As if I don't have enough readathons to participate in, I'm going to be taking on the N.E.W.T.s readathon in August! This is a continuation of the O.W.L.s readathon that happened in April, but it has a bit of a twist: you can only read from the "subjects" that you passed during the O.W.L.s readathon. So that being said, if you haven't done your O.W.L.s, you can't do your N.E.W.T.s yet. These readathons are designed to be a bit more challenging that your typical readathon which I'm actually really excited about. I'm the kind of person that likes taking on challenges and seeing how far I can go with them!
Here's how the N.E.W.T.s readathon works:
1. Take your O.W.L.s
2. Whatever subjects you passed during the O.W.L.s are eligible for you to read from during the N.E.W.T.s. You cannot read from a subject that you did not pass.
3. Each subject has "Acceptable", "Exceeds Expectations", and "Outstanding" challenges associated with them. You must complete the "Acceptable" challenge before attempting the "Exceeds Expectations" challenge, and you must complete the "Exceeds Expectations" challenge before attempting the "Outstanding" challenge. You cannot go out of order.
4. You cannot fulfill multiple challenges with one book. One book can only fulfill one challenge.
5. The ultimate goal of the readathon is to pass at least 3 exams and reach "Outstanding" in at least one subject.
While I passed 6 different exams during O.W.L.s, I'm only going to be attempting 4 subjects during the N.E.W.T.s. The subjects I will be taking are Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. My reasoning behind these choices is as simple as "I knew I had books on my shelf that could easily fulfill the challenges in these subjects" XD. Either way, I'm looking forward to reading these books and I'm so excited that this readathon exists!
N.E.W.T.s To Be Read
ARITHMANCY
Acceptable: A book with 300+ pages
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Exceeds Expectations: A book that ends on an even numbered page
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Outstanding: A book that is not the first in a series
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
MUGGLE STUDIES
Acceptable: A book by a favorite Author
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Exceeds Expectations: A biography
The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
Outstanding: A retelling
Ms. Marvel, vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
POTIONS
Acceptable: A book with a color in the title
Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
Exceeds Expectations: A book with a male lead character
Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
Outstanding: A book with 350+ pages
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
TRANSFIGURATION
Acceptable: A book with a grey cover
The Book of Essie by Meghan Maclean Weir
Exceeds Expectations: A book by an author that you've never read before
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Outstanding: A book set in a kingdom/has royals
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
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Like with the O.W.L.s, I plan on making weekly blog updates to let you know how my reading is going throughout the readathon. I have been doing monthly vlog-style wrap ups for my reading, so I will be wrapping up all the books I read for N.E.W.T.s there and posting that in early September, but if you'd like to get updates in the meantime, check back to my blog every week! I hope you all are just as excited for this readathon as I am!
I am, of course, SO PUMPED, to be jumping back into BookTubeAThon this year. BookTubeAThon
is so much fun an such a great way to bring the entire community together to celebrate the thing that we love most! I will be traveling during the first few days of the readathon (because all I ever do is travel these days), but I still would like to make an effort to post daily vlogs on my channel and do the daily challenges. We may have to play a bit of catch up when I return, but either way I'm super pumped for July 30th!
1. Let a coin flip decide your first read
Saga, vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughn
2. A book about something you would like to do
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
3. Read & watch a book-to-movie adaptation
Holes by Louis Sachar
4. A book with green on the cover
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
5. A book while wearing the same hat the entire time
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
24 in 48 is one of my absolute favorite readathons to participate in so I am very excited that it's back this weekend! I really love the idea of focusing on the TIME spent reading versus the amount of pages or books you actually read during a given time period, because actually making the time to read in our busy lives is really the most important thing. That's why I love this readathon so much! This will be my third time participating in this readathon and my main goal is to beat my record time of 13:09:05. Ultimately I would love to get to the full 24 hours, but if I can manage to beat 13:09:05 I'll be pumped!
WOW. We're already half way through 2018. Where has this year gone? Seriously. On the bright side, being half way through the year means we get to do some mid-year check ins on our reading, and what better way to do that with the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! I did this tag last year and really enjoyed answering the questions, so I thought why not do it again this year? I hope you enjoy watching!
QUESTIONS
1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2018.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Long Walk by Stephen King
2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2018.
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
5. Biggest disappointment.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
6. Biggest surprise.
2AM at the Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn
7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)
Liane Moriarty
8. Newest fictional crush.
Gabe Donnelly from 99 Days by Katie Cotugno
Adam Parrish from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
9. Newest favorite character.
Madeline from 2AM at the Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
Elsa from My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologizes by Fredrik Backman
10. Book that made you cry.
Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa
11. Book that made you happy.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
12. Favorite book to film adaptation you saw this year.
Ready Player One
The Handmaid's Tale
13. Favorite review you've written this year. (Booktube version: Favorite video you have done so far in this year)
[LOL FORGOT TO DO THIS QUESTION]
14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
June was a weird reading month for me. I went in with big plans to read a bunch of my Book of the Month books and knowing that I had a lot of travel in June, I figured the time I spent on the plane would really help out with getting through a lot of those books. For some reason I was reading slower than usual last month and only managed to get through 3 of the 8 books on that TBR. However, I did read some really good books this month (the lowest rating I gave this month was a 3!) and I definitely plan on rolling those BOTM books over to the rest of the summer because I REALLY want to get to them! Despite how busy I was and despite my slow reading tendancies this month, I'm still proud of how much reading I got done in the month of June.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows Physical copy, 4/5 Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough Physical copy, 4/5 Autoboyography by Christina Lauren Library copy, 5/5 Sourdough by Robin Sloan Physical copy, 3/5 First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy Physical copy, 3/5 99 Days by Kaite Cotugno Kindle eBook, 4/5 A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin Audiobook, 5/5 The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan Physical copy, 4/5 Re-read pick from 10 Book TBR #2 The Long Walk by Stephen King Physical copy, 5/5 Buddy read with Anita Paper Girls, vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughn Library copy, 5/5 Paper Girls, vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughn Library copy, 5/5
