Book Review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I'm back reviewing books again! No more weird End of Year/New Year's Resolution messages! And the name of these have changed! Bye bye Goodreads - it was a good run - but I think, for the sake of people who don't know my blog does book reviews, am changing your name to Book Review! So, out with the old and in with the new!

Last year, I said I was going to reread all seven Harry Potter books. And I did! I COMPLETED MY CHALLENGE! THROW THE CONFETTI AND LET'S CELEBRATE!!!

I admit, I cheated with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as I didn't read it, but I audiobooked it. The lovely people at Midas asked if I fancied reviewing some audiobooks via Audible and when they offered Harry Potter, I jumped at the chance to listen to Stephen Fry reading Deathly Hallows.

Now, for those of you not sure what Deathly Hallows is about, let me be as brief as possible - then we can have a real discussion about this book. Harry has a mission that Dumbledore has left him: find all of Lord Voldemort's Horocruxes and then kill Voldemort, freeing the magical world of his evil. But with Dumbledore dead, leaving Harry very few clues and Voldemort slowly taking over, how can Harry complete this seemingly impossible task...?

This book very much divide the fandom. Yes, it's the last book in the series and yes, it does do a lot of things the series has been running towards, but it does divide the fandom as most of the book, the main characters are camping/hiding and have very little idea on what they are doing. Which is the entire point! The main characters are seventeen years old and have NO IDEA what they are doing! And even though very little happens, a lot happens at the same time. A lot of character development, plotting, explaining. Yes, it's not as action packed as we all hoped (compare to the previous books), but this book does serve a purpose!

It was refreshing to come back to this book as, compared to the others, I haven't read this as often. I think I have read it once or two (normally, I would reread Philisopher's Stone, Prisoner of Azkaban or Goblet of Fire) so it was nice to go back to the final book in this series, sit down and pay attention to little details and clues.

Stephen Fry is a good narrator and his reading of this book (if not, the whole series) is great as he slows readers down and shows things that we readers miss in our reading run. There were several things in this relistening that I went "How did I miss that?!" or events that happened that, because of Mr Fry's reading, made it all the more emotional (let's not go down that route, shall we?). At times, though, Stephen's voice did seem flat or the character's voice didn't match the voice he used a few minutes prior, but this could be down to a number of reasons so am going to be very kind on this front.

But listening to this was very interesting. We all know the immortal line Mrs Weasley screams at Bellatrix (Gif below) but it was surprising how much swearing Ron and a few other characters got away with. Yes, these characters are adults so yes, they can swear but remember, this series is usually placed in the 8-12 reading range in book shops and libraries so go figure that logic. (But compared to The Casual Vacancy, the swearing in this book was very bare on the ground).

What was also interesting to remember was Ron's return. When he left, it was a shocking moment in the book the first read and seeing this build was a long time coming. Seeing Harry's and Hermione's reaction to his departure was hard, but seeing him return and their reactions was interesting. In the movie, Harry forgives Ron very quickly because Ron saved Harry's life and destroys the Locket Horocrux, and Hermione forgives Ron after a few scenes (mainly after Ron's speech). Even in the movie, he still got a bit of stubbornness because he goes "Of course not, I only destroyed a bloody Horocrux! Won't that change anything?" when Hermione says "This doesn't change anything?"). The book, however, is different. While Harry forgives Ron very quickly, Hermione doesn't forgive till much later in the book. Ron's return upsets Hermione because he left and then, he just returns. Even his story doesn't soften Hermione, who talks to him quite coldly and lofty. Ron has to work hard over the coming days/weeks/months to gain her trust and forgiveness again, but in the movie, because of time frame, it happens much quicker.

My main moment where I love that Hermione's attitude towards Ron and even, up to a point, Harry is when they return to the campsite after destroying the Locket Horocrux and Hermione sees them in The Silver Doe chapter. Let me get the UK hardback and US hardback and get the quotes.

"You - complete - arse - Ronald - Weasley!"

She [Hermione] punctured every word with a blow: Ron backed away, shielding his head as Hermione advances.

"You - crawl - back - here - after - weeks - and - weeks - oh, where's my wand?"

...

