Magical Readathon: Winter 2019

I absolutely love G from Book Roast and I was so excited to finally participate in one of her Harry Potter themed Magical Readathons. This one was particularly fun as it was “choose your own adventure” style with a new chapter/pathway released each week during December. 

Each chapter is designed to be completed weekly (knowing me though it will take me quite a few months), but as long as I finish before O.W.L.S in April I’ll be happy (I am getting far too into this and I love it!). Details and rules can be found here.

So without further ado, below is the pathway I ended up following, along with the books I chose to fulfil each reading prompt. 

Week 1

The readathon starts in the same vein that The Chamber of Secrets starts; suddenly we are confronted with a house-elf named Dobby who insists we do not return to Hogwarts. Dobby asks if we will return and for this pathway prompt I chose not to lie to Dobby, which then sadly, led to Dobby making a cake explode in front of the Dursley’s and their dinner guests. 

Chaos ensued and I was sent to my room. Then suddenly (thankfully) the bars on my/Harry’s bedroom window were miraculously gone revealing Ron and the Weasley twins here for the rescue—in the Weasley’s flying car no less! Once at the Weasley’s I chose to help Ron de-gnome the garden, which was his punishment for stealing the car, leading to my first reading prompt:

“Pick a book from your existing TBR that is longer than 500 pages”

(Yep, definitely not finishing this readathon in one month…)

My (rather fitting) pick for this is:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

(Harry Potter #7)

I know... It’s the ultimate bookish sin that I haven’t read the final book yet, especially as I have owned it for 11 years now. The first 4 I have read 100 times over but I never seem to quite make it to the end of the series.

Week 2

This week we were presented with our first pathway affected by our choices from the previous week. Due to by previous decisions, I woke up warm and cozy at the burrow then journeyed with the Weasley’s to Kings Cross Station. Once at platform 9 ¾, I chose to head over to Hermione after double-checking the Weasley’s didn’t need any help picking up all the luggage Ron had spilt, and as I stepped through the barrier I received my next reading prompt: 

“From mundane to magical: Read an urban fantasy”

My pick for this one is: 

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

(The Mortal Instruments #4)

I have been wanting to finish this series for ages now, just to tick it off my never-ending unfinished series list. I have to say, I am a little concerned heading into book 4 as it’s been a whopping 5-years since I finished the previous book. Not only have my reading tastes changed, but I also don’t remember the events of the first three books. Overall though, I’m looking forward to picking this series back up—I had better get started on finding some very detailed recaps…

But wait this week’s adventure continues! When on the Hogwarts express I (of course) chose to talk to Hermione about my summer reads. Which then led to her asking if I would like to join the Hogwarts book club. Surely my answer here is obvious… I mean, A MAGICAL BOOK CLUB AT HOGWARTS!! Need I say more? Sign me up! 

This then led to my final reading prompt for the week:

“Book Club pick: Buddy read a book or read a book that has been picked by a book club of your choice (can be recently or in the past)”

For this one, I decided to (or more accurately, I begged my partner to) buddy read:

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

(The Shining #2)

I recently finished The Shining and can’t wait to pick up the sequel. My partner is also a fan of The Shining, so this one is the perfect pick for us to buddy read together.

Week 3

When faced with my first choice this week I, of course, had to choose warm porridge for breakfast as that is my daily breakfast of choice in real life. Next, I was faced with whether to go the duelling club meeting, Nearly Headless Nick's 500th deathday party or quidditch practice. For me, it was a tough choice between the deathday party and the duelling meeting, but in the end, I decided to duel, which is where I received my next reading prompt:

“Read a book with a pink or purple cover”

For this I decided to go with:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I really want to (attempt to) read more classics and what better place to start than with one of my childhood favourites (and by favourite, I mean of the Disney movie variety). I am so excited to give this one a try and to see how different it is from the version I grew up with.

But this week’s pathway didn’t end there, suddenly, I found myself in a duel with Malfoy and had to quickly decide what spell to cast before it was too late, so I quickly put up a shield using pretego! After Malfoy lost some house points for his hasty attack, I headed to the library with Ron and Hermione to do some homework. 

Afterwards, as I made my way to the great hall for dinner I heard some disturbing whispers. I followed the sound until I saw something shimmery on the wall ahead, and as I looked up I saw written in blood “THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE”.

Week 4

This week the writing on the wall was, of course, the talk of the school. As I was already a member of the book club (week 1) I already knew all about the chamber of secrets and explained it to Ron. While theorising about who the heir might be, Hermione suggested we use the Polyjuice potion to find out if our suspicions around Malfoy were correct. 

Here, I was faced with the choice of either using the potion or finding some other way. I found this choice hard as I am, quite frankly, a lousy chicken, and am often quite afraid of breaking rules. But I just couldn’t help myself here, I decided to use the Polyjuice potion (surely it will be fine, right?). 

