Well, since September is nearly halfway finished, it’s high time I shared a wrap-up of my 20 Books of Summer experience! In my second year of participating in this reading challenge, hosted by the lovely Cathy at 746 Books, I stretched my wings a bit and tried to read 20 books instead of last year’s 10. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I thought. Well, I don’t regret it, but I failed to read all 20 titles. Despite swapping out several titles (to include book group picks and Anne of Green Gables Readalong that I’d forgotten) I still couldn’t stick to the list, and ended up with 14 books.
I’m not discouraged, though! Being a staunch mood reader, I pretty much knew sticking to a list was impossible. I knew the number of books would be a stretch too, since I do watch some television and have a job and a kid and sometimes I want to do yoga at night and just WHEN am I supposed to write these blog posts?!? So I think I did pretty well considering. I reviewed all 14, which I think deserves a gold star, or at least an extra piece of chocolate! 🙂
Here’s what I DIDN’T get to from my list (Note: I did read Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, which was AMAZING, but I didn’t finish it before the deadline of Sept. 3, and I still have to write my review…)
Expect a review of The Hate U Give soon! (OMG I loved that book!)
I still plan on reading these. I own five of them (the only one I’ll be borrowing from the library is The Cutting Season.)
So how did you do with 20 Books of Summer? Is it challenging (or nearly impossible) for you to stick to a reading list, even one you make up yourself? Or do you do well with that kind of structure? Will you participate in 20 Books of Summer next year? Have you read any of the books from my list that I didn’t get to? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments.
Yoga and television are things you should never be ashamed of, us Moms need that stuff to get us through. The fact that we get through one book a year is a minor miracle LOL
LikeLiked by 2 people
Bless you, Anne! I wholeheartedly agree. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I probably read too much praise for The Hate You Give before I read it. It wasn’t that great, if you ask me; it was kind of like those novels Jodi Picoult writes about topics from current events. Maybe I’d have liked it better if I still had a young adult in the house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha ha – I admit I avoid those Jodi Picoult books. Read one (My Sister’s Keeper; it was alright) and that was enough for me.
I get what you’re saying about THUG. What I loved about the book was the family it portrayed. Those people felt real to me, which is a quality I always appreciate in a book. I also kept in mind the audience this is really intended for (probably not 40 year old librarians.) A white fifteen year old reading this, it might blow his or her mind. I just really appreciated what I thought was the nuanced discussion of social issues for a younger person.
LikeLike
You get a big piece of chocolate from me, for reviewing everything you’ve read this summer! I have read Passing and thought it was impressing. The ending is a bit abrupt, but overall, it’s well worth reading.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You and Fiction Fan both give it a thumbs up, so I’m excited to read it.
LikeLike
I think I’ve failed every year, and this year I abandoned it because I was so far behind it was getting ridiculous. But no doubt I’ll join in again next year anyway! I can’t find a gold star and a piece of chocolate but here… have a doughnut and a round of applause – you deserve it! 🍩👏 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mmmm, doughnuts….
Thanks, FF! I’ll participate too, if Cathy is good enough to host again. I’ll be sure to stick to 10 next time, though!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Curious about The Cutting Season, will be expecting your review!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m gonna try my best to read it by the end of the year! 🙂
LikeLike
Great job this summer!! I didn’t participate in the challenge, but have enjoyed your posts about it. I doubt that I’ll participate next year either because of exactly what you said: I’m also a staunch mood reader and cannot be trusted to follow a list!
I can’t wait to see what you say about The Hate U Give – I’m on the waitlist for it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I understand about not wanting to participate in 20 Books. When I do it again, I’ll stick to the much more manageable 10 Books option!
I really enjoyed The Hate U Give – it was thoughtful and kept me wanting to read. I’ll try to review it in the next week!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Both Passing and At Mrs. Lippincote’s are great reads and I loved Attica Locke’s Black Water Rising enough to read it twice (which hardly happens for me with mysteries unless there is enough time between readings to forget completely) so I’m really looking forwrad to her others. I’d say increasing from 10 to 14 is significant. Do you feel like any of the overlooked ones had something in common, or was it just a matter of changing moods?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Honestly, if I had remembered about my book group picks and the Anne Readalong – that’s 6 books right there – I wouldn’t have even had them on the original list. Also some of them deal with heavier topics (racism, immigration) and maybe subconsciously I was reaching for easier reads this summer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know what you mean. You get into a groove making a certain kind of reading list and then you forget about all the other times you’ve been making reading lists (even if it was just earlier the same day)!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read 18 and reviewed 17 in time. I talked to Cathy about adding a buddy comment partner thing to this challenge so we all meet new blog friends through the shared challenge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a cool idea! 🙂 Great job this year!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Also, the idea of a comment buddy comes from Alicia at Kernels if Nonsense. She runs a buddy comment challenge each summer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! You did great on your stretch goal for this year, Laila! You should be so proud of all your accomplished. And I’m totally with you– sometimes I want to do yoga or sleep at night instead of read or blog. 😉 I can’t wait to read your review of The Hate U Give— that’s been on my TBR for so long.
Do you think you’ll try for 20 again next year?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I definitely WON’T try for 20 next year, ha ha! I’m gonna stick to 10 from now on! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I believe in setting realistic expectations. 🙂 It’s important to know oneself!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congrats! You’re absolutely right nothing ventured nothing gained. I read American Street for Bout of Books and loved it. I’ve heard such great things about the Hate U Give. Glad to see you endorse it and I look forward to your review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I’m glad to have your seal of approval on American Street! 🙂
LikeLike
I’d still call 14 books a win! Especially since you reviewed them all to 🙂 Cannot wait to see your review for THUG!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Amanda. Maybe I’ll get it up here one day! 😉
LikeLike
I live on the other side of the world and we are just now going into summer. I think this is a wonderful idea and am going to set up my reading list this weekend for my own 20 Books Of Summer 🙂 I live across the road from the beach so am going to make it a thing that I go over with hat, blanket and sunscreen on the weekends and read for at least an hour each day 🙂 Super excited
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! Sounds lovely – Good luck with your list!
LikeLike