With this year’s 20 Books of Summer challenge now over, one of our hosts – Emma of Words and Peace – has compiled a final questionnaire to help us look back at what we read during the summer months.
I’m pleased to say that I completed all 20 books for only the second time since I started participating in 2017. I think the reason for my success this year is that I only listed 14 books in advance and left the other six slots empty so I had the freedom to choose books as I went along (my only rule was that they needed to be books I’d acquired prior to January 2025).
Here’s what I managed to read:
1. Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie
2. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie
3. Jennie by Paul Gallico
4. A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor
5. The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood
6. The Rush by Beth Lewis
7. These Wicked Devices by Matthew Plampin
8. Sinners by Elizabeth Fremantle
9. Strange Houses by Uketsu
10. The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White
11. The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
12. Love and Other Poisons by Lesley McDowell
13. How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin
14. The House at Devil’s Neck by Tom Mead
15. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
16. The Lily and the Lion by Maurice Druon
17. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
18. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
19. No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby
20. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
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And here are my answers to Emma’s questionnaire.
1. Did you manage to finish all 10/15/20 books? If not, what kept you from completing the challenge?
Yes, I did (see above)!
2. Of all the books you read this summer, which one(s) was/were your favorite and why? Did you DNF any? Why?
My favourites were The Rush by Beth Lewis, Sinners by Elizabeth Fremantle, No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby and The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell. I didn’t DNF anything, but I usually don’t anyway.
3. Which book surprised you the most, either by being better or worse than you expected?
I wasn’t expecting Come, Tell Me How You Live to be so funny. Christie’s own personality really shines through in that book.
4. Did you notice any patterns in the genres you chose or enjoyed this summer?
Not surprisingly, most of the books I read were either historical fiction or mystery/crime. I did also manage to include a children’s book, a non-fiction book and some classics.
5. Which one had the best cover?
I like the cover of The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
6. Which one was the longest? And the shortest?
The shortest was The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood at 128 pages. The Lily and the Lion by Maurice Druon, at 432 pages, was the longest.
7. Did you read them mostly in print? ebook? audio?
Most of them were ebooks as they were review copies from NetGalley. The rest were print copies – I don’t tend to listen to audio.
8. Imagine you’re hosting a “20 Books of Summer” book club wrap party.
Which book would you nominate as the guest of honor, and what kind of toast or speech would you give celebrating it?
I would nominate The Rush by Beth Lewis, one of my favourite books of the summer, because it has such an interesting setting – Canada during the Gold Rush. I would invite all three main characters (Kate, Ellen and Martha) to speak to the audience about their experiences of life in such a harsh but fascinating environment.
9. Looking back at all the characters you met over the summer, which one would you want as a summer buddy for a weekend getaway, and what activity would you do together?
There weren’t actually many characters from my summer reading that I would like to spend time with! I did love Violet Hamilton from No Life for a Lady so I would join her in Hastings and we could be Lady Detectives together for the weekend.
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Did you take part in 20 Books of Summer? How did you do?
Thanks to Emma and Annabel for hosting this year’s challenge! I’m looking forward to 2026.
She Reads Novels 
Well done for finishing! It’s funny how enjoyable it can be to read books about people we’d never actually want to spend time with in real life…
I suppose the nicest people don’t always make the most interesting characters! And thanks – I found it much easier to finish the challenge this year due to allowing myself some flexibility and not listing all 20 books in advance.
Well done! I hope you and Violet have success with your detecting.
Thanks! I’m sure we will 🙂
Congrats on beating the challenge! I wouldn’t mind spending the summer with Agatha on a dig, if only she’d dig in a cooler country!
Thanks! Yes, a dig with Agatha sounds appealing, though maybe not in Syria in the summer.
The Rush sounds particularly good!
I loved it! It’s not a subject I’ve read much about before, so I found it fascinating.
Well done, you! Sounds like you had a good experience.
I did, thanks!
Love these questions! Well done on finishing, Helen.
Thank you! The questions were fun to answer.
Love your recap of your summer reading. And congrats on getting to all 20 books. That Christie memoir is one I really want to read. 😀
Thanks, Lark! The Christie memoir is great.
Congratulations!
Neat to see Druon on your list. Not many bloggers mention him
Thank you! I love the Maurice Druon series.
Such a lovely lot of reviews you’ve posted – though there are one or two I seem to have missed – and I agree that the slightly naughty characters are often the more likely candidates for individuals one would like to spend time with!
Thanks! I thought I might struggle to get all the reviews posted in time, but I managed it with one or two days to spare. And yes, the nicest characters aren’t necessarily the most interesting!
Well done on completing this challenge, that’s fantastic ❤️ I’m very eager to check out two of the titles you’ve mentioned as favourites and am thrilled to see The Silent Companions making the cut too as a fan of that one.
I love the background colour of your choice of favourite book. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy I’m always frustrated that I don’t get more titles in those kind of shades.
Ooh your answer for the last question could be fun, as long as it stays safe. Having read a lot of horror over the summer I think I’m kind of limited on characters I’d like to spend time with too 🤔 I loved Ana from The Tainted Cup but in reality she’d drive me crazy 😅 so maybe Din from that one.
I’m really pleased to have completed the challenge this year, although I did make it easier for myself by not listing all 20 books in advance. And yes, the cover of The Art of a Lie is a lovely colour. It’s not a shade that’s used very often so it really stands out!