2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2018
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Simon Evans' 40 Books Challenge
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Good luck, Simon! Will you be joining challenges to help you reach your 50 books?
Blagica wrote: "Good luck, Simon! Will you be joining challenges to help you reach your 50 books?"I haven't planned on joining any. I participate in group reads, though, when the book interests me. Are there any challenges you'd recommend?
January 2018 Monthly Update:1. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
2. Wake by Elizabeth Knox
3. The Lunar Men by Jenny Uglow
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
If I were to pick a favourite, it would have to be Around the World in Eighty Days, which was a re-read for me. It's one of my all-time favourite books. However, all these books were enjoyable and made January a good reading month as well as a good start to the year.
Great Job Simon! You are doing great this year. Keep it up I hope next month is just as productive.
February 2018 Monthly Update:6. Beartown by Fredrick Backman
7. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
8. Treasure Island and The Ebb-Tide by Robert Louis Stevenson
9. Strip Jack by Ian Rankin
10. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Five books in a month again, that's not bad. If I keep this up then I'll finish 60 books by the end of the year. But I'm about to get very busy very soon with traveling for 3 months, so we'll see.
My favourite read for the month of February would have to be Beartown by Fredrick Backman. I buddy read it which made the experience all the more thought-provoking and memorable. I would recommend everyone reading it, especially during our current social climate.
It was nice to get back into the world of John Rebus with Strip Jack. The Reader was also enjoyable. I didn't particularly enjoy my most recent classical read, unfortunately, that being Treasure Island and The Ebb-Tide. And although I wasn't blown away by The Lathe of Heaven, it has certainly piqued my interested in Le Guin.
You are doing great! Hoping March is a great month for you.
March 2018 Monthly Update:11. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
12. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
13. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
14. Blind Faith by Ben Elton
15. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
16. Hamlet (novelised adaptation) by John Marsden
17. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Overall, March was a great month. I enjoyed everything I read and even found another new favourite, The Great Gatsby.
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. Looks like you have had some awesome dreams this year. I hope that April brings you many more five star reads.
April 2018 Monthly Update:18. Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli
19. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
20. Dunstan by Conn Iggulden
21. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Despite traveling, I still managed to read four really enjoyable book! Two of which were 5-star reads and I think the other two were 4-stars. So I'm looking forward to more great books as I continue traveling.
“Reading brings us unknown friends” While the warm weather is coming I hope you make some new friends in May!
May 2018 Monthly Update:22. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness - 5/5
23. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry - 4/5
24. The Trial by Franz Kafka - 2/5
25. Inferno by Dante Alighieri - n/a
26. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut - 4/5
27. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis - 4/5
28. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - 2/5
I'm just a bit late to update my last month's reading log but here it is. I'm surprised by how much I actually managed to read despite still traveling. To be honest, there isn't much else to do while you're on buses between cities.
I was happy to pick up another book by Vonnegut. He is my favourite author after all.
I thought it'd be a great idea to start reading Inferno while in Florence since that is where Dante is from. But it probably wasn't the best idea to read while traveling. I wasn't really able to understand and appreciate it much.
Same with The Trial while in Prague because that is where Kafka is from. Although Kafka is a lot easier to understand so I just didn't like The Trial all that much.
The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness has become another favourite of mine as well. I'm currently on the last book in the trilogy and will probably read all the short stories in between afterwards.
Hope June is as productive and fun!
June 2018 Monthly Update:29. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness - 5/5
30. Down & Out in Paris & London by George Orwell - 3/5
31. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera - 2/5
32. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - 4/5
33. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut - 4/5
34. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan - 4/5
35. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - 2/5
It seems I read as many books this month as I did last month which is a decent effort while travelling. But now I've finished travelling and am back home in NZ so I should be able to read more now and knock some more off my physical TBR-list.
My goal by the end of the year is to read at least ten books in one month, so I'm slowly getting there. I should be able to finish my challenge of 40 books by this month too.
Great job, I want to read inferno as well
Awesome job so far! Do you have a favorite book or a book you still can't wait to read?
Blagica wrote: "Awesome job so far! Do you have a favorite book or a book you still can't wait to read?"I think The Song of Achilles has been my favourite or the Chaos Walking Series. There isn't a particular book in mind that I can't wait to read, though.
July 2018 Monthly Update:36. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - 2/5
37. The Alienist by Caleb Carr - 4/5
38. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - 5/5
39. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - 4/5
40. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton - 4/5
I hit my goal for my 2018 reading challenge! I also finally finished The Luminaries after four months, which I enjoyed despite taking so long with it.
I enjoyed all the books I read this month, with the exception of The Hobbit. I'm just not into Tolkien sadly. But I can officially say that Celeste Ng is one of my favourite authors now. I enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere even more than Everything I Never Told You and cannot wait for her next book.
Congratulations on meeting your reading goal!
Great job on completing your goal will you be increasing it or just adding to your 40?
Samantha (AK) wrote: "Congratulations on meeting your reading goal!"Thanks, Samantha!
Blagica wrote: "Great job on completing your goal will you be increasing it or just adding to your 40?"I'll probably just keep adding to it.
