Cathy at 746 Books has handed over the baton of the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge to two new hosts: Annabel at AnnaBookBel and Emma at Words and Peace. Thank you, Cathy, for hosting what has become one of my favourite reading challenges for the past ten years. Put your feet up now and read a book… or twenty.
The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st. You can find all the information you need about the challenge here where you can also sign up to participate. It’s where you can also grab the wonderful new logos to use on your sign-up post, updates and reviews. Plus there’s a bingo card if you want to make things even more challenging.
Every year I approach the challenge high on ambition and usually low on likelihood of success. But, hey, it’s supposed to be a challenge, isn’t it? I’m aiming for the full 20 books, targeting the oldest physical books in my TBR pile, quite a few of which – sadly – have appeared on previous years’ lists.
Being a stubborn old so-and-so, I like to stick to my original list and not take advantage of the option to swap books in and out. However, I am going to allow myself the freedom to DNF at the 25% point if I’m not loving a book. (I rarely DNF books usually.) I have audio versons of the two biggest books and I’m hoping this might help me get through them.
If I DNF a book, it’s going to the charity bookshop. If I finish it but didn’t absolutely love it, it’s going to the charity bookshop. That should mean lots of space created on my bookshelves. Win/win.
Links from the titles will take you to the book description on Goodreads. I’ll update them with links to my reviews when I’ve read them.
- Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson Read
- The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel Read
- Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee Read
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Read
- The Body in the Ice by A. J. Mackenzie Read
- The Summer House Party by Caro Fraser Read
- The Dark Isle by Clare Carson
- Pompeii by Robert Harris
- The Assassin of Verona by Benet Brandreth
- Transcription by Kate Atkinson
- Force of Nature by Jane Harper
- The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle by Kirsty Wark
- Appetite by Philip Kazan
- Tombland by C. J. Sansom
- Anna of Kleve by Alison Weir
- A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
- All The Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy
- Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
- The Cross and the Curse by Matthew Harffy
Wish me luck! If you’re taking part too, enjoy your summer of reading.
What Cathy Read Next... 
A great selection Cathy! I’m going to have a think about my list today.
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Always the fun bit, I think
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A book has to be particularly good to make it onto my shelves these days. Good luck, Cathy! Smart move with the audiobook route.
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Yes, those big books are heavy to hold!
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This is going to your year, Cathy. You got this!
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I will try to share your optimism!
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Good luck with this! I’ve read three of those – Behind the Scenes at the Museum, The Mirror & the Light and Anna of Kleve. I have a few of the others on my TBR, but not sure if I’ll be putting any of them on my 20 Books of Summer list.
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The Mirror and Light is fabulous but it’s not a quick, easy read and depending on how long ago you read Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Light, you may find you’d like to reread them before you start!!
I loved the first of Washington Black in particular but found it uneven by the end. Pompeii was a quick, easy romp through Ancient Rome great for a rainy weekend. And I enjoyed Exit West much more than many of the reviewers out there.
Good luck with the rest.
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You have a point. I did read the first two books in the trilogy quite some years ago. I might try watching the TV adaptation of the first two in preparation. Glad to hear you enjoyed Exit West. It’s the one I’m most unsure about.
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Good Luck, Cathy. I’m ready to go as well. My issue is that I might read one or two of the books on my list before the 1st of June.
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I’m tempted as well because compiling my list made me really want to start on some of the books, although I’ve had years to do so.
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Interesting list. Now, when you read Go Set a Watchman, read the confrontation between “Scout” and Atticus VERY CAREFULLY. Just saying…
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That looks set to be a very entertaining summer. I think I had Behind the Scenes at the Museum on my ‘possibles’ list last year, but didn’t get to it. Maybe I should put it back on this year’s list, but I’m sure I’ve already got more than twenty lined up. It’s so difficult to choose.
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It is, especially if there are hundreds of unread books you own!
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This looks like a fun challenge! I might have to give it a go myself! ☺️
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I am also doing 20, but didn’t plan all the books out. I also have books that were on previous years lists, so here’s hoping this is the year, LOL! Good luck!
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