August 2020 TBR
Good morning bookworms!! Welcome to the August 2020 TBR!!
You know why Joanne (this is how I’m probs going to refer to her from now on) being a total transphobic troll is the worst thing ever? Because she has RUINED EVERYTHING. We can’t feel joy about the series any more, (and I will forever have an incomplete set of the illustrated versions).
But more importantly, she has ruined ALL the hard work that Gintare (Book Roast) has put into the magical read-a-thon. Just watching the difference in G between her video in March where she announces the OWLs, and her video in July where she looks so disinterested in her own read-a-thon that she put SO MUCH work into is heartbreaking. I would also really recommend that you watch G’s video on the future of the magical readathons, even if you won’t be taking part.
So, friends, I’m still going to do the NEWTs. But I’m doing this for G because I want to support HER and recognise all the work that she put into this read-a-thon. But, I also might stretch it out over two months because I don’t even know what I’m doing any more, and if there’s no pressure then I’m also not going to stress myself out trying to cram in 26 books or whatever it is that I have to read. Did I even pass my OWLs? April feels like it was 13 years ago…
August 2020 TBR
So… after doing some digging (thank goodness for past Meeghan’s blogging!!), it turns out I passed my O.W.L.s for the three careers I was considering. Well done me!! These are Curse Breaker, Magizoologist and Potioneer.
Which means that I have like a bunch of subjects to get through for N.E.W.T.s, and a lot of them need an O grade… which means 3 prompts for those subjects!! (This could also be a good reason to spread it over two months!!)
So, I need the following grades in subjects:
- O in Ancient Runes
- O in Arithmancy
- E in Charms
- O in Care of Magical Creatures
- E in Defence Against the Dark Arts
- E in Herbology
- O in Potions
Ewww… An O is Arithmancy is like being told that I have to do Maths Extension and CALCULUS if I wanted to go into Engineering at university. (Also the reason that I didn’t do engineering… calculus… *shudders*)
So… 18 prompts… ooof!! OK… let’s figure this out in a TBR!!
SPREADSHEET!! You guys know I love a good spreadsheet TBR prompt list!!
| Subject and Grade | Prompt | Book to read? | Cover |
| Ancient Runes – Acceptable | Bathsheda Babbling: Author name starting with B (first or last) | The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary |  |
| Ancient Runes – Exceeds Expectations | Read a classic | Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë |  |
| Ancient Runes – Outstanding | Love Rune: Read a romance | Riot House by Callie Hart |  |
| Arithmancy – Acceptable | Precision is key: Read a non-fiction | The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide by Jen Gale |  |
| Arithmancy – Exceeds Expectations | Book that ends on an uneven number | Ehhh… I’ll figure this out later!! | |
| Arithmancy – Outstanding | Book that’s between 260-299 pages | The Thornthwaite Inheritance by Gareth P. Jones |  |
| Care of Magical Creatures – Acceptable | Salamander: Fire on cover or in title | Burn by Patrick Ness |  |
| Care of Magical Creatures – Exceeds Expectations | Flobberworm: Lazy is fine! Read something short | Escape From Lucien by Kazu Kibuishi |  |
| Care of Magical Creatures – Outstanding | Hagrid’s Hut: Start a book with a snack | I could LITERALLY read anything with this prompt! I love it! |  |
| Charms – Acceptable | Cheering Charm: Read a humorous book | Walk It Off, Princess by David Thorne |  |
| Charms – Exceeds Expectations | Glacius: Freezing charm! Read a book set in winter | The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden |  |
| Defence Against the Dark Arts – Acceptable | Boggart: Read a horror or thriller | Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan |  |
| Defence Against the Dark Arts – Exceeds Expectations | Kappas: Water demon! Book with demons or water theme | Firelight by Kazu Kibuishi |  |
| Herbology – Acceptable | Puffpods: Flowers on cover | A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro |  |
| Herbology – Exceeds Expectations | Nettle plant: Book that might be impactful | The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune |  |
| Potions – Acceptable | Ingredient: Flying Seahorse – book with word “sky” in title, or sky on cover | Spellhacker by M. K. England |  |
| Potions – Exceeds Expectations | Doxycide: Author name starts with a letter D (first or last) | The Girl with the Whispering Shadow by D. E. Night |  |
| Potions – Outstanding | Girding Potion for endurance: book over 450 pages | The Iron King by Julie Kagawa |  |
LOL, let’s see how long this lasts!! ? ?