"Hermione!" said Harry. "Calm -"

"I will not calm down!" she screamed. Never before had he seen her lose control like this; she looked quite demented. "Give me back my wand! Give it back to me!"

"Hermione, will you please -"

"Don't you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!" she screeched. "Don't you dare! Give it back now! And YOU!"

She was pointing at Ron in dire accusation: It was like a malediction, and Harry could not blame Ron for retreating several steps. 

"I came running after you! I called after you! I begged you to come back!"

"I know," Ron said, "Hermione, I'm sorry, I'm really -"

"Oh, you're sorry!"

She laughed, a high-pitched, out-of-control sound; Ron looked at Harry for help, but Harry merely grimaced his helplessness. 

"You come back after weeks - weeks - and you think it's all going to be all right if you say sorry?" 

(Pages 309 to 310 in UK hardback edition & pages 380 - 381 in US hardback)

"Gosh, what a gripping story," Hermione said in a lofty voice she adopted when wishing to wound. "You must have been simply terrified. Meanwhile, we went to Goodrich's Hollow and, let's think, what happened there, Harry? Oh yes, You-Know-Who's snake turned up, it nearly killed both of us, and then You-Know-Who himself arrived and missed us by about a second."

"What?" Ron said, gaping from her to Harry, but Hermione ignored him. 

"Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our sufferings into perspective, doesn't it?"

(Page 311 in the UK hardback edition and pages 382 & 383 in US hardback edition)

Another thing that is interesting is that this is the book we look at Dumbledore and the childhood vision Harry and the readers have of Dumbledore is finally gone. No longer the kindly grandfather/God-like figure, we see him as a man who had huge faults and failings. This is the same with Snape, but Dumbledore was the character I focused on as I am going to write a blogpost about Dumbledore in, hopefully, the near future! 

I loved this series and rereading them in 2015 reminded me why I love the series so. So much so, I am making plans to reread at least one Harry Potter book this year and, hopefully, read Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them before I go see the stage show and the movie... 

2016 is going to be one busy Potter year! 

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Take your time reading Half Blood Prince, I told myself after reading Order of the Phoenix. Take your time. You have over three months to read two books in this series reread.

And I lasted one read. Barely a week before I started Half Blood. Barely a week! My Harry Potter obsession hasn't kicked up a gear. Nope. Not at all!

Like I said in my write-up of Goblet of Fire (that blogpost is here!), this was the second book in the series I was the most excited to read. I think it's because I have such mixed feelings over this book. After the darkness of Goblet and Order, this is quite light - we deal with teenage romance mostly. Yes, we do tackle dark subject matters in this book - Voldemort's past, Professor Slughorn, Dumbledore and Snape's relationship and Snape's character as a whole. But it feels more like a lighter book.

But there was a few things I spotted that made me stop and go "oooh".

My main thing happened in the very first chapter, The Other Minister. There's a lot of prejudice from Fudge towards the Muggle Prime Minister and the previous Prime Minister. There is a tiny section that goes thus:

Fudge fixed the Prime Minister with a rather stern look.
"Of course they were," he said. "Surely you've realised what's going on?"
"I..." hesitated the Prime Minister. 
It was precisely this sort of behaviour that made him dislike Fudge's visits so much. He was, after all, the Prime Minister, and did not appreciate being made to feel like an ignorant schoolboy. (page 10 of the UK children's Hardback).

I have always read it that the Minister of Magic is the magic equal to the Prime Minister, but Fudge's attitude is not as an equal. Fudge treats the Prime Minister like a child. Fudge, like most witches and wizards, believe that they are superior to Muggles. If you are not a witch or wizard, you are behind them, belittled, treated as a "Other".

We see this happen time and time again through the course of the series - Malfoy called Hermione "Mudblood" in Chamber of Secrets, Fudge's reaction at the end of Goblet of Fire when Dumbledore told him that the Ministry must talk to the Giants, Umbridge's reaction to the centaurs in Order of the Phoenix and wizard's reaction to character's blood status. But it seems to be in this book that this creeps forward, but is lost underneath the fluff of young love.

