Announcing 20 Books of Summer ’23: Add your links here!
Yep, it is official, I’m doing it again.
20 Books of Summer is back for another year and this is your call to start planning!
Do you fancy getting 20 books off your TBR in three months? Think of the joys that this challenge brings:
- All that deliberating over what books to choose and how many – 10, 15 or the Full Monty?
- Crazed reading during the warmest months of the year
- Decisions over how you measure your progress – by books read per month? Or pages read by day?
- Panicked reviewing as you try to cram everything in to the time frame
Ah, but you all know it is a lot more fun than that!
It’s pretty common knowledge that I am the slackest challenge host and will bend the rules to help anyone reach their goal.
- Want to swap a book? Go for it.
- Fancy changing your list half way through? No problem.
- Deciding to drop your goal from 20 to 15 (or even 10)? I am fine with that.
Choosing your list of books is half the fun, as is following along with everyone’s progress on this years new #20booksofsummer23 hashtag.
This year I am kicking off on Thursday 1 June and finishing on Friday 1 September. Last year I just barely managed to complete 15 Books of Summer, so the pressure is well and truly on this year to get back on track with the full 20.
If you want to join in, just take the Books of Summer image, pick your own 10, 15 or 20 books you would like to read. Post the link to your choices in the comments below so I know that you are taking part, and I’ll add you to the master list.
I’d love your support and do hope some of you will join in the summer reading fun! Who’s in?
Check out who is taking part this year:
The First Ten of 20 Books of Summer – Dolce Bellezza
My 20 Books of Summer Selection – The Bookworm Chronicles
20 Books of Summer Choices – Pete Keeley on Twitter
20 Books of Summer: The Planning Stage – Marina Sofia at Finding Time To Write
10 Books of Summer – Jan at What I Think About When I Think About Reading
Samantha at PaperKnotBooks on Instagram
20 Books of Summer – Lady Book Dragon
20 Books of Summer 23 – Cathy at What Cathy Read Next
My 10 Books of Summer 2023 – Jessica at The Bookworm Chronicles
20 Books of Summer 23 – Margaret at Books Please
#20booksofsummer23 Reading List – Nancy at Nancy Elin
Another Summer, Another #20booksofsummer23 – Janet at Loves Books, Reads Books
Books of Summer 2023: Random Choices from the Shelves – Karen at Booker Talk
Summer’s Lease – Chris at Calmgrove
20 Books of Winter – Tasmanian Bibliophile at Large
20 Books of Summer 23 – Melissa The Reading Nerd
My 20 Books of Summer 2023 – Karen at Books and Me!
20 Books of Summer Challenge 23 – Jodie at The Happy Reader
20 Books of Summer 23 – Loulou Reads
20 Books of Summer: Summer Reading – Rae Reads
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Laura at Reading in Bed
10 Books of Summer – Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle
20 Books of Summer 23 – Yvonne at It’s All About Books
20 Books of Summer 23: Sign Up Post – Claire at A Knight’s Read
20 Books of Summer 2023! – EF Sundland at That’s What She Read
15 Books of Summer 2023 (All Cozy Mysteries) – Fariba at Cozy Mystery Reads
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Emma at Words and Peace
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Lisa at Hopewell’s Library of Life
20 Books of Summer – Susan at Susan Loves Books
A New Challenge: 20 Books of Summer – Anne at Anne is Reading
20 Books of Summer – Viki at Hobbies and Everything in Between
20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge – Lynne at Fictionophile
10 Books of Summer – Vicki at I’d Rather be at the Beach
20 Books of Summer 23 – Carla at Carla Loves to Read
10 Books of Summer – Jane at Just Reading a Book
20 Books of Summer! – Jean at Howling Frog
20 Books of Summer – Tracy at Bitter Tea and Mystery
15 Books of Summer – Mallika at Literary Potpourri
20 Books of Summer – Mike at A Handful of Eels
20 Books of Summer 2023! – Rosemary at Scones and Chaises Longues
10 Books of Summer – Diana at Thoughts on Papyrus
10 Books of Summer (but not really summer) 2023 – Fanda Classiclit
20 (?) Books of Summer 2023 – Jo at Jo’s Book Blog
TCL joins the #20booksofsummer23 Reading Challenge – Davida at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog
My 20 Books of Summer – Deb at The Book Stop
20 Books of Summmer – and a joker! – Emma at Book Around the Corner
My 20ish Books of Summer – Bii’s Books
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Helen at She Reads Novels
20 Books of Summer – Jo at The Book Jotter
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Maphead’s Book Blog
