Into The Pages

Book #9 - Breaking Dawn

2008-08-20T09:59:00.002-05:00

Title: Breaking Dawn
Author: Stephanie Meyer

Um.. wow. Its been about 2-3 weeks since I finished the book. I read it the weekend it came out, I started writing a blog about it, and its taking a while because its long. I really need to shorten it before I post it (I will post it), but I wanted to get some comments up before I forget.

I didn't like it. Not nearly as much as I LOVED the first 3. It read like the kind of fan fiction that I skip over because there is no way it could remotely relate to the books. I don't read much out of cannon, slightly out of cannon is fine, but something with a human pregnant with her vampire lover's baby is something that I wouldn't have considered canon. WOW was I wrong.

I was about 200 pages in and was ready to just give up and hit the internet for spoilers because it was just... that... bad. I was waiting for the 'bad dream' I thought Bella was having to end. But, no. This was no dream, no nightmare, not anything more than the story that was being told. I read on, more out of morbid curiosity than waiting for the story to get better. I was surprised when the story DID get better toward the end, maybe the last 200 pages or so were pretty good.

It ended too perfect, no story ends with a nice bow like this one. One person does NOT get everything they want with little or no sacrifice. Bella has a baby (which she never knew she wanted), becomes a vampire (which she's wanted since she laid eyes on Edward), is NOT a crazed newborn (cause she 'prepared'!), and along with the rest of her vampire family and friends managed to escape certain death (or win a chess match, however you want to look at it) with this newly developed shield power she's got goin on, oh yeah and they live happily ever after. the end. Oh WTF! The way the Volturi was written in New Moon, they don't often just let people walk away without some kind of fight. And here they just turned around (with witnesses!) and said "ok, no one dies today.. lets head back home".. ONE person dies in the book, a character that the readers didn't get a chance to get attached to/hate enough (again, perception of the situation) to care if they died. Although I liked the end of the book as a whole, I didn't like the way this showdown was written up leading to some great climatic battle or something, only to have it not be so much a battle, but a chess match of sorts. I understand it, I get it, I just felt more of a letdown from the buildup.

But, it wasn't so awfully terrible that there was nothing likable about it. I liked that Jacob finally stood up as Alpha and got a mini-pack of his own (I know that packs don't need to have a certain number, but still..). I liked the parts with Jacob and Leah, where we find out more about Leah. I was hoping that something would develop there, but no more than friendship, which is fine, I still liked that part. I also liked the little hunt that Alice had sent Bella on, well, I got to think along with the character to try and figure out what she was supposed to find. I also liked how Bella finally did figure something out on her own, and went about doing what she had to in order to save her daughter. The best line out of the book - "goodbye Jacob, my brother, my son". I didn't like the fact Bella gave birth to a vamp/human hybrid, or the whole Jacob imprinting thing, but that line wasn't about that really. If you look at the broader concept, its about acceptance. Edward had accepted Jacob as a brother, for all the times he's helped the family, and knows that someday he'll marry (*shudder*) his daughter but he knows she'll be safe, and that is what matters, so he accepted it.

And thats really about all, till I post my longer comments on each of the 'big' things that happened.

Book #7 - Eclipse

2008-06-23T09:46:00.003-05:00

Title: Eclipse
Author: Stephanie Meyer

This book was awesome, just like the others. Bella's graduation is drawing near (along with the Cullen's of course), as is her.. planned change. She's still got a deranged vampire after her, nearby Seattle has a gang of newborn vamps on the loose, and then there's the werewolf. Sound complicated? Thats only half. Bella is torn between her friendship with Jacob and her love for Edward. The vampires and the wolves become allies! And Alice gets to plan a wedding. Lots of good stuffs! Read it!

Books #4, #5, #6 (beware Twilight spoilers..)

2008-06-14T18:18:00.003-05:00

I really need to log in and update as soon as I finish a book.. anyway, here goes.

#4 Title: Two For The Dough
Author: Janet Evanovich

This was ok, the whole mystery thing still isn't my thing. I found this one a little harder to get into, but it got better at the end. I will continue to read these in between other reads, they are rather quick.

#5 Title: Twilight
Author: Stephanie Meyer

Oh My GOD! I loved this book! This is another series I am happening on near its ending. The one Harry Potter podcast had been mentioning it as something people are turning to after Harry Potter. Its different, because its about vampires.. but its still that fantasy/science fiction genre.

It has been a long time since I read a good vampire story. This one is a bit different, its a love story as well.. "with bite".. lol :) Bella is human, Edward is a vampire.. living with (coven of sorts) other vampires as a family. These vampires are different because they don't kill humans, the exist in human society and resist the urge to take their blood. They live off the blood of animals, so they go on 'hunting trips' away from where they live (in the almost always rainy and overcast city of Forks, Washington). They meet at school, at first it seems Edward hates Bella for no reason.. but he doesn't.. he's just really interested in her blood, and he's intrigued because his special talent of hearing peoples thoughts doesn't work with her. She's intrigued by him, they fall in love.. there's other dangers, I don't wanna give it all away.. but its a thing where he wants to stay away for her safety.. but she's accident prone and he feels the need to save her.. its just a really good story.. REALLY good, my description is doing NOTHING for it. GO read it!

#6 Title: New Moon (Book 2, Twilight Saga)
Author: Stephanie Meyer

If there is a book better than Twilight, it is New Moon. I had it finished in 2 days. I would have finished it the first night it arrived, but I had to get up early the next day for work so I couldn't read through the night and into the morning. I finally put it down around 1am and went to bed, and picked it right up again as soon as I got home. Wonderful continuation. Such drama! In the beginning, things look good for Edward and Bella, but a mishap at the Cullen House (the Cullen's are Edward and his family) on Bella's birthday changed that. Bella accidentally gave herself a paper cut.. and one of Edward's 'brothers' (who was new to the way of resisting human blood) kinda went at her when he saw the blood.. soo small bit of craziness happens.. and in the next chapter or so Edward's family decide to leave Forks. Edward breaks up with Bella, and its sooo devistating. I cried. lol and I don't usually do that, but I guess it brought up some memories of my own. Totally brought her world crashing down. She learns to function somewhat normally, becomes reckless in order to hear his voice in her head.. till.. well.. someone shows up.. a rescue mission starts.. and.. READ IT! You won't regret it!

Book #3 of 2008

2008-05-12T17:19:00.002-05:00

**Blogger's note - Its been forever since I put a book in here! I had good intentions of reading a lot more, but school got in the way. I missed the March book challenge, although I got books from the library.. I never got a chance to read them. April's challenge was cozy mysteries, 3 of them.. I read 1 so far. And starting the second.. I need to get books for May's challenge as well, mother stories in honor of mothers day.. but in the mean time I may as well get these "cozies" finished. I've got all 13 of the Janet Evanovich Plum books, and the 2 I think "in betweens".. and just started reading them, which brings me to the post...

Title: One For The Money
Author: Janet Evanovich

I must be the last person on the planet to have read this book. Chrissy, who I help take care of the book club area of our group, recommended them to me (and helped me acquire some of them through exchange sites, library sale, and paperback stores)... and just now, after they've sat on my shelf for a year, i'm deciding to read them.

For those that don't know, Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter.. and these books are about her bounty hunting. lol ok, thats vague.. but anyway. The first in the series sets up how she got involved in the bounty hunter business and introduces the reader to the 'cast of characters'. Now if you scroll back through entries, I believe it was December, I read Visions of Sugar Plums, which is a between the numbers, so I didn't have to worry about not knowing what was going on. Overall it was a decent book, its not my usual cup of tea, but it wasn't bad.

Tonight I start Two For The Dough. With school being out and 3 weeks that I don't need to go to work, I should get lots of reading done. My work hours shouldn't interfere with reading either, no homework. So I've got till the end of August to get caught up.

Book #1 & #2 of 2008

2008-02-18T15:14:00.002-05:00

A little correction here, I should have mentioned this in the post. I put The Heart of a Fox in with the end of 2007 reads, it should be with the 2008s. I hadn't finished it till January.