For example, in The Other Minister, the Prime Minister remembers Fudge's visits to him over the past few years and how, with each visit, the visits getting shorter and shorter. The previous visit was so short that Fudge, according to my read, never left the Floo Powdered fire. He still had a foot in it as he said that there was a mass breakout from Azkaban. He gave the Prime Minister no information.

We see Trelawney getting angry at Firenze staying at the school as joint Divination as, on several occasions, she calls him "usurping nag" and "Dobbin", renaming him to a name used for donkeys. When Malfoy confronts Dumbledore near the end of the book, he uses the term Mudblood and Dumbledore asks Malfoy not to use the term, but Draco laughs.

But the time prejudice really hit me - barring The Other Minister - was in the chapter Elf Tales, when Hagrid is taking Harry and Hermione back to the Gryffindor dormitory after they saw Ron in the Hospital Wing (due the poisoning in the previous chapter) and Filch catches them and threatens detention. When Hagrid says that they won't and Filch questions this (obnoxiously), Hagrid shots back "I'm a ruddy teacher, aren' I, yeh sneaking' Squid!". Now, seeing as Hagrid has be persecuted most of his life because he is a half-giant, it's shocking to read that Hagrid throws the term Squid at someone like an insult.

You can't help but wonder if there is a hint of bigotry within the wizarding community towards anything or anyone they deem as "Other"...

There were other little things I missed - we hear and meet Umbridge again. Why did I, on my first read, not notice Umbridge in this book and that she was still working for the Ministry? She still has a fear over centaurs - which is making wonder what exactly happened to her in the last book.

Also, in one of Dumbledore's lessons, we meet a character called Hepzibah Smith. Is she related to one of Harry's fellow classmates, Zacharias Smith? And if that is the case, is he related to one of the Hogwarts's founder, Helga Hufflepuff? And, at Slughorn's Party, Luna talks to Professor Trelawney about the Rotting Conspiracy and Professor Trelawney "seemed sincerely interested". Why would Trelawney be interested in this? I found her and Luna's interaction fascinating to read and wished for more.

While I didn't come away from this book with the same reaction as Goblet of Fire, am nearly at the finish line! ONE BOOK TO GO, PEOPLE! ONLY ONE BOOK TO GO!!!

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

So, here we are in my trying to reread all seven Harry Potter books in one year. The big mama! The beast we call Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

Now, as you guys probably know if you have followed my blog for quite some time, I have reread this several times in the past. My opinion of it has changed somewhat. When I first read this book, I disliked it. Quite a bit. And when I reread it a few years back, I did like it but I had a lot of problems with it. The "Grawp" subplot which adds NOTHING to the overall story. The "Weasley Is Our King" that borders on and beyond into bullying and yet, NO ONE PUT A STOP TO THE BULLYING. The subtle hints of blood-purity and racism in Hogwarts (there's a scene where Pansy Parkinson shouts "looks like worms" or something to Angela Johnson, which is a dig at Angela's skin colour because she's black. Also, the way the Gryffindor ignore it and the Slytherins enjoy this shows that this isn't the first time that racial slurs have been used - I thank Oh Witch Please for pointing this out).

But the biggest thing I saw that I have never seen before is the lack of emotional support that the students of Hogwarts are given. Let me explain. At the end of Goblet of Fire, a student - Cedric - dies. He is murdered in front of Harry and Cedric's dead body was seen by the students not only of Hogwarts, but of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The students are at Hogwarts for several days/weeks then go into the summer term. No grief counsellors in sight. And then, when the students return to Hogwarts - we see several characters that would benefit HUGELY from grief counselling (Harry and Cho are two characters I can think of off the tip of my head), do they get the emotional support they need through this difficult time? No. No, they don't. And with Harry being so angry and SHOUTING IN CAPITAL LOCK FOR A GOOD PART OF SEVERAL LONG CHAPTERS, this would be hugely helpful.

And yet... nothing. Harry is left alone with his emotional struggles. Even Dumbledore, who says he cares for Harry and yet, leaves him alone because he thinks that for the best, doesn't seem to be worried about his emotional state. Instead, he is worried about Voldemort breaking into Harry's mind - and he thinks leaving a hugely emotional-damaged child (Harry is 14 in this book, by the way) is the safest course of action.

