20 books of summer, 20 books of summer (2023)

20 Books of Summer – 2023 edition

kimbofo

I’ve been participating in Cathy’s annual 20 Books of Summer reading challenge since 2017, so here I am again, albeit a few days late, putting up my hand to say I’m giving it another shot.

This three-month-long event (1 June-31 August) is a great way to tackle books on the TBR, and while I’ve had mixed results over the years (I don’t always read the full 20 books), it’s fun to delve into the shelves to unearth gems that have been hanging around for a long time.

This year is a bit more exciting than usual because I have recently been reacquainted with my “London TBR” — that is, all the books that went into storage when I repatriated in June 2019 — so that means I have loads and loads to choose from! (A global pandemic got in the way of fully packing up our lives in the UK, hence the delay in getting things shipped.)

In fact, I have so many books to choose from I’m finding it difficult to decide on which 20 to read. In fact, I’ve chosen 30 physical books and nine digital ones, and while there’s no way I will read 39 in three months, I will choose my 20 from this pile as and when the mood strikes rather than deciding now which ones to read.

Cathy’s pretty relaxed with the rules, so I also reserve the right to ignore these ones and substitute them for others on my shelves!

As you can see, these two piles are a good reflection of my reading interests. I’ve got Australian literature, Irish literature (including William Trevor), a couple of Brits and a bunch of First Nations writing in there. There are some non-fiction reads, a couple of Patrick Modianos and a handful of Italian books to capitalise on my new-found interest in Italian literature, especially those set in and around the Second World War.

The books on my Kindle include more of the same, with a couple of Japanese modern classics thrown into the mix:

My list in full

  • ‘Locust Summer’ by David Allan-Petale (Australian)
  • ‘The Children’s Train’ by Viola Ardone (Italian)
  • ‘Cold Enough for Snow’ by Jessica Au (Australian)
  • ‘Forbidden Notebook’ by Alba de Cespedes (Italian)
  • ‘Day’s End’ by Garry Disher (Australian)
  • ‘The Happy Couple’ by Naoise Dolan (Irish)
  • ‘The House of Doors’ by Tan Twang Eng (Malaysian)
  • ‘Happening’ by Annie Ernaux (French)
  • ‘All Our Yesterdays’ by Natalia Ginzburg (Italian)
  • ‘Billa Yarrudhanggalangdhuray / River of Dreams’ by Anita Heiss (Australian/First Nations)
  • ‘Madukka, The River Serpent’ by Julie Janson (Australian/First Nations)
  • ‘Walk the Blue Fields’ by Claire Keegan (Irish)
  • ‘Soldier, Soldier’ by Claire Kilroy (Irish)
  • ‘The Pea Pickers’ by Eve Langley (Australian)
  • ‘Christ Stopped at Eboli’ by Carlo Levi (Italian)
  • ‘Grace Notes’ by Bernard MacLaverty (Irish)
  • ‘Tokyo Express’ by Seicho Matsumoto (Japanese)
  • ‘The Sun Walks Down’ by Fiona McFarlane (Australian)
  • ‘The Pornographer’ by John McGahern (Irish)
  • ‘The Search Warrant’ by Patrick Modiano (French)
  • ‘In the Cafe of Lost Youth’ by Patrick Modiano (French)
  • ‘The Satsuma Complex’ by Bob Mortimer (British)
  • ‘My Father’s House’ by Joseph O’Connor (Irish)
  • ‘Miss Emily’ by Nuala O’Connor (Irish)
  • ‘A Chill in the Air’ by Iris Origo (Italian)
  • ‘War in Val D’Orcia’ by Iris Origo (Italian)
  • ‘Spies in Canaan’ by David Park (Irish)
  • ‘I Refuse’ by Per Petterson (Norwegian)
  • ‘The Moon and the Bonfires’ by Cesare Pevase (Italian)
  • ‘The Thing About September’ by Donal Ryan (Irish)
  • ‘The Adversary’ by Ronnie Scott (Australian)
  • ‘The Magicians’ by Colm Toibin (Irish)
  • ‘The Silence in the Garden’ by William Trevor (Irish)
  • ‘Fool’s Fortune’ by William Trevor (Irish)
  • ‘Other People’s Worlds’ by William Trevor (Irish)
  • ‘Territory of Light’ by Yuko Tsushima (Japanese)
  • ‘Personal Score’ by Ellen Van Neerven (Australian/First Nations)
  • ‘The Gardener’ by Salley Vickers (British)
  • ‘Another Day in the Colony’ by Chelsea Watego (Australian/First Nations)

