The Ultimate Harry Potter Tag!

A tag today! Was I tagged? No! I have no idea where it originated from!

General

1- Favorite book?

The Prisoner of Azkaban!

2- Least favorite book?

The Deathly Hallows

3- Favorite movie?

The Sorcerer’s Stone

4- Least favorite movie?

The Goblet of Fire

5- Favorite quote?

I shouldn’t have told you that.

Characters

6- Favorite Weasley?

Molly

7- Favorite female character?

Hermione

8- Favorite villain?

The Basilisk

9- Favorite male character?

Hagrid

10- Favorite professor?

McGonagall

Would you rather?

11 – A. Wash Snape’s hair or B. Spend a day listening to Lockhart rant about himself

Wash Snape’s hair, easy. No Lockhart, nooooooo Lockhaaaaart

12- Duel A. An elated Bellatrix or B. An angry Molly

An elated Bellatrix. Molly scares me

13- Travel to Hogwarts via A. Hogwarts Express or B. Flying car

The Hogwarts Express!

14- A. Kiss Voldemort or B. give Umbridge a bubble bath

Tonsil hockey for sure. Nobody needs to see that.

15- A. Ride a hippogriff or B. Ride a Firebolt

A hippogriff. Fluffier.

Book to movie adaption

16- Is there a character which you felt differently about in the movies vs books?

Ginny. She’s so much more in the books

17- Is there a movie you preferred instead of the book?

Nope

18- Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as Dumbledore?

Richard Harris

19- Your top thing (person or event) which wasn’t included in the movie that annoyed you most

Peeves

20- If you could remake any of the Potter movies, which would it be?

The fourth one

Hogwarts

21- Which house was your first gut feeling you’d be a part of?

Ravenclaw

22- Which house were you actually sorted into on Pottermore?

Gryffindor, which is weird, because literally every other test I’ve taken has put me in Ravenclaw. It’s just the Pottermore one

23- Which class would be your favorite?

Honestly probably Potions. I like cooking and it’s similar

24- Which spell do you think would be most useful to learn?

Accio. I’m lazy.

25- Which character at Hogwarts do you think you’d instantly become best friends with?

Probablly Neville

Miscellaneous

26- If you could own one of the three Hallows, which would it be?

The invisibility cloak

27- Is there any aspect of the books you’d want to change? This can be a character, event, anything

Fewer plot holes, less kill-happiness in book seven

28- Favorite Marauder?

Moony

29- If you could bring one character back to life, which would it be?

Fred. There are honestly other characters I’d want back more, but… living without your twin must be torture. So Fred, for George.

30- Hallows or Horcruxes?

Hallows

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And that’s it! If you’d like to do this tag, consider yourself tagged!

October book haul! | #33

Happy November! These are all the books I picked up in October!

First, the books. I only got three this month.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling, illustrations by Jim Kay – Not much to say about this one other than ‘woot’.

The Burning White by Brent Weeks – I wasn’t planning on getting this yet originally, as I still haven’t finished The Blood Mirror, but it was on sale, man, it was on sale. For cheaper than I could find online elsewhere, so… considering I was gonna get it eventually anyway…

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb – This is the 25th anniversary illustrated edition and it’s beautiful. I flipped through the pages a bit and the artist’s interpretations of all the characters are basically spot on to how they were in my head. When I reread this series (read: ‘when’ not ‘if’) I’ll be reading this edition to start.

Noragami vols 1-2 by Adachitoka – This is a neat series so far. I’ve actually read the first one, and it’s giving me like… Yu Yu Hakusho-y, Bleach-y vibes. I dig it.

She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai – This was nice and pleasant. It’s a slice of life one shot following, well, a woman and her cat. It’s told from the cat’s perspective. It’s pretty cute.

O Maidens in Your Savage Season by Mari Okada – Continuing on with this series, I’m really digging the bright colors on each of the covers. Their section on my bookshelf is so pop-y.

Goblin Slayer vol 6 by Kumo Kagyu – I’m pretty sure this bit goes past the end of the anime (I think) so woo, new content!

