April Reading Wrap-up: OWLs Magical Readathon
Over the month of
April I took part in a month-long readathon: the OWLs Magical Readathon, hosted
by G at Book Roast. This readathon takes the form of readers ‘taking’ their
Ordinary Wizarding Levels (aka OWLs, from Harry Potter) by reading a
selection of books that correspond to subjects (each subject having its own
reading prompt). G has put together a number of wonderful resources, included
in the prompts, and a Wizarding Career Guide which outlines the subjects needed
in the OWLs and NEWTs (which is again a month-long readathon, taking place in
August) to achieve said career. The creativity and complexity behind this
readathon is brilliant, and I thoroughly enjoyed selecting the books I
needed to read to move towards ‘becoming’ an Magizoologist.
Now more than ever,
readathons bring together readers from all over the world, and provide a
welcome distraction during these uncertain times. I hope you enjoy reading about
the books I delved into this past month, and let me know below if you also took
part in the OWLs or have read any of the books included below.
Care of Magical Creatures (to read a book with a creature on the cover) –
Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas (4*)
I managed to pick up a
copy of this before lockdown began, and I’m really glad I did. I must admit, I
was apprehensive going into this – SJM tends to divide people and when I read Throne
of Glass a number of years ago, I liked it but I didn’t love it. It turns
our this thrilling fantasy was exactly what I needed, and I managed to consume
the final 350 pages in one day. Not only did I find the plot fast-paced and
compelling, I loved how original the world was, and wasn’t as put-off by the mixing
of digital and magic as I thought I would be.
Following Bryce
Quinlan in the aftermath of the death of her friend, the first book in the Crescent
City series is a fast-paced, moving story about a young woman navigating grief,
politics, and finding her own identity.
I’ve owned this book
for around five years, and the size and the promise of heartbreak have kept me
from reading it. After Britt at BasicallyBritt picked it up for one of her
readathons, I finally built up the courage to pick it up – and I found myself falling
headfirst into the lives of these characters. Although the story itself was
very sad – and there are massive content warnings for graphic self-harm and
suicide mentions in this book, so be warned – the way that Yanagihara knit
together the lives of her characters left them rattling around my head days
after I finished the book.
Following four men
from their early twenties to late into their lives, mapping out the
complexities in their friendships and relationships, and illustrating beautifully
how our experiences shape us, A Little Life had me sobbing, and glued to
the page.
After hearing about
this book for a number of years, I bought a beautiful copy on a book shopping
trip earlier this year. It did take me longer to get through than I thought it would,
but I found myself thinking about its contents long after I finished reading.
Heti’s narrative style reads like non-fiction because it felt so real to me. Her
protagonist explores what it would mean for her to choose to have or not to
have children, and how the concept of womanhood is so closely intertwined to
motherhood.
As someone who will
potentially compromise my own health if I choose to have a child in the future,
this book brought up a lot of questions and I found the way that Heti framed
the narrative using I Ching (and the fact that she actually used the process
of I Ching to propel the narrative) meant the book was a fascinating
look at choice and the idea of fate.
I listened to this
audiobook whilst walking around my deserted town centre. It felt eerily apt to
have Jason Isaacs’ voice inside my head, guiding me around this imagined future
earth where some humans have fled due to environmental catastrophe. The book itself
is very short (equating to 33 pages) but over that hour I spent walking,
Jemisin’s writing swept over me, and took me away from my anxieties – it was
truly transporting. What I particularly loved about this story was that as it
was written for audio, the narrator was the AI inside the main character’s
head, guiding them (aka you) through the story – it was so cleverly done.
In this short story,
she manages to create such a strong sense of the world and those who inhabit
it, and I found myself so emotionally invested in the characters. I highly recommend
you check this out on Audible, take yourself on your daily walk, and lose
yourself in this world.
Whilst these were the subjects I needed for my chosen career, I also read:
This 800+ page book
has been in the back of my mind to read for a number of years, but (as with the
aforementioned A Little Life) intimidated me by its sheer size. When I
finally acquired a copy as a gift when leaving a job, I felt determined to pick
it up. Then, Lucy from Lucythereader suggested a ‘Middlemarch challenge’
whereby you read 30 pages of the book every night over the course of April,
thus making it more manageable. As you can tell by the star rating, I loved
this book. I must admit, it was seeing Maeve on Sex Education read it
that brought it to the forefront of my mind again, and it very quickly has become
a favourite.
Not only did it feel
like cosying up and watching a favourite period drama before bed every night,
this book also so cleverly brought together the narratives and lives of a whole
community. Never once did I feel lost whilst reading this. I feel like a lot of
people will be picking this up during lockdown, being as chunky and as intimidating
as it is, and I hope they too find some respite in its pages.
Defence Against the
Dark Arts (to read a book set
by the sea/coast) – The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
This is another book
that has been sitting on my bookshelves for a long time (do you see a theme
here?) and was April’s pick for my work book club. This dystopian setting, with
the young women trapped on an island, toxins in the air, and persistent scenes
of control were just not what I was looking to read at the moment. Although I
can completely appreciate Mackintosh writes beautifully, I found the book to be
quite vague and not very hopeful.
Following three sisters,
who live in a big decaying house with their controlling mother and father, The
Water Cure explores what it means to be a woman in a world that’s more
dangerous to your body physically, and emotionally, and imagines a future which
felt a little too real at present.
History of Magic (to read a book featuring witches/wizards) – AWizard of Earthsea by Ursula K LeGuin
Following the life of
Ged and the first book in the series, this short fantasy novel explores the
early years of Ged’s life and begins to set up the Earthsea world. I really
enjoyed the way the narrative had a storytelling feel to it, and at times it
felt a little like Patrick Rothfuss’ and Robin Hobb's writing style - both of whom I love.
Although, at times, it felt
as if the book aimed to cover too much story in such a short amount of space,
and sometimes glossed over parts of the story I felt could have done with more
time being dedicated to them, I really did enjoy this first instalment and can
appreciate the world that LeGuin was beginning to build.
If you have any interest
in reading this series, Ashleigh at A Frolic Through Fiction is currently
hosting a readalong of all the Earthsea books (April being the first month with
the first book), check out her video here.
An epic fantasy
written by Paolini when he was in his late teens, Eragon and the series’
reputation held a lot of promise for me. Following Eragon, who’s past is
mysteriously ambiguous, after he finds a unique stone in the woods, this book
takes the reader on adventure across the lands as Eragon and his fledgling
dragon uncover a legacy. Set in an expansive world, this well-known book
provides a fast-paced fantasy.
I did enjoy reading this
– and perhaps would have done more so if I was younger. I partly have an issue
with the lack of female characters throughout the whole story, and ‘damsel in distress’
trope that it seems to fall back on. However, I do think I will continue with
the series once my library has re-opened.
***
Thank you for reading,
and I hope you’ve discovered something that you can dive into and enjoy during
these strange times.
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