You can find out more about 20 Books of Summer at Cathy’s blog and see who else is participating on this add your links page.

Have you read any of the books I’ve chosen? Any suggestions on which one to start with first? Are you participating in this challenge?

Published by kimbofo

I am a book obsessive who has been charting my reading life online since the early 2000s.

61 thoughts on “20 Books of Summer – 2023 edition”

  1. I’m not brave enough to suggest what you should read first, but I’ve got reviews of the ones I’ve read (which might perhaps have contributed to why you have them on your TBR!)
    Among the Australians: I liked Locust Summer; Billa Yarrudhanggalangdhuray / River of Dreams; and The Pea Pickers though it’s more difficult to read. I took Madukka back to the library unread but perhaps you might like it.
    Among the others, I’ve read some of the authors but not those books, except for Grace Notes which I liked and The Magician which I didn’t.

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    1. Well, I know for sure that you are responsible for me buying Locust Summer. Funnily enough, David AP is now my colleague so it will be interesting to read his novel.

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  2. I can certainly recommend My Father’s House, which I enjoyed recently. And from your list, I’ll be going for the Claire Keegan first, I think. Good luck! I think you’ll definitely need to remember the maxim ‘Rules are made to be broken’.

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  5. How fun to rediscover all your ‘London’ books!

    I’ve only read one of your list – Cold Enough for Snow. I liked it but probably not as much as others (and prize givers).

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  6. Blimey, that’s quite a list. I’ve read and enjoyed Spies in Canaan which didn’t get nearly enough attention here, The Pornographer, Grace Notes, I Refuse, The Thing About September and The Magician which was a bit of indulgence by Toibin. Happy reading!

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    1. Thanks, Susan. I’m so reluctant to read The Pornographer because McGahern is my favourite writer and once I’ve read this one there will be no more left to read! It’s been in my TBR for 17 YEARS!

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  8. That’s a great pile of books. I can highly recommend Locust Summer (I must have picked this up because of Lisa’s review). I’m listening to The House of Doors at the moment, which I am loving, it is quite politically incorrect though. Another Day in the Colony is a tough read. Cold Enough for Snow was good but not quite up to the hype. Days End was my first Disher and enjoyable without being remarkable, butvi am not a big crime fiction fan. Billa Yarrudhanggalangdhuray was excellent, easy to read and I felt it really hit the mark with showing how gorgeous our First Nation’s culture really is/was, especially amongst the women. I returned The Sun Walks Down to the library unread and will probably do the same with Madukka. You have some great reading ahead of you. I’ll be particularly interested to hear what you think about The Pornographer, I have that on my shelves waiting to be read, it’s been there quite a while.

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    1. Great to hear your thoughts on all these!
      As I’ve just said to Susan (above) The pornographer has been in my TBR for 17 years!!! I wanted to save it up for a time that I was ready to face the reality of having no more John McGahern novels to read!

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      1. 17 years! I like to space out books by favourite authors that are not writing anymore but 17 years is quite something 🙂. I hope it is worth the wait.

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  9. Great list. To answer your questions : I haven’t read any of the books you chose, so I will happily discover them through you and I’m participating in this challenge and have already decided to read a book that was not on the list. So picking more books and let a bit of leeway is a smart decision.

