me, with a number of chunksters – but also four short fiction collections and a poetry collection to balance out the length. Inspired by Eleanor, I decided to ensure at least 25% were by authors of colour.
If I need to draw on back-ups, I have many more between my “just because” stack, my Women’s Prize nominees shelf, and the rest of my BIPOC authors area.
This happens to be my 1,500th blog post!!
What do you make of my lists? See any options that I should prioritize instead?
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Bookish Beck 
Congratulations on your 1500th blog post – I like that you’ve organised your list by categories as well. Do you have sufficient contingency books in place, though?
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There are hundreds in the house, so there will never be a shortage 😉 Perhaps not for these particular categories, but as long as I get through 20 books I already owned I’m happy.
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Thanks for the link – I hope you enjoy the Taranto. Not the most subtle of satires but I enjoyed it. Great to see Helen Dunmore in your pile, too. I read those before I was a short story convert just because it was her. Good luck!
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I don’t mind a broad satire.
I’m more familiar with her poetry and stories than with her novels, strangely!
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Lovely to see your list! I am a huge fan of I Capture the Castle, and would always always recommend that anyone prioritise it. Kingdomtide and Beautiful Ruins are wonderful, in different ways. Haven’t read Pet Sematary, but good Stephen King (as opposed to bad Stephen King—the later ones trend worse) is among the best travel reading there is; totally absorbing in my experience. You’ve also reminded me, once again, that I ought to read Prodigal Summer!
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That’s what I figured about the King, plus it’s a chunky little paperback that will fit in the back of my handbag and can be taken in and out during different stages of a journey.
Prodigal Summer is a great one by Kingsolver. Have you also read The Poisonwood Bible? I found that very rewarding on a reread so I have high hopes for my second go with this.
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Yes, really liked The Poisonwood Bible—and the ecological focus of Prodigal Summer is super appealing!
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1500 posts – a milestone! Wonderful stacks with loads I’d like to read in.
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Congratulations on your 1500th blog post!
Your lists sound great! I’ve only read Prodigal Summer, which I really enjoyed.
Happy summer reading! 🙂
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I’ve seen this grid several years in a row and I still don’t quite get what’s going on. You just pick books that fit the category? But it really doesn’t have anything to do with Bingo, right? Or is the idea to try to fill rows, columns, and crosswise? But really, you’re just trying to read 20 books in the summer?
I always read at least that many books over a summer, so I’ve contemplated doing this challenge, but I am usually a bit more random in my book choices, so I may not want to pick out 20 specific books to read over the summer.
I haven’t read any in your new books this year category, but I have read one or two for each of your other categories, and all the choices were books I liked. So, you should have fun.
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I think this Bingo card is new this year. It’s a 4×5 grid so you can choose whether to complete a 4 in a row or a 5 in a row (no diagonals, technically). I’m just going to do 4 of the themes for fun, as part of my 20. Marcie of Buried in Print has also had a Bingo card as part of her Margaret Atwood Reading Month a couple of times. It can be a useful prompt to spark ideas.
Yes, I generally read 75-80 books per summer, but this is a good project for ensuring that all of those aren’t e-books for paid reviews or library books, so I actually make a dent in what I own.
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No, I know it’s not new, but maybe it was used for some other challenge. (That’s what you said, I guess.) I’ve seen it over the course of about three years. Oh, I see it works. So, essentially, you can pick your challenge.
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A note on the Bingo card:
NB: it’s not a 5×5 card, but 4×5, so you have 20 squares, in case you exclusively want to pick your books based on this card.
The horizontal lines have 4 squares, so feel free to complete any 4 square diagonals as well!
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Interesting list! I’ve only read How I Won a Nobel Prize. Enjoy your summer reading. I’m doing Meow, too. I look forwared to reading your reviews.
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I don’t know how I amassed quite so many cat books!!
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Of all of these, I’ve only read – and enjoyed – the Buchanan. What a surprise that the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was a dud for you. I’ll still try and give it a go though.
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I’m glad to hear that about the Buchanan.
