Hello, everyone! Where have I been, you ask? Well, I've mostly been at work. This past school year threw my department some massive curveballs. Most of the time it felt like I was stuck on a never-ending treadmill, just trying to keep up.
Once summer break started and I'd had a week or two to recover, what was the first thing that I wanted to do? Ironically, I wanted to start by taking my O.W.L. exams! The O.W.L.s Read-a-thon, designed by G at Book Roast, took place in April, but I took the end of June and beginning of July to make up those challenges. I've always been a massive Harry Potter fan, so getting the chance to participate in the read-a-thon this year just takes me one step closer to my childhood dream of actually going to Hogwarts.
In order to achieve my dream of being a Hogwarts professor (apparently, my professional aspirations never change, whether magical or muggle), I had to complete eight challenges/Ordinary Wizarding Level exams.
1. Care of Magical Creatures: Read a book with a land animal on the cover.
My Pick: Have You Eaten Grandma? by Gyles Brandreth
Of course, the wolf on the cover meets the challenge requirements. The book itself, though, is a funny, fascinating, five-star read. Gyles Brandreth has been everything from an actor to an MP in Parliament, and this is his take on the rules of grammar and punctuation. It sounds like a rather dry premise, but the way he writes it is both humorous and easily comprehensible. His opening musings on the decline of rhetoric and language usage in general is what really convinced me to buy it - I couldn't stop laughing in the middle of Waterstone's!
2. Divination: Read a book that takes place in the future.
My Pick: The History of Bees by Maja Lunde
The History of Bees tells three different stories: one of William, a biologist and amateur beekeeper in Victorian England, one of George, an American beekeeper and farmer in 2007, and one of Tao, a Chinese pollination worker in 2098. Through each of these stories, Lunde wonders what the future might look like if climate change and declines in the bee population continue as they are now. The three stories eventually meet and affect one another in a compelling and mysterious way. While I admire the message of this novel and the plot twists had page-turning appeal, it was also a very dark look at the future, which made me very anxious and afraid of the future. Although fear may be what Lunde meant to inspire in her audience in order to compel them to make changes that will change our planet's current course, it is not the reaction I want to have to a book.
3. Charms: Age line - Read an adult work
My Pick: Anonymity: A Secret History of English Literature by John Mullan
Since I usually read adult books, I changed this prompt to be reading non-fiction, which I do not read as often as perhaps I should.
John Mullan is one of my favorite literary scholars. When you see him speak in person, his enthusiasm is both entertaining and infectious. When I saw that he had a book about writers who published anonymously, I bought it immediately. This book is not only a catalogue of writers who did not publish under their own name, but it investigates ten reasons why these authors did so. The sheer number of authors whose works were originally published either anonymously or under a pseudonym was astounding, and their reasons for not using their real name were also fascinating. I was disappointed that his infectious enthusiasm does not come across in his writing the way it does when he speaks. It's still a worthwhile read for anyone else who enjoys eighteenth and nineteenth-century literature.
4. Muggle Studies: Read a contemporary novel
My Pick: I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
Desi believes that everything can be achieved with a plan: becoming captain of the soccer team, successfully applying to Stanford, you name it! And in her senior year, given her usual hopelessness in the dating field, Desi decides to create a plan to get her crush to fall in love with her. The plan is based on tropes she finds in the Kdramas (Korean dramas) she watches with her father. Armed with a foolproof formula, what could go wrong? Since my recent foray into the world of Kdramas, this novel was the perfect feel-good piece of 'book candy' to start off the summer. It's sweet, funny, if slightly trope-y - everything you could want in a beach or vacation read.
5. Transfiguration: Read a red book or a book with sprayed edges
My Pick: Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblatt
Could there be a more striking red cover? Not in my opinion. Greenblatt's writing didn't fail to impress, either. The renowned humanities professor from Harvard was inspired by recent political events to look back at the way Shakespeare was able to criticize political regimes while avoiding being censored. By centering his plays around historical tyrants, he could evade trial for treason and make thinly veiled commentary on current rulers. Tyrant examines Shakespeare's take on historical figures like Henry VI, Richard III, Coriolanus, and Macbeth, and fictional figures like King Lear and Leontes of A Winter's Tale. His analysis of these tyrants' personalities and psychoanalysis of why they rule the way they do is frighteningly relevant and utterly riveting. I highly recommend this read to everyone, even if you're only familiar with some of the plays mentioned.
6. History of Magic: Read a book published over 10 years ago
My Pick: The Rivals by Richard Sheridan
When I read an older book, I really read an older book. The Rivals was first performed in 1775! It's a comedy of mistaken identities, secret engagements, and true love triumphant in eighteenth-century Bath (my favorite place to be). The Rivals is also one of the protofeminist plays that surfaced in the eighteenth century that emphasizes a woman's right to choose her own husband rather than her guardian arranging a prosperous marriage for her. Sheridan also created the role of Mrs. Malaprop in this play, a wonderfully funny role of an older woman who likes to think that she has an excellent vocabulary, but often uses the wrong words instead, to hilarious effect. Yes, this play is a very niche choice, but if you also enjoy exploring the types of literature that inspired Jane Austen, starting with plays like The Rivals is the best way to start.
7. Ancient Runes: Read a retelling
My Pick: Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry has been one of my favorite actors since I was 12 years old, and his writing does not disappoint, either. In Heroes, Fry retells the adventures of Greek heroes such as Perseus, Heracles, Atalanta, Jason, Oedipus, Orpheus, and Theseus. Even though these tales are thousands of years old, Fry manages to tell them in a fresh and deeply engaging way. His knowledge, as any viewer of QI knows, is extensive and he does work that deep knowledge into Heroes in footnotes, but it does not impede the flow of the story. I highly recommend both Mythos and Heroes.
8. Defense Against the Dark Arts: "Reducto!" - Read a book beginning with 'R'
My Pick: RoseBlood by A.G. Howard
I didn't think that this challenge would be a difficult one to fill, but it turns out that RoseBlood was the only book on my TBR stack that began with the letter 'R'! It's a young adult novel inspired by The Phantom of the Opera, it tells the story of Rune, a young girl who is sent to RoseBlood School of Music. There are not only rumors that the school is built on the remains of the Opéra Populaire and that it may still be haunted by the Phantom, but Rune harbors a secret of her own. She has a gift for opera singing - but it may also be a deadly curse.
While the premise of this story was good, its execution was dreadful. The fantasy elements were ludicrous, the dialogue poorly-written, the relationships unbelievable, and did not live up to its promise to explore the Phantom's loneliness until the last few pages. I'm glad this book was free at BookCon, because I would not recommend it.
I did it! I completed all of these reading challenges in under one month, which means I passed my O.W.L.s! I'm now looking forward to taking the N.E.W.T.s in August, and my TBR list for that read-a-thon will be up soon.
Did you take the O.W.L.s this year? Would you consider it next year? Do you have any thoughts on the books I read for these challenges? Let me know in the comments. Until next time, happy reading!