Books

2020 OWLs Magical Readathon TBR

In the list of things that seem almost impossible: the 2020 OWLs magical readathon starts in just a couple of days. How is it that time of year already? And – more importantly – how am I supposed to figure out what books I’m going to read? Well… With this TBR, of course!

OWLs Magical Readathon

If you’re new to the OWLs Magical Readathon: it’s basically a month-long readathon organised by G over at BookRoast. This is the third year she’s organised this readathon, with the OWLs taking place in April, the NEWTs in August, and some mini-readathons (prep for the “real ones”) in between.

The reading prompts are based on the subjects you can take at Hogwarts, and you choose what prompts to take on, based on what career you want to go for. Sound confusing? Don’t worry, she explains everything in her announcement video, on the Magical Readathon Twitter, and of course: on the Magical Readathon site!

Because this is the third year that the readathon takes place, this year, the prompts are aimed at the subjects and events from the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

So – what exactly are these prompts, and what books will I read for them? Just read on to find out!

Career Choice

As I did last year, I’m going to aim for the Alchemist. Why? Well, quite simply, because you need to get all OWLs for that occupation. Which means that, either I can continue down that route in August… Or I can re-evaluate and choose another field come NEWTs-season.

Just in case you’re curious: my back-up careers this year are Hogwarts Professor (with a specialisation in History of Magic), Librarian, Spell Maker and Journalist/Writer. I feel like all of those are pretty obvious choices for me, although I must admit… I was really tempted by the Child Carer option as well!

My TBR

So, Alchemist, all the OWLS. But, again: what exactly will I be reading for those prompts? Because I know myself, and I know I don’t do well with a very strict TBR, I gave myself 3 options for just about every prompt. When the time comes to actually get reading, I’ll hopefully be more motivated, because I have some free will left. Hopefully being the keyword – it’s been a bit of a strange reading year :p

Ancient Runes

Heart rune: heart on the cover or in the title

  • Paper & Hearts Society
  • Lessons in Heartbreak
  • The Girl He Used To Know

Arithmancy

Magical qualities of number 2: balance/opposites – read something outside your favourite genre (romance)

  • The Boy, The Horse, The Fox and the Mole
  • The Queens of Animation
  • A Study in Charlotte

Astronomy

Night classes: read majority of this book when it’s dark outside

  • Heartstopper pt 1
  • Heartstopper pt 2
  • Hearstopper Pt 3

Care of Magical Creatures

Hippogriffs: creature with a beak on the cover

  • The Trials of Morrigan Crow
  • 5 Years From Now
  • Harry Potter 3/5

Charms

Lumos Maxima: white cover

  • Sapiens
  • The Goldfinch
  • You And Me, Always

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Grindylows: book set at the sea/coast

  • Dreaming of St. Tropez
  • Dalemark Quartet
  • Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay

Divination

Third eye: assign numbers to your TBR and use a random number generator to pick your read

  • The Wedding War

Herbology

Mimbulus mimbletonia: title starts with an M

  • Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore
  • Miranda’s Big Mistake
  • Meg and Jo

History of Magic

Witch hunts: book featuring witches/wizards

  • Harry Potter
  • Dalemark Quartet
  • Chrestomanci-series

Muggle Studies

Book from a perspective of a muggle (contemporary)

  • Walk of Shame
  • The Summer of Wishful Thinking
  • That Night in Paris

Potions

Shrinking solution: book under 150 pages

  • Beatrix Potter
  • The Wicked & The Divine
  • One, No One and One Hundred Thousand

Transfiguration

Animagus lecture: book/series that includes shapeshifting

  • The Book of Merlyn
  • Harry Potter
  • Percy Jackson

So that’s my TBR for the 2020 OWLs Magical Readathon! Are you going to be participating in this readathon? If so, what does your TBR look like? Be sure to let me know below! Or just leave me your links, of course!

-Saar