So, Book #1 of 2008 is Heart of a Fox by T. Isilwath. See review below. I love this book. Check out Izzy's Book Website to read the first 2 chapters.

Book #2: Dog Heros of 9/11. This has been on my shelf for a while, and I had leafed through it, but this time I actually read it. It is individual stories about the dogs involved in the rescue missions at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and in western Pennsylvania. Each dog's profile includes their name, breed, medals, and a description of where they were helping out and the training they went through. If there was a specific firefighter they worked with, that was talked about, also if there was a special story about a certain dog.

Lonestar Steak restaurants donated steaks for the dogs to eat, every night the vet staff on duty bathed them and gave them full check ups to make sure they weren't injured.

I thought this was a very interesting book.

Book # 13 of 2007

2008-01-03T00:14:00.000-05:00

Not really the 13th book that I read in the year, but I see I hadn't posted about it. And I know why, I haven't finished my write up about it.

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

I loved this book... and I will finish my full write-up of it and post that in the coming weeks.

Books #11 and 12 of 2007

2008-01-03T00:09:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post before I start the 2008 books..

I read Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich as part of a books group read. It was a quick read, pretty funny. The first of her books that I read, even though I have the others in the Plum series on my shelf waiting (thats for the coming year).

Also, even though I just finished it today, I started it at the end of December..

The Heart of a Fox by T. Isilwath. All family bias aside, I loved this book. Its different from anything I had read before, and I loved it. Its about time travel, and the power of love. I love how Izzy writes about the power of love.

Check out www.tisilwath.com and you'll be able to preview the first 2 chapters. Its a great read.

Book #10 of 2007 - Sam's Letters To Jennifer

2007-06-25T00:43:00.000-05:00

Title: Sam's Letters To Jennifer
Author: James Patterson

This was a book of the month book for the reading club I'm part of. Its something I probably wouldn't have picked up if this wasn't a book of the month, its not usually something I'd read, but I enjoyed this book.

It was a bit sad at times, but had a happy ending. The story starts with a woman, who's husband is dead, and who's grandmother (and best friend) is in a coma. When she goes to her grandmother's house, after visiting her at the hospital, she finds a pile of letters in the room she always stayed in, all written to her. The grandmother told her (Jennifer) the story of her life, there are surprises in the letters that Jennifer never expected. There are 2 love stories intertwined throughout the book, these stories are in Sam's letters, and in Jennifer's life as she's reading Sam's letters. The ending is sad, yet happy as well. All in all a really good book.

Book #9 of 2007 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2007-06-25T00:06:00.000-05:00

Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Author: J.K. Rowling

I decided to read this book again because the seventh Harry Potter book is coming out next month and I wanted to refresh my memory as to the story as far as we have it. There were a couple things that I had forgotten about, or maybe never thought as much about until the re-read. I guess its like a movie, you can see them so many times and discover something you never saw before.

In the past few months, between mugglecast and pottercast, as well as talking with my friend chrissy about the upcoming book, there has been talk about the horcruxes, who lives or dies, etc. I have come up with a new horcrux theory, or possibility. My theory is - there is a horcrux hidden in the room of requirement. Harry walks past the room of requirement needing a place to HIDE his potion book. He is on his way to dumbledore's office and sees that Professor Trelawny is kicked out of the Room by someone already in the place she wants, a place to HIDE her Sherry bottles. We find out at the end that the "male voice" that was so happy in the Room, was Draco who was using the place to HIDE the vanishing cabinet he was fixing so that he could fix it and then let the death eaters in through it. Harry passed the cabinet while in the room to HIDE his book and dismisses it as a broken cabinet that Montague got lost in during the 5th book. So, here is the conclusion I came to: the Room became the same place for everyone looking to hide something, because Harry mentions things that looked like they'd been hidden and forgotten about, that is why he marked the spot where he put the book. As far as I can remember, no other time has the room looked like it had been used before for the same purpose it was being summoned for. So, what if Tom Riddle the student knew about the room of the requirement and was looking for a place to hide something and put it in that room. It was probably filled with hidden stuff before her got there. At the time he may not have had a horcrux to hide, but he could have kept it in mind and decided to use it. Another thought is that it could be charmed to look like "junk". I dunno.. just a thought.

I still love this book, and all the others.. and anxiously waiting for Deathly Hallows

Book #8 of 2007 - The Pact

2007-05-30T01:49:00.000-05:00

Title: The Pact
Author: Jodi Picoult

This was a pretty good book. At first, say the first half of it, I didn't think I'd like it, but the last 150 or so pages had me so engrossed that I didn't want to put it down.

It is a love story, but not a typical love story. Its about a 2 families that are neighbors, their children are born months apart, grow up together, and so on.

The story starts at the end, in the present, with the shot (Emily's suicide.. or is it?). The story is then told both in the present, and then flashback style. So you get to read about the 2 families meeting, the children growing up together, their relationship and so on.. intermingled into the story of what happend on the night of the gun shot and the time after until the end of the book. I don't want to give away any more of the "now" part in case someone hasn't read it that may be reading this (highly unlikely, but you never know).

Interesting writing style, good story, all in all a good book.

This was another book club book.

Book #7 of 2007 - The Killing Game

2007-05-30T00:57:00.000-05:00

Title: The Killing Game
Author: Iris Johansen

This book was OK. I have to say that she is a good writer, but the style of book just isn't something I enjoy reading. I read it as part of a book club, and was determined to finish it. I hate leaving a book unread. It wasn't un-readable, it was just, like I said, not my cup o' tea. :)

It is a murder mystery book where a woman who is a.. now I forget her exact title, but she reconstructs faces from skulls or skull fragments.. is being stalked by the killer that killed her young daughter. The daughter's bones had never been found. The killer sends her on a search for other victims, has her watching over a young girl in foster care threatening to kill this young girl. So the woman and a friend of hers from the fbi work together, along with the police, to find this guy before he kills the girl and her.

Its interesting at parts, the end has the expected twist, and the "oh we got him!... oh no.. its really.. HIM!" lol but it was a well written story. I won't be reading any of her other books, not because they aren't well written, just because murder mystery isn't my thing.

This entry is waay late, I read this in April. :)

Book #6 of 2007: The Sweet Potato Queen's First Big Ass Novel

2007-03-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

Title: The Sweet Potato Queen's First Big Ass Novel (Stuff we didn't actually do, but could have, and may yet)

Author: Jill Conner Browne

I loved this book! It is a story about people, and their imperfections, and a story about friendship, which isn't always perfect either, and the durability of friendship.

There are recipes in the back of the book that the author (the real Boss Sweet Potato Queen, and the real Queens) made up. Some of them sound really good, I plan on trying them out sometime.

Book #5 of 2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-02-25T03:17:00.000-05:00

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J.K. Rowling

Ok, yes, this is a re-read. I've been going to mugglenet.com on a daily basis checking up on all the news about the upcoming release of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, AND the 5th movie (Order of the Phoenix) and have been wanting to re-read that book before I saw the movie. This will be the first movie that I've seen AFTER having read the book. And now I've read it twice. :)

I know I went into details in earlier blogs from last year. This is my favorite of the series so far, its really the turning point in the series, where the story gets darker and more involved. I realize that many think that Goblet of Fire is the turning point, but its only the beginning of the turn.

