Well, that’s it for another year.

20 Books of Summer ended yesterday and for myself, it has been a great success.

All 5199 pages were read and then some!

I read all 20 books – although a lot of those review were mini ones, which I had promised myself I would try to avoid. Time constraints meant that full reviews just weren’t possible this time round. Maybe next year…although I say that every year.

I still have one book to review – The Group by Mary McCarthy – which I finished on Monday evening, just in time! I might not have done all my reviews, but I am still calling it a win.

And as an added bonus, I’ve knocked another 20 off the 746 meaning that I am nearly in the 400’s!

I think a lot of the success of my challenge this year is down to the fact that I picked well and really enjoyed nearly all of my choices.

Standouts were Amongst Women by John McGahern; Night Waking by Sarah Moss and Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton.

I did swap out one book, choosing Clear by Nicola Barker in place of The Mortgaged Heart by Carson McCullers, although I do still plan to read the McCullers at some point.

The rest were good solid reads, with a nice mix between fiction and non-fiction (and some where those lines blurred). I have found, since last year, that if I read other books as well, I am more likely to read in general and hence am more successful.

It’s an odd system but it seems to work for me so on top of my 20 I also read another 16 books. 30 Books of Summer anyone?!

So, how did you all do?

This challenge wouldn’t be half as enjoyable without so many people taking part, so thanks to you all for your posts, reviews and tweets – I wish I could have kept up with all your posts more.

Here’s to next year!

20 Books of Summer The 746 20 Books of Summer reading challenge The 746