Hello witches and wizards and welcome to my fourth progress check-in for the NEWTs Readathon! If you’re curious, you can check out my first, my second or my third progress updates here.
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 fourth (and likely final) progress 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
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
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
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
~ O – Cornish pixie!: book written by an English author or set in England
State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury Supper Club by Lara Williams
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 The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman
E – Book set in our world
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
O – Book written by a person of colour
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
I actually made pretty decent progress in the last week or so, by which I mean I finished off a couple of, let’s face it, quite short books. I thoroughly recommend the audiobook of The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, even if you’re not a HUGE fan of either Nick Offerman or Megan Mullally, because it will restore some faith in the idea of love tbh. I also swapped out and read My Sister, the Serial Killer for a challenge since I needed to read it for a book club recently started up at work. As I’m on holiday next week I actually won’t end up being in the office when we discuss it but I’m still glad I read it so I can talk about it with my colleagues when I get back to work!
As it stands, I’m a little bit worried I’m not going to complete even my basic TBR. However, to make the grades I need for the Charms professor position I just need to read Gods of Jade and Shadow and that’s it. Can I do it? Tune in in a few days to find out!
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!
The Terror of Knowing 