Ashley’s April TBR | OWLs Readathon 2020 + The Loyal Book-a-Thon: Quarantine Edition

It’s that time of year again; time for the OWLs Magical Readathon. I have to admit that I’m pretty dang excited. I could use a distraction from everything that is going on right now. So I’m definitely excited to spend some time devouring some books and escaping from real life. It’s also an extra exciting month because Kari and I are hosting the inaugural Loyal Book-a-Thon: Quarantine Edition. Find out more here.

For this year with the Magical Readathons, I have decided that I’m going to be a Spellmaker. Last year I was an auror, so I wanted to switch it up. However, I’m terrible at deciding things, but I asked my boyfriend to help me out and that’s one of the two he helped me narrow it down to. That means for OWLs I need Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Charms, Divination, History of Magic, and Transfiguration. Then for NEWTs I will need an O in Ancient Runes, E in Arithmancy, E in Astronomy, E in Charms, O in History of Magic, and an A in Transfiguration.

The host also added a couple of extra seminars/workshops that I’m going to attempt. One of the options is to become an Animagus, so I definitely want to go for that. It means I need to have Arithmancy, Potions and Transfiguration for my OWLs, and for NEWTS an A in Arithmancy, E in Potions, and O in Transfiguration. There are other ones, I might go for optionally, but we’ll see how it goes from there.

However, because I like a challenge, I am going to challenge myself to read a book for all of the prompts in the OWLs and as many as possible later on in the NEWTs. So I’ve come up with a tentative TBR for what I’m hoping to read for my OWLs. My typical disclaimer is that my TBR is subject to change depending on what I feel like reading or am able to acquire. Without further ado, here is my tentative TBR:

Ancient Runes – Heart Rune (Heart on cover or in title):
- His Hideous Heart
  - Napping (Short Story Collection), Home is Where the Heart Is (Heart in Title/on Cover)
Arithmancy – Magical qualities of number 2: balance/opposites – read something outside your favourite genre:
- My Story by Elizabeth Smart
  - Shop Local/Small (Local Bookstore/Library Book), Sanitize (Genre You Don’t Read)
Astronomy – Night classes: read majority of this book when it’s dark outside
- The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco (buddy read with Kari)
  - Binge Watch (Read a Sequel), Snacks for Days (Book BF/GF), Social Distancing (Friend Group), Zoom (Buddy Read)
Care of Magical Creatures – Hippogriffs: creature with a beak on the cover
- Royal Diaries: Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without Country
  - Face Mask (Face on the Cover), Soap and Water (Title Longer than Four Words)
Charms – Lumos Maxima: white cover
- I am Still Alive by Kate Marshall
  - Animal Crossing (Set Far Away)
Defence Against the Dark Arts – Grindylows: book set at the sea/coast
- Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
  - Stay Hydrated (Set at Sea), News Fatigue (Keep Hearing About)
Divination – Third eye: assign numbers to your TBR and use a random number generator to pick your read
- The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
Herbology – Mimbulus mimbletonia: title starts with an M
- My Plain Jane by the Lady Janies
  - Delivery (Gifted/Recommended)
History of Magic – Witch hunts (book featuring witches/wizards)
- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Muggle Studies – Book from the perspective of a muggle (contemporary)
- The Last Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
  - Pajamas (Cosy Read)
Potions – Shrinking Solution: book under 150 pages
- Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
  - Toilet Paper (Multiple Copies), Family Time (Illustrations), Self-Care (Re-read), Highly Motivated (Big Book)
Transfiguration – Animagus lecture: book/series that includes shapeshifting
- Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

However, because I’m a glutton for punishment, that’s not all I’m going to read this month.

You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce

This is an eARC that comes out on April 21st, so I need to pick that up and read it. It’s going to fit into the prompt Work From Home (Format You Don’t Normally Read)

Also, I need to read: