The Terror of Knowing

Hello witches and wizards and welcome to my first progress check-in for the NEWTs Readathon! If you have no idea what I’m talking about – and so likely think I’ve finally given into the delusion that my Hogwarts letter is just lost in the post – you should probably check out my NEWTs Sign Up & TBR post to see what’s what.

In short: throughout August, I’ll be taking part in the Magical Readathon, a Harry Potter themed readathon based around the examinations students sit at Hogwarts. This is the second round of the readathon this year (the first one, for the OWL exams, were sat in April) and is themed around the NEWTs, the final exams sat by seventh year students.

The Magical Readathon is always super fun, if a little challenging when it comes to the NEWTs, but I was a huge swot at school so it’s no surprise that I love the idea of this and enthusiastically take part. This year I’ve tried to be realistic with my TBR (as, let’s face it, I’m not likely to read the 36 books needed to complete every challenge) and so I figured doing progress updates for the week previous every Monday might be a nice thing to do. So, without further ado, here’s the first update:

NEWT Requirements for Hogwarts Professor

Must achieve:
O in subject you wish to teach (Charms)
E in Defence Against the Dark Arts
+ at least 2 As in secondary subjects of your choice

TBR

✓ = read
~ = currently reading

Charms
✓ A – Read a book you think has a gorgeous cover
Under a Dancing Star by Laura Wood
E – Read a comic/graphic novel/manga OR book under 150 pages
Giant Days, Volume 6 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar, and Liz Fleming
O – Spongify (softening charm): read a paperback book
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Defence Against the Dark Arts
~ A – Book that’s black under dust jacket
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
E – Gilderoy’s memory charm: first book you just remembered from TBR
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
O – Cornish pixie!: book written by an English author or set in England
State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury

History of Magic
A – Read a fantasy
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
E – Read a book that includes a map
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
O – Tom Riddle’s diary: reread a favourite OR read a classic
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Muggle Studies
~ A – Cover that includes an actual photo element
The Furies by Katie Lowe
E – Book set in our world
The Paper & Hearts Society by Lucy Powrie
O – Book written by a person of colour
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

So, as you can see, I’ve gladly ticked off one book from my TBR (and, what’s more, I ADORED IT), and I’ve started 2 others. So not a terrible start but still room for improvement. As for the books I’m currently reading I can happily report that Sorcery of Thorns is a beautiful book and it seems like something that will be right up my street even though I’ve only read like a chapter so far. Things are looking promising! I won’t be reading this a lot during the week, I think, because it’s such a pretty hardback that I probably won’t risk shoving it into my backpack to take to work. I’ll stick to eARCS and audiobooks for my week day reading, i reckon. Speaking of: even though I have an eARC of The Furies on NetGalley, I also found it on Scribd whilst looking for an audiobook to accompany me whilst I was folding and putting away my laundry on Sunday night, so I’ll definitely be listening to more of this throughout the week on my commute.

Are you taking part in the NEWTs/Magical Readathon this year? How are you doing so far? Even if you’re not participating, let me know what you have been reading this week because I’d love to know. Leave a comment below!

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