Because of this, it made me really wonder about how the wizarding world treats mental health - something we see in Christmas on the Closed Ward but when you look at the characters in this chapter on that ward, they could be classed as mentally unwell. But, they are in a locked ward in a general hospital and we don't get any information on if there is a wizarding hospital focused solely on patients with mental health issues.

But this is an extreme. What about people who suffer from grief? OCD? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Anxiety attacks and panic attacks? Eating disorders? Depression? Schizophrenia? Bi-polar disorder? What about people who live a "normal" life with this? Where is the emotional support there? Because, barring the Christmas on the Closed Ward, we see no one with a mental health problem.

I love this series, I do, but I want to be critical over the series. And this is why rereading this series is so much fun. Something new will always be discovered!

Right, I have two books to go and 3 months to read them! I CAN DO THIS!!! I THINK I CAN DO THIS!!!

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This book has been a long time coming. I started reading this at the end of June and only just finished it a few weeks ago. I didn't want this to be my main read. I have too many other books that I need to read and review for the blog (oh, if only I could stay home and get paid for reading books and writing my blog. That would be the best job ever. That and actually becoming an author rather than wishing for it.).

But here I am. Finally, talking about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

Am going to say this here, but this was the book I was the most excited to read within this year long challenge. I'm not sure why, but it's the book I am the most determined to get to. Now, that I have read it, it's now Half Blood Prince. I think it's because out of all the Potter books, Goblet is the one I really like and, strangely, not the biggest fan of.

But oh, how that changed. I ADORED reading this. This is the book where things turned and I became excited. It might now be my fave book in the series now (I know! In this year long challenge, this might have overtaken Prisoner of Azkaban as fave book!!!).

This book is dark. I know that all the books are dark (I feel that Chamber of Secrets is very dark!) but this book could be the darkest in the series for most readers. We start with a murder of Frank Bryce (The Riddle House chapter is my favourite opening chapter in the series!), then we go to light chapters - the Quidditch World Cup, friends, fun times. Then the book turns. Death Eaters, Dark Marks, Triwizard Tournament, the Goblet of Fire spitting out Harry's name, Ron and Harry's friendship nearly in ruins, fame's bad side coming out, dragons, mermaids, S.P.E.W - it spins into the dark side very quickly.

It's this growing sense that the worse is yet to come. It's unlike the other books because we know from the very first chapter that Voldemort is at the heart and we know he and Harry are going to meet, so we're watching this unfold before our eyes, either fearing the worse or going "Maybe we got it wrong..."

And then, it happens. And I sped through those chapters. I think I read these chapters the first time in a state of horror, but now, I relish them.

One of the most interesting things for me as someone rereading the series is seeing little hints of what's the come. JK Rowling does an excellent job of lying the groundwork for the next book or a later book in the series. In one chapter (The Pensieve), we are told about the Department of Mysteries and Bella Lestrange. Both important to Order of the Phoenix. At the end of The Unexpected Task, Harry asks if Lavender will go to the Yule Ball with Ron (and guess what happens in Half Blood Prince...). Same with what Dumbledore said to Snape in The Parting of the Way, "You know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready... if you are prepared..."

SNAPE WAS DUMBLEDORE'S MAN! This line confirms it.

Speaking of Snape, reading this book made me dislike Snape more than I did before. There was a line in this book which made me question Snape as a character. In The Weighing of the Wands, Draco and Harry shoot spells at each other. The spells hit Goyle and Hermione. Snape comes along and tell Goyle to go to the hospital wing, but when Harry and Ron tell Snape what Draco's spell did to Hermione, Snape looks at Hermione and says "I see no difference."

This line made me suddenly wonder if Snape is sexist. Which makes me think about his character throughout the series and towards his relationship with Lily. I feel I might be looking into this further once I have read the entire series.

But there are things in this books that I forgot and it was wonderful to go "Look! The film got it wrong!". Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are both mixed-sexed schools, and there is a moment where some of the girls of Beauxbatons are wearing headscarves - whether because it was cold (which seems more likely) or because of religious reasons. Also, I was reading Karkaroff as someone (via a podcast?) hinted that Karkaroff could be gay. It is possible, but as he is a former Death Eater (and JK has never said), we can guess...