In this book you see the true evil that is Lord Volidmort. As well as the corrupted Ministry of Magic. Its kind of strange that I was re-reading this book now, many months before the July release of the movie and book 7, because I am also reading (well not cover-to-cover reading, more of like class assignement reading) a book called Democracy In America in my American Studies class. On the surface, they books are NOT similiar at ALL. And really, they aren't. Democracy in America is written by a french guy in 1836, he talks about America as he observes it as an outsider. How American democracy works and other such things. To me, its a really long and boring book that I have to read in/for class and know certain things out of because we'll be tested on them. I mean we need to memorize quotes and stuff, I'm actually highlighting in this book and I don't feel like I'm defacing it LOL.. I'd cry if there were marks inside any of my HP books. *On a side note, I can quote at least something out of each HP novel, without ever having to make a mark in it. LOL. Anyway, back to Order of the Phoenix.. I do most of my personal reading at night before bed, or after I do homework, and since the subject matter of the books is SO different I don't get them confused. But, when my mind is left to wander, as it often does, I start to think about the deeper words of the HP books. In OOTP, we see the Wizard government, The Ministry of Magic. Yeah we've heard about it before, heard about some laws before, seen Fudge before, but never really understood what the whole thing was about. In OOTP they really come out, you get to see that they are a corrupt type of governement. With war impending, they are trying to cover up how close the true enemy really is, their are spies on both sides, but who is really on what side.. things like that. The ministry trying to take over at the school, only to find out that they very person the ministry put there is the one that attempted to get Harry thrown out. Its kinda of like a conspiracy. But isn't our government like that in a way? Laws keep getting passed, and we don't always know what is going on. We've got soldiers fighting a war overseas and all we hear about is the death count.. not so much as a clue as to when our soldiers will be brought home. 9/11/01 was 6 years ago, and there is still so much information that we don't know.

Yeah, it is a dangerous thing when my mind wanders.. and I'm kinda tired on top of it all..

Anyway, yeah.. soo I'm still reading, and I think at this point I've read more books in a month and a half than I read in a whole year last year. Yay for me. And now its time for bed.

Book #4 of 2007: Mugglenet.com Book

2007-01-26T19:14:00.000-05:00

Title: Mugglenet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls In Love and How the Adventure Finally End
Author(s): Ben Shoen, Emerson Spartz, Andy Gordon, Gretchen Stull

This book was really good, lots of good theories as to what will happen in the 7th and final Harry Potter book. The people involved in this writing project are those that run the website mugglenet.com and some of the people who participate in mugglecast (a podcast where they discuss harry potter theory). Its not an official book, although there were a lot of quoted interviews and other sources, its just speculation, which is always fun to read and discuss.

It was also helpful because, as I've been listening to both mugglecast and pottercast, things have come up that I have forgotten about. I know that I did a little speculation of my own a few posts back about who I think will live or die based on an article I read. But, they go really in depth to back up their theory/arguments. I know its time for a re-read, I just don't know where to start. I'm thinking either Order of the Pheonix (which has a movie coming out in July) or Half Blood Price, because a lot of the speculation comes from the last bits of information we were given - ie the last book published to date.

I know there are a lot of harry potter sites out there, but mugglenet is one of the best. The authors took into consideration everything they've discussed in the forums, mugglecast, theories of their own, other theories and differing opinions. Its not a book that has all the answers, after all, its not book 7 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), but it is a great place to start if you're anything like me and just on edge waiting for a release date. We've gotten a title, now, all that's left is a release date.

Book #3 of 2007: Tuesdays With Morrie

2007-01-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Title: Tuesdays With Morrie
Author: Mitch Albom

I loved this book. I hardly wanted to put it down. I started reading it the night I finished the last Narnia book, this past Sunday. I read Sunday night till about 4:30am and Ifigured I needed sleep, Monday night the same thing happened - I read till almost 1:30am and had less than 100 pages, but needing to be up at 7am this morning, I guessed I should sleep. So I took the book to school with me and finished it in my break between classes.

A lot of subjects are brought up in this book, and it makes you think a lot about the way you do things in your own life. I think the thing I like most about it is knowing that it is a true story. There are a lot of life lessons discussed, but accepting death as a part of life is a theme that is repeated. As if trying to relay that it is ok to talk about death and to accept death. One of my favorite quotes from this book, repeated in a lot of chapters is "when you learn how to die, you learn how to live". Its heavy stuff, but makes sense. When you know your time is limited you want to use every minute you have to live to the fullest, no matter what that 'living' entails.

I think this book will be one that I keep on my shelf knowing I will read it again. Its not really a make-you-feel-better book, its not meant to be. Its more of a make-you-think book, and more a make-you-think-about-things-you-don't-want-to-think-about book.

No one wants to really think about the fact they are going to die, yet everyone knows that everything that is born will eventually die. Death is a subject that I have thought about, and pretty much accepted. It is true that we are all going to die eventually. Now, whether we are ready to die when the time comes is a whole other story. Most of us don't know when that time will be, at least not while we're young (I can't say I'm going to live 60 more years, ya know), maybe when we're on death's doorstep we'll be able to say "it won't be long now", like Morrie. I don't know if I'd like to know exactly when I was going to die, but I would like to be able to say my goodbyes in person, not just in the form of what I can leave people in a will. I have some things in mind for my funeral, my burial, I've contemplated cremation, and if I do get cremated, what I'd like done with the ashes. Its not a morbid thing, its a very real thing. I'm young, young enough that I don't need to worry about dying tomorrow, but really.. how can I be so sure? Anything can happen at any time. I'm only 26, and there's nothing in writing yet because the ideas change all the time. Its not that I think about death all the time, I don't want to die, I just want things to be ready when the time eventually comes so that no one is saying "now what" when it does happen.

I would definitely reccommend this book.

Book #2 of 2007 - The Chronicles of Narnia continue..

2007-01-15T01:41:00.000-05:00

Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (book 2 in the series)
Author: C.S. Lewis

Ok, I finished it. It was better than the first one, although still strange. I was able to get into this one a little more towards the end, yet sooner than the last one. It wasn't a real attention grabber for me, but I'm determined to finish the series.. eventually.

I'm still not enjoying the way the story is presented by the narrorator, as if they are talking to the reader, and giving side notes along the way in (parenthesis). And, the switching back and forth between who they are talking about. So, this group is doing something and you follow the story and one breaks off and you forget him for a while like he's doing nothing and then all of a sudden the next chapter says "and I bet you were wondering what so and so has been up to" and they tell that story.. till I guess they get to a part where they have to go and pick up the other story so that it all fits together and makes sense. Which, I guess after flip flopping 2 or 3 times, and the group gets back together, it does make sense.

The "battle" I thought was done too quickly. I realize its magic, but.. umm.. I think it would take longer than a chapter and "a matter of minutes" for an evil witch to be destroyed. I liked parts of this book, I know it doesn't seem that way, but I was just disappointed that the big battle that was to take place, really wasn't much of a battle at all. And there was a lesson in there, someplace, but I guess I sort of missed it because it was glazed over in a couple pages at the end of a chapter. And no one on the "good" side died. That is very unlikely to happen, even in fantasy.. there are usually casualties on both sides.

Another thing that really got me was the concept of time, and yeah I know, its fantasy, but other books I've read that deal with time, the "time" continues no matter where you are or what you are doing. When the characters enter Narnia, this time through a wardrobe made from the wood of a tree from book 1 (and this time thing was discussed in book one but I hadn't really thought too much about it), time in "our world" (as the narrorator describes the world outside Narnia, like.. England.. where the characters live) just stops. All the time the characters spend in Narnia, is on Narnia time. Things happen, the characters sort of age, things grow, time flows. They kinda forget about where they really came from or how they got there they just went on like it was the most normal thing in the world. At the end, they come across the lamp post, which had kinda grown and intertwined with a huge tree, and the kinda remember something about it.. and what it was called and they walk past it, and taadaaa they aren't walkin through trees anymore, they are brushing through coats and they tumble out into the room that the wardrobe is in. And suddenly they remember everything, the room, the wardrobe, the "battle" in Narnia.. yadda yadda. BUT... NO TIME HAS PASSED in the "real" world. The people talking in the hallway are still there, mid convo, nothing has changed. In the first book, the trips that the 2 characters take to Narnia last a couple hours each time (implied at least).. in book 2, its implied they are gone for YEARS. Yet, for time, time in their real world freezes. No one knows they are gone because time has just stopped.. the age in one place, stumble through the wardrobe and they are back to the same way they were when the left? Not following.. what if they never came back?? Even in Harry Potter, with the time turner, time is still flowing, that is why its important that the "present" people aren't seen by their "past selves". Time is still flowing, they've just gone back within time, yet in order to get back to the "present" they've got to wait and live out the time again, and put themselves where they were when they left.

