20 Books of Summer Wrap-up

As we approach the Labor Day weekend I have finished my #20booksofsummer2021. My book choices ended up being a bit different from the  list I made back in May and then revised in June. 

This is my list of completed books for this challenge:

#1 - The Doctor of Thessaly by Anne Zouroudi

#2 - In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers

#3 - Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

#4 - Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi 

#5- Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett 

#6 - A Question of Guilt by Frances Fyfield

#7 - Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton

#8 -Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis

#9 - Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

#10 - Castle Shade by Laurie R. King

#11 - The White Mountain by Dan Sczcesny 

#12 - Lineage Most Lethal by S. C. Perkins

#13 - Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie by Lisa Napoli

#14 - Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

#15 - Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris 

#16 - The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry

#17 - The Republic of Love by Carol Shields

#18 - The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

#19 - After all these Years by Susan Isaacs

#20 - The Old Silent by Martha Grimes

I enjoyed all of these books. One of the reasons my list changed is that I started a couple of books that I thought I wanted to read and realized they were not for me so I abandoned those and moved on to other titles.

The Republic of Love

The Republic of Love 

by Carol Shields
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I realized about 3/4 of the way through this book that I had read it before, but since it was at least 20 years ago I am counting it as a newly-read book. 

I enjoyed this novel very much.  It is the stories of an interconnected group of people in Winnipeg who are each trying to figure out how to make a life for themselves and perhaps fit a romantic partner into that life. The characters are all in mid-life (or older) and the weight of their past connections makes things more challenging. I found all the characters appealing in their own quirky ways and especially liked Tom, who has been divorced three times and can't quite imagine how he came to be in this position.  

This is one of my #20booksofsummer2021 and my first finish for the 15th Canadian  book challenge. 

20 Books of Summer - Update and Revision

I made my #20booksofsummer2021 challenge list back in May and a month in I realize I need to make some revisions. 

My book group changed books for next month so I am dropping Reading Lolita in Tehran (which I had read before anyway) and am replacing it with our new selection, a book about NH's White Mountains. I also started one of the titles, The Sugar Camp Quilt, and decided it is not going to work for me this summer so I am dropping it off my list in favor of another Terry Pratchett novel.

So as of today this is my list to be read:

#1 - The White Mountain by Dan Sczcesny (new addition)

#2 -Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis

#3 - A Question of Guilt by Frances Fyfield

#4 - The Republic of Love by Carol Shields

#5 - Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris 

#6 - After all these Years by Susan Isaacs

#7 - Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

#8 - Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton

#9 - Lineage Most Lethal by S. C. Perkins

#10 - The Old Silent by Martha Grimes

#11 - Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

#12- Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (new addition)

#13 - The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry

#14 - Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie by Lisa Napoli

#15 - The Shadow in the Garden by James Atlas

#16 - Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

These are ones I have finished so far:

#17 - In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers

#18 - Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi 

#19 - Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

#20 - The Doctor of Thessaly by Anne Zouroudi

20 Books of Summer 2021

Hosted at 746Books the #20booksofsummer2021 challenge asks that you make a list of 20 books and read them between June 1 and September 1, 2021.

I am starting with books that I committed to reading for book group:

#1 - Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (June)

#2 - Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (July)

Next are some books from my unread shelves:

#3 - Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis

#4 - A Question of Guilt by Frances Fyfield

#5 - The Republic of Love by Carol Shields

#6 - Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris 

#7 - After all these Years by Susan Isaacs

#8 - Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

A couple of re-reads I have been wanting to get to:

#9 - In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers

#10 - Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

In the hope of actually getting through this challenge I am adding a bunch of mysteries (that I don't own):

#11 - Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton

#12 - Lineage Most Lethal by S. C. Perkins

#13 - The Old Silent by Martha Grimes

#14 - Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

#15 - The Doctor of Thessaly by Anne Zouroudi

And finally some non-mystery books (that I don't own) from my TBR list:

#16 - Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

# 17- The Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

#18 - The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry

#19 - Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie by Lisa Napoli

#20 - The Shadow in the Garden by James Atlas

I have placed requests for most of these at my public library, spread out through June and July so they won't all show up at once. There are a few that I will need to request through interlibrary loan but I should be able to get hold of everything on the list over the summer.