Triwizardathon: Task 3 Possibility Pile

RECAP

Has one week already passed in between Task 2 and now? Time flies! I didn’t do as well in the second task as I did in the first, but I did manage to complete my own challenge; I just didn’t get the extra points for rescuing anyone else! The two books below are what I ended up reading. I’m hoping to do better in this final task but let’s see how it goes! It’s already Monday and I’m still wafflin’ on what books I want to read. I’m going to aim for just two books but I could surprise myself and read more!

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Triwizardathon: Task 2 Possibility Pile

RECAP

Unsurprisingly, the week for Task 1 went fairly quickly but I managed to read more than I thought I would! I almost read everything I set out to, but I changed one of the books that I initially picked because I wasn’t in the mood to read it when the time came around. On top of that, I also read one more book than I set out to, so that was pretty exciting and a pretty great start to the readathon 😍

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Triwizard Tournament Readathon: Task 1 Possibility Pile

*GASP*

Is it true?

Can it be?

Am I really participating in another readathon when I already struggle hard enough to stick to a monthly possibility pile?!

It’s true, gentlefriends. It’s true. I’m a masochist and like to torture myself whenever possible. I just read about the Triwizard Tournament readathon on Holly’s page yesterday and I couldn’t resist. I thought it was pretty great timing considering the challenge starts this week! I took that as a sign to participate and I’M SO EXCITED for it!

This amazing readathon is hosted by Jessica @ Chapter Charms.

Have you ever wanted to compete in the Triwizard Tournament?
Do you like reading?
Then why not join us for this epic reading event!
It will be split into three week-long rounds, each themed around and representing one of the tasks from the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Everyone taking part will be selected as a champion for one of the three schools and will be given reading challenges to complete in order to compete to win the Triwizard Cup.

Triwizard Tournament Readathon, Chapter Charms

Each participant is sorted into a school based on your birth month and that means I’m a champion for Durmstrang. I’m probably going to forget to share some key information so you can find out more about the challenge and submit your name into the Goblet of Fire to sign up for the challenge on THIS PAGE! There’s also an official Twitter page where you can find and follow other participants: @triwizardathon

This week marks week one of the challenge and the FIRST TASK IS DRAGONS! The dates for the first task are from: Monday 11th November – Sunday 17th November 2019

CHALLENGE ONE – THE DRAGON

For this task you must retrieve the golden egg that your dragon is guarding and you will have two challenges to complete. You school will be assigned a dragon and you must choose a method for facing this dragon in order to retrieve the golden egg.

First Task, Triwizard Tournament Readathon, Chapter Charms

Each school will battle a certain dragon. As I’m from Durmstrang, I will have to defeat the Swedish Short-Snout.

Swedish Short-Snout: These dragons are sought after to use their skin to make shields and gloves, re-read a favourite that makes you feel protected.

For this challenge I’m going to choose to re-read Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Erin Faith Hicks. I’m currently reading The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule and if you didn’t know, it’s about serial killer Ted Bundy. While I’m getting through it faster (and also slower) than I thought I would, it’s an intense AF read. I need a fast read that will bring back all the warm feels ASAP and there ain’t no better read than this favorite o’mine.

CHALLENGE TWO – THE METHOD

There are several methods we can choose from to face the dragon. We can pick one method or choose more to get extra skill points.

  • Conjunctivitis Curse: Temporarily blind your dragon by reading a book with eyes on the cover.
  • Bewitched Sleep: Send your dragon to sleep by reading a whole book in bed.
  • Speed: Race past your dragon to retrieve the egg by reading a graphic novel.
  • Distraction: Distract your dragon by transfiguring a rock into an animal, read a book with an animal on the cover.

I’m not going to overwhelm myself by trying to get all the extra skill points, especially since a different book should be read for each challenge, so I’m going to only choose two methods:

Bewitched Sleep: Malamander by Thomas Taylor

Speed: Good Talk by Mira Jacob

That’s it for the first task! I’m really excited to get the ball rolling on this readathon after I finish The Stranger Beside Me (which should be very soon). I’m not sure if I’ll try to use more methods to defeat the dragon but I’m not putting too much pressure on myself and I’m just rolling with it!

Are you participating in the Triwizard Tournament Readathon too?!

