Crazy me, I’ll do 20 Books of Summer again #20booksofsummer22
I’m crazy busy and yet, I plan on doing 20 Books of Summer again.
Cathy from 746Books is the mastermind behind this event. I could pick only 10 or 15 books but I wanted to have 20 books to choose from and then we’ll see how it goes.
I already have the books from my ongoing readalongs with my Book Club, my sister-in-law, my Proust Centenary event and my non-fiction challenge. That makes seven books.
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (USA)
- Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Pineiro (Argentina)
- The Survivors by Jane Harper (Australia)
- Dead at Daybreak by Deon Meyer (South Africa)
- Fall Out by Paul Thomas (New Zealand)
- Days of Reading by Marcel Proust (France)
- Proust by Samuel Beckett (Ireland)
In August, I’ll be travelling to the USA, going through Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. I’ve already read The Line That Held Us by David Joy and Country Dark by Chris Offutt. I love to read books about the place I’m visiting, so I’ll be reading:
- Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (Louisiana)
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (North Carolina)
- Serena by Ron Rash (North Carolina)
- Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash (North Carolina)
- All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (Southern Region)
- A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (Appalachians)
- The Cut by George Pelecanos (Washington DC)
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Southern Region)
That’s eight more books and some of them rather long. I also wanted to do Liz’s Larry McMurtry 2022 readalong as I’ve had Lonesome Dove on the shelf for a while. That’s two chunky books in a beautiful Gallmeister edition.
And then I’ve selected four novellas, to help me reach the 20 books with one-sitting reads:
- Lie With Me by Philippe Besson (France)
- A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (Algeria)
- The Miracles of Life by Stefan Zweig (Austria)
- Adios Madrid by Pablo Ignacio Taibo II (Cuba)
I’m not sure I’ll make it but who doesn’t love a little challenge? I’m happy with my choices, a mix of countries, of crime, literary and non-fiction and of short and long books.
Have you read any of the books I picked? If yes, what shall I expect?
If you’re taking part to 20 Books of Summer too, leave the link to your post in the comment section, I love discovering what you’ll be up to.
Book Around the Corner 
Tempting but not sure if I should commit to it or not… I have some quite fixed ideas of what I want to read over the next few months in geographic terms… will it work to combine the two?
LikeLike
Geographic terms : where will your book travels take you to and why wouldn’t it work to combine the two?
LikeLike
A really interesting mix of books Emma! I’ll look forward to hearing about your experience of reading about where you’re travelling. The only one I’ve read is Lie With Me – a quick read so definitely doable in one sitting. In Cold Blood is languishing in my TBR…
LikeLike
Thanks!
I liked all the books by Besson that I’ve read, I expect to enjoy this one too.
I find In Cold Blood a bit daunting and I dread starting it. Is that why your copy is still on the shelf too?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, exactly that Emma!
LikeLike
You’ve got a really interesting mix by country/geography and by era (quite a few classics, plus some contemporary fiction too). It should make for some interesting reading over the summer. The only one I’ve read is Besson’s Lie With Me, which I think you’ll adore.
LikeLike
Thanks, Jacqui. I’m happy about my selection. And I have what I need to include a bit of Spanish Lit challenge or WIT Month if they are organized this year too.
A second good opinion about the Besson. I like him a lot and I’m sure I’ll like this one too.
LikeLike
An interesting list of books, and a great mix of genres. Good luck with your list.
LikeLike
Thank you. I’m happy with my list, even if there’s a lot of American lit on it. I’ll read books from other countries later.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have lots of American Lit to catch up on as well
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck – interesting list! I have read In Cold Blood, a long time ago, and found it fascinating!
LikeLike
I’ll start In Cold Blood soon. I have it in French, it should help.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve read Twelve Years a Slave and Where the Crawdads Sing in the last couple of years. It will be interesting to read them ‘on location’. I read In Cold Blood a while ago and entirely forget what it is about. And I am resolute in never reading another Jane Harper ever, ever again. I’m sure I had a McMurtry set aside to read, but it has dropped out of sight.
LikeLike
What did you think about Twelve Years a Slave? I have it in English, I hope it won’t be too difficult.
I got Where the Crawdads Sing in my Kube subscribtion and I’m a bit wary, because of the publisher. How did you like it?
Jane Harper, I know you thought her book Dry was inaccurate and flawed. It’s going to be an easy read. Probably something I’ll read during a car trip.
I’m looking forward to Lonesome Dove. Everyone who’s read it just raves about it.
LikeLike
I’m currently reading In Cold Blood. Not sure what I think of it. Good luck on your 20 books!
LikeLike
Is Cold Blood difficult to read? I’m not good with reading non fiction and I dread starting this one.
I’m going to need a bit of luck if I want to read all these books AND write a billet about them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would say In Cold Blood reads more like literary fiction than straight nonfiction. Capote is a heck of a writer; it’s a weird combination of style and subject matter.
LikeLike
Thanks! Now I’m definitely intrigued.
LikeLike
I forgot when I put my own list together that I had a Jane Harper title that would have fitted my need for an Australian author on my list. Drat.
I like your list for the USA because it has a good mix of books. Walk in the Woods is really enjoyable
LikeLike
Still time to make a switch and read Jane Harper! I’m curious about your list.
I liked the Bryson I’ve read about Australia, so I guess I’ll enjoy his trip in the Appalachians.
