Read – Page 768 – What Cathy Read Next…

With the end of the year only hours away, it’s time to take a final look at how I did with the reading challenges I set myself in 2020, a year I don’t believe any of us will forget soon.

What’s In A Name? 2020

This challenge, hosted by Andrea at Carolina Book Nook, involves reading books with titles that match each of six categories. Thanks to a handy ampersand in a title and recently finishing a book whose title is an antonym, I completed this challenge with a few days to spare. Andrea is hosting the challenge again in 2021 with six new categories – find all the details here. I shall be signing up and I hope some of you will too.

The Classics Club

The challenge involves creating a list of 50 classic books you would like to read within five years and working 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 43 of the books on my list so I’m heading for the home strait. However, it has to be said that some of the books I’ve read were 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 personal challenge involved reading a different book by John Buchan – fiction or non-fiction – every month.

You can find my reading list for the year and links to my reviews here.

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2020

I set my target at 120 books this year and achieved that when I finished A Conspiracy of Silence by Anna Legat back in October. My current tally is 153.

When Are You Reading? 2020 (hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words)

This challenge involves reading a book set in each of 12 different eras, starting with pre-1300 and ending with the future. I managed to complete them all but I’ll admit a few were more difficult than others to find books to fit. If you’d like to read more historical fiction or you’re a fan of the genre but want to challenge yourself to read books set in different time periods, you’ll be pleased to know Sam is planning to host it again in 2021. Details coming soon!

20 Books of Summer 2020 (hosted by Cathy at 746Books)

Spend the summer reading books? Sounds good to me! Taking place between 1st June and 1st September, the challenge involves picking your own 10, 15 or 20 books you’d like to read during the challenge period. That’s it! The rules are accommodating as well which is how I managed to complete the challenge for the first time this year.

Did you take part in any reading challenges in 2020? If so, how did you get on? Do you have new challenges in mind for 2021?

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too? Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

A book from my review pile and a book for a blog tour…

Connectedness (Identity Detective #2) by Sandra Danby (ebook, courtesy of the author)

Justine’s art sells around the world, but does anyone truly know her? When her mother dies, she returns to her childhood home in Yorkshire where she decides to confront her past. She asks journalist Rose Haldane to find the baby she gave away when she was an art student, but only when Rose starts to ask difficult questions does Justine truly understand what she must face.

Is Justine strong enough to admit the secrets and lies of her past? To speak aloud the deeds she has hidden for 27 years, the real inspiration for her work that sells for millions of pounds. Could the truth trash her artistic reputation? Does Justine care more about her daughter, or her art? And what will she do if her daughter hates her? This tale of art, adoption, romance and loss moves between now and the Eighties, from London’s art world to the bleak isolated cliffs of East Yorkshire and the hot orange blossom streets of Malaga, Spain.

Last Flight to Stalingrad by Graham Hurley (eARC, courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Berlin, 1942: For four years, the men in field grey have helped themselves to country after country across Western Europe. For Werner Nehmann, a journalist at the Promi – the Ministry of Propaganda – this dizzying series of victories has felt like a party without end. But now the Reich’s attention has turned towards the East, and as winter sets in, the mood is turning. Werner’s boss, Joseph Goebbels, can sense it. A small man with a powerful voice and coal-black eyes, Goebbels has a deep understanding the dark arts of manipulation. His words, his newsreels, have shaken Germany awake, propelling it towards its greater destiny and he won’t let – he can’t let – morale falter now. But the Minister of Propaganda is uneasy and in his discomfort has pulled Werner into his close confidence. And here, amid the power struggle between the Nazi Chieftains, Werner will make his mistake and begin his descent into the hell of Stalingrad.

Recently finished

Links from the titles will take you to my reviews

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Elmet by Fiona Mozley

Daniel is heading north. He is looking for someone. The simplicity of his early life with Daddy and Cathy has turned sour and fearful. They lived apart in the house that Daddy built for them with his bare hands. They foraged and hunted. When they were younger, Daniel and Cathy had gone to school. But they were not like the other children then, and they were even less like them now. Sometimes Daddy disappeared, and would return with a rage in his eyes. But when he was at home he was at peace. He told them that the little copse in Elmet was theirs alone. But that wasn’t true. Local men, greedy and watchful, began to circle like vultures. All the while, the terrible violence in Daddy grew. (Review to follow)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. (proof copy, courtesy of Quercus)

The Halifax plantation is known as Empty by the slaves who work it under the pitiless gaze of its overseers and its owner, Massa Paul. Two young enslaved men, Samuel and Isaiah dwell among the animals they keep in the barn, helping out in the fields when their day is done. But the barn is their haven, a space of radiance and love – away from the blistering sun and the cruelty of the toubabs – where they can be alone together.

But, Amos – a fellow slave – has begun to direct suspicion towards the two men and their refusal to bend. Their flickering glances, unspoken words and wilful intention, revealing a truth that threatens to rock the stability of the plantation. And preaching the words of Massa Paul’s gospel, he betrays them.

Category: Read

My 2020 Reading Challenges: How Did I Do?