This April the O.W.Ls Readathon is back for the third year running!

This readathon was created by Gi @ Book Roast and it’s SO much fun – you can check out her video, explaining everything you need to know about the readathon if you haven’t heard of it before, here.

Like last year Gi has created a whole pamphlet of wizarding careers so you can choose your subjects, and therefore your reading prompts, based around what career you would pursue in the wizarding world. Like last year I’ll be pursuing History of Magic Professor, because I am a history nerd.

For that career I need to take 7 O.W.Ls:

• The subject you want to teach (History of Magic)
• Defence Against the Dark Arts
• Five other subjects of your choice.

Last year I managed to read a book for all 12 subjects, which felt like such a bookish achievement! I’m giving myself a TBR for all 12 prompts against this year just because History of Magic and DADA are the only two subjects I need, so the other five can be any of the remaining ten and giving myself a big TBR leaves me with plenty of choice throughout the month.

So, on with my TBR!

Ancient Runes

Heart Rune: Read a book with a heart on the cover or in the book/series title

I’d like to try and read as many books on my spring TBR for this readathon as I can, and luckily for me To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters has some lovely little white hearts on the cover. It’s a historical romance novel set in the Regency era that’s being released in April and it sounds like so much fun, so it should be one I can blast through quite quickly!

Arithmancy

Magical qualities of number 2 (balance/opposites): Read a book outside your favourite genre

I’m still quite intimidated by poetry, even though there’s a lot of it I really enjoy, so this seems like a great opportunity to finally read some Sylvia Plath. I’ve owned a copy of Ariel for years, so it’s about time I got to it!

Astronomy

Night Classes: Read the majority of this book when it’s dark outside

I recently treated myself to a copy of Isabel Greenberg’s new graphic novel, Glass Town, which is inspired by the Brontë siblings and sounds wonderful. Because it’s a graphic novel I should be able to read it in one sitting one night!

Care of Magical Creatures

Hippogriffs: Read a book with a creature with a beak on the cover

The Language of Thorns is the only book from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse that I haven’t read yet, so it’s about time I got to it!

Charms

Lumos Maxima: Read a book with a white cover

I’ve been keen to read The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta since its release and my parents very kindly got me a copy for Christmas, so I’m very excited to finally dive in and read about queer witches!

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Grindylows: Read a book set at sea/the coast

I finally read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch last year and loved it, so this prompt is the perfect excuse to pick up the second book in this Italian-inspired fantasy series, Red Seas Under Red Skies.

Divination

Third Eye: Assign numbers to your TBR and use a random number generator to pick your read

I used the numbers assigned to the books on my Goodreads To Read shelf and got The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles! I’ve been meaning to read this historical fantasy m/m romance novel for a while and it’s a fairly short book, so I should be able to get to it.

Herbology

Mimbulus Mimbletonia: Read a book with a title that starts with an M

I’ve heard amazing things about A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine and I really want to cross it off my TBR now that it’s been shortlisted for the Science Fiction and Debut categories of the 2020 Booktube SFF Awards. Now’s the perfect time to do just that!

History of Magic

Witch Hunts: Read a book featuring witches/wizards

I’m sure you can all imagine how much this prompt pleases me. It’s slightly intimidating, though, because there are so many witch books I want to read! Just to make things a little easier for myself, though, I’m going to reach for a novella: Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter. I’ve heard really good things about this Tor novella and I’d like to cross it off my TBR soon!

Muggle Studies

Read a book from the perspective of a muggle (Contemporary)

Emily Henry’s Beach Read isn’t out in the UK until July, but it’s a contemporary romance novel I just love the sound of and I was sent a copy via NetGalley so it’d be good to have a review scheduled ready for its summer release!

Potions

Shrinking Solution: Read a book under 150 pages

There are three romance books on my TBR this year and I’m not sorry. It’s such a fun genre that I tend to breeze through and I’m always on the lookout for more f/f content, particularly in historical fiction, so what better time to pick up Cat Sebastian’s A Little Light Mischief than during the O.W.Ls?

Transfiguration

Animagus Lecture: Read a book/series that includes shapeshifting

For years I’ve been saying I need to give the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs a try, and this seems like the ideal opportunity to pick up the first book, Moon Called. Urban fantasy is another genre I tend to blast through when I read it!

Are you taking part in the O.W.Ls Readathon? Which books are on your TBR?