The O.W.L.’S Magical Readathon – My TBR!

Hi all! 

Today is April 1st and that means it’s the very first day of the O.W.L.’S Magical Readathon hosted by BookRoast on Booktube! Click her name to learn more about it and obtain all the necessary information. I however, will give you a brief run-down as well. In Harry Potter, students take their O.W.L.’S (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) in their fifth year at Hogwarts, which are essentially magical exams, and their N.E.W.T’S (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) in their seventh year. The O.W.L.’S Magical Readathon will take place from the 1st April to the 30th April and the N.E.W.T’S Magical Readathon will take place from 1st August to the 31st August in 2019. I will be taking part in both but today I’ll be solely focusing on the O.W.L.’s and my TBR. I was very happy to receive my letter from Professor McGonagall herself! 

This is not the first time this readathon has been held, but this year, all participants get to pick a magical career to work towards. I decided to pick Magizoologist, which involves caring and protecting magical creatures. 

As you can see by the image above, I have to take the Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Herbology and Potions exams in order to pass. In August, I have to get an O in Care of Magical Creatures, an E in Charms and an E in Herbology in order to pass. I’ll explain more in a sec. Now, before I continue, if you want to take part in this readathon, you don’t have to pick a career. You can simply read as many books according to the prompts below and earn points. This is just more of a fun and interactive way to go about it. 

Above are the reading prompts. As mentioned, you can read as little or as many as you want. If you pass two exams, you can an A for Acceptable. If you pass six exams, you get an EE for Exceeded Expectations and if you pass nine exams, you get an O for Outstanding. I am aiming to complete the four exams only for the Magizoologist career. Let’s move onto my magical TBR! 

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES EXAM – READ A BOOK WITH A LAND ANIMAL ON THE COVER 

As you can see, there is a bear on the cover of this book. People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain.

I’m very excited to read this book. I’ve heard only good things about it. You can purchase a copy here.

CHARMS EXAM – READ AN ADULT BOOK 

Station Eleven is an adult book that has been on my TBR for the longest time! Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end. Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.

It features time-travel. What more could I need? You can order a copy here! 

HERBOLOGY EXAM – READ A BOOK WITH A PLANT ON THE COVER 

I’m so happy this book has plants on the cover because it’s actually the April pick for the Books With Friends Book Club that I joined at the beginning of this year. Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.  True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

I am very keen to read this book. You can order a copy here.

POTIONS EXAM – READ A SEQUEL

Dan Brown is one of my favourite male authors. I have read every book he has ever written except this one which is Book #5 in the Robert Langdon Series. Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever”. The evening’s host is his friend and former student, Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old tech magnate whose dazzling inventions and audacious predictions have made him a controversial figure around the world. This evening is to be no exception: he claims he will reveal an astonishing scientific breakthrough to challenge the fundamentals of human existence. But Langdon and several hundred other guests are left reeling when the meticulously orchestrated evening is blown apart before Kirsch’s precious discovery can be revealed. With his life under threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape, along with the museum’s director, Ambra Vidal. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.In order to evade a tormented enemy who is one step ahead of them at every turn, Langdon and Vidal must navigate labyrinthine passageways of hidden h istory and ancient religion. On a trail marked only by enigmatic symbols and elusive modern art, Langdon and Vidal uncover the clues that will bring them face-to-face with a world-shaking truth that has remained buried – until now.

I can just tell this is going to be amazing! You can order a copy here. 

At the end of this month, I will post a full wrap-up for this readathon. It will include what I read, how many exams I passed and what I thought of them. Just before August, I will be posting my TBR for the N.E.W.T’S Readathon. Please stay tuned and feel free to participate if this sounds fun and interesting to you. 

Thanks for reading. Peace & Love xoxo 

Disclaimer: This post contains links to my Book Depository Affiliate which helps fund my blog, I am not being paid or sponsored for this post/products – all my thoughts/opinions are my own