The N.E.W.Ts are still underway, and I’m just one book away from my career goal!

To be a History of Magic Professor, I need: History of Magic (O); DADA (E); Two further subjects (A).

Thanks to challenging myself to read the novelettes shortlisted for this year’s Hugo Awards, four of which are on Goodreads as separate books (and therefore count towards the N.E.W.Ts), I’ve managed to achieve grades in a couple of extra subjects in the past week!

Arithmancy

• A: Read a book that ends on an even-numbered page The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly
• E: Read a standalone Nine Last Days on Planet Earth by Daryl Gregory
• O: Read a book that’s longer than 350 pages

Astronomy

• A: Read a book with a moon on the cover or anywhere in the title Goddess of the Hunt by Shelby Eileen
• E: Read a book with the word “night” in the title or series name
• O: Read a sci-fi book (or a book with stars on the cover)

Charms

• A: Read a book that you think has a gorgeous cover If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho
• E: Read a comic/graphic novel/manga (or book under 150 pages)
• O: Spongify (softening charm) – Read a paperback book

Defence Against the Dark Arts

• A: Read a book that’s black under the dust jacket Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
• E: Gilderoy’s memory charm – Read the first book that you remembered from your TBR
• O: Cornish pixie! Swat it away with an English author or a book set in England

History of Magic

• A: Read a fantasy Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven
• E: Read a book that includes a map Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
• O: Tom Riddle’s diary: fond memory – Re-read a favourite (or read a classic) Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger (audiobook; narrated by Emma Newman)

Potions

• A: Polyjuice Potion – Read your friend’s favourite book City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
• E: House ingredient – Read a book with a cover in your Hogwarts House colour The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
• O: Read a book that starts with a prologue

Last week I mentioned that I was hoping to finish up History of Magic and make a start on DADA, and I’ve managed both of those things. I also mentioned I was thinking of using Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager for my E in Potions because the American cover is blue, but as the UK cover is mostly black I decided to count it towards DADA instead.

I read a lot on my commute and carrying a hardback around in my bag isn’t the best, so I felt like I’d be waiting for ages to start DADA if I went with my original TBR and read These Rebel Waves, but I also wanted to make a start on DADA so I could use City of Blades for my E in the subject as it’s been the book right at the forefront of my mind since I read and loved City of Stairs.

I have fairly mixed feelings about Last Time I Lied. Ultimately I really loved where the plot went, but I wasn’t so keen on quite a lot of the characters. Look out for my review in the coming weeks!

After that I immediately started City of Blades and I’m really enjoying it so far. Mulaghesh is such a fantastic character and I’d like to read more high fantasy novels with middle-aged women at the centre of them please and thank you.

Before all of that, though, I finished listening to the audiobook of Romancing the Inventor and had just as much fun with this novella the second time around – Genevieve Lefoux is still one of my favourite characters from the Parasol Protectorate world, and if Gail Carriger decided to write an entire novel about her I would have no complaints whatsoever. With that re-read under my belt, I achieved my O in History of Magic!

Then over the weekend, as I mentioned above, I decided to read the novelettes and short stories shortlisted for this year’s Hugo Awards.

First up I read The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander, which has a cover that’s half blue and therefore gave me my E in Potions! Next up was Zen Cho’s If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again which, when I saw the cover, I decided to count towards an A in Charms (I mean I am a Ravenclaw – I’m sure Professor Flitwick would be proud).

This was followed up by my favourite novelette on the shortlist, Tina Connolly’s The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections, and then Daryl Gregory’s Nine Last Days on Planet Earth. When I was looking through the list of prompts, I realised I could count these two towards an A and E in Arithmancy which is ideal because These Rebel Waves will give me an O in Arithmancy if I can get to it, and I’d really like to get to it!

Not only is These Rebel Waves a novel I just have a feeling I’m going to really like, but it’s also one of the books on my summer TBR and I’ve been making a real effort to actually read the books on my summer TBR this year. So far I’ve read 7 of them – that’s a real achievement for me, because I can be rubbish with my TBRs! – and if I can read These Rebel Waves and Girls of Paper and Fire for my O in Potions, I’ll have read 90% of my summer TBR.

My goal this week is to get my E in DADA with City of Blades and get an E and then an O in Astronomy with A Night to Surrender and To Be Taught, If Fortunate. All three of them are on my kindle so I should be able to get through them on my commute this week!

How are your N.E.W.Ts going?