Inspired by all of your 20 Books of Summer lists, I've decided to put together a priority TBR list of my own. It consists of ten books I'd like to read by the end of Labor Day Weekend. Rather than joining a challenge, I'm formulating a reading plan. Though I may not get to them all, there will at least be a direction to my reading.
MY SUMMER "PRIORITY TBR" LIST
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
(in progress)
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
(in progress)
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Long Island by Colm Tóibín
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
September by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin
ALTERNATES
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
Wellness by Nathan Hill
North Woods by Daniel Mason
What a wonderful list for your reading plan. I am familar with some of the titles and have a few on my list as well. The Long Island book is in my holds at the library and i was wondering if I should reread Brooklyn first. Lots of good reading for the summer for many of us!
ReplyDeleteTina - I noticed that we have some overlap! I'm still trying to decide whether I should reread Brooklyn, but will probably opt for watching the movie. It stayed pretty close to the book, if I remember correctly.
DeleteAre we planning on a buddy read of September? If so, I'll be sure to read it in late August! I also have Fresh Waters for Flowers in my stacks, but not on my Summer Reading Challenge list. I may add it, though! I do have North Woods on my list for the challenge (and book club). I really want to read Wellness, too, but should probably read The Nix first since it's been in my stacks for a long time!
DeleteLes - Yes, we wanted to do a buddy read of September! My daughter is getting married in mid-September, so I'm planning to start sometime in August so I don't get too far behind. I used my birthday gift card last summer to but Fresh Water for Flowers, but still haven't read it! Have a feeling I'm really going to like that one. North Woods is waiting on my kindle, so not taking up shelf space... that's why I made it an alternate. Same with Wellness. I thought The Nix was great and enjoyed meeting the author. It's a long book though.
DeleteGreat! I'll start it in August. Yep, The Nix is a big one. It's in my stack of big books that I seem to keep ignoring...
DeleteIt's a plan! :)
DeleteGood luck with your books here. The only one I've read is September and that was quite a long while ago. Loved it though. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay. I read Coming Home (with Tina!) in January and loved it. Last year I read Winter Solstice, and reread The Shell Seekers before that. I'm not sure whether I read September years ago, but we'll see. Either way, Pilcher's books are a delight.
DeleteA great list JoAnn! I have read The Bodyguard and loved it. I hope you enjoy all of these books.
ReplyDeleteJodie - I've never read Katherine Center before, but have had several reader friends recommend The Bodyguard. Sounds like a great summer read.
DeleteI've had good luck with priority lists the last few years. There are so many books I want to read that it's hard to focus on a few without listing them out. Katherine Center is an author I've really been wanting to read and I really enjoyed September. It was nice to see Noel Keeling in another light. Good luck with your summer reading!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - I've been using priority TBR lists for a year or so now and really like the focus they provide... even if I don't always stick to them! It's funny, but I'm not sure whether I read September years ago or not. If I did, I don't remember how Noel was redeemed. I've been wanting to try Katherine Center for a while now and she seems like a good summer choice.
DeleteWhat a great list. The ones I've read (and I liked them all) are Dust Child, Olga, Horse, and The Bodyguard. All good, all different, I hope you love them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Helen. I'm really excited about the books on this list and know I've read about a lot of them on your blog!
DeleteI so enjoy making reading lists. Even if I don't stick to them. They are more like books of possibilities. This is a great list. I have Olga Dies Dreaming on my TBR. I bet an annotated version of Persuasion would be interesting to read. I really enjoyed the novel. I hope you get to all of these this summer and enjoy them, JoAnn!
ReplyDeleteWendy - I took a quick look at the annotated Persuasion and it appears that Austen's text is on the left-hand pages, while notes, drawings, etc. designed to enrich the experience are placed on the right. It's an interesting way to read a book... I'm looking forward to the experience!
DeleteWhat a good list and direction. I still want to read Olga Dies Dreaming, and September. I liked Horse and thought Monica Wood's novel has parts that are a bit of stretch but I liked the parrots element she adds to it. Long Island is on my summer list. I hope I get a library copy -- it's pretty popular right now. Enjoy your reads.
ReplyDeleteSusan - I really want to read all of these books! While June and July will be very busy, I'm counting on August to be a banner reading month... fingers crossed!
DeleteGreat list. You will have done really well if you make it through all of those...and the others that are certain to catch your eye along the way. Team of Rivals is one you need to experience for sure, a real eye-opener about the political brilliance of Lincoln. I hope to read Long Island this summer sometime, too...and now I'm really curious about How to Read a Book. You'd think we were already all pretty good at doing that by now, but you never know what you might learn.
ReplyDeleteSam - Team of Rivals continues to be an excellent reading experience. I can't imagine it not being on my list of favorites at the end of the year. I'm still trying decide whether to reread Brooklyn, or maybe watch the movie instead before picking up Long Island... it's been a while! How to Read a Book is actually a novel, despite a title that certainly makes you think it's nonfiction. The early reviews make me think it might be just the thing for a summer read.
DeleteHow to Read a Book is now added to my list for summer reading. I'm eager to hear your thoughts on all of these.
ReplyDeleteDeb - The early reviews of How to Read a Book seems to be very positive. I bought myself a copy at a NYC indie last week and am looking forward to reading it!
DeleteAn impressive list of books. Hope you enjoy them all.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Harvee. So do I!
DeleteThis is a great approach--not challenges just priorities! Love it.
ReplyDeleteHorse is so good, as is September. II love the cover of Olga Dies Dreaming, so I need to check that out and see if it appeals beyond the cover. You cannot miss with Austen, although I confess to having found the annotated P&P and Emma a bit tedious. Blasphemy, I know!
I am really eager to find out how you like Long Island--I find Toibin (I don't even try to do the accents anymore!) a bit remote, but I know he has his fans.
Love the cover of Fresh Water Flowers, and the premise is definitely in my wheelhouse. It's going on my list!
Happy rest of June and happy reading.
JaneGS - Listing priorities seems to take the pressure off, lol! Horse is a great book. I'll probably finish today or tomorrow and I almost hate to see it end. I've never tried reading any of the annotated Austen novels and it been decades since I last read Persuasion, so this could be interesting. Still working my way through Team of Rivals, but with last week's travel I didn't make much progress. It feels like a long time since I finished anything, so plan to choose something lighter after Horse. We'll see...
DeleteTeam of Rivals is *definitely* in my near future! So glad it's on your list.
ReplyDeleteAnd Rosamunde Pilcher's September--I have never read this one of hers. Sometimes I'm afraid and tremendously saddened to come to the end of a beloved author's opus, which I believe this one would be for me.
I'm looking forward to reading about all your literary adventures this summer and your other explorations!
Judith - Team of Rivals is an excellent book! I'm trying to read it for about 30 minutes or so first thing each morning, but that hasn't happened with our recent travels and company... definitely a long term project. I don't think I've ever read September, so am looking forward to it. Most of January was spent reading Pilcher's Coming Home, which was a gem. June and July will be very busy for us, but I'm hoping August will be my 'summer vacation' before our daughter's wedding in September.
DeleteNice variety of books. Hope you enjoy them all.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Thanks, Sherry!
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