Kiss Him, Not Me! vols 1-14 by Junko – I literally bought and read the entire series this month. Originally I had only purchased the first two, but after reading them I knew that a) I wanted to read the whole thing and b) I’d reread it. So… since they were on sale and I have poor impulse control I got them all. This manga pokes fun at the reverse harem trope and it’s utterly absurd, but I thought it was hilarious!

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And that’s it! Three books and twenty manga this month. I really need to cool it with the manga – stick to series I’m actively reading instead of, well, impulse buying a completed series that I heard about on a whim and went ‘huh’ and then dropped all sorts of money on it.

….

Yes, I’ll chill.

Happy reading!

N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon Wrap Up! | August Wrap Up

Happy end-of-newts!

This year, I was going for Alchemist, which was the most challenging of the careers. I figured, even if I didn’t get it, I’d likely qualify for some other career. But go me – I did it! I read seventeen things this month, qualifying me for Alchemist!

My original TBR was a bit lofty, in retrospect. I did complete 17 books that filled the prompts I needed, but I ended up having to swap out a lot of my original TBR for other books when I ran into the time crunch. I finished my last one as of 10 minutes ago, and it’s about 9am on Aug 31st as I’m writing this, so I finished with about 15 hours to spare!

This is what I needed for Alchemist:

And this is what I read:

Ancient Runes

• A: Read a book recommended by a friend

Saga vol 9 by Brian K Vaughan – This ended up being super great, and man did it break my heart. I’m now full caught up on this series and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one. Come back from hiatus, please ;~:

4.5 stars

• E: Book written in past tense

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – It was really neat getting to see the source material for a movie I love so much. I actually ended up re-watching the movie as well when I finished this. It was a good time!

3.5 stars

• O: Book that has been on your TBR for ages

Bitch Planet vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick – This ended up being really interesting and I’m planning on continuing. The art was different, and so was the plot. It’s definitely gotten mixed reviews and I can see why, but I ended up rather enjoying this!

3.5 stars

Arithmancy

• A: Book that ends on an even page number

Chew vol 3 by John Layman – This series is such a joy. I really liked this one.

4 stars

• E: Read a stand alone

Nod by Adrian Barnes – Now this one, this one was a really interesting read. Don’t pick it up if you don’t like hanging questions, as the author unfortunately passed away before he could write another book in the series, but for what it is, it’s really good. It follows a man in a world that can no longer sleep, and he being one of the handful who still can, has to watch the world crumble around him. Really, this was good. I really liked it.

4 stars

• O: Books that’s longer than 350 pages

You by Caroline Kepnes – The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages by Akira Himekawa – This is one of the books I had to swap out. I simply just didn’t have enough time. This is the second book in the Legend of Zelda series, but note they’re all companions, not direct sequels. Each follows a different Zelda game. I ended up rather enjoying this, and I feel like part of it was due to the fact that I’ve never played the oracle games, so I wasn’t constantly comparing them. This was good though!

3.75 stars

Herbology

• A: Audiobook

Windwitch by Susan Dennard – Originally I had left this prompt open, as I tend to pick up audios randomly. So this is the one I ended up using. Just like the first book in the series, I really enjoyed this. I’ve been itching to start Bloodwitch, which I’ll do after I read the novella.

4 stars

• E: Book between 350-390 pages

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa – This was another swap-out. This one is the first in the series I mentioned, and while it’s my favorite Zelda game, I liked this graphic novel less than the other one I read, namely because I couldn’t help but compare it to the game as I read. It was good, but my mind wouldn’t let me love it.

3 stars

• O: Book with a flower on the cover

The Girl From the Other Side vol 1 by Nagabe – This first volume was a tad slow, but the ending was interesting enough that I plan to continue it. I feel like it could become a favorite series. It definitely has the potential

4 stars

Potions

• Read your friend’s favorite book

Dorohedoro vol 1 by Q. Hayashida – This is among one of my best buddy’s manga series. She lent it to me ages ago and I figured now was the best time to pick it up. I think I read it back in high school sometime too and remember really liking it. This time around though, it was alright.

3 stars

• Book with cover in Hogwart’s house color

Chew vol 4 by John Layman – Again, this series is great. Gonna hopefully get volume 5 soon!