Yes, I realize I just completely over-analyzed a fairy tale. I remember reading something about the Narnia's written as a fairy tale for the author's daughter.. and maybe that's why the narrorator is giving the story in the way it is being given. I dunno. I will finish the series, I hope.

But, next up is Tuesdays With Morrie.. it is a book group discussion book for an msn group I am on and a book I've heard a lot of good things about. I guess its time for me to read a grown up book, I haven't in soo long.

First completed book of 2007

2007-01-01T03:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so as you can tell, 52 books last year did NOT work out. School got absolutely crazy and I didn't have enough time to read the books I wanted to. I'm going to try to manage my time better to be able to read the books I'd like to. I'm not going to say I'm going to attempt 52 books again, I'll just say I plan to read more books in 2007 than I did in 2006. That shouldn't be too hard.

So, I'm going to start off with the first book I finished in 2007. I started this book last month, and finished it tonight (technically 12/31), but I believe it was after midnight. I wasn't home, I was actually playing bingo and reading during the breaks.

#1
Title: The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 1: The Magician's Nephew
Authors: C.S. Lewis
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I decided to start reading this series because the set has been sitting on my shelf for a while, and it was so widely talked about when the movie came out (which I have NOT seen) and they are supposed to be great books. I read a lot of reviews and opinions online and sometimes pick up a book based on those. I got this whole set as one selection from a book club, so i figured it was worth it even if I ended up not liking them.

Well, book 1 was... Ok. It started off kinda slow, jumped around a bit in places, went back to the place where it jumped. It is written in the 3rd person objective POV where the narrorator is telling the story and is talking to the reader. The position that the narrorator takes is that he/she has spoken with the characters and is re-telling the story. This is why there were side notes in parenthesis pointing to something one of the characters said within a description like (as Digory would tell you if he were here) or (like Polly says when she speaks of the event) or something like that, as well as times where as the story is being told the narrorator says now we'll leave this and come back to it in a bit.. then goes on with the story involving the other characters as if the part that was left wasn't left.. and THEN when you've probably forgotten the part/character was left the narrorator will say something like 'and now lets go back to where we left uncle andrew' and re-tell the part you've just read with something else that was happening either to the left character or from the point of view (or re-told story) of said left character.

In parts, it does get better, and within the last 2 chapters it does get much better. I'm guessing that really, the whole book 1 is background information that won't be referenced again, with the exception of the events that happened in the last 3 chapters - ESPECIALLY the very last chapter titled "the end of this story and the beginning of the others". That chapter pretty much tells you, ok, this book was alllll background, and this here chapter is going to tell you what you need to know to read the rest of the books, because those are where the real story is. The whole chapter is like 3 pages or so, and its the last paragraph that clues you in. If you've seen commercials for the movie, or know the title of the second book (probably the most popular of the series), you can see instantly what is important to the rest of the series.

I will be starting book 2 - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe tomorrow.

Harry Potter Book 7 Speculation

2006-06-27T01:32:00.000-05:00

I am reading DaVinci Code, and will comment when I’m finished, but this brainstorm deserves to be here. I read an article : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060626/ap_en_ot/britain_rowling_1 and it got me thinking.

This article states that 2 characters will die, one character got a reprieve (I’m taking this to mean someone she intended to have die, she decided against, and there is a possibility that Harry will not survive either.

Lets think about the main characters: Harry, Hermione, Ron, The Weasley Family (Arthur, Molly, Twins, Percy, Bill, Charlie... some more “main” than others), Neville, Professor McGonigal, Professor Snape, Draco, Lucius, and Volidimort. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head, lots of others are mentioned more than once, but, these are the main.

We know that Volidmort has to die, that’s what the whole series leads up to – the big battle of good vs. evil. Good always wins. But there are always casualties on both sides, significant losses for both sides.

For arguments sake, lets say that the 2 that die do not include Harry or Volidmort. So, a significant loss for the light could be one of the trio – lets say Hermione. That loss would emotionally hurt Harry, he’s always losing those closest to him, and although Ron is his best friend as well, I think he was closer emotionally to Hermione. She’s valuable to the Order because she’s smart and well read, not that the others aren’t, but she’d still be a great loss. Losing her would drive Harry and Ron to bring Volidmort down.  On the other hand, I think the loss of Ron would drive Harry as well, along with Hermione and the rest of the order… so really, either one of the other trio members would count as a significant loss. Also for the Order, there is Arthur Weasley, who works for the ministry, which also makes him a significant loss. There are others, but they may or may not be “main characters”.

For the Dark side, there’s Draco. He was supposed to kill Dumbledore, but couldn’t. Snape, because of the unbreakable vow, did it for him. I don’t know if that means that Draco will become neutral or not, but that’s a whole other subject entirely.  Volidmort could be so angry with Draco that he kills him. Of course, that’s if Lucius doesn’t get to him first. Wormtail could be one of Volidmort’s casualties, he was significant in the rebirth of Voldmort. Lucius is another option, any number of the Death Eaters could die in battle.

Then there is Snape, who is a double spy, but where do his real loyalties lie? If Volidmort finds him out as a spy for the light, he may kill him. But if he’s truly a death eater, he wouldn’t be killed by volidmort. That doesn’t mean that he can’t be killed in battle.

This idea came from an HP yahoo group that I’m part of – what if Harry were a horcrux? 2 of the horcruxes were destroyed (the gault ring and riddle’s diary), 1 was stolen by R.A.B (speculated to be Sirius’s brother – could be the locket found at Grimmauld Place), the 4th being Nagini (the snake), 5th being something belonging to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, 6th being – harry, 7th being Voldimort himself.

What if the 5th is something belonging to Ravenclaw, and the 6th is something belonging IN Gryffindor – meaning Harry… after all he DID use the sword belonging to Gryffindor. At first I thought the sword could be the horcrux, but what if it is HARRY?

If Harry is a horcrux, that could have something to do with his scar… even though it’s been said that the scar is created by the killing curse, or at least its implied. What if the dark magic that created that scar was a combination of the killing curse and the magic needed to create horcruxes.  What a dramatic ending it would be if the boy who lived had to become the boy who died to save the wizarding world?

But who figures it out and who kills harry? I think harry and whomever of the trio doesn’t die figures it out. Like Harry knows he’s got to die in order for Voldimort to be brought down. Soo.. does he kill himself and leave orders for the others? Or does he give orders for someone else to kill him at a certain time? I think Neville plays a big part in the end, possibly he’s the one who’s got to kill harry? (or not, I’m just stretching here).

Ok, I’ve been spending waay too much time thinking about this.. LOL back to other things.

#5 A New Dish

2006-04-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

Title: A New Dish
Author: Cherie Burbach
Publisher: iUniverse www.iuniverse.com
ISBN: 0-595-34256-6
Page Count: 84
Genre: Poetry

A New Dish
Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato

“This is who I am, a spirit strong, This is who I’ve been all along”, and excerpt from her poem “This Is Who I Am”, is an overall theme of this book. The poems in this book are about life, love, faith, and accepting ones self. You can tell these poems come from the heart and soul of a writer who has been through a lot and has come out on the surviving end.

“A New Dish” is a wonderfully written book of poetry. My favorite poem is “Jagged Rocks”, a poem about life’s struggles and how with a little faith you can overcome them. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good book of poetry.

#4 Attention. Deficit. Disorder.

2006-02-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Title: Attention. Deficit. Disorder.
Author: Brad Listi
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1230-9 ISBN-10: 1-4169-1230-4 $21.00
Page Count: 356
Genre: Fiction

Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato

Author Brad Listi quotes Anthony Robbins, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” This quote, in and of itself, attempts to sum up this book. Attention. Deficit. Disorder. Isn’t at all what you’d think it would be. It’s not a novel by or about someone with ADD, what it is, is a uniquely written novel.

