I’m cutting it very close with this year’s signup post for Cathy’s (746 Books) 20 Books of Summer reading challenge – not because I forgot, just because the weather has been so dark and rainy lately that taking book pictures was no fun at all. (And also, admittedly, because I was waiting for my pre-ordered copy of Olivia Laing’s The Garden Against Time to finally arrive.) These hurdles notwithstanding, here I am – for the fourth year running.
As usual, I’ve made a list of fifteen books I’d like to read between June 1st and August 31st, and as is somewhat typical for me, it’s a mix of library and owned books, of German and English titles, and of fiction and non-fiction. The remaining five spots (if I get that far) are for random choices, more spontaneous library picks, and the inevitable book I really, really feel in the mood for but haven’t thought of at all while writing this post.
The same caveats as in previous years apply: I don’t expect to actually stick to this list precisely (too much of a mood reader for that), nor do I expect to manage to review all of the titles I read in the given time frame. That said, I will still try because – just like in previous years – April and May haven’t been great months for book reviews on this blog, and I would dearly love to change that.
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Without further ado, here is my 2024 list:
- Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter
- Tina Makereti – The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke
- Patricia Lockwood – No One Is Talking About This
- Carol Birch – Jamrach’s Menagerie
- John Langan – The Fisherman
- James Baldwin – Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Merlin Sheldrake – Entangled Life
- Hilary Mantel – The Giant, O’Brien
- William Godwin – Caleb Williams
- José Luis Zárate – The Route of Ice and Salt
- Daniel Schreiber – Zeit der Verluste
- Luca Kieser – Weil da war etwas im Wasser
- Christoph Ransmayr – Atlas eines ängstlichen Mannes
- Olivia Laing – The Garden Against Time
- C. Pam Zhang – How Much of These Hills is Gold
I’ve already started Laing’s The Garden Against Time, but other than that, the order in which I’ll get to the titles above (if I do get to them at all) is entirely up in the air.
Happy reading, everyone! – And if you’re participating, do let me know which book from your own list you’re looking forward to most!