#Blogtober: Witchy YA

If you haven’t heard, Blogtober is a month of blogging every single day, and thanks to Anniek and Haf, we’ve been gifted with a list of autumn/halloween related prompts for every day this month! Woo, lookie me posting my second blogtober post so soon after writing my first 😂 Who am I even?! Seriously though, I didn’t think that I’d join in again so soon and I still don’t know if I’ll participate every day, but I’ve decided to join in for today’s prompt on Witchy YA. I don’t read a lot of books about witches because most of the time my mind immediately jumps spooky witchy things and we all know by now that spooky and me do not jam. But I know that they’re not all super spooky and here are a list of the ones that I do like the sound of and want to read (hopefully soon)!

Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans. But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah’s concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah’s sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica. While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she’s going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem’s witches become deadlier by the day.

In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.
Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home. Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she’s a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden – lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult’s true powers are hidden even from herself. In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls’ heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead. Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch. A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after. But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

Akata Witch transports the reader to a magical place where nothing is quite as it seems. Born in New York, but living in Aba, Nigeria, twelve-year old Sunny is understandably a little lost. She is albino and thus, incredibly sensitive to the sun. All Sunny wants to do is be able to play football and get through another day of school without being bullied. But once she befriends Orlu and Chichi, Sunny is plunged in to the world of the Leopard People, where your worst defect becomes your greatest asset. Together, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi and Sasha form the youngest ever Oha Coven. Their mission is to track down Black Hat Otokoto, the man responsible for kidnapping and maiming children. Will Sunny be able to overcome the killer with powers stronger than her own, or will the future she saw in the flames become reality?

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love. But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Have you read any of these witchy YA reads or are they also on your TBR?Leave me a comment below and let’s chat!

#Blogtober: Reading Challenge Update

I’ve been seeing everyone joining in on #blogtober and I was feeling a little FOMO even though it was my fault/choice to not be more organized and join in from the start. If you haven’t heard, Blogtober is a month of blogging every single day, and thanks to Anniek and Haf, we’ve been gifted with a list of autumn/halloween related prompts for every day this month! Even though I’ve already missed out on the first 10 days, I thought I’d finally join in for today’s prompt on my Reading Challenge Update!

I don’t normally participate in reading challenges throughout the year because I’m generally just weak when it comes to sticking to any sort of TBR as a mood reader. I also feel like I’m not organized enough to continuously check in on my progress against the set out prompts as the month or year goes on. If there’s one reading challenge that I always set for myself at the beginning of every year it’s the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I set my first reading challenge in 2017 when I started to use Goodreads more frequently. Since then, I’ve set myself a goal that has steadily increased as the years have passed.

2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge

At the start of 2019, I set my reading goal to 75 books (I think, my memory fails!). I really surprised myself when I managed to achieve that reading goal quite early on in the year, after which I decided to bump my goal up to 90 books. I’ve always managed to “beat” my reading goals by reading way more than I thought I would, but this year really takes the cake especially since we’ve still got a few months to go and I’ve already far exceeded my own expectations for how much I’d read and could read in one year!

2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge

This year has been an absolute whirlwind of ALL THE BOOKS and although I’ve always loved to dive into books and relied on them to keep me company at night, I’ve never been as into books as I have this year. I know that my reading 160 of 90 books by this point in the year is in large part due to my involvement in the book community through my book blog and bookstagram, not to mention the e-ARCs through NetGalley; although as international blogger the list of ARCs I read still pale in comparison to the new releases/backlist books I read. I know that there’s a little bit of ‘negativity’ around the Goodreads Challenge because it sets up some negative vibes when people take things too seriously and see it as a show-off competition, but I’m not bothered by how much other people read. I set my goal for me, and not to compete with anyone else, and while the rest of my life is a hot HOT mess, I can at least say that I’m proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish when it comes to books. And that makes me happy 🙂

Wowow friends, that got way deep way quick. Sorry! 🤣 Thanks for tuning in and listening to me blather on!

Do you set a reading goal for yourself every year? How is your reading challenge coming along? Leave me a comment below and let’s chat!

Wrapping Up: Goodreads Summer Reading and ARC August

Since I posted my last update about the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge at the end of July and then announced joining ARC August at the start of this month, I hit a pretty big reading slump that derailed basically all of my plans to keep my amazing July reading streak going. Thankfully, I’m past it now, but since August and therefore summer too is over, I thought I’d put these challenges to bed and see what the rest of the year has to bring!