3.5 stars

• Book that starts with a prologue

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – I have so many feelings about this. Parts of it I really liked, other parts I really didn’t. At some point if I get off my ass, I’ll write a review about it.

3 stars

Transfiguration

• Read a book the LGBT+ representation

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare – I did like this book a bit more than the previous book. Liked it enough to get me invested, so I plan on picking up the third one at some point here.

3.5 stars

• Read a sequel

Delicious in Dungeon vol 3 by Ryoko Kui – This was super cute, as I had predicted. I have volume four all ready and waiting too!

3.5 stars

• Read a book over 500 pages

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas – Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki by Mamoru Hosoda – This is my final swap out. At 500 pages, I don’t know what I was thinking, originally choosing a novel. This graphic novel though flew – I think I read it in an hour. It was really good and really cute. I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

Astronomy

• A: Moon on cover/title

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss – I ended up liking this more than I liked The Wise Man’s Fear honestly. Mostly because the lack of Kvothe. If you’re looking for action or adventure, this is not the book for you. But it’s quaint, and I liked it.

3.5 stars

• E: Night in title/series name

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon – This almost ended up being a new favorite of mine. I still really enjoyed it, but giving it a 5 at the end (which I reserve for ‘new all-time favorites’) felt a bit wrong. But don’t let that dissuade you from reading it. I still really, really enjoyed this book. It was great! My husband had been after me to read it for a while and I’m glad I finally did.

4 stars

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And that’s it – 17 books up, 17 down. I finished. And now I have the rest of the day to read whatever I want until the next readathon (Space Opera September) starts tomorrow.

If you participated in the Magical Readathon, lemme know how you did!

2019 Anticipated Releases: July – December

Hello! Today’s post will be a continuation about all the books I’m looking forward to that are coming out this year! I made a post back in January about books for the first half of the year, so if you’re interested, go check that out!

As before, I’ll be posting the book, the tentative release date, and the synopsis. Obviously since I haven’t read the book, I can’t really tell you more than that. If any of these strike your fancy though, let me know!

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The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang

Release date: Aug 6th

Goodreads synopsis (Spoilers for The Poppy War): In the aftermath of the Third Poppy War, shaman and warrior Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold out Nikan to their enemies.

With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who has a plan to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new Republic. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do.

But the Empress is a more powerful foe than she appears, and the Dragon Warlord’s motivations are not as democratic as they seem. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix’s deadly power. Because there is nothing she won’t sacrifice for her country and her vengeance.

Fence vol 3 by C. S. Pacat

Release date: Aug 20th

Goodreads synopsis: Scrappy fencer Nicholas Cox comes to the end of his path to prove himself worthy of a father he never knew in the face of surly upperclassmen, nearly impossible odds, and the talent of his rival, sullen fencing prodigy, Seiji Katayama.

Sparks fly white-hot on the pitch as Nicholas and Seiji finally face off once again in the halls of King’s Row. It’s a match that will change King’s Row (and both of them!) forever, and set the stage as the team journeys to face their bitter rivals and prove themselves once and for all. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Release date: Sept 10th

Goodreads synopsis: The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

Release date: Sept 10th

Goodreads synopsis: Violet Sterling has spent the last seven years in exile, longing to return to Burleigh House. One of the six great houses of England, Burleigh’s magic always kept the countryside well. And as a child, this magic kept Violet happy, draping her in flowers while she slept, fashioning secret hiding places for her, and lighting fires on the coldest nights to keep her warm.

Everything shattered, though, when her father committed high treason trying to free Burleigh from the king’s oppressive control. He was killed, and Vi was forced into hiding.

When she’s given a chance to go back, she discovers Burleigh has run wild with grief. Vines and briars are crumbling the walls. Magic that once enriched the surrounding countryside has turned dark and deadly, twisting lush blooms into thorns, poisoning livestock and destroying crops. Burleigh’s very soul is crying out in pain.

Vi would do anything to help, and soon she finds herself walking the same deadly path as her father all those years before. Vi must decide how far she’s willing to go to save her house—before her house destroys everything she’s ever known.

