The House Cup Reading Challenge: Sign-up and TBR

I am easily pressured into things I want to do, so thanks Aurora for forcing me to partake in this readathon. The house cup reading challenge is happening from October 15th (Sunday) to November 12th (also a Sunday), there are a lot of rules and information that I don’t feel like explaining, so instead here’s a link to the readathon announcement post.

I’m proud to say that I’m a Slytherin, ambitious, cunning and cool AF. Kidding, muhaha.

Name: Julie

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Wand Type: Holly Wood, Unicorn Hair core, 10 ¾” in length, Rigid flexibility

Pet: Black Cat

Favorite Subject: Transfiguration

Favorite Professor: Professor McGonagall

There are quite a few challenges for this readathon, which I may or may not complete. Only time will tell. All of the main ones are reader’s choice, meaning you can read whatever you want. The purpose of the House Cup Reading Challenge is to read books (duh) and go from being a first-year to (hopefully) completing the seventh year at Hogwarts. Along with the main challenge, you can earn more points by doing bonus challenges as well as tweeting with the challenge hashtag; #housecupreadingchallenge. You can find all the rules and information about how to sign-up if you follow the aforementioned link.

The Challenges and my to-be-read pile

Finally I’m going to talk about what you came for, my TBR. Stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out if I can stick to it, or if it gets left behind, forgotten and discarded. There are seven main challenges. All of them, as I’ve already mentioned, are reader’s choice, which is very nice since it can be so difficult to pick this many books that fit into specified categories.

Main Challenges (20 Points)

These are the most important challenges to get through, so I’ve chosen some books and a couple of graphic novels that I know I am really excited to read.

1. First Year — I read the first book in the Dresden Files earlier this week, so I thought I’d start off the house cup challenge by continuing the series and reading Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #2). This time professional wizard Harry Dresden is hunting a werewolf who’s killing people during the full moon.

2. Second Year — I’ve been wanting to read Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe for a long time, and what better time to read a graphic novel than during a readathon? I hear it’s fun, sassy and badass.

3. Third Year — This time in Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #3) the spirit world has gone rogue, which means Chicago is overrun by troublemaking ghosts. So of course in this kind of situation the only one you should call is none other than Harry Dresden.

4. Fourth Year — When I read The Diviners earlier this year I was instantly enamoured by the setting and the characters. In Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray (The Diviners #2) Evie is basking in the spotlight of her newfound fame when a mysterious sleeping sickness appears in New York City.

5. Fifth Year — In Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #4) Harry encounters fairies while his finances and personal life is a mess.

6. Sixth Year — The synopsis says Rat Queens Vol. 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe is booze-soaked and it somehow also involves an overprotective godly parent.

7. Seventh Year — Chicago needs its’ wizard once again in Death Masks by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #5) when everything happens all at once.

Bonus Challenges (10 Points)

In addition to the main challenges, there are a bunch of bonus challenges you can complete for more points if you want to. An important thing to note is that the books you read towards the bonus challenges do not count in the main challenge.

8. Gryffindor (epic hero/heroine) — Magnus Chase is not a typical epic hero, but he’s kind and he cares. He also has some kickass friends. The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3) is the last book in this series based on Norse Mythology. Rick Riordan always create amazing adventure stories filled with humor and the best characters imaginable. I can’t imagine this one will be any less awesome than the other books in the series.

9. Hufflepuff (strong friendship) — Abby and Gretchen were inseparable, but things change when they start high school. I believe it’s a story about friendship with a touch of horror. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix is inspired by 1980’s horror flicks, which, along with the promise of black humor, is the reason why I want to read it so badly.

10. Ravenclaw (mystery) — I personally love a good mystery, but I haven’t read many that you could characterize as ‘classic mysteries’. That’s why I really want to read And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. It’s been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, but if everything goes to plan I will finally read it. Unlike most of her books it isn’t part of a series. A peculiar group of strangers are invited to a private island off the coast of Devon. They all carry secrets they will not part with, and now they’ve all been marked for murder. First they were ten and then they were none.

11. Slytherin (dystopian world) — I’ve loved all three of the Alexandra Bracken books I’ve read thus far. I know The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds #1) is being adapted into a movie, which is the main reason why I want to read the series. I’m honestly a little sick of dystopian books, but I’ll make an effort to read this one. It’s about kids with special abilities fighting for their lives and potentially fighting against the government.

12. Astronomy class (outer space) — In the aftermath of the events of book five, Babylon’s Ashes by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse #6) continues the story of our colonized solar system. I love this book series and I’m looking forward to being back on board the Roci.

13. Care of Magical Creatures (animal or magical/mythical creature) — The main character is a badass vampire hunter, who happens to be half vamp herself. Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntress #1) is supposed to be great for fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which is perfect because I’m a huge fan.

14. Tri-Wizard Tournament (competition) — Described as a YA version of the reality show The Bachelor, The Selection by Kiera Cass (The Selection #1) is not something I’d typically pick up. But I’m sure it’ll be an entertaining and fast paced read, especially since I’m buddy reading it with the lovely Aurora.

15. Occlumency (magical abilities or superpowers) — A group of friends go on the hunt for a treasure on a mysterious island. Gray Wolf Island by Tracey Neithercott sounds like a great book to read for Halloween. I don’t know much about it, but I’m very excited for this one.

16. Death Eater (POV of a villain) — Tea is different from the rest of her family. She’s a necromancer, the most dangerous and most feared of all witches. I bought The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (The Bone Witch #1) right when it came out in March of this year because of the intriguing synopsis and the gorgeous cover. It’s about time I read it, I have a strong feeling that I’ll love it.

17. Platform 9 ¾ (travel) — Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett (Even the Darkest Stars #1) is set in a fantastical world of mountains and exploration. Kamzin’s dreams come true when the greatest explorer in the kingdom hires her to be part of a dangerous mission.

18. Time Turner (set in past or future) — Even though I haven’t read Lair of Dreams yet, I’ve been anticipating this book since before reading The Diviners, because I just knew I would love the series. The book I’m talking about is of course Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray (The Diviners #3).

19. Fantastic Beasts (spin-off of a series) — I feel like October is the month I should finally read Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #2). It’s not technically a spin-off. It’s a companion book to Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1). I want to read it, so I’m counting it as fair to use for this bonus challenge. Now that that’s out of the way, this book follows sisters Jack and Jill and their story before they ended up at the home for wayward children.

20. Dumbledore’s Army (buddy-read) — I’m also buddy reading Turtles All The Way Down by John Green with Aurora and I’m super excited about this book. Everyone is talking about and I gave into the hype and bought a copy. I’m not completely sure what it’s about, other than that it’s a mystery involving a missing billionaire. I’ve read three of his previous books which I enjoyed, and I have a feeling I’ll like this one as well.  

Now that is a long TBR. Spoiler alert, I’ll never be able to get through all of those books during this readathon, but I’ll try my best. Even if I only get to a couple of the books on the list at least I have a lot of options to choose from. Anyway, let me know if you’re participating and in that case what you’re reading. Oh, and if you’ve read any of the books I’ve mentioned, let me know what you thought of it/them.