20 Books of Summer 2026

Posted on May 19, 2026 by WordsAndPeace

#20BOS26

After ten years of graciously hosting this favorite blogging event,
Cathy @ 746books.com decided to step down.
So in 2025 I cohosted the event with Annabel @ AnnaBookBel.

Annabel was ok to host it all by herself this year, so I will just be a participant.
And she designed beautiful new banners for us!
I have a lot to prepare for Paris in July 2026, and I’ll be away two weeks in June, with very little access to internet, so that’s better this way.

20 Books of Summer
#20BOS26
June 1 – August 31st

This is my 7th participation.
Last summer, I ended up reading 36 books, so I hope to read at least that many, or possibly 39, as 13 books/month was my average for the full year 2025.

I see many of you this year are making a list of 10, leaving ample room for spontaneity.
So I also decided to do a shorter official list: 12 books that I need to read for various reasons.
I haven’t included any audiobook on the list, and I know I’ll listen to a bunch (I listened to 12 last summer), so I’ll add these as I go along, and as they get available.

Check my file here below.
I color coded the genres, I think it’s a good mix.
5 are classics.

Why these books?

6 have been received for review
2 are for buddyreads with Mallika @ Literary Potpourri
And 1 of these two is for Reading the Meow (June 15-21), the event she hosts every year
1 is for my own Mary Oliver project – and if all goes well, I will actually read 3 for this
1 is my classic spin
Candide ou l’optimisme, by Candide is the title a group of us will read in French on Discord from July 1-31 (comments in French, but no worry, this is not a French class, we will not look at mistakes!)
Click on this link to join us! It’s a short book.
I plan to read a few for #ParisinJuly2026, at least one I just received as agift from one of my students!

Here is my chart, feel free to copy the format if it’s of any help for you.

I will update it as I go along :

And there’s a BINGO option:

How many of the books on my list have you read?
Which one is your favorite?
Please leave your link
if you have published your own summer list!
And click on the banner to join us!

Spell the month in books: January 2025

Posted on January 13, 2025 by WordsAndPeace

Spell the month in books:
January 2025
Click on the logo to join

📚 📚 📚

I discovered this meme thanks to Marianne @ Let’s read.
“The idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles”,
and there’s an accompanying theme.

January :
new

The interpretation is open, so I went with books newly read (in 2024), though had to be creative for the last two letters.

Journey by Moonlight
After the Banquet
N.E.O. : Les Moulins de Pandore
L’ultime avertissement
Among Others
A Roman Hat Mystery
Year of Wonder

Click on the covers to access my reviews

Journey by Moonlight:
This is so beautifully written, with deep analysis of the inner world of a young man.

After the Banquet:
MY VERDICT:
A bittersweet journey of self-discovery amidst the clash between politics and domesticity. Another masterful portrait by Mishima.

N.E.O. : les Moulins de Pandore
One thing that was really cool was how Bussi used the figure of Jean Moulin near the end of the book. Very smart.

L’ultime avertissement :
An amazing reflection on the future of humanity, through the scifi lens.

Among Others:
If you love books on books, and reading is an important way of escape for you, you absolutely need to read this one.

The Roman Hat Mystery:
I read 161 books in 2024, but no title starting with the letter R!
So I went with a new to me series that I really enjoyed, back in 2022.

Year of Wonder:
And for this one, I went with a book I’m currently reading, so it’s still new to me!
A wonderful daily selection of classical music, with great history and anecdotes.

Have YOU read
or are YOU planning to read any of these?
Please leave the link to your own post,
so I can visit.