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Sign Up Post – Nicki at Secret Library Book Blog
15 Books of Summer 2023 – Jennifer at My Book Joy
My List for 10 Books of Summer – Frances at Volatile Rune
10 Books of Summer ’23 – Lynette at Look Into Our Life
15 Books of Summer – Fariba Reads on Instagram
20 Books of Summer 23 – Kate at Everywhere and Nowhere
20 Books of Summer – Ellie at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Rehka at The Book Decoder
20 Books of Summer 2023 – the pick! – Janet at From First Page to Last
20 Books of Summer 23 – Liz at Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home
20 Books of Summer 20023 – Joanne at Portobello Book Blog
20 Books of (Summer) Winter 2023! – Brona at This Reading Life
20 Books of Summer (Except that it’s Winter) – Kate at Books are my Favourite and Best
20 Books of Summer List – Laila at Big Reading Life
20 Books of Summer: My List – Annalies at In Another Era
My 20 Books of Summer 2023 – Imogen at Imogen is Reading and Watching the World
#20booksofsummer23: The Skeleton Plan – Lizzy at Lizzy’s Literary Life
20 Books of Summer 23 – Juliana at The Blank Garden
Summer Plans: Reading Challenge – Smithereens
20 Books of Summer – Lesley at Lesley’s Book Nook
20 Books of Summer – Amy at Warm Days Will Never Cease
20 Books of Summer 2023 Edition – Phinnea at Ravenscroft Cloud
20 Books of Summer 23 – Dedra at A Book Wanderer
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Merry at Letters from the Lighthouse
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Constance at Staircase Wit
20 Books of Summer – Judith at Reader in the Wilderness
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Katrina at Pining for the West
20 Books of Summer – Louise Reads UK on Instagram
20 Books of Summer – Bookworm Blogger on Instagram
#20booksofsummer23 – Lynne Elsisy on Twitter
20 Books of Summer – Reece Warner at Typings
10 Books of Summer – Diana at Thoughts on Papyrus
15 Books of Summer (2023) – Amanda at Simpler Pastimes
20 Books of Summer – 2023 – Eva at Novel Deelights
20 Books of Summer 23 – Misty at Misty’s Book Space
20 Books of Summer – Paul at Half Man, Half Book
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Clair at Always Need More Books
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Kate at Portable Magic
20 Books of Summer 23 – Bex, Boys and Books on Instagram
20 Books for Summer – Grab This Book
My 20 Books of Summer 23 Reading List – Golden Age of Detective Fiction
20 Books of Summer – Kaitlin at Paperback Cats on Instagram
20 Books of Summer – Alison Lear on Twitter
10 Books of Summer – Jesse Jane Reads
#20BooksofSummer – A Hot Cup of Pleasure
20 Books of Summer TBR 2023 – Hayley at Rather Too Fond of Books
2023 Books of Summer – John at Thinking Out Loud
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Cindy at Cindy’s Book Corner
20 Books of Summer 2023 Plan – Rebecca at Bookish Beck
20 Books of Summer 23 – Sarah Matthews on Twitter
20 Books of Summer – Jess at The Hour of Pearl on Instagram
20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge – Julie at A Little Book Problem
20 Books of Summer – Matthew Pearce on Instagram
20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge – Diana at Book of Secrets
20 Books of Summer – Emma at Damp Pebbles
20 Books of Summer – Jennie Hochover on Instagram
20 Books of Summer – Carl at Steel Droppings on Instagram
20 Books of Summer Challenge – Jill at Jill’s Reads
20 Books of Summer 23 – Annemieke at Advance with Books
20 Books of Summer 2023 – The Whipple Line
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Ashley at Adventures in Literature
15 Books of Summer – Karissa at Karissa Reads Books
20 Books of Summer – Market Garden Reader
20 Books of Summer 2023 Edition – Kim at Reading Matters
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Claire at Word by Word
20 Books of Summer 2023 – The Summer I Settle All Family Business – HC Newton at The Irresponsible Reader
#20booksofsummer23 – Mary at Bibliographic Manifestations
20 Books of Summer! – Jean at Howling Frog Books
20 Books of Summer 2023 – Katherine at Simple Tricks and Nonsense
Summer TBR: 20 Books of Summer 2023 – Ali at A Bookish Life
20 Books of Summer 2023 – The Intrepid Angeleno
10 Books of Summer – Iliana at Bookgirl’s Nightstand
20 Books of Summer – Lisa on Mastadon
20 Books of Summer – Kim Possible on Mastadon
Summer TBR list 2023 – Jana at Reviews from the Stacks
Summer Reading – The Cue Card
20 Books of Summer – Beverley A Baird
20 Books of Summer 23 – Mary at Sophril Reads
Cathy746books View All →
I am a 40 something book buying addict trying to reduce the backlog one book at a time!
