What Cathy Read Next...

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 we’re invited to come up with a list on the theme of May Flowers. For me, this month is all about getting into my garden: digging, weeding, planting, planning and, importantly, sitting and reflecting.

Here are ten books whose titles – but not necessarily their subject matter – sum up this time of the year for me.

Links from each title will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery
Perfume by Patrick Süskind
Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory
Great Meadow by Dirk Bogarde
The Bees by Laline Paull
The Honey and the Sting by E. C. Fremantle
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
The Constant Gardener by John le Carre
Back Trouble by Clare Chambers
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon

I can’t believe it’s time again for this annual challenge run by my namesake Cathy at 746 Books. Now in its tenth year, the challenge will run from Saturday 1st June to Sunday 1st September 2024. I’ve participated for the past few years but only managed to complete it once, in 2021.

As (the other) Cathy explains, the rules are simple. Take the Books of Summer image, pick the 10, 15 or 20 books you’d like to read and add your link to Cathy’s master post so she knows you’re taking part.

The rules are accommodating. Want to swap a book? Go for it. Fancy changing your list half way through? No problem. Deciding to drop your goal from 20 to 15? She’s fine with that too.

I’m aiming for the full 20 once again and, as last year, I’m targeting books that have been in my TBR pile for way too long. Many of them appeared on last year’s list, I’m afraid to say. I have a couple of review copies received from authors I’d really like to get to but I’m also trying to be more realistic by including ARCs with publication dates from June onwards that I ‘need’ to read and review. In previous years I’ve been foolish enough to think I can read 20 books in addition to my review commitments for blog tours, etc.

You can find my list below. Links from the titles will take you to the book description on Goodreads. I’ll update them with links to my reviews when – note, not if – I’ve read them.