As the potion wasn’t quite ready I was presented with three options to help complete it; either collect some herbs, retrieve hairs from Crabbe and Goyle or stay and stir the cauldron. Whilst the chicken in me wanted to (obviously) stay and stir the cauldron, I ended up choosing to gather some herbs, because I would feel too guilty taking the easy way out. This choice resulted in the following reading prompt:

“Read a book with plants on the cover. That can be anything from trees, flowers, to an acorn.”

For this prompt I chose: 

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks 

This was my most recent TBR jar pick, which just so happens to have a tree on the cover. It’s also quite short so is perfect for a readathon. 

After taking the potion, we snuck into the Slytherin common room, and whilst talking to Draco, he started to become suspicious. As I didn’t speak with Mr Weasley in week one I received my next prompt:

“Read a friend's recommended or favourite book”

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I am so glad to have received this reading prompt as one of my close friends has just lent me Red Queen which she adored. I must say I took this one off my wishlist a couple of years ago but as she has highly recommended it, I'm excited to give it a go.

After getting the information we needed from Malfoy, Ron and I quickly rushed back to where we hid our clothes and Ron then left to check on Hermione. Once back in my uniform, I heard the ominous voice again and started to follow it. Once around the corner, I saw that Nearly Headless Nick had been petrified and next to him was a Hufflepuff student looking as if he’d been turned to stone. Here, I was faced with my next choice; to approach them, or run as I am already considered suspicious. I couldn’t bear to leave them like that so chose to approach them. Filch saw me then summoned McGonagall who then sent me to the headmaster’s office where I then met Fawkes.

Week 5

A month has passed and Ron, Hermione and I choose to take a step back and let the teachers handle the mysterious goings-on around Hogwarts. To blow off some steam, we decided to head to a party at the dormitory where I was presented with another pathway prompt; choose to play Gobstones, sneak in butterbeer or dance. I chose to play Gobstones (no surprises there—typical boring me). 

The next day Neville goes to help Professor Sprout in the greenhouse as they are working on salves to un-petrify the victims of the attacks. I decided to go with him to see if I can help in some way. It was chaotic and after helping as best I could, I went back to the castle. 

Once there I heard the mysterious voice again. I followed it only to overhear some professors discussing yet another new crime scene. They were grim, and I overheard that Ginny had been taken into the chamber! Based on my choice from week 4 where I found out the location and password for the headmaster’s office, I decided to go up to his office, leading to the following reading prompt: 

“Read a book from the topmost shelf”

For this one I selected:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I can't believe that I still haven't read this one, and have had it sitting on the topmost shelf of my bookcase for years untouched. I don’t know why I haven’t given it a go (it's so short!) but thankfully this prompt has finally brought it back to my attention. After recently watching Good Omens (I just loved David Tannant in this, he was amazing! (and I don’t care what anyone says, he is the true Doctor)) I’m excited to give Neil Gaiman’s writing a go. 

Dumbledore's office was (sadly) empty. After leaving a note I decided to head to moaning myrtle's bathroom as I had a hunch that the entrance to the chamber might be there due to an old legend. Once there, I asked her about her death, and she revealed that she was the one who was last killed by the monster. 

Because I didn’t discover I could speak parseltongue in week 3, I instead had to think back to the time when I was at the zoo (in book 1) and for some reason, I suddenly had the urge to speak to the bathroom sink, which to my surprise, opened leading to the next reading prompt:

“Read the first book you think about”

For this one I chose:

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard 

(Red Queen #2)

My friend also lent me the second book and after reading the first one (week 4) I know I’ll want to dive right into this one. 

I ventured into the opening (probably not the best idea with no back-up). Once in, I was faced with a forked path and had to decide if I wanted to go left or right. I chose left (probably because I'm a lefty) and was faced with a Chimera who gave me a riddle. 

I figured out the riddle and moved on, finally reaching a brass doorknob. Once through the door I saw Ginny on the floor unmoving, at which point I realised I was in the chamber of secrets surrounded by snake statues. I ran towards Ginny only to then be faced by Voldemort in the form of Tom Riddle. He then opened a statue revealing a giant Basilisk. 

Thankfully, Fawkes (who I had the pleasure of meeting last week) then arrived, attacking the giant snake giving me time to grab my wand—I was then faced with my next reading prompt:

“Read a book that’s shorter than the one you finished before”

For this I chose:

Animal Farm by George Orwell

This was an easy choice as it's the shortest book I own on my TBR. Much like all of my choices for this readathon, I have owned this book for so many years but haven’t picked it up. It's finally time to rectify that.

After rescuing Ginny I then flew back to the castle with Fawkes, later celebrating with Ron and Hermione at the end of year feast—finishing the magical readathon.

This readathon was so unique and special, and a great way to work my way through some forgotten backlisted books on my TBR. This was lots of fun and I can't wait to participate in O.W.Ls in April.