The novel incorporates fiction, fact, and quotes to tell a story of how one person deals with life and death and guilt. The story starts with the main character, Wayne Fencer, finding out about his ex-girlfriend’s suicide, and continues with his trip to the funeral, and the events that take place during and after. We are invited along as Wayne takes his own personal journey to find meaning in life and some sort of closure with death.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good novel. I found myself unable to put it down for too long until I was finished.

A note about last few posts

2006-01-28T03:22:00.000-05:00

The 3 book posts this year so far have been more in the form of a review, because thats what they are. I've been doing a few book reviews for readerviews.com. I post those right from MS Word (with the plug in I downloaded from this site), its just easier to do it that way than to re-type everything as I count my books read for the year. As I post about the books I'm reading from my "to be read" list, I'll put more of my personal comments in like I did with the Harry Potters at the end of last year.

#3 A Voice in the Night

2006-01-28T02:56:00.000-05:00

Title: A Voice In The Night
Author: GeorgeAnne Smith
Publisher: PublishAmerica, LLLP, Baltimore, MD www.publishamerica.com
ISBN: 1-4137-9489-0
Page Count: 75
Genre: Poetry

A Voice In The Night
Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato

“We are a soulful lot, the “poet””, and excerpt from her poem “Who”, is a simple line that for me, sums the entire book. I’ve dabbled in writing poetry myself, although I’m not professionally published, and I felt completely drawn in by this book. Each poem makes the reader feel as if they are getting to know the author. A Voice in the Night is a wonderfully written book of poems.

The author writes about topics that vary from love to hate, life to death, and every emotion in between. My favorite is “Present Moment”, which talks about going through life wondering if you’re taking the right path, attempting to live in the past, and realizing that the best gift that we have is the present – “here and now”. I’ve felt like that in the past, and it took a while to begin to live in and enjoy the present time.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry written on a personal level. These poems are written in such a way that you can tell they are from the author’s heart, and personally those are the types of poems that I enjoy the most.

#2 Title Its Springtime In My Backyard

2006-01-27T20:43:00.000-05:00

Title: It’s Springtime In My Backyard
Author: Kathy Mazur
Publisher: Spring Ducks Books, LLC www.springducks.com
ISDN: 0-9761076-0-0 Price: $16.95
Page Count: Approx 30 (pages aren’t numbered, I counted)
Genre: Children

Springtime!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato

This book is an amazing ‘learn to read book’. It is the story of a child and her interaction with two ducks at the beginning of spring. The story is written in short sentences that children can understand which are accompanied by real photographs and drawings that illustrate what the words are explaining.

At the end of the story, there is information about male and female mallards, as well as pictures of other animals and plants that signal the beginning of spring. This book also includes a CD, on which the child the book is written about (Lauren Mazur, age 7) reads the book.

I would recommend this book to any parent with a young child. It’s not only a fun story for beginning readers, but it’s also a lesson about mallards as well. That’s like two lessons in one story.

#1 The Bowery Bartenders BIG BOOK of Poetry

2006-01-05T19:14:00.000-05:00

Title: The Bowery Bartenders BIG BOOK of Poetry
Authors: Shappy, Moonshine Shorey, Laurel Barclay, Gary Mex Glazner
Publisher: Bob Holoman / YBK Publishers, New York, NY.
ISBN: 0-9764359-2-6  Price: $17.95
Copyright 2005
Pages: 123

Drinks and Poems – Nothing could make me happier!

Reviewed by: Jennifer Imparato

The Bowery Bartenders Big Book of Poems is the collective works, as well as a short bio of four poets all of which are bartenders at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York.  The idea of this club was that by opening a poetry bar, where the bartenders are all poets, performance poets get paid, meanwhile supporting the arts. Each of the four artists featured in this book have a unique style. I can only imagine what it must be like to be in the audience for a performance – something I would love to do someday.

Shappy is the first featured artist; you may have seen him on HBO’s Def Poetry Slam. The only word I can use to describe his style is emotional.  With his use of language, punctuation and emphasis, it’s almost like you can hear him saying the words and like he’s making you feel whichever emotion he’s feeling in the poem.

Moonshine’s work comes from his life experiences. In each poem, the reader gets to glimpse into parts of the author’s life. The poem I like best of this particular artist’s work is called Stone’s Purpose, a poem written in a way like a song, about friendship and life and choices.

Laurel Barclay’s poems are interesting and a bit strange – but in a good way.  Her words do one of two things, they either make you sit back and think – I mean really think, or visualize what she is writing about. One that sticks out in my mind that made me do both is Love is the beginning of the end, a bittersweet poem of love.

Gary Mex Glazner has the most unique style I’ve ever seen. His poems are written in the form of drink recipes complete with mixing instructions. At first glace, when I flipped through the book, I thought the end was all drink recipes, but as I was actually reading and got to his chapter I saw that although they are drink recipes, they are also poems. My favorite of which is The Robert Frosty, the instructions combining the tone of Frost’s poem Fire and Ice, and ending with the final line of Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken.

Although I hardly ever read a book of poems from cover to cover, in order, I enjoyed this one. I’ve never seen Def Poetry Jam or any other performance poetry, nor did I know there were such things as a poetry bar, but after reading this book, I’d like to find one and see what the performance poetry scene is like. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading unique poetry.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2006-01-04T04:12:00.000-05:00

A little past my goal date, although I did try, I am finished with the Harry Potter series. For now, can’t wait till book 7 comes out.

Title: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 5 Stars

I *loved* this book, I cannot say it enough. I love this series, but most of all, I love this book.  Especially toward the end, I didn’t want to put it down.

Harry is nearly of age in the Wizarding world, he’s got one final visit to the Dursely’s before he turns 17. Everything we knew before, comes full circle in this book, and we learn more about Voldemort’s past and how he came to be the dark wizard he is now. Harry witnesses another death, this one hits him more emotionally than the others. He also goes through the normal things a 16 year old boy goes through at school.

***and here is where it gets spoilery – my comments on parts of the story***

Dumbledore picks Harry up from the Dursley’s – nice touch. I love the way the Dursley’s are all scared of him, and he doesn’t care. I could almost picture that whole scene in my head.

I loved the parts of this story where Dumbledore takes Harry into the penseive to show him things about Tom Riddle/Voldemort. It shows that all along Dumbledore knew what he was doing, giving Harry bits of the story throughout his years at Hogwarts, but not overloading him. And now, Harry knows it was worth the wait because he’ll get to know everything. Dumbledore admits he’s made mistakes, and that no one – including himself – is perfect. But, he’s always had Harry’s best interest in mind.

The Harry/Hermione/Ron triangle, with Ginny on the side. It was nice to see something so normal as school crushes amongst all of the things going on with Voldemort and Draco and Snape. Harry knew Draco was up to something, I’ll get back to that later, but he also knew enough to see that Hermione liked Ron, Ron didn’t really like Lavender, and that he (Harry) was head over heels for Ginny. :) Kinda reminded me of my high school days when friends were sooo mad at each other because of who they were dating or who they were trying to date. It made my senior year hell, my circle of friends was small (6 total), and I was probably the only one who never fought with anyone. Well, me and the other Jen, but the other 4 we always fighting, but it was always a different combo. But, I stray from my topic. Harry’s circle was really only a triangle, with the 2 other points not talking for a long time. I’m glad that Harry finally kissed Ginny, rather Ginny kissed Harry. He needed a girlfriend, I always thought it’d be Hermione, but I guess she was too close. I’ve come to find, there is a point at which a friend becomes too close to date.