Also, I’m still going to try and keep going with my Shadowhunters reread when I can… which isn’t on the list, and it might take me the rest of the year, but we will get there so I can continue it before starting all of my UNREAD Shadowhunter books … and there are LOTS!! (I’ve only read The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices…)
What books are you reading in August?
12 Comments
evelynreads1
Good luck! I loved Wicked saints! And I really want to read Burn as well!
(www.evelynreads.com)
meeghan
Thanks Evelyn!! I’ve got a few books on here that I got as review copies (Burn, Ruthless Gods, etc.) so I really need to read these!! Hopefully this will be the catalyst?! ?
Never Not Reading
Oh my. You are going to do ALL THIS in two months??? Best of luck!! I love the Bear and the Nightingale, I hope you do too!
JKR’s behavior has made everything so difficult. I was in the middle of reading my son Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time when her tweet dropped, so you can imagine what an emotional roller coaster THAT was…
meeghan
Seriously, someone needs to open the chamber of secrets, shove her in the hole and close it up again. She can be the HP skeleton in the closet. ?
Birdie
I agree, JKR has left us all feeling so disheartened and betrayed. It’s like finding out the actor on my FAVORITE show, the actor who plays my FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER, is a Scientologist. My heart just hurts so much. Not only was HP so transcendent for everyone, the best good vs evil and the catalyst for so many new readers, but JKR was someone we could point to as a beacon, in a sense. Only 4 years ago she was being applauded for her denouncing of Trump… now she’s almost WORSE in a sense, because she had all of our trust.
meeghan
I know!! I feel so betrayed!! ??
Sofii @ A Book. A Thought.
I hope you enjoy all these readings & have an incredible August ❤️✨
meeghan
Thank you, Sofii ?
Tasya @ The Literary Huntress
I absolutely love The Bear and The Nightingale and The Iron King! I agree, one of the saddest thing about JKR statements is watching the bookish community and fandom tear itself apart on whether they can separate the art from the artist, and in extension, whether to support creators who create contents and events related to HP. I feel really bad, especially since Magical Readathon is very well-loved and it’s not the creator’s fault JKR is trash!
meeghan
Thank you for sharing!! Yes, the Bookish community is being hard done by, but I have friends who are no -binary and trans and they are just so saddened that the creator of their fave fandom has said their feelings are irrelevant. I just hate it so much. I think the best way to support them is to stand by them. But on the other hand, I am friends with small business owners who have (non-official) merch, and that’s their best sellers because the fandom is so big. They want to take it down, but they also don’t want to go out of business. It’s all just a lot.
But also, I’m so excited to finally read The Winternight trilogy!! And The Iron King!! ??
Clo @ Cuppa Clo
*spies The Iron King by Julie Kagawa* I am excited for you to read it, that also reminds me that I wanted to buy those books because I don’t own them and wanted to reread them hehe. Good luck with reading all these wonderful books Meeghan! I’m hoping to read 3 books in August, not sure which ones yet maybe The Gilded Wolves when my copy arrives will be one I read…I really need to start working my way through the fantasy books I own xD
meeghan
Actually, I am very fortunate because I was sent The Iron King as a review book. It’s being rereleased with pretty new covers so when I got the email asking if I’d like a copy I think I yelled “YES” very loudly!! ?
I hope you love the books you get to in August!! ?