I had fun with the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge in 2024, so I'm up for doing it again this year. It's a super chill challenge where you pledge to read 10, 15, or 20 books during the challenge period (June 1 - August 31). You can pre-plan your books, choose them at random, change the titles you want to read as you go, whatever. As I said, it's very laidback. This year, there are new hosts (Annabel @AnnaBookBel and Emma @Words and Peace) and a Bingo board to add another splash of fun to the challenge. I'm going to go for 20 books and a blackout Bingo board because I'm an overachiever like that! Here are some books I *might* read:

1. The Ripple Effect by Rebecca Caprara

2. Something Wilder by Christina Lauren 

3. With a Vengeance by Riley Sager

4. The Beat I Drum by Dusti Bowling

5. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore

6. Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

7. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

8. Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

9. Kaua'i Storm by Tori Eldridge

10. The Women by Kristin Hannah

11. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

12. The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan

13. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (re-read)

14. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (re-read)

15. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (re-read)

16. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

17. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

18. A Murder Most Fowl by Carmela Dutra

19. Dominoes, Danzon, and Death by Raquel V. Reyes

20. Botched Butterscotch by Amanda Flower 

21. The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly

Are you participating in the 20 Books of Summer challenge? What are you planning to read this summer?

Cathy over at 746 Books has been hosting her fun 20 Books of Summer event for ten years now, but I only heard about it last year. Even though it's about the chillest reading challenge ever, I didn't *quite* finish it on my first go 'round. I'll do better this year!

The challenge runs from June 1 - September 1 and the aim is simple: cross books off your TBR list. You can choose to read the full 20 books or do a 15 or 10 book version or whatever you want. You can even change your challenge list at any time. The point is to perk up your summer reading with a fun, no-pressure challenge. I'm in. How about you?

Here's my tentative list of books I want to read for the challenge. Once if officially begins, I'll update my progress on this post.

1. The Women by Kristin Hannah

2. Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon finished 07.20.24

3. Trouble at the Tangerine by Gillian McDunn finished June 23, 2024

4. Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green

5. Middle of the Night by Riley Sager (available June 18, 2024) finished 07.05.24

6. Weather Girl by Rachel Solomon

7. Homecoming by Kate Morton finished July 3, 2024

8. Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

9. The Maid by Nita Prose (re-read)

10. Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus

11. A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams finished 07.08.24

12. The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan finished June 6, 2024

13. Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings

14. Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell finished 06.21.24

15. Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris finished 07.16.24

16. The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King finished 07.04.24

17. Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed

18. The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie finished June 9, 2024

19. Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales by Wendy S. Swore

20. The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese

I'm hoping this is a good mix of serious stuff and more lighthearted stories. We'll see. Wish me luck!

While I've been rocking my reading challenges this year, I didn't quite complete this one, the 20 Books of Summer challenge hosted annually by Cathy over at 746 Books. To be fair, I started late. Also to be fair, I changed out several books over the course of the challenge so I could complete more of them. The rules of the challenge are very flexible, which is nice. Here's what I ended up reading:

1. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser—This is my current physical book. I've read about 1/3 so far. finished 06.22.23

Yesterday, while I was clicking around the blogosphere for Top Ten Tuesday, I kept noticing bloggers reference the 20 Books of Summer. I'd never heard of this fun, relaxed annual reading challenge and I wanted in, darn it! I'm not a fan of summer, but I love books and reading challenges, so this is definitely something I'm all in for. 20 Books of Summer (#20booksofsummer23) is hosted by Cathy over at 746 Books (a blog I've somehow never encountered before). The challenge runs from June 1 to September 1. I'm late to the party, but that's okay. I read fast, so 20 books in two (ish) months is *probably* doable. There are options to read only 10 or 15 titles. I'm going to go for broke, though. Why not? 

I'm headed to Utah next weekend and I need to finish the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge before then/while I'm there so I can redeem my prize—a $50 gift certificate to be spent in-store. Most of these books fulfill one of the challenge prompts. 

Edited on 08.03.23: I'm shifting my focus away from the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge (not admitting defeat, at least not yet...), so I changed out a bunch of my picks. Thank goodness this challenge is laidback like that!

1. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser—This is my current physical book. I've read about 1/3 so far. finished 06.22.23

2. In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce—I'm listening to this one on audio and am about halfway done. finished 06.23.23

3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (re-read) - finished 07.05.23

4. A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer - finished 07.14.23 

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (re-read) - finished 07.29.23

6. Kim by Rudyard Kipling - DNF

7. I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin - finished 06.24.23

8. The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate - finished 06.25.23

9. Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy - finished 08.09.23

10. Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow - finished 08.07.23

11. Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom

12. O' Art of Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor - finished 08.05.23

13. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - finished 08.30.23

14. The Talk by Darrin Bell - finished 06.26.23

15. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

16. Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan - finished 08.05.23

17. Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson

18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown - finished 07.18.23

19. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer - finished 07.16.23

20. Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy - finished 07.25.23

Looks like a good list to me! Wish me luck.