Draco/Snape – I knew when I read chapter 2, where Snape makes the unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy that somehow that was going to be important later.  Draco always seems like he’s  up to something, but knowing what his mission was, I sorta knew he wouldn’t be able to do it. The necklace and mead,  of course we knew they had to be connected to Draco somehow, but they seemed a very round-about way to carry out his mission of killing Dumbledore. From the beginning, Harry doesn’t like or trust Snape. And really, the only thing he had to go on was gut feeling and knowing that Snape hated his father. But, you know what they say, often times trust your gut. Harry knew Draco and Snape were behind the necklace and mead, he just didn’t know how. And honestly, I couldn’t figure out what the Room of Requirement had to do with anything, yes Draco could hide in there but I didn’t even think of what he could have been fixing. I completely forgot about the cabinet that was used in Order of the Phoenix. Of course, I wasn’t considering that if there are 2 of something, there could be a way to go between them. Like portraits, the people in one portrait can go into the frames of the others. And if a portrait of one wizard is in more than one place, that wizard can travel between any of them. I like how all of these were tied together, after all books in a series are written in a certain order for a reason. The use of polyjuice as well, something we’ve seen a few times before.

Harry/Dumbledore/Horcrux – This was about where it started that I couldn’t put the book down. Harry was going to go with Dumbledore to pick up and destroy a horcrux. It was dangerous, but then again, when has Harry ever stayed away from danger? But I think this was the most dangerous and challenging adventure Harry has had. I also think that having to follow every one of Dumbledore’s orders was probably the hardest thing Harry has ever had to do, especially making him continue to drink the potion.

Dumbledore/Snape/Death – I knew when I started reading that Dumbledore was going to die, I just didn’t know how.  We are told at the beginning that it is Draco’s mission to kill Dumbledore, and we see Snape make an unbreakable vow with Draco’s mother. So, one of them is going to do it. Even though, the way he was described throughout the book it seemed he’d die any minute. But, it was Snape who betrayed Dumbledore. He was a spy for both sides, yet kept his loyalties to the dark side. At first, when Snape killed Dumbledore I thought well… he had to.. the vow and everything, since Draco couldn’t.  But he left with the Death Eaters, again, he had to. But it makes sense that he was a double agent. Yet, Dumbledore trusted him, and wouldn’t hear any different from anyone else. Maybe he knew Snape would be the one to kill him. Of course, I’m sure he hadn’t figured Harry would be standing there watching.

This brings me to Harry and Death, which he’s seeing more and more of as the story goes on. First he watches Voldemort kill Cedric, then he sees Sirius fall behind the veil, and now he watches the man who has protected him for 6 years killed at the wand of someone he trusted so much. I think it also makes it worse when he finds out that Snape is the Half-Blood Prince (I didn’t see that one coming, and kinda wondered when it would come into play). That must have been Snape’s ‘in’ with Voldemort, both half-bloods that stuck to their pure blood side. It’s understandable that Harry is hit hardest by this death. It was almost as if Dumbledore was like a fatherly figure to him. Although he wasn’t family, Harry as always considered those he was close to at Hogwarts his family since he didn’t have a good family life outside of Hogwarts.

Reading about the funeral made me feel like I was there, watching Harry and his friends from the side. It was sad, but written so well. If this were real, I think Dumbledore would have loved knowing his final resting place would be Hogwarts, possibly he knew it all along.

And in the end, Harry thought, he truly thought, he’d be able to go off on his own to find the remaining horcrux and fight Voldemort alone. He really should have known his friends better. They understand why he doesn’t want to go back to Hogwarts even if it will be open, not wanting to relive what happened there, and knowing it wouldn’t be the same without Dumbledore. By the same token though, he should have known that they would go with him anywhere and help him on his mission to rid the Wizarding world of Voldemort. There is a quote near the end of page 651 that I believe sets the tone for the next book, yet sums up this friendship that we’ve seen grow for 6 years.

“You said to us once before,” said Hermione quietly, “that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We’ve had time, haven’t we?”
“We’re with you whatever happens,” said Ron.

Ok, so it’s not exactly a quote, but a series of quotes. This takes place after Harry breaks up with Ginny, and tells Hermione and Ron that he won’t be back to Hogwarts if there is one. The three of them have been through a lot in the 6 years they’ve been friends, and Hermione and Ron have had the chance to abandon Harry, yet they haven’t. They’ve always done whatever they could to help him. Harry won’t be alone on his next mission, he’ll always have his friends – his wizarding family.

My next entry will be the first “official” of 2006, my first of my 52 reads. Hopefully tomorrow. :)

2006 Determination List

2006-01-01T04:00:00.000-05:00

A Density of Souls
The Snow Garden
Blackwood Farm
Blood Cantacle
Report From Ground Zero
Middletown America
Among The Heroes
Aftermath: The Reminence of War
The Price of Exit
Everything We Had
Suicide Charlie
The Da Vinci Code
Angels and Demons
The Lucky Ones

The above is my determination list for 2006, it is a work in progress. As I add to the list, and read books from it, I’ll update the table and edit this post. For those WeeklyReads members, this can be found in the form of an excel chart with the authors of most and a date started and finished column. But since this blogger doesn’t accept document tables, I had to edit it out. No problem though, if you *really* want it, and you’re not a WeeklyReads member I can email it to you.

Happy reading, and good luck to those 52 book challenge people!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - spoilery

2005-12-21T03:48:00.000-05:00

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 5+ Stars

I loved this book! I know I've mentioned it before, but I love the fact that as Harry gets older his issues get harder.

This book has a darker quality to it than the others do. Not overly dark, but its there, especially at the end. I think I enjoyed reading this book more than the others because there is no movie. I had no way of knowing the outcome aside from reading it. Don't get me wrong, I love the other books too, I just enjoyed reading this one the most because I didn't know how it ended. Well, I knew one thing, but not how it happened. And when it did happen, knowing it was going to didn't ruin it for me.

In this book, Harry is dealing with feelings of anger and what he feels is betrayal. In the beginning chapters, you can't help but feel bad for Harry. He's stuck with the Dursleys not knowing when he's going to be busted out, the only messages he gets don't tell him much, he's attacked by a dementor, and still he's told nothing, and to top it all of, he's nearly expelled. When he's finally picked up and taken to where everyone else is, he's still mad because even Ron and Hermione seem to know more than he does, and he's got a trial coming up. Of course, he's not expelled because Dumbledore comes to his rescue, and instead of being completely thrilled, Harry wonders why Dumbledore won't even look at him. He dwells on this subject on and off throughout the book as different things happen. And sometimes, I just wanted to go through the pages and shake Dumbledore to find out what his problem is. But, it's a book, and I didn't really want to rip it, and I knew there was a reason and we'd all (Harry and me) would find out in due time what was going on.

Hopefully those reading this aren'e expecting a good summary here because that's not what's gonna happen. These books are probably the most widely read series across many countries, believe me you'll want to read them if you haven't. And, if you're reading this and you haven't read the books, I really wouldn't continue, I'd hit the library or bookstore and then come back and let me know what you thought of these books. :)

Anyway, back to Harry. Once Harry is back at school, things aren't much better. Sure, he's where he wants to be. But at what cost? The Ministry of Magic is trying to make Harry look like a liar, and make Dumbledore look like he's lost his mind. And then, wanting to get involved in every aspect of the school where they have never had reign before. All this to cover up the fact they know that Harry and Dumbledore are telling the truth? Wouldn't someone become suspicious? If in all the years of Hogwarts, the Ministry has kept it's distance, and then all of a sudden they are becoming involved (and trying to take over). That Umbridge lady was REALLY annoying me. I am so glad she got what she deserved!

By now, I'm sure you can tell that I get really involved in the books I read. To me, it's a sign of a really good writer if the reader can be drawn into a character so much that they start to feel a certain amount of like or dislike toward them. If a character draws no emotion from the reader, the character hasn't been developed enough. With the characters in the HP series, I feel like I know them. Which makes me believe that the author knows them, which J.K. Rowling did mention in an interview. That characters in a book should come across as if the author truely knows them. The fact that she's got pages written on each character that will never see the pages of a published book shows that she's put effort into developing and getting to know each character she uses.

