O.W.L.s Magical Readathon – Third Year Edition TBR

The OWLs are happening and I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I love a good readathon but none ever motivated me and made me read as much as G’s Magical Readathon. Check out her YouTube channel Book Roast for all the info, downloads, and the pure joy she spreads! The OWLs Readathon is the first part of this Harry Potter based readathon, with the NEWTs happening in August. Like last year, you can choose a wizarding career (or several) and pick which classes to take based on that. Depending on how well you do on your OWLs, you can then continue on to take the same classes in the NEWTs. That sounds like the rules are pretty strict, but G always makes it very clear that everyone can read what they like and do this readathon the way they want. The reading police won’t come to pick you up if you interpret the rules differently, promise. 🙂

 

Careers and Hogwarts House

I am of course representing Ravenclaw again and I really hope we’ll win the House Cup this year. For my chosen career of Trader of Magical Tomes, I will have to pass the following classes:

• Ancient Runes
• Charms
• History of Magic
• Transfiguration

But because readathons are way more fun when you do extra credit work, and because I actually studied languages, I will try to qualify for a course in Mermaid Linguistics as well, which adds another class:

• Herbology

I actually have about a dozen careers that interest me but, like last year, I will focus on one and see how the readathon goes. If I pass all my OWLs classes again, I may pick a secondary career for the NEWTs. And if that goes well, I’ll just do ALL THE JOBS in the wizarding world. And become an Animagus of course.

OWLs Classes

I marked the classes I have to take for my career, but I prepared a TBR for every single class. You know. Just in case…

Ancient Runes

A book with a heart on the cover or in the title: Eddie Robson – Hearts of Oak

This is a new publication by an author I don’t know yet but it sounds like a crazy wild ride. There’s an expanding city, people behaving strangely, and a talking cat who’s advisor to the king! I mean, that’s all I really needed to know. Also, I love this cover and the way the title blends in with the artwork.

Arithmancy

A book outside your comfort zone: Catherynne M. Valente – Oracles: A Pilgrimage

So, okay, this is my favorite author of all time, but it’s also poetry and I am extremely picky with poetry. It’s something I almost never read and when I do, more often than not, I don’t particularly like it. I’m hoping that I’ll like this, of course.
My alternate pick is The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, a non-fiction book exploring POC in fantasy fiction. I don’t read much non-fiction but this sounds pretty amazing.

Astronomy

Read a book only at night: ???

For this, I’ll go with an audiobook because I usually listen to  audiobooks in the evening and before going to sleep. Now that I’m working from home and not going outside, the chances of me picking up a current read on a break are high, but audiobooks are reserved for the evenings. I don’t know which book will end up here, but I’m thinking maybe something by Octavia Butler? If you have recommendations for great books on Audible, please let me know in the comments.

Care of Magical Creatures

A book with a beak on the cover: ???

I’m a bit undecided about this one. I have a surprising amount of books on my TBR that fit the criteria (who’d have thought?) but I just can’t decide. So here’s my potential canditates for this prompt. I will probably just read a chapter in each of them and see which one grabs me the most.

• Isabel Ibañez  – Woven in Moonlight
• Nghi Vo – The Empress of Salt and Fortune
• Octavia Butler – Parable of the Sower

Charms

A book with a (mostly) white cover: Julia Ember – The Seafarer’s Kiss

I’ve been meaning to read this book last year for the Retellings Challenge but didn’t get to it, so it has to be prioritized this year! Being pretty short and a Little Mermaid retelling, this is a perfect choice for a readathon book. Plus, it will help me with the 2020 Retellings Challenge as well.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

A book that’s set on the sea coast: Ursula K. LeGuin –  The Tombs of Atuan

I re-read A Wizard of Earthsea last year mostly so I could finally continue the series. And while I don’t know if this story is set at the coast all the time, it is set in Earthsea, which consists of lots of small islands. So I’m sure there’ll be a sea coast here or there.

Divination

Let fate decide: K. J. Parker – Prosper’s Demon

For this prompt, I made a list of 12 books, then had my boyfriend choose three random numbers. Then I made him choose a random number from among the remaining three, and this is how Prosper’s Demon became my pick. It was much more fun than using a random number generator on on the internet (and my boyfriend is much better looking).
I kept misreading the title as “Prospero‘s Demon” for the longest time and still have to remind myself that this has nothing to do with Shakespeare’s Tempest. Because I’m an idiot, that’s why.

Herbology

A book that starts with the letter “M”: Brandon Sanderson – Mistborn: Secret History

I have been caught up on all the Mistborn books for some time now and while both trilogies had satisfying endings, there is always room for more from that universe. I’ve been meaning to read this for ages and now it’s finally time. Being a novella and thus quite short, even a Brandon Sanderson book can make a good pick for a readathon.

History of Magic

A book that features witches or wizards: Sarah Gailey – When We Were Magic

This was a no brainer. I loved Sarah Gailey’s novel Magic for Liars and while this is their first YA book, I’m sure they will deliver another great story with brilliant characters. It’s also about teen witches so I’m sure it’s a good pick for this prompt. The cover is giving me major nostalgia vibes as well.

Muggle Studies

A book from a Muggle perspective (contemporary): Chuck Palahniuk – Beautiful You

It’s been too long since I read a Palahniuk book. I miss his weirdness, his crazy ideas, his strange protagonists. The premise for this one is weird (men being replaced by elaborate vibrators, apparently?) and there are many one-star reviews – so I’m not sure whether I’ll like it. But that just makes me all the more interested and excited to return to the strange worlds of the man who gave us Fight Club.

Potions

A book under 150 pages: Ruthanna Emrys – The Litany of Earth

This series is the only 2019 Mythopoeic Award nominee I haven’t read and since the other ones were all absolutely fantastic, I think I’ve been missing out. Good thing the first instalment (technically part 0.5) is very short and fits this prompt. If it’s great, I may just read the next one for the NEWTs.

Transfiguration

A book that features shapeshifting: Seanan McGuire – A Local Habitation

I can’t 100% guarantee that there will be shapeshifters in this book but it’s an Urban Fantasy series that I started last year and in the first book, there were. Incidentally, it was this readathon that prompted me to even start the series and, to my own biggest surprised, I really liked it even though I am not usually a fan of Urban Fantasy. So let’s hope, the second book is just as good.

This is it, my tentative TBR for the OWLs readathon. Since the Hugo shortlist will be announced in April, I may change around some of my book picks because Hugo reading is usually a lot of work and I want to get started as soon as possible. Without knowing how many finalists I’ve already read, I can’t predict how much time it will take for me to catch up. But I’ll do some check-in posts during the month of April to keep you up to date on how things are going.

What about you? Are you participating and if yes, which career did you pick?