The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

Release date: Oct 1st

Goodreads synopsis: Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing– a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (illustrated edition!) by J. K. Rowling and illustrated by Jim Kay

Release date: Oct 8th

Goodreads synopsis: An extraordinary creative achievement by two extraordinary talents, Jim Kay’s inspired reimagining of J.K. Rowling’s classic series has captured a devoted following worldwide. This stunning new fully illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire brings more breathtaking scenes and unforgettable characters to life – including Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour and Mad-Eye Moody. With paint, pencil and pixels, Kay conjures the wizarding world as we have never seen it before. Fizzing with magic and brimming with humour, this full-colour edition will captivate fans and new readers alike as Harry, now in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, finds himself competing in the legendary Triwizard Tournament and facing death-defying tasks, dragons and Dark wizards …

The Burning White by Brent Weeks

Release date: Oct 22nd

Goodreads synopsis (Spoilers for The Blood Mirror): Stripped of both magical and political power, the people he once ruled told he’s dead, and now imprisoned in his own magical dungeon, former Emperor Gavin Guile has no prospect of escape. But the world faces a calamity greater than the Seven Satrapies has ever seen… and only he can save it.

As the armies of the White King defeat the Chromeria and old gods are born anew, the fate of worlds will come down to one question: Who is the Lightbringer?

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Release date: Nov 5th

Goodreads synopsis: Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues — a bee, a key, and a sword — that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians — it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction.

Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose–in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

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And that’s it! I’m so pumped for all of these, man. I’m hoping to get them all on or soon after their release days. If you wanna read any of these, do let me know! Happy reading!

OWLs Magical Readathon | April Wrap Up

Hello, Happy May! Today I’m going to go over my results of the OWLs Magical Readathon! And then I’ll cover everything else usually in one of my wrap ups.

OWLs Readathon

Firstly, if you’re unfamiliar with the OWLs readathon and would like to know more, check out the announcement video here.

So, I mentioned in my original announcement post that I was going for Alchemist. That meant I had to complete all twelve OWLs. During my mid-month check-in I had completed about three of them. With nine left on the fifteenth of the month, it was gonna be a bit of a challenge.

But, I did it! I completed all twelve OWLs!

Ancient Runes: Retelling

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden – Finished! I really liked this one, and gave it a full length blabber.

3.75 stars

Arithmancy: Work written by more than one author

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – Finished! Going into this one, the hype kinda daunted me. I did not really expect to like it nearly as much as I did. But man, I was captivated. Seriously enjoyed it.

4 stars

Astronomy: “Star” in the title

StarCraft: Frontline vol 1 by Richard A. Knaak – Finished! Unfortunately this wasn’t my cup of tea. I couldn’t tell if I wasn’t in the mood for it or if the story just failed to grasp me at all. I played StarCraft a lot when I was a teen, so I know the lore and stuff, so it’s not like I didn’t have context. Just… wasn’t for me, I guess.

2 stars

Care of Magical Creatures: Land animal on the cover

The Meowmorphosis by Coleridge Cook and Franz Kafka – Abandoned
Fruits Basket vol 1 by Natsuki Takaya – Finished! I realized on April 29th that I wouldn’t have time for another novel. So I subbed this category out for a manga. It was my saving grace, I wouldn’t have completed the challenge without it. I read Fruits Basket back when I was a teenager and I’ve been slowly collecting copies second hand. I had been meaning to reread it, so getting the chance to start was really nice.

4 stars

Charms: Age-line, an adult work

League of Dragons by Naomi Novik – Finished! I picked this up on audiobook and finishing it felt like the end of an era. This is the ninth and final book in the Temeraire series, and now I don’t know what to do with myself.

4.5 stars

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Reducto – title starts with ‘R’

Rave Master vol 1 by Hiro Mashima – Finished! It was so great rereading this. I read it back in high school and haven’t touched it in about a decade. I’m so glad that I picked it up though – the humor still gets me, ahaha.