746books.com 
Finally made my selections!
https://alwaysneedmorebooks.com/2023/05/31/20-books-of-summer-2023-20booksofsummer23-bookchallenge/
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My list for the 20 Books of Summer,
I decided to go with 15, it was 10, but I decided to up the ante for myself. They are in no particular order & are a mix of books I own & library holds.
Demon Copperhead by B. King silver
The Quiet Tenant by C. Michallon
The Notebook Trilogy by Ágota Kristóf
The Whispers by A. Audrain
Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Half Moon by M. Learn
Killers of the Flower Moon by D. Grann
The Cuckoo’s Calling by R. Galbraith
The Sea by J. Banville
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Calling Ukraine by J. Lichtman
The Children Act by I. McEwan
One Second After by W.Forstchen
Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
The God of Small Things by A. Roy
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Nice list! The God of Small Things is one of my all time favourites Lisa – enjoy x
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I heard about this on Mastodon and am happy to join in. https://jessejane306.wordpress.com/2023/05/31/10-books-of-summer/
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That’s great! Thanks for sharing your link.
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I am joining in again this year! https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2023/05/20-books-of-summer-2023-big-book-summer.html
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Brilliant Cindy!
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Hi. I am participating in it once again though this time round I have not made a list though I plan to read 20 books and fill-out the list as I read and review the books.
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Oops! Forgot to post the link:
https://wordpress.com/post/ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpress.com/5981
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Sorry WordPress is behaving strangely. Here’s the link to the post:
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I’m in — I’d say more, but I need to get started!
https://www.johnrakestraw.com/post/2023-books-of-summer/
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Brilliant John, thanks for joining!
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I haven’t blogged in months but I can’t miss 20 Books of Summer so this is me trying to get back into the swing of things!
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Great to hear from you Hayley! Hope this is the boost you are looking for x
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I’ll be participating and putting my progress on Mastadon, and if I remember I will put something up here on WordPress. This is an account that I have but am still figuring out the point of so I hardly post. Still, the challenge looks fun, and with my Braille display, plus audio books, plus just letting things get read aloud via text-to-speech–well I am sure I can get through some books. Now, as for the list…that is tricky. I started one last week, but I would love to count it–The Lord of the Rings. Started another last night _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ and want to count that. Is that allowed? I plan on reading–let me see. If you tae each book of The Lord of the Rings–Fellowship Towers, and Return of the King, that’s three. If you take all six Hitchhiker’s books, that’s 6. If you add in all of _The EArth’s Chilredn 6-book Bundle_ books, that’s six more. And if you add in _The Outlander 8-book Bundle_ that’s 8 more. And I have many more that I am saving just in case, because I sometimes get in these slumps and have to switch to something new.
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Glad to have you on board Jane -sounds like you have plenty of options!
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Oh yes, my Mastadon link is@jane_jordan@dragonscave.space
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WordPress is behaving very strangely. This is the link to the post and not any other: https://ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpress.com/2023/05/31/20-books-of-summer/
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Have that added on now, thanks!
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Here is the link to my challenge post: https://bookofsecrets.blog/2023/06/01/20-books-of-summer-reading-challenge-20booksofsummer23/
Thank you for hosting, Cathy!
— Diana @ Book of Secrets
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I’m a day late but here’s my sign up post: https://damppebbles.com/2023/06/02/20-books-of-summer-challenge-20booksofsummer23-amreading-amreviewing-damppebbles-bookblogger-booktwitter/
Good luck everyone and thanks again to Cathy for organising us all.
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Excellent! Thanks for joining in again x
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Mine is a new blog but I’ll happily join in! Sorry to be tardy!
Excited to see all the books everyone is planning to read.
https://jillsreads.com/20-books-of-summer-challenge/
Jill Minor
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Excellent Jill! I’ll add your link to the list now. Great to have you on board!
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best of luck this looks super fun
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Thanks Erin!
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I’ve got a little list… There may be a few more than 20 on it, but I doubt I’ll get 20 read. We shall see… I’m definitely looking forward to trying. My real name’s Sarah, by the way, for your list.
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Excellent Sarah, thank you!
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Joining in the challenge now!
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Thanks AShley!
