Hey guys! It’s a tad late to be posting my summer reading list, but better late than never, right? Lately I’ve been trying to read more books that fit in to my 2020 Reading Challenge. I read some Anne of Green Gables books (which were so cute and good and will always have a little place in the corner of my heart that I reserve for books), because the author L.M Montgomery has written more than 20 books, I read the Handmaid’s Tale because Margaret Atwood is Canadian, and right now I’m reading A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami, because it was translated into English from Japanese.

So I’m making progress, but I still have a long way to go. Some of the challenge prompts are kind of hard! Like, a book under 200 pages, and one above 500 pages?!??! I should’ve saved Animal Farm and The Lord of The Rings to read this year. I did do some more research for this list though, and found books that help me with my challenge. I actually managed to find a couple of YA fantasy books that fill up some spots, so that’s a real bonus!

I’m really grateful to this challenge for expanding my book horizons, though. Like, I probably never would’ve found out about A Wild Sheep Chase without it! Even if you’re not doing a reading challenge for 2020, I challenge you to pick up a book that you wouldn’t normally read sometime soon! It can be a really transforming experience. Here’s my Summer 2020 Reading List!

A Wild Sheep Chase

This is what I’m currently reading, although I’m only about 30 pages in. It’s about a man in Japan who receives a postcard with a mutant sheep on it, and then gets warned that he must find the sheep, or else faces some serious consequences. His journey takes him all around Tokyo and into the mountain ranges of Japan, and he kind of discovers himself along the way. When looking at books that are translated from another language, this one stood out to me because of its interesting plot line. I’m excited to see where this novel goes! If your looking for some other good books that have been translated, I highly suggest The Alchemist or The Winner Stands Alone by Pablo Coelho.

The Guinevere Deception

It was HARD finding a book with more than 20 letters in the title, but I did it and guess what- it’s a YA fantasy novel! This book is about Princess Guinevere, who travels to Camelot to marry King Arthur. But Guinevere is NOT actually Guinevere- her name and identity is a secret. The wizard Merlin sent her to protect Camelot and threats both within and outside of the court. This book looks like it’s full of magic and I’m so excited to read it!

Sorcery of Thorns

This is the other YA book I found, and it was written by an author in their twenties. A girl named Elisabeth, who has grown up in the Great Libraries of Austermeer, wants to one day become a guardian of the magical grimoires that reside there. But she becomes tangled up in a crime that lets one of the most dangerous grimoires free, and must go to the capital to face her punishment. Although she grew up believing that sorcerers were evil, she strikes up a friendship with one and begins to learn things about magic and herself that she never thought possible. This book has magic AND libraries, so sign me up!

The Great Gatsby

This is kind of a classic and I would’ve liked to read it at some point anyway, but now’s the perfect time because I have to read a book written in the 1920’s! It’s about Jay Gatsby and his new love for Daisy Buchanan. Although it takes place in fictional towns, it gives insight into the lives of wealthy Americans in the 1920’s. It’s considered one of the best books ever written (by some people), so hopefully it’ll be a good read!

Those are my book picks for the summer! Let me know if you’ve read any before and what you thought of them. Can’t wait to get reading;))

Yours Truly,

Olivia;)))