4 stars

Divination: Set in the future

Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Finished! This one I ended up liking about as much as I expected. I figured that I would like it, but not love it, and that’s exactly what happened. It’s intrigued me enough to pick up the second book in the series, so maybe I’ll do that in June or something.

3.5 stars

Herbology: Plant on the cover

Attack on Titan vol 17 by Hajime Isayama – Finished! This manga was the last thing I completed for OWLs. I finished it with two hours to spare – 10pm April 30th. Man, I forgot how much I liked this series. I have volume 18 lined up for May, so hopefully I’ll be able to like, actually remember stuff better between volumes this time. I’m thinking a reread might be necessary soon.

3.5 stars

History of Magic: Published at least ten years ago

Case Closed vol 2 by Gosho Aoyama – Finished! This series gives me major nostalgia. I wanna say I’ll collect them all but to my knowledge, the series isn’t finished yet. There’s like 60 volumes or something. Ahaha. Nevertheless, I really liked this.

4 stars

Muggle studies: Contemporary

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Finished! I wrote a review for this one, which went up earlier this month. Thought it was pretty decent!

3 stars

Potions: Next ingredient – sequel

Case Closed vol 3 by Gosho Aoyama – Finished! I enjoyed this volume just as much as the previous one. With this, I’ve read all I own. So maybe I’ll get more, if I see them second hand. Who knows. But as mentioned above, it’s definitely not going to be something I actively do. Just too many, man.

4 stars

Transfiguration: Sprayed edges or red cover

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – Finished! I seriously enjoyed this one. I wrote a mini blabber on it as well. I know Black Crouch has more books out and coming out, and it’s made me wanna read them.

4 stars

And that’s it for the OWLs! Since I got all twelve, I can go after Alchemist (or anything else I choose) in the NEWTs and August. I really enjoyed this readathon, it definitely kept me motivated to read. I can’t wait for part two!

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Books

Aside from the twelve OWLs books, I did complete one additional book:

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb. Man, this series is to the point where it gives me nostalgia, and I haven’t even finished reading it yet! I really liked this opening book to the final trilogy, though I’m absolutely sure it’s going to end up tearing my heart to pieces. As is the norm, I buddy-read this with Zezee, who also liked it. We’ll be picking up book two in June, and then the third and final book sometime after that. And then, I’ll need to find something to fill the void.

4.5 stars

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Other Things

• Something neat is in the works. I’m not quite ready to say what yet, but the prep is coming along nicely. I’ll actually say what it is soon. But man I’m so pumped and had to at least give a tease. 😀

 

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Reading Goals

• Read 50 books – 41/50
  
• Finish the 10 in 2019 list – 4/10
• Keep book purchases around 4-5 books per month
  • J – 5 | F – 6 | M – 7 | A – 0 | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D
• Go on a 2 to 3 month buying ban – In progress
  
• Reduce physical TBR to 250 books – currently at 272
  
• Finish the r/Fantasy Book Bingo Challenge by Mar 31, 2019 – Complete!
• Post monthly book hauls
  • J | F | M | A (on ban) | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D
• Maintain a S-W-S posting schedule
  • J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D
• Keep track of statistics
  • J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D

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And that’s it! It’s definitely been a month, people. Wow. Happy reading!

O.W.L.s Magical Readathon |Mid-month check-in

Hello, it’s about half way through April now (damn space time continuum, etc) and I wanted to look at my OWLs goals and where I am.

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If you’re unfamiliar, here is the announcement video of the OWLs Readathon, which take place from April 1st through the 30th. Basically, you pass the month reading books to fit prompts, and each you complete counts as an OWL examination you take and pass at Hogwarts. After April is over, there will be another readathon in August for the NEWTs, and the end goal is to plan your reading to get the right OWLs/NEWTs to get a wizarding career.

In the announcement post I made back at the end of last month, I announced I was going to try for Alchemist, and do a backup of really any other career should I fail it. The Alchemist requires all twelve possible OWLs. This is my progress so far:

Ancient Runes: Retelling

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden – In progress. I’m about half way through this book so far, and while it took me a bit to get into, I’m rather liking it now.

Arithmancy: Work written by more than one author

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – Not started.