And let me tell ya, I was really not liking the ministry people for quite a while in this book, actually, I still don't think I like them much. I was starting to not feel so good toward Dumbledore for a while, but at the same time, a little worried for Harry at the fact there were times that he felt he wanted to attack Dumbledore. I figured that Dumbledore may know what's going on inside Harry's head and we'd all find out in due time. Cho was really pissing me off. Yes, I'd like Harry to have a girlfriend (or boyfriend, whichever), BUT.. Cho was really irking me. Yes, she was dating Cedric. Did she really think Harry would want to talk about him after seeing him die? Especially with her? I can understand if she truely liked Harry, why she'd want to talk to him, but how about telling the poor guy you like him first? Of course Harry would have confided to Ron and Hermione, the first person he'd go to wouldn't be the girl he had a crush on, would it? Especially if he'd just seen her boyfriend murdered?

The last 100 pages or so really had me glued to the book. I hated to put it down even to go to the bathroom. I had to finish it tonight, no matter how long it took. The entire scene in the department of mysteries with the 5 D.A members and the Death Eaters, and then the Order showing up. The death of Sirius, although I knew about it, didn't make it any less saddening. One second he's battling and laughing, the next he's hit with a curse and he falls behind the veil. All this infront of Harry's eyes. Then, Dumbledore and Voldemort dueling, I could practically see that playing out in my head.

My absolute favorite part of the book is when Dumbledore finally sits down with Harry and talks to him, and explains everything. I could just see Harry tossing things around the office while Dumbledore just watches him. But, when he finally sat down and listened, he got the answers he's wanted for 5 years. Why does he have the scar? What does it mean? Why did Voldemort want to kill him? Why didn't he succeed? Why does he have to go back to the Durselys every summer? And now that he's been told the prophecy, what does it all mean? You'd think that with all these questions answered there would be nothing left of the story to tell, right? Nope! It leave us knowing enough that this - whatever you want to call it - has only just begun. We know that Harry and Voldemort cannot each exist while the other lives. But Harry doesn't believe he can kill, but he's got to if he doesn't want to die.

I also liked the part with Luna and Harry in the hall. Although he's sad and angry about Sirius dying, he feels a little better (hopeful?) knowing he may be just on the other side of that veil. Luna Lovegood may have been seen as "Looney", but she seems perfectly happy with that. And Harry, when he finally talks to her, realizes she's really not that crazy. She even gives him hope.

Even better, the story leaves Harry happy to know he's got his friends and the Order - and Dumbledore - on his side. It gives you a sense that something is going to happen in the next book, and it's not going to be good, but Harry along with the Order (and Ron and Hermione) will do what ever they can to prevent Voldemort from coming to power again. Harry knows he's got to.

Another thing I really enjoyed in this book was the Weasley twins' exit. Nothing less could be expected of them. I enjoyed their pranks in the other books, this last prank was the best they could have done, and to fly out the doors on their brooms - just wonderful. :)

******

Now, nothing at all to do with the plot, just some side thinking since I do read a bit of fanfiction. I know that a lot of fan out there would like to see Hermione with Ron, and although I think that would be cute. I think I'd like to see Hermione with Harry. Of course, I think its an interesting love triangle - and it would be even more interesting to see who would really win her heart. I've read fics on both sides of the fence, and many other Harry pairings.. I still think Harry and Hermione would be the best one. :)

Next Up: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Note: If you'll remember from my first post, I hoped to have this series done by Christmas. I've got 5 days, I'm going to try to make it happen. I know that even if I don't finish by Christmas night, I won't have any problems having it done long before new years day. January 1st I will start the first book of my 52 book challange. Of course, I haven't picked said book yet, but I've got time.

Goblet of Fire - spoilery

2005-12-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

Title: Goblet of Fire
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 5 Stars

I loved this book. I'd have to say its really up there as my favorite of the series. I should really wait till I finish reading the series to pick a favorite, but this one seems like it will be up there. I like the dark feel of the story, you can tell that Harry and his riends are growing up, and their life challengers are getting harder. When the Triwizard Tournament is first mentioned, you know somehow Harry is going to be involved, but how and why are cleverly kept until the very end. I was trying to look for any clues that may have been dropped as to who put his name in the cup (I did see the movie first, which is why I was reading even more closely. But I think the movie had it slightly different, I don't remember), but I didn't catch on until the end - when it was revealed.

Introducing other magical schools was a great idea. It shows that, like people, wizards aren't alone - they are all over the world. The Triwizard Tournament bringing them together is something like the Olympics.. sorta. The sportsmanship between Harry and Cedric during all 3 tasks was good to see. The poor beauxbatons girl didn't really get anywhere in the tournament, except past the first task. I know she had 'help' not getting far in the maze. When Krum attacked Cedric in the maze, for a second I wondered if he had something to do with Harry's name getting in the cup - or at least had some part in a bigger plan that involved the cup, because the Durmstrang headmaster was a former death eater. But I knew that wasn't right, considering what happened in the forrest when Crouch showed up out of his mind. Having Harry and Cedric fighting off the big spider at the center of the maze, with the cup in view, was a great visual. We did see something like it in the movie, but the way it was written out in the book was much better. And then each insisting the other take the cup, and then doing it together. It would have been one of those picture-perfect happy endings that only happens in fairy tales. You know, Harry and Cedric portkey outside the maze - 2 champions for Hogwarts, loved by all (well, most). Even without seeing the movie, I would have known that it wasn't going to end all perfect like that.

Poor Cedric. He was all ready to fight by Harry's side as if this place they had been portkey'd to was part of the tournament. And then *zap* dead, gone, poor Cedric. Harry sees the re-birth of Voldemort, and the death eaters.. The duel, another great visual that was given somewhat justice in the movie. The wands connecting, the spirits coming out, telling Harry what to do. And then making sure he is able to get it done. Cedric asking Harry to take his body back *sniff* so sad.. (I don't know why I'm stuck on Cedric, I guess becase he's dead.. I dunno).

After the tournament, and after we find out the truth about Crouch jr. and the polyjuice, the story truly unfolds. Voldemort is back, and the ministry and Dumbledore have a plan. You can tell that this is really just the turning point in a much longer story. Everything leading up to this point was an explaination of sorts. Harry and his friends have had 4 years to learn all they could, faced challenges and beaten them, and the ministry has had 14 years to think about what they'd have to do if Voldemort would ever return. Now that he's back, you know there is much more to the story.

One more thing I like about this series overall is that the author re-visits things from the other books. For instance, the use of polyjuice. But, what sticks out more is Fawkes. Fawkes has been there since book 1, and he's had a part in each book (I think, I can't recall specifically anything from book 3), and it's in book 4 that we learn the exact pheonix feather in Harry's wand (and Voldemort's) is a feather from Fawkes. And for the second time, Fawkes heals Harry's injury.

I have no book-to-movie comments yet. I have to see the movie again, to make sure of some things. I think I spotted where they may have changed the book a little to fit the movie, but I'm not sure I remember correctly.

Next up: Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix..

Harry Potter Books 1-3

2005-12-04T03:11:00.000-05:00

The books I am reading now are not part of any 52 book challenge, they are part of my current goal, all 6 Harry Potter books read by Christmas. This is a quick, combined post, about my thoughts for the first 3. Since it's been a couple weeks since I've read them, this probably won't be as in depth as future posts will be.

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 5 Stars

Having started reading this series long after seeing the movies (and, as it stands, I've seen the 4th movie and I'm currently reading the 4th book), it makes me appreciate the books even more. I usually read the book first, and then see the movies, but I don't know if I would have picked these books up if I hadn't seen the movies, at least the first one. As a side note, it was weird seeing the movie play in my head as I read, and the parts that weren't in the movie, just fell into place as if they were. Having said that, onto the book.

