2019 O.W.Ls - Magical Readathon

I feel like I'm normally one of the last to find things out - this readathon being no exception. Unfortunately as I was already participating in two readathons in July I was already up to my eyeballs in my TBR pile!

Normally the Magical Readthon O.W.Ls would be done in April and the Magical Readathon N.E.W.Ts done in August. But as I'm behind, I really want to do them this year instead of waiting for April 2020 and I want to stick to the rules as much as possible - so I've decided to do my O.W.Ls in August and my N.E.W.Ts in September!

If anyone else is in the same boat as me then feel free to join in with me!



How It Works:

This month-long magical readathon was started by G from Book Roast (go check out her YouTube and Instagram if you haven't already!) This readathon is based on the exams that the Hogwarts students take in the Harry Potter books and movies - their O.W.Ls (Ordinay Wizarding Levels) and their N.E.W.Ts (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests).

All the extra documents, like the invitation letter (which includes reading prompts) and the careers guidebook are linked in the description section of the announcement video on G's YouTube channel too. They are absolutely free to download and check out!

After you select a career (although you don't have to if you don't want to), you can check out the prompt list which details the type of book you need to read to "pass" the subject. If you want to know more just check out G's YouTube channel!

If you don't wish to select any career, the following are the grades:

A: Acceptable = 2 exams complete
E: Exceeded Expectations = 6 exams complete
O: Outstanding = 9 exams complete




Important FAQs:

I copied these from one of the extra documents from the description in G's YouTube video just in case anyone else wanted to join in! I still recommend going and watching her YouTube video though where it's all explained much better than I could ever explain it, plus there's other FAQs you can read if you want too!

Are the prompts the same each time?
No! The prompts change each year to give us some variety.

Are rereads allowed?
Absolutely! Especially of the Harry Potter books ;)

Can I carry on reading a book I've already started?
Unless specified as one of our special prompts all reads must be started and finished within the readathon time frame.

Can I read one book for multiple prompts?
Unfortunately not, it's one exam per book.



Magical Careers:

I'm not sure what career I want to choose yet, so I thought up a TBR just in case and I figured I'd read what takes my fancy next and see how I go from there!

However the 18 different magical careers you could choose from are:

- Alchemist
- Astronomer
- Aurologist
- Auror
- Broom Maker
- Curse Breaker
- Healer
- Herbology
- Hogwarts Professor
- Journalist/Writer
- Librarian
- Magizoologist
- Metal Charmer
- Mind Witch/Wizard
- Ministry Worker
- Potioneer
- Seer
- Wandmaker



The Subjects:

Ancient Runes ------- Retelling

Arithmancy ------- Book written by more than one author

Astronomy ------- "Star" in the title

Care of Magical Creatures ------- Land animal on the cover

Charms ------- Age-line: Read an adult work

Defense Against the Dark Arts ------- Reducto: Title starts with an "R"

Divination ------- Set in the future

Herbology ------- Plant on the cover

History of Magic ------- Published at least 10 years ago

Muggle Studies ------- Contemporary

Potions ------- Next ingredient: Sequel

Transfiguration ------- Sprayed edges or red cover



My TBR:

Ancient Runes ------- The Looking Glass House - by Vanessa Tait

Arithmancy ------- Memento - by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Astronomy ------- The Fault in Our Stars - by John Green

Care of Magical Creatures ------- The Alpha Drive - by Kristen Martin

Charms ------- Godsgrave - by Jay Kristoff

Defense Against the Dark Arts ------- Red Queen - by Victoria Aveyard

Divination ------- Dev1at3 - by Jay Kristoff

Herbology ------- Frostblood - by Elly Blake

History of Magic ------- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - by J.K. Rowling

Muggle Studies ------- A Thousand Perfect Notes - by C.G. Drews

Potions ------- Heartstopper Vol. 2 - by Alice Oseman

Transfiguration ------- The Smoke Thieves - by Sally Green



My Finished Exams:

I swapped books for a few of the subjects so this list doesn't quite match my TBR above. But plans can easily be changed - nothing's set in stone.

Ancient Runes ------- N/A

Arithmancy ------- Memento - by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Astronomy ------- N/A

Care of Magical Creatures ------- It's Not What It Looks Like - by Molly Burke

Charms ------- Godsgrave - by Jay Kristoff

Defense Against the Dark Arts ------- Reign the Earth - by A.C. Gaughen

Divination ------- N/A

Herbology ------- In an Absent Dream - by Seanan McGuire

History of Magic ------- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - by J.K. Rowling

Muggle Studies ------- N/A

Potions ------- Heartstopper, Vol. 2 - by Alice Oseman

Transfiguration ------- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - by J.K. Rowling



Finished Exam Total: 8/12

The Flatshare - by Beth O'Leary

Title: The Flatshare

Author: Beth O'Leary

Published: 23 April 2019

Series: -

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…
Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time. 
But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

Trigger Warning: emotional abuse

I listened to this as an audiobook. These two narrators did a fantastic job reading this! I loved this book.

It did take me a bit to get into the swing of the story with Leon's chapters as I did wonder why he was speaking that way. It did make a little more sense after it was explained he tried to use the least amount of words possible.

I was definitely hoping Tiffy and Leon would get together though! The way that Tiffy knew things about Leon without ever having met him was great too - things like the way that he liked his coffee and how she knew when he had overslept his alarm by where he placed his coffee cup in the apartment.

Richie was also a great brother in my opinion as even thought it was difficult to see him and talk to him because of reasons (read the book to find out what I'm talking about!), Richie still tried to protect and take care of Leon. I'm also glad that Leon never stopped fighting for Richie!

One of my favourite parts would have to be all the Post-Its. Part of me was hoping that they would write all the little notes in a notebook or something so there'd be no having to clean up Post-Its and also so they'd be able to keep all the notes for later.

Another of my favourite parts would definitely have to be how they met! It was fun, cute and awkward all in one but well worth the wait to see them meet!

I did feel bad for Tiffy, but I'm glad that she was able to overcome all the obstacles in her way - I'm especially glad that her friends and the people she cares about were able to help her overcome them. The way that Beth O'Leary talked about the topic of Tiffy's emotional abuse was fantastic though.

Those final lines were my undoing! I'm not crying, you're crying!

Also it's cool that there's a bit of an interview between Carrie and Beth at the end of the audiobook after the final chapter.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who love a cutesy story!