Astronomy: “Star” in the title

StarCraft: Frontline vol 1 by Richard A. Knaak – Not started.

Care of Magical Creatures: Land animal on the cover

The Meowmorphosis by Coleridge Cook and Franz Kafka – Not started.

Charms: Age-line, an adult work

Not started. I mentioned that I was going to leave this open and just fill it in with a book when I came to it, because I owned so many that fit. I still have no idea what I wanna do for this one.

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Reducto – title starts with ‘R’

Rave Master vol 1 by Hiro Mashima – Not started.

Divination: Set in the future

Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Not started.

Herbology: Plant on the cover

Attack on Titan vol 17 by Hajime Isayama – Not started.

History of Magic: Published at least ten years ago

Case Closed vol 2 by Gosho Aoyama – Not started.

Muggle studies: Contemporary

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Finished. I wrote a review for this one, which went up yesterday. Thought it was pretty decent. 3/5 stars

Potions: Next ingredient – sequel

Case Closed vol 3 by Gosho Aoyama – Not started.

Transfiguration: Sprayed edges or red cover

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – Finished. 4/5 stars. A review of this one will be up soon… maybe?

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So.. as you can see, I’ve finished two out of twelve OWLs half way through the month. But also notice that five of the ten remaining are manga. All those manga, I plan on reading on April 30th, and instead I’ll use the month leading up to it focusing on the actual books. So the stats are gonna look skewed in the mean time. Granted I still am a tad behind. I should probably have The Bear and the Nightingale done at this point, but as mentioned above, it was a bit slow, so it slowed me down. -_-

At this point, I don’t feel like my goal is unattainable. I feel like I can still get all twelve OWLs, so wish me luck in doing so! If you’re participating in the OWLs Readathon, lemme know how you’re doing!

Top 5 characters that are definitely in Ravenclaw

Hello, happy Hump Day!

Today’s T5W topic is characters that embody my Hogwarts house. I’m pretty solidly Ravenclaw so I’m gonna pick characters that are Ravenclaw-y too!

If you’d like to participate in Top 5 Wednesday, you can do so here!

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According to the Harry Potter wiki, traits that Ravenclaws possess are:

• Intelligence
• Wit
• Wisdom
• Creativity
• Originality
• Individuality
• Acceptance

So with those in mind:

Alise Finbok from The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb

Alise is the daughter of a prominent trader who enters a marriage of convenience with a man who is a bit of a dick. But through her marriage contract, Alise is able to journey up the Rain Wild River to lands of the Elderlings, a long-dead people who left nothing but ruins behind. Her goal in life is to catalogue and record every bit of information she can learn about dragons and the Elderlings. A pioneer of knowledge.

 

Tyrion Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

The only Ravenclaw (or Hufflepuff, arguably) in a family of Slytherins, Tyrion is another one that’s very apt to gather knowledge. He’s intelligent and quick-witted. No point going into further detail because, well, pop culture.

 

 

 

 

Winry Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

I could also see arguments for Gryffindor here, but I think due to Winry’s intelligence and her lack of risk-taking, she’s more of a Ravenclaw. Winry is the Elric Brothers’ childhood friend and automail mechanic. She’s very good at what she does, and she gets rather nerdy and excited when being shown new automail technology. She’s fantastic.

 

 

Karris White Oak from the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks

Karris is one of my favorite characters in the series if not my favorite. She’s always calculating, refining her techniques, predicting opponents’ motivations. And she’s really weirdly poised while doing it all. Karris is classy, and very, very Ravenclawy.

 

 

 

The Fool from the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb

The Fool is the reason why I decided to participate this week. He was the first character to pop into my head when I started brainstorming. He’s creative, he’s refined, he’s intelligent, he’s definitely an individual, he’s accepting and loving, he has a wit that is both funny and mischievous. I think every needs a Fool to be their buddy.

 

 

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And that’s it! You know, it was weird – to compose this list, I just went down through my ‘read’ list on goodreads, paused at each book and picked out a few characters… it was really really easy to be like ‘no, he’s a gryffindor’ or ‘no she’s a slytherin’. Like, it was no problem categorizing them. Harry Potter is so prolific, man.

