Truth to tell, I've been plotting, and agonizing, over my 20 Books of Summer List for at least 10 days. I know there will be a few substitutions along the way, but most of the books on the list I intend to read this summer. My moods are unpredictable, so I suppose it's also true to say that anything can happen.
Summer is my happiest reading time! The heat and humidity drive me to distraction, so having good books to retreat to, inside a cool home, is truly a sublime escape! Good books distract me from what is for me, the misery of an overheated season. I'm a winter lover, I'm afraid.
Thanks to Anna of AnnaBookBel.net for hosting this summer's 20 Books of Summer.
My list:
20 Books of Summer 2026
1. The Pretender by Jo Harkin (2025)
2. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (2026)
3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson
4. Ghost Stories: A Memoir by Siri Hustvedt (2026)
5. A Candle in Her Room by Ruth M. Arthur (1966)
6. At Midnight Comes the Cry Julia Spencer-Fleming (2025)
7. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonny by Kiran Desai (2025)
8. Land by Maggie O’Farrell (2026)
9. Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards (2025)
10. Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945 by Ian Buruma (2026)
11. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (2023)
12. The Punishment She Deserves by Elizabeth George (2018)
13. John of John by Douglas Stuart (2026)
14. The Murder Club by Richard Osman (2020) TBR
15. The Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett (2014) TBR
16. Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunmore (1993) TBR
17. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024) TBR
18. The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan (2024) TBR
19. The Black Death: A Global History by Thomas Asbridge (2026)
20. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2006) TBR
Alternates: Night Objects by Eli Raphael
As of today, something is seriously wrong with this blog. Only today's post is showing and none of my previous posts. I checked "Settings" and I have it set to show 9 posts in all, so it's not that. Until this is fixed, you can click on "Older Posts" below to see earlier blog entries.
You've got some here I really like! I love Ruth Arthur and that is her best known book (very hard to find - mine is a bit sticky - I think I ordered it from the UK and was glad to get it). I think I had recommended Julia Spencer-Fleming to you ages ago but have you really reached book 10? I don't advise skipping, particularly because the early books are the best. Zenmore in Darkness is set in a village in Cornwall that Cath and her husband brought me to! I've been meaning to read it. I liked Tom Lake and loved The Thursday Murder Club. I will be interested to hear what you think about The God of the Woods, especially as it is set in the Adirondacks.
ReplyDeleteI like that Martin Edwards Lake District series. I am on The Frozen Shroud but it will have to wait a while.
I've collected a number of Ruth Arthur books in years past, but they are even harder to find now. And if a copy is available, the price is anywhere from $75 to $200! Very tricky. I'll be dedicating a post to Ruth Arthur later. A Candle in Her Room is the first of her books that I read, back when I was 12 years old. So this is a re-read for me.
DeleteI totally agree that Julia Spencer-Fleming's early books in the series are her best, especially the very first one.
Enjoy your summer of reading!!
I remember now it is Paula Munier I recommended. The first in that series may also be the best. She and Julia Spencer-Fleming did a joint bookstore event in December that was fun.
DeletePaula Munier--I need to look her up because I'm not aware of her! Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteAha, nice list. We have three books in common on our lists: Strout's, Douglas Stuart's, and Maggie O'Farrell's. There's also 2 on your list that I considered adding for mine: Staying Alive: Berlin and Ghost Stories ... those are 2 nonfiction that look good and I hope to get to anyways. But if you vet them first, that'd be good. I did agonize a bit on which to put on my list. But I guess that's what is fun about making the summer list ... trying to figure out which ones to go with. I hope you enjoy these. I have read a few of these on your list Shirley Jackson's (yes! weird), Liz Moore's (liked Long Bright River best), The Book Thief (devastating), and Tom Lake (a bit up & down ) ... See what you think of these!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan,
DeleteVery interesting to get your reactions to a few of the books on my list--would love hearing more when the time comes and I post about them!
I'm going to be so interested in your learning about your summer reading! Let's hope it doesn't get too absurdly hot!
Very nice list, Judith. Constance is correct, we took her to Zennor several years ago, a beautiful but sadly too short trip. The old church there is incredibly beautiful. Of your list I've read, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Thursday Murder Club. I won't be doing the challenge but I have made a list of half a dozen books I would like to get to this summer. Will probably share those on my blog soon. Cath (I've found that if I comment anonymously and sign it, it will take the comment.)
ReplyDeleteCath, I'm so very glad you've found a way around bloggerMUCK to comment! I appreciate your comments so much. I'll be so interested to follow your summer reading and your summer weather, Cath!
DeleteI heard you had some very hot weather recently.
Nice list, Judith! I see a few favorites (Strout, Patchett, Desai) and several more I hope to read soon... particularly John of John. Enjoy your summer reading!
ReplyDeleteHi JoAnn,
DeleteAs of today, June 2nd, I've dipped into the Strout and I am loving it, frankly, for being so frank about everything about life.
I am eagerly awaiting all of your posts!