LikeLike
Excellent list….and I am jealous of your planned vacation in USA!
I haven’t been back (home) in years!
All the King’s Men is wonderful and if I may offer a suggestion:
Deep South: four season on back roads by Paul Theroux
It was nominated for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year (2016)
Paul Theroux never….disappoints me!
LikeLike
I thought you were Dutch!
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ve put it on the virtual TBR. I’ve heard of Paul Theroux but I’ve never read him.
LikeLike
I’ll join your craziness as well! I was thrilled to prepare my list yesterday, My post will be live on Thursday.
I have really enjoyed Days of Reading, and in a very different genre, A Walk in the Woods. It was the year I did walk a bit on the Appalachian Trail, so that was fun. By the way, skip the movie, it skips all the interesting parts of the book!
Enjoy your trip in the US! I have done some hiking in several states you mention. Some gorgeous areas for sure
LikeLike
I’m curious about your list! And as we say in French, Plus il y a de fous, plus on rit.
Proust never disappoint, does he? I’m looking forward to Days of Reading.
Bryson has the right mix of serious and humor, so I think I’ll enjoy A Walk in the Woods.
LikeLike
This sure is an interesting selection for the challenge, Emma! I’ve read Twelve Years A Slave, Where the Crawdads Sing, and A Walk in the Woods (many years ago). I’ve read several of Stefan Zweig’s books, but not this one you’ve selected. Would love to check it out for I like his writing. As for Lonesome Dove, here’s a tidbit: while the setting is in Texas and the American South, the 1990’s TV series was shot in our province here in Alberta, Canada. 🙂
LikeLike
I hope that Twelve Years a Slave isn’t too difficult for me to read in English. We’ll see.
What did you think about Where the Crawdads Sing?
I love Stefan Zweig. He never disppoints.
So, Lonesome Dove was shot in Alberta. I can imagine that for the Montana sections but the texan ones? Here, lots of films are done in Vilnius these days.
LikeLike
Emma, I’m sure you can handle Twelve Years a Slave without problem. I read the book after watching the movie, Oscar winning Best Picture of 2014. This is one of the occasions where the film prompted me to read the original literary source. If you’re interested, here’s my review of the book.
As for Crawdads, since you asked, I have to say I couldn’t fully embrace it… a bit unconvincing for me.
As for Zweig, you know Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is inspired by his books. That started my reading of Zweig’s writings.
And last but definitely not least, do you live in Vilnius, Lithuania? That is the part of the world I’ve never been and love to visit… some day. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Rocky Mountains are right here and with the open sky and landscape, we’re the locations of many Western movies. Our city as well is a prime move spot (not sure why). Right now we have two movies taking place in downtown. There are both excitement and grievance due to the prolong road closures. 🙂
LikeLike
(something went wrong when I last left my comment. I’ll try again now.)
Emma, I’m sure you can handle Twelve Years a Slave without problem. I read the book after watching the movie, Oscar winning Best Picture of 2014. This is one of the occasions where the film prompted me to read the original literary source. If you’re interested, here’s my review of the book.
As for Crawdads, since you asked, I have to say I couldn’t fully embrace it… a bit unconvincing for me.
As for Zweig, you know Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is inspired by his books. That started my reading of Zweig’s writings.
And last but definitely not least, do you live in Vilnius, Lithuania? That is the part of the world I’ve never been and love to visit… some day. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Rocky Mountains are right here and with the open sky and landscape, we’re the locations of many Western movies. Our city as well is a prime move spot (not sure why). Right now we have two movies taking place in downtown. There are both excitement and grievance due to the prolong road closures. 🙂
LikeLike
Hi,
I just rescued your comment from the spam box.
We’ll see how I fare with Twelve Years a Slave.
“OK but with some reservations” seems to go with When the Crawdads Sing.
I don’t live in Vilnius but I’d love to go too: Romain Gary used to live there as a child. 🙂 I am in Lyon, France.
I’ve never been to Calgary but I spent my honeymoon in British Columbia and in Alberta, so I’ve seen a tiny part of the Canadian Rockies.
LikeLike
So glad to hear from you. Excited to know you spent your honeymoon in BC and AB. You must have been to Banff National Park then? Calgary is just one hour’s drive from there. 🙂 O yes you’re in France, of course. Hopefully one day I can visit Lyon. In my past travels, I’d been to Paris as well as the Provence area, would love to revisit!
LikeLike
Yes we’ve been to Banff National Park, Lake Louise, Jasper National Park.
Lyon is a beautiful city. Let me know if you come here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In Cold Blood and The Cut are so good – enjoy! thanks so much for taking part again, crazy as it is!
LikeLike
I was a bit worried about In Cold Blood but I’m getting lots of reassurance here, thanks!
We’ll see if I make it this year and thanks again for organizing this great challenge.
LikeLike
I enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing with some reservations but it was nicely done and I loved the nature descriptions. And hooray McMurtry, of course. I’m going to do 20 Books but won’t make my list till Tuesday when I know what I have to go on my TBR.
LikeLike
We’ll see how I like Where the Crawdads Sing.
I am looking forward to Lonesome Dove. The only reason why it’s still on my TBR is that it’s long.
I’ll go and see your list now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice selection! I won’t be participating in this challenge, but I’ll be watching from the sidelines and interested to see your billets of these.
LikeLike
Thanks Andrew. It should be fun!
LikeLike