Simon Evans' 50 Book Challenge

[Simon]

I'm returning to university in 2019 after two years away from it - I'm excited. I should be able to read 50 or more books in between studying as well so here goes.

I'm also going to be some goals here:

1. Read a Ken Follet book (Pillars of the Earth or Fall of Giants)

2.Finish all the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

3. Finish the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

4. Continue The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

[Ashleigh]

Simon wrote: "I'm returning to university in 2019 after two years away from it - I'm excited. I should be able to read 50 or more books in between studying as well so here goes.

I'm also going to be some goals ..."

I hope you manage to achieve your goals

[Rachael]

Good luck! I like Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter and I hope you will too.

[Simon]

Monthly Update: January

1. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman - 4 stars


2. The Archived by Victoria Schwab - 3 stars


3. Bird Box by Josh Malerman - 4 stars


4. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster - 2 stars


5. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - 3 stars


6. Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna - 1 star


7. Attack on Titan, Vol. 1 by Hajime Isayama - 4 stars


8. Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 1 by Sui Ishida - 4 stars


A bit of a delayed update but I feel as though I'm busier these days in my new city and spend less time of my laptop, which is a good thing really.

I would call this an average reading month. I wasn't really wow-ed by any of these books. Obviously, I enjoyed some. But there's also an elusive 1 star read in there and I simply just didn't like that book.

Finally, I managed to finish a manga volume. I always struggle with comics/mangas/graphic novels, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's better now that my new library is more well stocked. So it looks like I'll be digging into both Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul.

[Simon]

Monthly Update: February

9. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene - 4 stars


10. Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 2 by Sui Ishida - 4 stars


11. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta - 3 stars


12. Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 3 by Sui Ishida - 4 stars


13. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson - 4 stars


14. Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 4 by Sui Ishida - 4 stars


I thought I hadn't read much this month but mangas really help to boost the book count.

I enjoyed Brighton Rock. I think that one sticks with me the most. I just really liked Ida and how she was such a well-written female character for a noir book written at the time it was.

Also glad I got to finish the Mistborn trilogy finally. I liked The Hero of Ages too. But the first book is probably my favourite of the three. I did like how it all wrapped up at the end, though.

I still don't quite know how to rate mangas. They're typically 4-star reads for me because they're enjoyable and easy and often beautifully depicted.

[Simon]

Monthly Updated: March

15. Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 5 by Sui Ishida - 3 stars


16. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson - 4 stars


17. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 3 stars


18. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - 4 stars


Finally updating these last two months.

[Simon]

Monthly Updated: April

19. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - 3 stars


20. This Other Eden by Ben Elton - 3 stars


21. The Lady's Guide to Petticoat and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee - 4 stars


22. The North Water by Ian McGuire - 4 stars


23. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - 4 stars

[Simon]

Monthly Update: May

24. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - 3 stars


25. The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan - 4 stars


26. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling - 5 stars


27. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind - 4 stars


28. The History of Bees by Maya Lunde - 3 stars

[Simon]

Simon wrote: "Monthly Update: May

24. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - 3 stars


25. The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan - 4 st..."

Finally finished reading the whole Harry Potter series for the first time.

[Simon]

Monthly Update: June

29. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor - 4 stars


30. The Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King - 4 stars


31. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - 4.5 stars


I finally read The Pillars of the Earth! In other words, I ticked off another yearly goal. Let me tell you, it was totally worth the 1000+ pages too.