If you saw my previous ‘progress report’ you will have seen that I’m taking part in this year’s OWLs Readathon 2020! (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, have a look at my Sign Up post or the readathon website for more details.)
So, in the OWLs you choose a career path and then your reading prompts are based on the subjects you would need to pass in order to progress into that career. I chose the Librarian career path which means I need to read books for Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Transfiguration. Of course, me being me, my actual goal is to complete all of the subjects.
Career OWLs
Ancient Runes – heart on cover or in title
Arithmancy – read outside your favourite genre
Defence Against the Dark Arts – book set at the sea/coast
History of Magic – book featuring witches/wizards
Transfiguration – book/series that includes shapeshifting
Additional OWLs
Astronomy – read when dark outside
Care of Magical Creatures – creature with a beak on the cover
Charms – white cover
Divination – assign number to TBR then random no.
Herbology – title starts with an M
Muggle Studies – from perspective of muggle (ie a contemporary)
Potions – under 150 pages
As I noted in my first progress update, I had read 2 books (The Princess Diaries: Take Two and Soulless) and now Station Eleven joins that. I basically read Station Eleven in the course of a (long) weekend and I’m SO glad I did because it was fantastic and I loved it and I’ve very annoyed at past me for not having read it sooner when everyone said I would like it. It’s really, really great – just maybe don’t read it during a global pandemic since it features a global pandemic. Or do read it… I actually found it terrifying but also weirdly comforting (even though it’s not at all comforting), I think because, momentarily, I could abstract the current situation with COVID-19 and pretend it was just the stuff of fiction. Like I said, weird logic, but it worked for me so…
I also did a quick re-read of the first volume of Shades of Magic graphic novels. I still stand by what I’ve thought previously – the artwork is stunning, love the story, the overall concept is great, but I just find the fight scenes really difficult to follow what’s actually happening. I think if I wasn’t already familiar with the world and magic system of Arnes thanks to the Shades of Magic trilogy I would be super confused. Anyone else feel the same? Still, it nicely fit with the DADA prompt since it takes place in a coastal town/on a ship.
As for things in progress, I’m still working on Pages and Co (I semi-abandoned it in favour of picking up Station Eleven) and I’ve also started reading Labyrinth Lost for the History of Magic prompt. Handily both of them have audiobooks on Scribd so I have pretty much no excuse for not reading them in the next week or so.
So here’s how my progress looks now as we’re officially half-way through the month:
Career OWLs
~ Ancient Runes – heart on cover or in title
Pages and Co by Anna James
✓ Defence Against the Dark Arts – book set at the sea/coast
Shades of Magic, Volume 1: The Steel Prince
~ History of Magic – book featuring witches/wizards
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
✓ Transfiguration – book/series that includes shapeshifting
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Additional OWLs
✓ Charms – white cover
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
✓ Muggle Studies – from perspective of muggle (ie a contemporary)
The Princess Diaries: Take Two by Meg Cabot
Are you taking part in the Magical Readathon this year? What career path have you chosen? Even if you’re not participating, let me know what you’re reading at the moment or what you’ve finished recently!
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One response to “OWLs Readathon 2020 | Progress Report #2”
I have 1 prompt left to finish. Care of magical creatures. I have 2 books on the go for this one. Haha. Then I will have finished 8 prompts :-). For potions I highly recommend Hunter’s Truce by Elle Beaumont. I love that series
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