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Thank you for hosting, Cathy! Happy to be participating for the 2nd time, although I changed my blog name since last year. Here’s my link: https://thewhippleline.wordpress.com/2023/06/03/20-books-of-summer-2023/
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Thanks Andrea, I’ll add you to the ever-growing list!
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Thank you for hosting again ❤ https://adancewithbooks.wordpress.com/2023/06/03/20-books-of-summer-2023/
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I don’t have a book blog, so my #20BooksOfSummer are posted here: https://universeodon.com/@kimlockhartga/110463303233206791 and I’m excited to participate!
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Excellent, thank you! I’ll be sure to add your link.
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Some questions first (because I didn’t see any of this addressed).
– Do children’s books count? There are hundreds of classic children’s lit books out there. I could probably make a list of 20 that A) I’ve never read B) are considered classics C) are under 80 pages each.
– In the other direction, what if I read a very long book like Imajica by Clive Barker? That book is over 800 pages, do I get credit for reading 2 books?
– You said it was for getting books off your TBR, presumably books you’ve never read before. But my TBR includes books I want to REread, do those count?
– Is there a minimum or maximum length? 20 books that are 150-200 pages each is much easier than books that are 500-700 pages each.
– Is this fiction-centric? Non-fiction can often take longer because it’s frequently more in-depth (and the writing is generally drier). I’m sure I have at least a dozen non-fiction in my TBR that are over 1,000 pages each.
– Summer challenge. What about the southern hemisphere, which is heading into winter? Are they having a winter challenge or do they have a summer challenge around December?
And if the answers sum up as “however you want,” then eh? I’ll just keep reading as I have been for years. At that point, this just seems like a framing to give some structure and motivation for people who need it.
I’m honestly not trying to be antagonistic, my point is everyone already answers these questions for themselves. If you asked the participants, you would find everyone is likely working with different assumptions (though I do think people in the southern hemisphere should be included).
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HI Joe, to be honest, the answer is ‘however you want’. It’s just a fun reading challenge over the summer which is why I don’t come up with hard and fast rules and participants seem to really enjoy it – probaly why it’s now been going for eight years. Lots of people from the southern hemisphere do take part and just amend the title to 20 Books of Winter. You can see some of their posts have been linked to. If it’s not for you then maybe, as you say, just keep reading as you have been for years, No one has to take part.
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Joe
I would like to add to your queries.
What font size counts ?
Does the word count include acknowledgments at the back ?
I will flitting up and down between the hemispheres over the coming summer/not summer months , as one does . My question is do I need to discount the pages that I read south of the Equator? Or do I just re read them when I pop back up North.
Thank you .
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I think I neglected to leave you a link when I made my list. Here it is: http://bibliographicmanifestations.blogspot.com/2023/05/20booksofsummer23.html
I apologize if this is a duplicate!
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Thanks Mary, I’ll be sure and add you to the list!
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Yeah, yeah, yeah…running late this year…
This challenge has really been a help the last few years to get me back on track for my reading plans. And, boy howdy, do I need it this year!
My kickoff post: https://irresponsiblereader.com/2023/06/03/20-books-of-summer-2023-this-summer-i-settle-all-family-business/
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Thanks! Here’s to a great summer of reading!
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I’m a little bit late but I’m in again this year. Hopefully I’ll do better than last time. https://abookishlife.com/2023/06/04/summer-tbr-20-books-of-summer-2023/
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I’m late to the party 🎉, but I did start “fresh” books on Thursday: https://katenread.wordpress.com/2023/06/04/20-books-of-summer-2023/
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I’m late to the party, but here is my link: https://intrepidangeleno.wordpress.com/2023/06/05/20-books-of-summer/
Thanks for hosting!
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Thanks Jinjer!
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Love this! You have introduced me to so many new blogs and reading sites. I have also complied a treasure trove of reading sites, but many of them are well known. Take a look at http://www.motownsavvy.com
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Thanks!
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So excited to join this year. Going with the 10 Books of Summer. Thank you for hosting again, Cathy!
http://www.bookgirl.net/10-books-of-summer/
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Excellent Iliana! I’ll add your link to the master post.
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I finally realized why I don’t like to do the 20 Books of Summer challenge, and it took therapy for me to figure it out LOL. A big part of my anxiety stems from perfectionism, which I didn’t even know I had, but now that I’ve been in therapy for 9 months, I’m going to give this a go (though I realize I’m getting my initial post up late). I hope you will still add me to the master list when my post publishes 🙂
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Of course I will! I still use your ‘number of pages a day’ system 😊 I do hope you enjoy it this year x
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