    Happy 20 Books of Winter challenge!

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    1. Thanks, Emma, it’s kind of cheating to put together a list this long but I have so many great books in my TBR I just can’t decide what to read so far in advance… much of my reading is by mood/whim or to follow a theme/subject area interest. This way I don’t have to go rummaging through the 800+ titles on my shelves; I can just go to this little pile (digital and physical) and choose what suits.

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      2. I’m kind of cheating in exactly the same way! It’s good planning to build in wiggle room, they say. I haven’t read any of the books on your list, nor even the authors. It looks like a great list, with a few themes in the titles. Enjoy your summer reading!

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        1. Thanks…the good thing about this challenge is that are no real rules and you can do your own thing, right? I’m looking forward to discovering a few gems in here.

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    1. Good to know. I only stumbled upon Christ Stopped at Eboli by chance… but Miss Emily has been in my TBR for many years and I bought the Toibin not long after it was published.

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  13. My husband and I recently bought Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto, that same edition with the lovely cover. He has read it (and liked it) and I will read it in the next year. I have read one book by Garry Disher and want to read more.

    I will be following your reviews to see if I am interested in any of these books from your international list.

    TracyK at Bitter Tea and Mystery

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    1. Thanks, Tracy. The cover of Tokyo Express is what attracted me to this book in the first place… I think I saw it on an Instagram post and then I had to hunt a copy out for myself!

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  14. I hope you read The Pea Pickers. It’s one of my all time favourites (and it’s set in Gippsland, so you’ll be able to picture every scene)

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  16. Pingback: Announcing 20 Books of Summer ’23: Add your links here!

  17. I read The Magician by Colm Toibin and I found it okay; I prefer The Master though. Absolutely loved Christ stopped at Eboli. It’s the sort of book that doesn’t fit into a category.

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    1. So pleased to hear some good feedback about Christ Stopped at Eboli, as it was a chance discovery for me and I have never seen it reviewed anywhere (not that I’ve looked).

      I’m aware that The Magician has had mixed reviews, which partly explains why it’s taken me so long to get to: Toibin is a favourite author so I don’t want to be disappointed by him 🤷🏻‍♀️ (I was a little disappointed by his new essay collection but nothing to do with his writing, more that I hadn’t realised the subject matter would be so focused on Catholicism).

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  18. Is that a new Claire Keegan? I have only read Another Day in the Colony out of your piles, which seems odd, but there it is. I’m working my way through my print-only, no review copies pile, but of course straining towards others not on the pile – but I chose a specific theme this year so sticking to it! Happy reading!

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    1. Not a new Claire Keegan… it’s her collection of short stories from 2007 but it has been reissued with a different cover. Yes, I only include books I have purchased, not given to me for review, in this challenge. Most of these came from my local indie but there’s a handful here from my London life that have been in the TBR for years and years.

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      1. That’s so lovely to have your older books back again. It must have been joyful opening up the boxes! And thanks, I think I will still check those out, even though I’m not the biggest fan of short stories.

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  19. Pingback: ‘Tokyo Express’ by Seichō Matsumoto (translated by Jesse Kirkwood) – Reading Matters

  20. Picking a long list from which you can choose 20 is a smart move – it makes the reading project feel less restrictive. How many books did you get shipped? Had yiu forgotten yiu had some of them?

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    1. I’m not sure how many got shipped. My poor Other Half had to do it all on his own, packing up 20 years’ of our lives in that poky little flat without me to help. I did a lot of culling remotely. He would send pics and I’d scratch out the books I didn’t want. So there were no suspenses really about what was in the boxes. All up, maybe 400 to 500 books got sent here… that includes a few dozen cookbooks.

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        1. Plenty of room! I’m in an Australian apartment which is at least twice the size of the London one! And my Other Half built me a whole wall of IKEA shelves with glass doors, and I still have space on them.

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