I’ve hardly given the new Adichie a fair try yet, only 25 pages or so. My instant impression was that it felt like a rehash of Americanah.
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I quite enjoyed Nobel Prize and The Hotel and Beautiful Ruins was in my 20 Books pile a few years back and is the perfect summer read. Enjoy!
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Oh, I Capture the Castle is just fantastic – and perfect for summer. I also loved Beautiful Ruins, and I loved re-reading Prodigal Summer. I hope you like Kingdomtide more than I did!
It’s looking like Torrey Peters’ Stag Dance will also be featuring in my 20 Books of Summer, as I bought it a while back but haven’t got round to it yet.
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1500!! Incredible.
I’m most interested to see what you think of Beautyland, I read it recently and well, I’m not sure it lived up to the hype.
Thanks for the reminder to work on my list. I might even own 20 books by now!
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Laila was really enthusiastic about this one, and I noticed I had a couple of other books by the same author on my TBR, so at some point I’ve heard good things about her. We’ll see how I get on!
Watch out for books … they multiply 😉
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Wow, congratulations on your milestone. However chunky your pile is, it can’t be chunkier than mine! I really want to read Stirrings, Moving Mountains and Storm Pegs so I’ll hope you get to those and I can read your thoughts on them. Good luck!
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I made sure to have a novella and poetry volume on my piles to balance out some of the very long books! Your stack is mighty indeed.
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I’m not participating this year, but I love the idea of reading books you own. When I did it I tried to pick mostly owned books. It’s a great way to winnow down the shelves ( if you easily part with read books!) You’ve got a lot of my favorites in here (Beautiful Ruins, Beautyland, Prodigal Summer, I Capture the Castle.)
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Glad to hear I have some gems on the pile. Last year I cleared 16 books off my shelf through this challenge!
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Congrats on your 1,500th post! I keep forgetting to check these for my blog.You have impressive plans, and so neat to see how you will tackle the Bingo card.I have read your book by Kingsolver, and am curious about the one by Chevillard.Have fun!Here is mine: https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/05/21/20-books-of-summer-2025/
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Thanks for co-hosting and producing the new graphics!
I’ve read the Mary Oliver collection and the Muriel Barbery on your list (plus different books by Christie, Divry and Ernaux). Mysteries seem like perfect summer fare.
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oh wow, not too many people around know Divry!
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I love how much variety you’ve afforded yourself with each “section” in this challenge, and how you have managed to include so many different themes/types so that you feel like you are reading broadly…and the effort to ensure racial diversity overarching all of that too. (And congrats on the milestone post… !!!1500!!!) Weirdly relieved to hear that you had trouble getting into the Adichie novel too. Just a couple of days before my copy was due, I took a “now or never” approach and, once I got into the other perspectives, enjoyed it (there are similarities with Americanah…but there are key differences too, regarding age and experience which are curious) but at first I was wondering whether she had changed or I had changed. On the other side of it, I think the structure matters more than I’d recognised, and I think she kinda had to start with that character.
Whenever you decide to read A Fine Balance, I would love a “reason” to reread. (Pictured not listed.)
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The variety is to keep me interested. Fingers crossed that it works!
Yeah, I know I need to give the Adichie more concerted time and effort. Next month, I hope.
Laura’s planned Doorstoppers in December challenge would be a good excuse to finally get to the Mistry!
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The next character could settle it out for you with the Adichie, which prob isn’t far away. (Not that there’s anything special about her, only that it’s a change…and then there’s another change.) Oh, my…although I love that idea, December is winning for my least-likely-to-focus month. I think you and I maybe read a couple of things in Decembers over the years, but I totally flaked on our plans for last year. And it was a short… and affable… story. hehe
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No worries, we can play it by ear.
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[…] up during our Scotland holiday and then once we’re home in July. So far, I’m sticking to the list I chose last month. These first few were slightly disappointing, to be honest, but I have no doubt […]
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I’m still laughing at “chunksters!” And now I think I need to read Beautiful Ruins again–such a good summer book!
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[…] read 10 of the books I selected in my initial planning post. I’m pleased that I picked off a couple of long-neglected review copies and several recent […]
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