NEWTs Magical Readathon 2020 TBR

This is the second part of the amazing magical readathon created by Book Roast on Youtube. 

The first part of the readathon happened in April this year and the idea is that you can take any of the subjects in the NEWTs readathon that you completed in the OWLs readathon. Once again Gi has gone all out and not only created reading prompts for each subject but has also created wizarding careers to choose from. If you want more information then I'll leave her explanation video here so you can check those out as she explains it far better than I could! You can also find all the reading prompts and career paths in that video too. I will just note that this year will be the last NEWTs readathon due to J.K. Rowling and her anti-trans opinions. Next year Gi will be creating a new readathon to replace it!

The NEWTs readathon starts on August 1st and lasts the whole month (until August 31st) and during this time everyone will be taking their 'NEWT Examinations'. In my OWLs I managed to pass every subject which means I could take any of the subjects I want and attempt to complete them all. However, there are 33 prompts so I'm definitely going to narrow it down to a more do-able TBR! I've decided to choose Magizooligist career path and also Animagus Training which means I will need:

E - Arithmancy

O - Care of Magical Creatures

E - Charms

E - Herbology

E - Potions

O - Transfiguration

This means I will need to read 14 books in the month of August, which feels very do-able as I've been reading around 20 books a month lately. If I surpass the above then I'll also try to fit in other subjects as well but we'll see how it goes! (Also, note that you have to complete the prompts in order so you can get the NEWT, e.g. you have to complete the Acceptable, then Exceeds Expectations, and finally Outstanding).

So, without further ado, here are the prompts and my TBR for the NEWTs Magical Readathon.

Arithmancy

A: Precision is Key - Read a non-fiction

The Story of English by Joseph Piercy

E: A Book that ends on an uneven page number

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Care of Magical Creatures

A: Salamander - A book with fire on the cover or in the title

Finder's Keepers by Stephen King

E: Flobberworm - Lazy is fine! Read something short

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

O: Hagrid's Hut - Start a book with a snack

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Charms

A: Cheering Charm - Read a humorous book

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

E: Glacius Freezing Charm - Read a book set in winter

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

Herbology

A: Puffapods - A book with flowers on the cover

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

E: Nettle Plant - A book that might be impactful

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Potions

A: Flying Seahorse Ingredient - A book with the word "sky" in the title or on the cover

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

E: Doxycide - Author name that starts with the letter D (first or last name)

The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

Transfiguration

A: Lapifors Spell - Animal on the cover or in the title

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

E: Draconifors Spell - A book with dragons or fire in the title or on the cover

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

O: Duro (hardening spell) - Read a hardcover or a book you thought would be hard to read

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

As you can see, part of my TBR is to re-read the Twilight Saga so I can read the newest book, Midnight Sun. I last re-read them about 5-6 years ago and I know they don't hold up. They do hold some nostalgia for 13-year-old me though so I'm definitely interested in seeing how I feel when reading them again now.

So, that is my NEWTs TBR! If I read all of these, I will attempt to complete more NEWTs prompts so I pass more exams. Let me know if you've made a TBR for the final NEWTs, and what career you're hoping to complete!

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Books to Read on My TBR

This week's Top Five Wednesday is the top five 'books on your TBR'. These are the books you’ve been meaning to read this year but just didn’t get to in the first half of 2020. This is a slightly belated post but I love discussing the books I want to get around to reading. I've picked a couple of backlist books from my TBR and also some newer purchases. Here are my top five!

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I've owned this book for a few years now and I just know I'm going to enjoy it so it's about time I got around to reading it. Especially since the entire trilogy is now out and I own all of them. This book is set in a world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. The book follows Citra and Rowan who are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Very excited to read this twist on a utopian novel.

2. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

This is a recent purchase for me and I know it's being hyped all over booktube right now. Contemporaries aren't something I read too often but I do enjoy the occasional feel-good contemporary, so I'm looking forward to this one. Leah Johnson is also an own-voices black author and I'm so excited to read more black voices in books, because they are so underrepresented in publishing! This book follows Liz Lighty who is in high school and wants to go to college to study medicine. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough money for tuition so she enters the Prom Queen competition in order to win the money to go to college. Another positive is that this book also has a sapphic romance!

3. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

This is a series that I've been desperate to read since I first heard about it. I now have the majority of the series and I adore a long high fantasy series so I'm excited to start it. I'm aware this has been on a few TBR's now so this year I'm determined to get to it! In this book, Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart. The magic system in this book sounds incredibly unique so I'm looking forward to picking it up.

4. The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

I would like to get to this entire trilogy this year realistically, although I've heard very mixed things about this first book. This is a YA fantasy that includes dragons and, in all honesty, that's all I needed to hear to sell me on this book. I adore dragon fantasies but finding one that's done well for me has been so difficult, so I'm hoping to enjoy this one. Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up hearing in hushed whispers of the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

5. Different Seasons by Stephen King

And finally, we have Different Seasons by Stephen King. If you've been following my blog for a few years then you'll know that Stephen King is one of my favourite authors and I try to read at least one or two King books a year, as I'm slowly making my way through his backlist. My then-boyfriend/now-husband bought me this book about 7 years ago and I haven't got around to reading it yet so I want to change that! This book is actually 4 short stories: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method. Since two of these have film adaptations that I love, I need to get this book so I can finally read the original text. Stephen King is fantastic at creating characters and small-town situations so I'm looking forward to diving back into his writing.

So, those are my top five books that I want to read before the end of 2020! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!