My 20 Books Of Summer 2021 #20booksofsummer21

20-books-of-summerThis annual challenge is run by my namesake Cathy at 746 Books.  This year it takes place between 1st June and 1st September 2021.  I’ve participated for the past three years but only managed to complete it once – last year, in fact.

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

The rules are accommodating as well.  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 may be mad but I’ve decided to aim for the full 20 once again. In putting together my list, I’ve concentrated on blog tour commitments I have from June onwards, books on my NetGalley To Read shelf that publish in the next couple of months and books I’ve received as Readers First giveaways but still haven’t read. My thinking is the first category contains books I need to read soon anyway, the second category will help me maintain my 80% plus NetGalley feedback ratio and the third will assuage any guilt at my tardiness in posting the expected reviews.

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.


This Is How We Are Human by Louise Beech (Orenda Books)
The Serpent King by Tim Hodkinson (Aries)
The Fort (City of Victory #1) by Adrian Goldsworthy (Head of Zeus)
Scandalous Alchemy by Katy Moran (Head of Zeus)
Everything Happens for a Reason by Katie Allen (Orenda Books)

One Last Time by Helga Flatland (Orenda Books)
Two Women In Rome by Elizabeth Buchan (Corvus)
Mrs England by Stacey Halls (Manilla Press)
A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz (Century)
Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce (Picador)

A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
Gallowstree Lane (Collins & Griffiths #3) by Kate London (Corvus)
Three Little Truths by Eithne Shorthall (Corvus)
The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan (Hodder & Stoughton)
This Shining Life by Harriet Kline (Doubleday)

Those I Have Lost by Sharon Maas (Bookouture)
Cecily by Annie Garthwaite (Viking)
The Unfortunate Englishman (Joe Wilderness #2) by John Lawton (Atlantic)
This Lovely City by Louise Hare (Harper Collins)
Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller (Fig Tree)

Wish me luck! If you’re taking part too, enjoy your summer of reading.

The Classics Club Spin 26 | My List #ccspin

Classics Club SpinHow time flies because it’s time for another Classics Club Spin and a welcome prompt to read a book from my Classics Club list.

For those unfamiliar with how the spin works, here are the step-by-step instructions:

At your blog, before Sunday 18th April 2021, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain to be read on your Classics Club list. This is your Spin List. You have to read one of these twenty books by the end of the spin period. On 18th April the folks at The Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by 31st May 2021.


Since I have very few unread books on my list – yay! – I’ve included those I do have left more than once.

  1. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
  2. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
  3. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
  4. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
  5. Business as Usual by Jane Oliver & Ann Stafford
  6. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
  7. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
  8. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
  9. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
  10. Business as Usual by Jane Oliver & Ann Stafford
  11. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
  12. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
  13. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
  14. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
  15. Business as Usual by Jane Oliver & Ann Stafford
  16. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
  17. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
  18. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
  19. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
  20. Business as Usual by Jane Oliver & Ann Stafford

Will you be taking part in the Classics Club Spin #26?  If so, what are you excited about (or daunted by) the prospect of reading from your list?