Rereading this is also interesting due to "Ring Theory". People say Goblet of Fire stands on its own - which is very true. But I think it is also very linked to Philosopher's Stone and Deathly Hallows. This is the start and the end, tied together. Voldemort loses his power due to innocence at the start Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort's return to power at the lost of an innocent in Goblet of Fire and then his true downfall in Deathly Hallows. This book is important to the series and is hugely important to the Ring Theory.

Also, can we talk about Cedric? I never warmed to Cedric's character, and people question why Harry's grief comes so late. Well, let's look at this at the chain of events. Cedric is murdered, Harry is bound and gagged, his blood is taken and Voldemort returns to his body. Then the Death Eaters come and Voldemort talks (aka emotionally tells off his Death Eaters) about what happened to him in the past few years. Voldemort and Harry duel and echoes of Voldemort's past victims come out of his wand, and help Harry escape with Cedric's body. They return to Hogwarts, everyone is shocked over Cedric's murder and Moody takes Harry away. Then we discover Moody is the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet. Dumbledore attacks Moody and we discover Moody isn't Moody but a Death Eater in disguise and we hear the whole horrid plan. Harry talks to Dumbledore about what happened it he graveyard, before Dumbledore takes Harry to Hospital Wing and makes him drink a sleep potion. Harry sleeps for a short while then wakes up to hear Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic argue over Voldemort's return. Fudge (the Minister of Magic) doesn't believe it and, basically, calls Harry a liar. Harry is then told to drink rest of sleeping potion - and that's the end of the chapter. The next chapter starts several weeks later.

But this whole series of events happens in a very short space of time - two hours, maybe. There is no time for Harry to process what had happen because events outside his control took over. That is why Order of the Phoenix starts the way it starts. That's Harry getting to grips with what happened to him. And he was doing this on his own.

We, as the readers, have time to recover from our shock. Harry never has that. (And that's why watching Cedric's father in the Goblet of Fire movie is so heartbreaking. That scene, in my opinion, is the only thing that film got right!)

And Wormtail. Ok, this isn't a big thing compared to Cedric, but rereading this made me see something I have always missed. When Voldemort gives Wormtail his silver hand, Voldemort says "Let your loyalty never waver again." And look what happens to Wormtail in Deathly Hallows. His loyalty wavered. So, of course, the silver hand reacted, killing Wormtail. Because the hand was never Wormtail's, it was Voldemort's. Just wanted to put that out there.

But rereading this was wonderful. I forgot why I read this book so often in the year after it's publication. But yes, LOVED IT (even though this is the book JK said she would rewrite if she was ever asked). BRING ON, ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!!!

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hello again! And look, this is my third post for the Harry Potter #re3 2015 Challenge! Yes, my lovelies, we are onto to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! This is a mixed book for fans. Some fans LOVE this book and others aren't that thrilled over it.

Now, this reread was interesting for me as, while I am a huge fan of this book - I class this as my fave within the series, I did look at this with new eyes as I spotted things that I have noticed before, but it was only now that I stopped and went "Hang on a moment..."

I would like to thank some podcasts that helped. The main two were/are Alohomora! and Witch, Please. But I remembered a few titbits from Pottercast (I can't download the episodes in question, but  I do remember tiny bits of information).

Anyway, let's get started on my reactions to this reread!

Now, I love this book. I have said it before, but what was interesting reading it this time round was that, while a lot of things happen within these covers, not much happens at the same time.

We are told that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and he is this dark presence throughout the book. It is hinted throughout with the Grim and then we have moments when he, somehow, got into Hogwarts. It's not until the near end when we finally meet him. But the sense of dark foreboding is throughout the book, only ever hinted at. It's not like Philosopher's Stone or Chamber of Secret where dark things happened. In Prisoner, darkness is hinted at...

And this dark sense of foreboding comes from the Dementors. To me, they are one of the most terrifying creatures ever written in children's literature. But their dark presence and their dark effect on Harry puts all readers on edge.

