20 Books of Summer is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books.
The goal of 20 Books of Summer is to read 20 books from your TBR in three months. I’m totally including some of my summer pre-orders in this list because one of my 2021 goals was to read everything I pre-order and I am already behind. I’m also going to do my best to review them all because I have become such a slacker when writing up my thoughts.
If you’re joining in, you can add your sign-up post to Cathy’s link up and use the #20booksofsummer21 hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.
However I just cannot pick 20 books and stick to that list for the next three months. My brain will rebel! I’ve picked out 30 books and I will do my best to read 20 of these, but also one or two may get switched out when I remember something else I’m desperate to read. Without further ado, here are my choices…
*indicates that I received a free copy for review.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
Reading for ATY “a book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation”.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Reading for Popsugar “a book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction”.
Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid*
Thanks to Del Rey for the review copy.
The Rookery by Deborah Hewitt*
Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the review copy.
Summerwater by Sarah Moss
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk*
Thanks to Orbit for the review copy.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift
Mooncakes by Wendy Xu + Suzanne Walker
Fake Law by The Secret Barrister
Reading for Popsugar “a book that was published anonymously”.
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
The Yearbook by Holly Bourne
The Castaways by Lucy Clarke
Reading for ATY “a book set on an island”.
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
The Last Migration by Charlotte McConaghy*
Thanks to Chatto & Windus for the review copy.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Reading for Popsugar “the book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover”.
Summer Releases:
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Afterlove by Tanya Byrne
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Reading for ATY “a book by an author whose name doesn’t contain the letters A, T or Y”.
The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred
A Pho Love Story by Loan Le
Reading for Popsugar “a book set in a restaurant”.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
I feel like I should have more non-fiction on here, but at the moment I’m preferring non-fiction on audio, and my audiobook TBR is actually pretty tiny.
Have you read any of these books? Which do you think I should prioritise?
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What a great list! Thanks for taking part. Edward Carey will be featuring on my list too and I loved Sumemrwater. Enjoy. Good luck and happy reading!
The cover for Summerwater is very cool.
I loved Piranesi and Hamnet; the later is one of my favorite from 2020. I do hope you like it! Also, thank you for telling me/us about The Lonely Castle in The Mirror. I adore Japanese lit, as well as books in translation.
I try and read at least a couple of Japanese books each year, I always find they have a certain charm (or at least the ones they choose to translate into English!).
Excuse me While I Ugly Cry, Everyone Dies Famous … and A Pho Love Story are appealing to me and I will look out for your reviews. Enjoy, and a good idea to give yourself 30 to choose from. I always swap at least one out of my pile!
Such a good list of books, I like the variety of genres and have heard good things about a bunch of your choices. Good luck!
Most of these books are new to me but I see a few that I may read sometime.
Oh, no, don’t feel you have to have nonfiction – that’s for the inside months. Summer is for fiction!
You have a really interesting list here – and bravo for finding ones to fit some of those categories. Not trying to pressure you – but try to be sure to read Hamnet.
It’s more that I try and read one non-fiction a month, but I’m sure I’ll grab some more audiobooks over the summer to keep me going!
Looks like you have some great books lined up. Good luck I hope you enjoy all of the ones you read.
Great selection of books! I would have added Hamnet to my list, but my book group is discussing it in November, so I’ll probably pick it up closer to that time. Summerwater sounds intriguing. I love that cover art! I haven’t read anything by Susanna Clarke but a friend just gave Piranesi a perfect 5-star rating on Goodreads. I’ll have to check it out. As far as nonfiction, I’m saving mine for the Nonfiction November challenge. Otherwise, I would have added The Splendid and the Vile to my summer stacks. Have fun!
I haven’t done Non-Fiction November in a few years, I will have to add it to my calendar again.
Interesting list – looks like there’s plenty of variety there! I haven’t read any of them, but I have a copy of Summerwater which I’ll probably get to at some point over the summer – I’ve seen quite a few positive reviews of it. Enjoy whichever twenty you end up reading! You could always shame us all by reading all thirty… 😉
I have enjoyed the other Sarah Moss books I’ve read, so I have high hopes for Summerwater. I would love to get some super reading mojo form somewhere and read all 30!
Great TBR! I’ve been meaning to read Hamnet too and I’ve been curious about Piranesi. Good luck with the challenge!
Nice list! I totally should have put Piranesi on my 20 Books list, sigh. I forgot to put any ebooks on there. Have fun!
I loved Piranesi, and I’ve definitely been thinking about Summerwater. Enjoy! And remember to post! 😉
Piranesi was a favorite this year – and it gets so many different reactions. I don’t know a LOT of books here but they all look very good. Eclectic!
A great list! I’m so curious about Piranesi as I’ve heard so many good things about it. So many good books! If only we had two summer to read. Have a good one!
I put 30 titles on my list too and if I read 15 of them I will consider that a success. Hamnet is wonderful, and I have my eye on the Edward Carey having loved his earlier book Little. Does the new one have any of his illustrations included?
It does! I bought my copy direct and the publisher sent me a lovely signed print and some postcards of them. I haven’t read Little yet either, but I picked the shorter of his books for this.
What a great list. I’ve read 2 from your list that I really enjoyed: Hamnet and Lock Every Door, but I do want to read a few others.
I think that’s a pretty original and interesting list. I don’t know many of them but plan to look a few up.
Oh, I’ve just noticed you’re reading Carpe Jugulum… I LOVE that book!
It’s a “re-read” on audio and I’m loving it.
There are so many on this list that look good to me. I will look for them. Good luck to you!
I’m hoping to read twenty of my 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.
I haven’t read any of these but it’s astounding how many are on my tbr (and I am very jealous of your ARC of For the Wolf — I can’t wait to read that one.) Thank you for stopping by my blog, and I’ll definitely be visiting to see what you have to say about your summer reading books! Enjoy!
It is amazingly difficult to come up with a list and then stick to it. It is like it is an exercise in futility. I am going to aim at reviewing all of the twenty books I read (which I have never done), to see if I can be less wordy and tell more in a briefer format.
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town sounds very intriguing. Also Last One at the Party. I will wait to see what you think of that one
Yes. A good list. I listened to both Summerwater and Hamnet as audiobooks and found them both interesting. I’m curious about the Edward Carey novel you mention …. I loved his novel Little. Good luck with all these.
Oh this is a great list. You’re the second person recently to mention The Swallowed Man and Fake Law looks fascinating. Happy reading!
Thank you for visiting my blog recently. You’ve got a great list of books and I like how you chose 30 to choose from. Great idea! Hope you enjoy your books!
awesome list! I love Japanese lit, but had not yet heard of your first title, sounds really good!
The book by Charlotte McConaghy is really awesome. I posted about it (no spoiler, with a picture and map): https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/07/31/book-review-migrations/ (Yes, it came ut with a different title in the US).
I so need to read Piranesi! Enjoy your challenge
Looks like you’ve got a pretty good TBR there 🙂 I’m trying to cut through some of my novellas this summer so I can knock them off my TBR.
Happy reading!
-Megan @ Bookstacks & Golden Moms