Goodreads summer reading challenge

The GRSRC had 11 ‘For Beginners’ prompts and I completed 8 of those! While I was sure that I’d be able to finish this challenge, I’m not mad at what I did finish. I mean, yeah, there were only eleven prompts, but I feel like August didn’t even count 😂 So here are the ones that I managed to tick off the list:

Short & sweet: Read a book with less than 100 pages (or a book you can finish in one sitting) – The Woods, Vol. 1: The Arrow by James Tynion IV | (my review)

On the bandwagon: Read one of the most read books right now on Goodreads & New voices: Read a debut novel – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | (my review)

Actually want to read: Read a book that’s been on your Want to Read shelf for more than a year.
This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel | If I’m being honest, this was the book that set off my slump this month. I didn’t review this book yet because it took me ages to get through, but I really did love the characters and Claude/Poppy’s story. I think it was the meandering writing and very floaty? dreamy? writing style that I didn’t gel with. So in this case, I think it was definitely a ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ moment.

In the friend zone: Read a book that a friend has recommended – The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary | (my review)

It takes two: Read a co-authored book – Autoboyography by Christina Lauren | (my review)

Wheel of format: Read a book in a format that you don’t normally read in (­a graphic novel, poetry, a play, an audiobook, etc.). – Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Full disclosure, I’m cheating a bit with this one because while I did listen to Daisy Jones on audio, it wasn’t the audio I set out to finish when I made my list! I’m still counting it though because flexibility and all that, right?! This is another review that I haven’t gotten around to blogging yet, but I did gush about it on Goodreads, so you can check it out there.

Past love: Reread a book you loved when you were younger – Party Weekend (Sweet Valley High #143) by Francine Pascal | (my review)

Armchair traveler: Read a book set in a destination you want to visit – The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah | (my review)

The three prompts that I didn’t manage to complete were: Good as gold: Read a book that won a Goodreads Choice Award | The book is better: Read a book being adapted for TV or film this year | Not from around here: Read a book set in a different culture from your own. I’m surprised that I haven’t even picked Vengeful up yet, but I’m not surprised by my reluctance to get into the other two. The Goldfinch has sat unfinished on my shelf since February and I finally picked it up again to take with me to a doctor’s appointment to read while waiting, but I didn’t even touch it 😭 I’m still determined to finish it before the movie comes out coz I really do wanna know what happens!


arc august

I’m actually really bummed that I only managed to read 5 ARCs for ARC August. FIVE ARCs IN ONE MONTH. I’m quaking with disappointment 😫 It’s not like I planned to only read ARCs in August, but I still hoped to make a bigger dent in my pile! While I might not have ‘fast-tracked’ my progress, I hope to get a 100% rating before the end of the year! Is it ambitious? Yah. Though I’m not taking or making new requests at the moment, let’s see how long I can resist the urge 😅 I’m hoping I can cut down at least five *cough* more ARCs before I cave! LOL


So what other challenges are there for the rest of the year? I think I heard about one called Series September, which involves wrapping up a series or reading the next book in the series, to get caught up. I could be completely making this challenge up based on something I heard in passing and my fragmented memory just pieced it together as this challenge, but it kinda sounds like a good idea! There’s also Non-Fiction November, which I think will be fun because I’m always looking to read more NF and a challenge will give me some good incentive to do it! There’s also the PopSugar Reading Challenge, which I’ve been doing since the start of the year, although I’ve been (unsurprisingly) horrible at actually keeping track of my progress! I did take a peek at the prompts the other day and realized that I’ve made a pretty good dent in the basic challenges, so I’m quite happy with that! I’ll probably make a post for that challenge soon too.

And that’s wrap folks! Sorry for blabbering so much 🙃

Did you participate in the summer reading challenge or ARC August? Will you be participating in any other challenges this year? I’d love to know your progress! Leave me a comment and let’s chat about it!

ARC August TBR

It’s August. Can you believe? The nerve of this year to run away from me like this! I can’t even. Seriously though, can you believe?! Next thing you know we’re gonna waking up and it’ll be 2020 already! 🤦🏻‍♀️Yikes. But… I digress because that’s not what I’m here for!

Today I’m here to talk about ARC August. If you can’t tell from the name, ARC August is a month long reading challenge hosted by Octavia and Shelly over at Read. Sleep. Repeat. The goal is to cut down on the many ARCs that you may or may not be drowning under. All ARCs count–it can be a digital copy, a physical copy, an upcoming release, or a past due release… (*cough*). One thing that I’ve been repeating to myself for the last few months is: I WILL READ MORE ARCs. But it never happens. So what better time to do it than now when there’s an awesome month long challenge to help motivate me to kick ARC ass?