Which makes Lupin such an interesting character. He is a flawed character, a well loved character and such an opposite compared to the Dementors. And we see this when Lupin talks to Harry at the end of Chapter 14: Snape's Grudge. He talks to Harry and tell him that people are risking their lives to protect him and Harry is dangerously wasting their risk. Lupin points out what harry's parents did - dying to save his life. Earlier in the chapter, Snape told Harry the same thing - but in a crueler way. In a nastier way. We don't like what Snape said but we believe Lupin.

Speaking of Snape, we see in this book that Snape is a nasty person. A liar, a bully, a hypocrite and a dangerous and bitter man. He treats Neville with cruelty, bullies students that aren't within his house, shouts and screams at Hermione, treats Harry with disgust, undermines Dumbledore and Lupin on several occasions. We see that, when he covers Lupin's class, he openly tells students he would give them a lower mark than what Professor Lupin has give, tried to expose Lupin's secret to the students. And, after the events of the final few chapters, Snape "accidentally" let Lupin's secret slip, holding on to a childhood grudge.

We also hear from Snape undermine Dumbledore when talking to Fudge. Snape says "And yet - is ti good for him [Harry] to be given so much so special treatment? Personally I tried to treat him like any other student." which is a lie. We see over and over Snape treats students outside of the Slytherin house with contempt. He bullies Neville to the point where Neville is terrified of him. He shouts and screams at Hermione and as for Harry, he lets his hatred of Harry's father blind him.

And yet, fans see Snape as a flawed hero. He isn't. He is a bitter man. A man who has made his own decisions and they are very questionable!

But the main thing I spotted in this reread that I never really saw till now was how Hermione was treated in this book but both Ron and Harry. Ron treated Hermione badly throughout the course of this book, first because of Crookshank, then Harry's Fireboat before going back to Crookshank. Harry   did the same, first when Hermione reports that Black sent Harry the Firebolt and then after that, when Crookshank is framed for eating Scabbers. When he tries to talk to her about it, Hermione snaps "OK, side with Ron, I knew you would!" and it's not until Buckbeak lost his appeal when they start speaking to each other.

This is hugely different to when Harry and Ron fall out in Goblet of Fire. Hermione is stuck in the middle and, unlike Harry, she tries to stay neutral until she can't take it anymore and then she removes herself from the situation. She doesn't pick a side.

It's Hagrid who tells Harry and Ron off for being bad friends to her. And what happens when they meet after this? Ron treats Hermione badly and they are back at square one.

If the trilogy hadn't become friends in book 1, this is what Hermione's life at Hogwarts would be like? She would be busy doing work, but she would be very alone. And, also, Harry and Ron fail Hermione when they see her struggling. They fail to see that something is terribly wrong. That Hermione is acting so out of character - she slaps Malfoy and storms out of Trelawney's class. They don't notice or pay attention to her. and her problems.

And we see her finally react breaking point in chapter 17, Cat, Dog and Rat, when Lupin and Black embrace like brothers and Hermione screams, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!". Here is where she finally creaks. After spending the whole school year using the Time Turner to make it to classes (to my math, doing the day twice with only a few hours sleep a night), struggling with Buckbeak's trial and the boys treating her badly, seeing a teacher she respects hug a murderer, shatters her resolve and makes her finally lose it.

In fact, this is the book when Harry stops paying attention. All the clues are there, but Harry misses them. Again and again. There is one moment in Cat, Dog and Rat, when Black tells Ron (who at this point has broken his leg), "Lie down... You will damage your leg even more.". When Ron states that if Black wants to kill Harry, he will have to kill Ron and Hermione too, Black replies, "Only one will die tonight." If Black was seriously going to kill the three of them - or even just Harry - why then would he care about Ron's leg? Plus, when Black broke into the Gryffindor Tower, why was he standing over Ron's bed and when he realised his mistake, why did he run away?

There are clues that Harry, and we the reader, fail to see.

Ok, am going to stop this post now. But rereading this series was a smart move, I feel, as I am discovering things I have always missed. And this shows that JK Rowling is a much smarter writer than we thought...

So... 3 books down, 4 more to go! NEARLY HALF WAY THROUGH, PEOPLE!!!!

