20 Books of Summer – 20 Books Around the Corner
Cathy at 746 Books launches her yearly challenge of 20 Books of Summer. The title is self-explanatory: Read 20 books in June, July and August.
Twenty books in three months is a lot for me. I usually manage to read a book per week but I’m willing to try this year since I’m working remotely until the end of August and will save the time and fatigue of commuting to work. I might make it. Now to the fun part: book picking!
I’m already committed to reading with my Book Club and to a Read The West readalong with my sister-in-law. That’s five books. How to choose the fifteen others?
Thanks to a pesky virus, my trip to Montana and Wyoming is cancelled and I’m still grieving this missed opportunity. (Rich white girl problem, I know) So I decided that 20 Books of Summer would be a celebration of the ghosts of trips past, the ghost of the missed trip and the ghost of the upcoming trip to France. I’ll read books related to these summers. If I know where I bought the book, I’ll mention it, as a friendly hello to independent bookstores who have to survive the tempest of this worldwide lockdown.
*Drum roll*
Here are my twenty choices
Book Club choices.
- Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski
- Snow by Orhan Pamuk
Read-the-West-With-Sister-In-Law choices
- Montana: The Lost Get-Back Boogie by James Lee Burke
- Cathedral by Raymond Carver
- Montana: Death and the Good Life by Richard Hugo
Ghost of Trips Past
- Québec: Therese, Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel by Michel Tremblay (Québec City)
- Sicily: Equal Danger by Leonardo Sciascia
- Spain: Nada by Carmen Laforêt
- Australia: Blood by Tony Birch (Readings, Melbourne)
- Portugal: Lisbon’s Poets (Bertrand, Lisbon)
- UK: Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood (London)
- Denmark: The Elephant Keepers’ Children by Peter Høeg (Copenhagen)
- Hungary: The Charmed Life of Kázmér Rezeda by Gyula Krúdy (Budapest)
- USA: Wait Until Spring, Bandini (City Light Bookstore, San Francisco)
Ghost of the Missed Trip
- Wyoming: An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- Wyoming: The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson
- Montana: A Job You Mostly Won’t Know How To Do by Pete Fromm
Ghost of Upcoming Trip to France
- Who You Think I Am by Camille Laurens
And, last but not least, a bridge between the three Ghost Trips, between France and the USA
- Letter to Jimmy by Alain Mabanckou, a letter to James Baldwin.
I’m happy with my list: a mix of lit fiction, short-stories, poetry, non-fiction and crime. Some in English, some in French.
I’m not sure I’ll have time to read all these books but I had a lot of fun making up the list. It’s also a good way to push myself to read more from my TBR. I know I’ll buy new books anyway, we need to support our independent bookstores, and I’ve decided to reallocate to book buying all the toll money saved up with homeworking. A perfectly good excuse to indulge in a book buying spree.
Will you participate to Cathy’s challenge too?
Book Around the Corner 
Thanks for taking part! I love your list. Always like to see Carver and I read Snow a goid few years back and really enjoyed it. Good luck – we can do this 😘
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Good to know about Snow.
I hope I’ll manage to read them all.
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Nice list! I don’t take part because I know myself well enough to know I’d fail to stick to any list, but I do love seeing what others do!
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Thanks!
We’ll see if I can read them all. 🙂
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Ghost of Trips Past is such a great idea! The only one I’ve read is Nada, which i enjoyed and I hope you do too. I have Goodbye to Berlin buried in the TBR so I’ll be interested to see how you find it.
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Thanks!
I had a lot of fun drawing up the list. Nada has been on my TBR for a while and I’m glad this gives me the opportunity to get to it.
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What a lovely idea to go traveling like this and with such an interesting range and selection of books! I look forward to following your travels.
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Thanks. Let’s hope I’m up to the challenge. Some of these books are long.
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I like the way you’ve structured your list around a particular theme, especially the nod to previous journeys to foreign climes. I’ve read a few of your Ghosts of Trips Past – the Sciascia, the Laforet and the Isherwood, all excellent. I hope you enjoy them too.
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Thanks. I’m looking forward to reading them. I think I got the Sciascia after your recommendation.
I’ve read good things about the Laforet and the Isherwood too.
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This is a wonderful challenge, Emma! I hope you have lots of fun participating! I want to read Nada by Carmen Laforet. I have a few Peter Høeg books, but not the one you are planning to read. I have heard a lot about Duane Swierczynski. Happy reading! Will look forward to hearing your thoughts 🙂
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Thanks Vishy.
We can read Nada together this summer if you want.
Duane Swierczynski is awsome. I’ve read several books by him and all were unique and fun. I really recommend him. (Start with The Blonde)
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This will be wonderful, Emma! Would love to read Nada with you 🙂 When would you like to read, in June or July?
Glad to know that Duane Swierczynski is wonderful! I’ll add ‘The Blonde’ to my TBR. Thanks for recommending it.
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Let’s kill two birds with one stone and read it in July for Spanish Lit Month. (provided that Stu and Richard organize it this year) 🙂 Is that Ok for you?
I think you and I are definite book buddies: our literary tastes overlap a lot.
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That is a wonderful plan, Emma! Let us do that! Looking forward to reading Nada and discussing it with you in July 🙂 Yay, to book buddies 🙂
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It’s a deal, then. Nada in July! 🙂
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Wonderful! Looking forward to it 🙂
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Me too!
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Sounds like a great idea, but I won’t participate as I know I’d never complete it.
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I’m not sure I’ll complete it either but I’ll try. (The Powers is daunting: 735 pages. I have the French translation, thankfully)
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Yikes. That’s a whopper.
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I’ve not heard of any of these so I look forward to hearing more about them.
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Thank you and Welcome to Book Around the Corner.
I hope I’ll manage to read them all!
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Nice list! Enjoy your summer reads 💚📚
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Thank you and welcome to Book Around the Corner! 🙂
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Thanks! Emma
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An excellent way to travel this summer.
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Thank you and welcome to Book Around the Corner.
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I have a Tony Birch on my 20 books list too – but mine is The White Girl (from Roaring Stories Bookshop, Sydney)
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I’ve never read anything by him but I heard he’s good.
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What a wonderful theme to choose for your list. I love the idea of using 20 books of summer as a way to remind you of the pleasure of times past. One day you’ll get to Montana I’m sure !
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Fascinating list! I need to read The Overstory. I’m participating. I did a list of 20 titles, but then, I keep reading other books!!: https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/05/29/20-books-of-summer-2020/
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Thanks. I’ve already read one book out of the list.
I’m currently reading Blood by Tony Birch and it’s excellent.
Happy reading!
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