Discussion posts – Page 45 – What Cathy Read Next…

Time to take stock of the progress (or lack of progress) I’ve made with the reading challenges I’ve signed up for or set myself this year.

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2020

I’ve set my target at 120 books and had read 69 as at the end of June so I’m pretty much on track with this one.

When Are You Reading? 2020

This challenge is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It involves reading a book set in each of twelve time periods. So far, I’ve matched eight of the time periods therefore I’m cautiously optimistic about completing this challenge. You can find links to my reviews here. By the way, Sam also hosts the very popular weekly WWW Wednesday meme.

20 Books of Summer 2020

This annual challenge is hosted by Cathy at 746Books. You simply make a list of 10, 15 or 20 books you intend to read between 1st June and 1st of September and try to read them all. The rules allow for plenty of flexibility but I try to stick to my original list – which is probably why I’ve always previously failed to complete this challenge! Having read eight of the books on my list so far, I’m determined this is the year I succeed. You can find links to my list and my reviews here.

What’s In A Name? 2020

This challenge is hosted by Andrea at Carolina Book Nook and involves reading books with titles that match each of six categories. I’ve only managed two of the six so far as some of the categories are quite tricky. If I’m to complete it, I have a few chunky books to get through. The Mirror & the Light, I’m looking at you…

The Classics Club

Create a list of 50 classic books you would like to read within five years and work your way through them (with the help of the occasional Classics Club Spin where a book from your list is selected for you) to earn yourself a place on the Wall of Honour. My deadline is December 2021 and so far I’ve read 37 from my list. However, it has to be said that some of those are also part of my Buchan of the Month reading project, of which more below.

Buchan of the Month Reading Project

Now in its third year, this is a personal challenge involving reading a different book by John Buchan – fiction or non-fiction – every month. You can see my reading list for the year and find links to my reviews of the six I’ve read so far here.

Are you taking part in any reading challenges? If so, how are you getting on? Do they motivate or frustrate you?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Authors I’ve Read The Most Books By. Regular followers of this blog will have no trouble guessing the author I’ll be featuring. Yes, it’s John Buchan. You can find out more about my Buchan of the Month reading project here. Although most well-known as the author of the adventure story The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan wrote many other books in a variety of genres – novels, short stories, poetry and biographies.

Here are ten facts about his life and works, followed by ten of my personal favourites from his many books.

He was a correspondent for The Times on the Western Front in 1915
He was appointed Director of Intelligence in the Ministry of Information in 1918
His Oxfordshire country home, Elsfield, was in earlier times visited by Dr. Samuel Johnson
He was created Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in 1935
He was appointed Governor-General of Canada the same year
In the above capacity, he signed Canada’s declaration of war on Germany
He was a friend of T. E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia) who visited Elsfield
Buchan is reported to have remarked that Alfred Hitchcock’s film version of The Thirty-Nine Steps was an improvement on his book
His sister, Anna, was the novelist O. Douglas
Buchan’s memoir Memory Hold-The-Door was a favourite book of US President, John F Kennedy