I’m well aware that we’re already into our first full week of August and I’m just now sharing my TBR, and a highly ambitious one at that, but everyone knows how bad I am at following TBRs anyway, so… Let’s see how this month goes 😅Right now though I am feeling pretty determined to get through the list below (made up of five past dues and seven upcoming releases).

Are you also participating in ARC August? If you are, will you try to get through all your ARCs or only a select few on your list? Let’s chat in the comments below!

Reading Update: GR Summer Reading Challenge (June-July)

I posted about joining the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge earlier in June and as is pretty standard with my lazy ass, I have been really horrible at tracking my progress. Honestly, I’m just really bad at keeping up with challenges, lol–it’s not so much the reading that’s a struggle for me but the tracking (excel files hate me as much I hate them). But I’ve been thinking about the challenge lately because I just finished reading one of the books on my list and I was wondering how I’ve done so far. If you want to see a recap of what books I set for the challenge, check out my original post!

what I’ve finished so far:

Short & sweet: Read a book with less than 100 pages (or a book you can finish in one sitting) – The Woods, Vol. 1: The Arrow by James Tynion IV | (my review)

On the bandwagon: Read one of the most read books right now on Goodreads & New voices: Read a debut novel – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | (my review)

In the friend zone: Read a book that a friend has recommended – The Flatshare Beth O’Leary | (my review)

It takes two: Read a co-authored book – Autoboyography by Christina Lauren | (my review)

Armchair traveler: Read a book set in a destination you want to visit – The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Seeing as how I’ve not ‘intentionally’ read these books over the last month, I’m happy to see that I’ve almost ticked off half of the challenges. I still have a ways to go but hopefully my confidence isn’t misplaced when I say that I think I can complete this challenge 😃 The only book I’m nervous about picking up (again) is The Goldfinch because its been sitting half-unfinished on my shelf since February. I started it for a group/buddy read but it was admittedly the worst reading month–my book slump was epic and trying to force myself to get through this wasn’t ideal. BUT I’m hoping to get it read before the movie comes out this September. The trailer is beautiful and I’m so excited to watch the movie; plus, it’s also really good motivation to finish the book!

Are you participating in the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge?
If you are, how’s your reading progress coming along?
Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

If I Joined the Reading Rush…

Over the last week I’ve been seeing so many people in the book community talking about The Reading Rush. If you’re like me and have never heard of this challenge before, here’s a little bit on what it’s about:

“The Reading Rush is a week long readathon for book lovers all around the world. For one week readers gather together to read as much as they possibly can and to participate in challenges and giveaways online. Starting in 2019 the Reading Rush introduced a website, in order to allow anyone taking part in the readathon to track their reading statistics and come together in a central place. The Reading Rush started as the “BookTubeAThon” in 2013.”

You can find out more and sign up on their website. So, this totally sounds like fun, right? When I read more about it and looked up the prompts, I immediately felt the urge to sign up and join in on the fun, but I’m really not so great with sticking to TBRs and completing challenges, plus I feel that work is going to be a little bit hectic next week so I felt apprehensive about committing my time when I’m not sure I could do it. That said, I also started to get excited thinking about what I’d choose, so I decided to do a post of what I’d be reading for The Reading Rush, if I joined. 😉

READING CHALLENGES

1/ Read a book with purple on the cover

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

2/ Read a book in the same spot the entire time

Everyone’s an Aliebn When You’re an Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun
To be read on the couch in my reading corner at home!

3/ Read a book you meant to read last year

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

4/ Read an author’s first book

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

5/ Read a book with a non-human main character

Everyone’s an Aliebn When You’re an Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun
Yep, I’m doing a double for this read!

6/ Pick a book that has five or more words in the title

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

7/ Read and watch a book to movie adaptation

The Green Mile by Stephen King.
For some reason I’ve been thinking about this book/movie a lot lately. I still haven’t read the book and it’s been years since I watched the movie, but I remember how much I cried in the end.

Bonus/ Read 7 books!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
If by some miracle I am able to finish one book per day(ish) and will be able to manage a seventh book, I’d pick this one to fulfill the prompt for a book with a non-human main character.

So there you have it, book friends! Books that I would read for The Reading Rush if I were to participate in the challenge! Honestly, I’m still really tempted to sign up and try even though I might only end up reading only two or a most three of these books! What do you think? Should I just say to hell with it and sign myself up?! 🙃

Are you joining The Reading Rush? If you are and you’ve posted about it, leave me a link in the comments. I’d love to see what books you’ve chose to do! Also leave me your username so that if I *do* sign up, I can follow you!