So what do you think! Agree? Disagree?

Me in book characters tag

Hello! A tag today – I was tagged by the Orangutan Librarian, so thanks friendo! 😀

The Rules:

1. Thank the creators of the tag (Us! Ash & Lo @ windowsill books)
2. Thank whoever tagged you!
3. List 5 book characters who you are most like and explain why.
4. Tag your friends!

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Hagrid from Harry Potter

Hagrid and I have a lot of common – drinking, having unruly hair, trying to just in general be a merry person (moooost of the time). I feel like Hagrid and I would get along.

 

 

Sheska from Fullmetal Alchemist

This girl lives, breathes and eats books. She’s obsessed with them and is always in a tizzy. She’s me, people.

 

 

Ryuk from Death Note

I feel like I’m relating myself to character that have a bleak sense of humor, hawhawhaw.

 

 

 

Gollum from The Lord of the Rings

MY COFFEE.

 

 

 

 

Haruko from FLCL

I feel like Haruko is always just tryin’ to have a good time, and I feel that on a spiritual level.

 

 

 

 

 

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By the way, all of the above are books with movie/tv adaptations. All of the adaptions are wonderful I think, so if you haven’t seen or read any of them, go for it!

Happy reading!

August Currently Reading | ’17

The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks

STILL READING IT. I’LL GET THERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the wWindw because it’s on audio.This one I picked up on audiobook. I’m about 1/3 through it(ish) and am totally smitten so far. I feel like this could end up being one of my new favorite books! 😀

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (illustrated edition) by J. K. Rowling and Jim Kay

So, the third one of these illustrated version is coming out in October and it made me realize that while I own the first two, I’ve never read them. I’ve lent both out multiple times to be read by others, but I haven’t done so myself… so here I am. :”D

 

 

 

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And that’s it! As this is posted, I’m in Hawaii on honeymoon. The only one out of the above three I’ve brought with me is The Name of the Wind because it’s on audio… I’ve grabbed a couple other books too (post is pre-written, to be posted soon) but they’re smaller than the ones above and easier to transport, hawhaw.

Happy reading!

24 in 48 Readathon

Guess what Iiiii’m doing! Well, at the time that this post is published, I’ll likely be sleeping (thank youuuu wordpress post scheduling). I had actually lost track of this readathon – I knew it had to be coming up but didn’t know exactly when until I saw Ranty Runt of a Reader‘s post about it (so thanks for posting it at the right time for my eyeballs to see it, friend).

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If you’d like to know more about the readathon or sign-up super-last minute (if the sign up is still open, no idea), you can do so by following this link to the readathon’s blog.

It began this morning at 12:01am (I’m scheduling this post for 6am) and will continue through midnight Sunday night. The goal, as the title states, is to read 24 out of the 48 hours in the two days of the readathon.

We’ll see if I can get there, hah. Honestly, if I make 24, I’ll be totally shocked. If I make it to 12, I’ll be very satisfied with myself 😀 So wish me luck!

Aside from this post, I’ll be making periodic updates on my instagram account, so if you’d like to see photos of books (and… coffee and cats, let’s be real here) feel free to poke around. :”D Also, lemme know your usernames so I can follow you!

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24 in 48 TBR

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

I’ve mentioned this one quite a lot recently, so I’m not gonna go into detail about its plot. This is a buddy read I’m doing with Zezee, so I’m only gonna read up to what we have alloted for this week. So it counts towards the readathon, but I’m not gonna binge it.

 

 

The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks

I’ve been reading this book for months – it has been neglected lately though, so I’m gonna pick it up and buzz through hopefully a good bit of it. It’s a chunker, so I don’t see it getting finished, but who knows, anything is possible.

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (illustrated) by J.K. Rowling

I’ve had this book on my shelf for ages – with the 3rd illustrated version coming out in October, it’s about time I read it.

 

 

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And that’s it! I might pick up a graphic novel here or there if I find myself feeling slumpy. Ideally, I’ll get all of these down (minus Ship of Destiny because mentioned above) – 24 hours should be plenty for that. Let’s just… hope I can read that much, hehe.

Happy reading!