I really enjoyed this book. It's so much more than just a story about witches and wizards, granted that is probably what draws the younger readers to it, but what they probably don't realize is that they are getting a good lesson while enjoying a story. I don't understand why people want to ban these books from schools and libraries. It's not the 'witchcraft' that is the center of the story, it's the triumph of good over bad, and the friendships and teamwork it takes to overcome obsticles. If I had children, and they were old enough to understand the words, I would definitely allow them to read this book, I'd probably buy it for them myself. The story of a boy who grows up not knowing his parents, or the truth about how he died, or the truth about himself for that matter until he is 11. The description of the Dursleys isn't the kind-hearted family type you see on tv and it other lighter fiction, it's that of the other side of the fence. Unfortunately some children face family like that every day, knowing they aren't wanted there and neglected. But that doesn't hold Harry down, he doesn't want to be like the Dursleys. He finds out about himself, and Hogwarts, and his fame - which sometimes he wishes he didn't have. This is where the fiction part comes in, the magical world. He goes to this school, which keeps him away from the people who don't like him or want him. He makes friends (and of course, meets people who aren't so nice, but haven't we all??). He learns about his parent's death, learns why there are people out to kill him, why people know his name, what makes him special. And, in between his classes, he gets to battle a troll and with the help of his friends go through obsticles to find the sorcerer's stone so that it isn't used to something bad. In the course of the "school year" he learns alot about himself inside, like his strengths, and he realizes that not everyone is going to be like the Dursleys, and he certainly doesn't have to be.

One more thing about the book-to-movie translation. The movie was pretty close to the book, I would have liked to see all of the obsticles at the end though. How each head of house, and hagrid, had a special charm, and how the three of them worked together to get through them all.

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 4 Stars

I liked this book, and the corresponding movie. All characters involved are a year older, and the issues they face get a little tougher. How many teenagers think about running away? How many do it? How many do it in a flying car? Ok, so the answer to the last one is none, but still. The real life situation is there, with the fictional sollution. The majority of Hogwarts believes Harry is the heir of Slytherin and he's going around petrifing people and talking to snakes and setting them against his classmates. People in general like to cast blame on the easy target, any way to push the blame away from themselves. Harry finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time a couple times throughout this book. But, he and his friends do what they have to do to make sure that no one dies. And once again, the good come out on top.

The book-to-movie transaltion - no complaints. As much as I'd like to see all the little details put into a movie, I know that can't happen.

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 5 Stars

I love this book! And it's corresponding movie! It's my favorite of the series so far (well, the book, it's really close about the movie. I need to see Goblet of Fire again to decide). Again, another year older, and increasingly harder things to deal with. Introducing the element of fear, and how fear can effect a person, and how in turn people can confront thier fears and overcome them. Or at the very least, ward them off. Granted, I'm not going to stand at the bottom of a roller coaster and shout "Expecto Patronum" and expect to ride the damn thing fearless. Since I have no patronus, if I want to conquer that fear, I'd have to put myself in line for a coaster, get on the ride, and just do it. And pray to the gods that I live to tell about it. Harry has things in his past he doesn't know about, rather he can't explain them because he truly doesn't remember what happened, but its enough to overcome him. Dementors feed off of your bad memories and try to steal your good ones. The point of the patronus charm is to use a strong good memory to overcome the bad ones the dementor is trying to push to the forefront.

Alongside confronting fear, he's lead to believe, that he's got a murderer after him. Later in the story he learns that this person is the reason his parents are dead, because he betrayed their trust and sold them out to Voldemort. And that this person is also his godfather. Even worse, he's got to find this out while hiding under his invisibility cloak because no one will sit him down and tell him the truth to his face. The thing about our elders is they think that by keeping things from us, it'll keep us from getting hurt. That's not always true. But, I digress. How would you feel if you found out that the person your late parents trusted most with their lives, enough to be named godfather of their child, was the very reason that they were killed? I think Harry's reaction was realistic, I'd want the person dead too. But, he's a fair enough person to at least hear things out. And, when the truth is told in the end. When Scabbers is un-animagi'd (I know that isn't a word, but I think it makes sense), and showed for the wizard he truly is - Peter Pettigrew, and the whole story about how it was Peter - not Sirius - that sold out Harry's parents, he listened. And was rational, for a boy of 13, to give Peter the chance to clear Sirius's name. And then, the worst possible fate, let the dementors have him. It's a fate worse than letting Sirius and Lupin kill him. It's true what Harry says, allowing them to kill Peter, the truth dies with him. But while he's alive, the truth can be told and Sirius is free. Of course, everything in theory sounds perfect, and we all know life isn't perfect. And while the full moon distracts Lupin and Sirius, and Harry isn't quick enough (although he tries) Peter gets ahold of a wand, puts himself back into rat-form, and gets away. And here come the dementors, to add insult to injury. And Harry uses all that he's learned and casts the patronus to ward them off.. but it's too much? Or is it? Harry wakes up in the hospital wing, and Sirius was captured and faces the dementors kiss - which isn't the way things were supposed to work. But this isn't the real word, it's the magical world, and with things such as a time turner Harry and Hermione can go back a few hours and make sure things happen the right way. And save 2 lives by setting Buckbeak free. The time-turned Harry and Hermione were there all along, helping themselves out, only this time some small things done differently changes the outcome for the better. Proof that sometimes we know what we're doing, and other times we need help, and sometimes we realize that if we had made one extra (or different) decision, the outcome could turn out drastically different. But, as human beings we have no time turner, we just have to trust ourselves to make the right decisions and live with the outcomes. Buckbeak and Sirius fly off into the night, and Harry and Hermione put themselves back into time where they should be, and no one is the wiser. Ron is thoroughly confused, but we like him that way. :)

**

Overall - of the 3 books I've read so far (I'm keeping my comments on Goblet of Fire out of this post because even though I've seen the movie, I haven't finished the book) I'd give J.K. Rowling a huge thumbs up and WAY TO GO and BRAVO for creating a magical world that people of all ages (well, mostly all ages) can read about and enjoy, and even relate to. Because really, if you take away the magic, what are you left with? The story of a boy who lost his parents at the age of one. He's raised by his aunt and uncle who mistreat him because of strong dislike for his parents, although they are relatives. Said boy grows up, goes to school, makes friends, and faces the challenges that everyday children deal with and their troubles become more difficult as they get older. He deals with his troubles with the help of his closest friends. These are good people who do what they can to make sure than the bad people don't win. And isn't that what we all do? Try to be good to others, because we want them to be good to us, and so we can show those that aren't so nice that we don't want them to ruin things for the other nice people?

In the magical world that Harry lives in, Harry is made out to be the hero in all of the stories. But, he doesn't ask to be, sometimes mentions he doesn't want to be, and in not being afraid to ask his friends for help, knows that he may not be without them. I think we can take the magic away from that too, and say that some people always tend to come out on top of their situations. And others may look at them and see that they always overcome their obsticles and may think they want the attention. Most people don't ask for obsticles to come their way, and if they happen to overcome what ever is thrown at them, chances are they have had help along the way - and will admit to it. I know that some of the challenges I've faced, I wouldn't have overcome without some help. And know that if it hadn't been for certain people I wouldn't be where I am today, nor would I be the person I am today. And I fully admit it.

Harry may be a young wizard, and a hero, but Harry is everyman, everyboy, everyperson. Don't we all have a little "Harry" in us?

BRAVO! Once more to J.K. Rowling

First Entry - Intro

2005-12-03T00:02:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog! I figured I'd create this and get it started prior to January. As the description says, this will be my reading journal. I'll talk about whatever book I'm reading (or just finished reading), and books I want to read in the future.

Starting January 2006 I will be doing the 52 book challenge. That means reading at least 1 book per week throughout the year. If I manage to read more than 52 books, great, my main goal is the 52. A couple yahoo groups I've joined are doing this as well (namely 52books and WeeklyReads), meaning I will have to keep the groups updated on my progress as well. I'll be using this journal to do that, as an easy way to keep track of books I've read, and let others see, in depth, what I thought about each book. And, I don't have to re-type for each group. I'll just post the link.