August 2018 Monthly Update:41. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - 4/5
42. Scythe by Neal Shusterman - 3/5
43. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo - 2/5
44. The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley - 3/5
45. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli - 3/5
46. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid Jenkins - 5/5
47. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - 5/5
Wow, I didn't realize I'd gotten through seven books this month but there you have it. Another wide range of enjoyable books.
My least favourite was The Alchemist. It was too preachy and just meh. But I sort of see why people who don't read a lot might find it really inspiring.
My favourite book was hand's down, The Seven Husband's of Evelyn Hugo. That book took me by surprise in the most pleasant way. Evelyn and Harry are my latest "book crushes" and I can't say I usually have "books crushes".
Man, I wish I could keep up with a pace like yours — there's so much to read out there and so little time. Or probably plenty of time, if I spent it wisely.Noticed we have three books in common this year (Little Fires, Man Called Ove and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and that we've rated them the same way too. On that note, I just started reading Everything I never told you yesterday, so far it's giving me the same feels as Little Fires did.
Will check back in on your list when I need some inspiration for what to read next, for sure. Not that my TBR pile needs any help growing...
Jakob wrote: "Man, I wish I could keep up with a pace like yours — there's so much to read out there and so little time. Or probably plenty of time, if I spent it wisely.Noticed we have three books in common t..."
I liked Everything I Never Told You but I enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere more. I'll be interested to see what one you prefer.
Simon wrote: "I liked Everything I Never Told You but I enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere more. I'll be interested to see what one you prefer. "Just finished Everything I never told you. It was good, like, really good, but I also enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere more. If anything, it made me want to go back and reread Little Fires, just to get to experience it again, but with that added clarity a reread gives you.
September Monthly Update:48. Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan Macguire
49. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
50. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
51. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
52. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
53. Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan Macguire
54. Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan Macguire
55. A Monster Call by Patrick Ness
A lot of short but enjoyable reads this month. I've been slacking off recently in favour of gaming, though... But I was happy with everything I read. Red Sister wasn't quite what I was hoping for and my re-read of Great Expectations took longer than I thought.
You are on your way to having a great year in books! Do you have a book you still can't wait to read?
Blagica wrote: "You are on your way to having a great year in books! Do you have a book you still can't wait to read?"I realized only earlier this week that I still haven't read a Ken Follett book, which was one of my goals. Otherwise, I cannot wait to get my hands on Vengeful by V.E. Schwab, but who knows when that will be.
October Monthly Update:56. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin - 5/5
57. Half of the Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 5/5
58. Zoo Quest: The Adventures of a Young Naturalist by David Attenborough - 2/5
59. The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin - 4/5
60. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury - 4/5
61. High Society by Ben Elton - 5/5
Three 5-star ratings this month! It was definitely a good month of reading.
I started The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin this month and became hooked. Before this month, I would have said Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy was my favourite series, but now I'm not sure having read two out of three of The Broken Earth trilogy. Funnily enough, both series are trilogies, dystopian, and written in peculiar ways. But they are both still very different.
As well as discovering Jemisin, I also found Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as another favourite author. In her book, Half of the Yellow Sun, she introduced me to The Nigerian Civil War, which had hardly heard about prior to picking her book up, so I'm glad I did.
I also picked up books from two authors who were already favourites of mine: Bradbury and Elton. Both books lived up to the high standards I had set for them as well, adding another Ben Elton book to my favourites list.
November Monthly Update:62. Circe by Madeline Miller - 4/5
63. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling - 4/5
64. Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson - 2/5
65. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu - 3/5
66. The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - 3/5
67. Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 2/5
68. Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - 4/5
69. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - 4/5
Finally started my re-read of the first three Harry Potter books so I can complete this series at long. I am thoroughly enjoying it as one would expect. It's just undeniably addictive.
Some disappointments as well this month, though. I think you might be able to tell which ones those are. I have a sort of ranty review on one in particular...
And I got to read Madeline Miller's second book, which I enjoyed almost as much as her debut novel. It's not often that I actually read a book in the same year that it's published so it goes to show how much I enjoy and anticipate her work.
Look, it's basically December now and I'm one book away from 70 this year. Who would have thought...not me.
I hope to read Tara Westover's memoir, Educated before the end of the year and another Harry Potter book. Maybe two. I know they get chunky now. And I'd like to complete my first Murakami book before 2019 which is looking like it's going to be a struggle even though I'm currently reading one...
The only goal I actually remember from the beginning of this year was to read a Ken Follet book but that doesn't look like it's going to happen unfortunately... But who knows.
December Monthly Update:70. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
71. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
72. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
73. Educated by Tara Westover
74. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
And just like that, the year was over. It was a very good reading year for me too, I think. I found some new favourites and blew my reading goal out of the water. So that was nice. I'll list a few below.
2018 FavouritesFavourite author: Celeste Ng (closely followed by Madeline Miller)
Favourite classic: The Great Gatsby
Least favourite book: The Alchemist
Favourite series: Chaos Walking
Favourite sci-fi/fantasy: The Fifth Season
Top 3:
3. Half of a Yellow Sun
2. Little Fires Everywhere
1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (other topics)Brideshead Revisited (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (other topics)
The Stone Sky (other topics)
Educated (other topics)
More...
Edit 31/12/17
I decided to drop my goal for next year by ten books just because I am going to be a lot busier next year with traveling and possibly starting tertiary education again. So my goal is now 40 books which I think is entirely manageable but less stressful.