#20BooksOfSummer 2020 Reading List
Sunrise 25 May 2020, Leeuwarden The Netherlands
- #20BooksOfSummer hosted by Cathy
- Blog: 746books.com
- I selected books that
- …I REALLY REALLY want to read.
- List of Challenges 2020
- Monthly reading plan
- #20BooksOfSummer20
Here is my reading list:
Update: 30.05.2020 L’Éducation sentimental – G. Flaubert – DNF
I tried to read L’Education Sentimental…got through part 1 but had to stop.
The heart of the novel is the love affair between Frederic and Madame Arnoux, a fictionalized version of the relationship between the young Flaubert and Elisa Schlesinger, the wife of a well-known music publisher, who is the prototype for the art dealer Monsieur Arnoux.
The reading in French is not the problem…I just cannot concentrate on this simple story while I see the news and watch the USA in chaos. It is just awful. Pandemic, skyrocketing unemployment and now race riots. To make matters worse…Trump is tweeting messages to incite violence. Twitter has hidden 2 of his tweets glorifying violence! I cannot believe this is the most powerful man on earth! (…end of rant, time to start dinner!)
Update: 18.06.2020
- Tears We Cannot Stop – M. Dyson – Review
- The Accidental President – A.J. Baime – Review
- Democracy In Black – E. S. Glaude jr. – Review
- Jean Barois – R.M. de Gard – Review
- D’un cheval l’autre – Bartabas (Clément Marty) – Review
- How To Be An Antirascist – I.X. Kendi – Review
NancyElin 
I love this photo of a sunrise, and a great selection of books! The Periodic Table is also on my TBR list. I did not love Balzac’s Cousin Bette as much as I thought I would. I do prefer his other novels, but it was still a good book – I will be eager to know what you think of it.
Sunrise: ….I have to walk 40 minutes to get to this grassy knoll to wait for the sun!
I was awake 04:10 hr!! It is a moment of meditation in the morning. Thanks for you comment! I added some French books….just to keep my mind sharp! Balzac’s prose races like a panther across the page….action, plot twists and romance!
A nice looking pile of books! I’ve read is Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, which I quite enjoyed, and Sentimental Education in English. I guess I’ve also read different, less-inclusive-looking, editions of Updike’s stories & Van Gogh’s letters. I’m curious what you’ll make of the Jon Fosse who I’ve long intended to read.
And I’ve got Cousin Bette on my Classics Club list, though I will read that in English, too.
Crazy times! Keep well.
Updike’s stories: this is a massive collecton….I thought I’d read one a day 01 June – 31 August
Vincent van Gogh….our national treasure….love his artwork and fascinated by his life.
Jon Fosse…I remember how I found this author, it was an article about the Nobel Prize. He was one of the favorites 2017…perhaps he will win someday. I read his play “Suzannah”. It was innovative and he is absolutely an overlooked playwright….
Reply to Reese on her blog “Typings”: Have a look at her list of summer books!
Book that must be on my bookshelf: Manhattan Transfer – John Dos Passos….important US writer I should read
Book that will be fun to read: Henrik Pontoppidan/Lucky Per
I am curious how the author describes a restricted life in the Danish countryside…and compare it with what I konw of Dutch countrylife! Denmark is our close neighbor! Copenhagen is just 516 kilometers (321 miles)form my hometown! Hope you have a great summer reading…and thanks for your comment on my blog.
What an interesting and eclectic mix of books! I absolutely love Primo Levi – one of my all-time favorite authors, and The Periodic Table is excellent. Good luck with the challenge and looking forward to your reviews!
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting on my list! Do you have a summer reading list as well?
I don’t make lists, I just structure reading based on which review copies are coming up and then what I’m in the mood for otherwise 🙂
Ooo, I’d be very interested in the Letters of Vincent Van Gogh! I know a couple of people who have recently read it and gave it 5 stars! I hope you have an excellent summer, Nancy, with lots of reading pleasure!
Thanks so much for you comment…I left a comment on your blog about your summer selections. Have a look at Cleo’s list cleoclassical.blogspot.com.
Have a great summer as well…
Thanks, Nancy! An update: it’s on my new site at classicalcarousel.com 🙂
You must really want to read Forever Amber!
….Ha! Book is divided in vol 1 and vol 2! This is going to be a humdinger of a historical fiction!
These paperbacks are at least 70 years old! I took them out of my sister’s bookcase when I left for The Netherlands….I thought she would not mind. News flash: she did! Oh, well…. that’s what sisters do “…we borrow each other’s things” Thanks for your comment.
PS I just checked in Wikipedia: published 1944, Corgi edition ( that is what I have)….Probably bought by my mother and it just ended up in my sister’s collection. Tirvia: Fourteen US states banned the book as pornography. Ha!
That’s a gorgeous sunrise Nancy. And Forever Amber! That’s a book that takes me straight back to 1991 and the year I lived in London. I borrowed this from the library and devoured every meaty, scandalous page 🙂
We are enjoying wonderful clear skies an sunny weather. But as you see ….we need clouds to make breathtaking photographs.
I tried to read L’Education Sentimental…got through part 1 but had to stop.
The heart of the novel is the love affair between Frederic and Madame Arnoux, a fictionalized version of the relationship between the young Flaubert and Elisa Schlesinger, the wife of a well-known music publisher, who is the prototype for the art dealer Monsieur Arnoux.
The reading in French is not the problem…I just cannot concentrate on this simple story while I see the news and watch the USA in chaos. It is just awful. Pandemic, skyrocketing unemployment and now race riots. To make matters worse…Trump is tweeting messages to incite violence. Twitter has hidden 2 of his tweets glorifying violence! I cannot believe this is the most powerful man on earth! (…end of rant, time to start dinner!) Thanks for you comment.
I get how you feel – it’s a crazy world right now. Especially on the other side of the pond. How can someone like Trump be in Office – it’s incredibly sad. I hope you your reading will distract you from all the dire things on in our shared world.
Thanks so much for yor comment.
I’ve heard so many good things about T Kira Madden. Best of luck this summer! ❤
I don’t know why T. Kira Madden has not ended op on TBR lists….she is a talent! Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls was published in March 2019. Madden describes it as “a coming-of-age memoir growing up in Boca Raton, Florida, in a very privileged Jewish community as a biracial, queer girl with a lot of family secrets: two addict parents and a famous family, as well. I cannot wait to start this book! Thanks for you comment!
That sounds incredible. Definitely interested to hear more people talk about it.