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret

Why hello again! Welcome back to me trying to read all seven Harry Potter books within one year. Today, in the second month of this year, I have read (and am typing up) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

My reactions now I have reread this book? I forgot how much I dislike this book within this series. And I mean, really dislike it.

I just forgot how much I cringe when reading Chamber. The first few chapters I just powered through because, while I love Dobby, I just find it hard to read. And then we have Lockhart - the slime known as Lockhart. Every time he appeared, I just wanted to shudder. I forgot/blocked his Valentine's Day plans and when I remembered, I recoiled from the book, going "NONONONO!"

Change the blog post before I said to rant and rave! 

What I found really interesting was that this is (according to the Ring Theory - a theory where each book reflects another [Philosopher's Stone reflects Deathly Hallows, Chamber of Secrets reflects Half Blood Prince, Prisoner of Azkaban reflects Order of the Phoenix, leaving Goblet of Fire standing alone) how the clues hinted at the information we discover in Half Blood Prince. For example, in an early chapter, the mention of an opal necklace and a vanishing cabinet was mentioned (and the vanishing cabinet was mention again in a latter chapter by Flinch several chapters later [chapter 10 or 11]) , both of these are hugely important to Half Blood Prince. 

There is two other points of huge interest. On page 253 of the edition I read, there's a line that says "Harry couldn't explain, even to himself, why he didn't just throw Riddle's diary away." and then on page 357, Dumbledore says to Harry "Unless I am mistaken, he [Voldermort] transferred some of his powers to you the night he gave you that scar." HOROCRUX ALERT!!! DUMBLEDORE KNEW HERE! I guessed he suspected in Philosopher's Stone when Harry asked him at the final chapter, but we know from this little line that Dumbledore knew for certain here. 

Before I go away and figure out when I am going to read my fave Harry Potter book, Prisoner of Azkaban, can I ask you guys a quick question. Can someone explain why Hermione, a huge book lover, tore a page out of a book then wrote the word Pipes on it? She tore a page out of the book, defacing the book, and then wrote on the page, defacing the page. Why didn't she take the book out of the library and bookmark the page with a piece of parchment with the word pipes? Was Hermione just rushing, or was she acting justly, even though (in my honest opinion), this is the book where Hermione acts the most out of character for lack of reason?

Ok, blog post over. I will leave you now. 2 books down, 5 to go and the next book is my fave in the series!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! 

PS - sorry there's no cover of which Harry Potter cover I read. For some reason, Blogger didn't want to show it. Sorry everyone!!! 

Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

I try and leave the Harry Potter fandom. I tried to escape... but look what happened!

But we all knew that it wasn't so hard to fall back into the fandom. I mean...

So, let me talk about Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

The main thing I noticed was the little things. It was interesting to see JK Rowling's writing when she first released Harry Potter and compare it to her latest novel. It has grown and evolved. (She used the word "said" quite a bit (a tiny pet peeve I have now as a reader but, back then, I didn't notice it!)

It was also interesting to see the tiny details and to go "She knew!". I could make one very long list, but let me pick on a few of them.

The first is the snake from The Vanishing Glass. To most people, this is when Harry talks to snakes for the first time. BUT, is it the first time we meet Nagini? I always had this theory and I think JK Rowling admitted somewhere that this snake is Nagini (Pinterest?) but if anyone can find out which interview she confirmed it in, that would be grand!

Another was when we met Quirrell the first time in Diagon Alley. In the Leaky Cauldron (in an early draft of this chapter, JK Rowling admitted that Rita Skeeter was in this scene - imagine how DIFFERENT the series would have been), we meet him but he isn't describle much in detail. We didn't know he was wearing a turban till The Sorting Hat chapter. So was he always wearing a turban? One has to wonder...

Plus, in Diagon Alley, when Harry met Draco Malfoy for the first time in Madam Malkin. Draco asked Harry for his surname. This has always struck me as odd. Why would an eleven year old ask for your surname? It's only in this reread that I got it. If he is from an old pure blood wizarding family, then your surname is important. It's your status of a wizard! HOW HAVE I ONLY JUST GOT IT NOW?!

An interesting little thing I saw and went "Ooooh!" over was the Bloody Baron. In The Sorting Hat chapter, Seamus Finnigan asked Nearly Headless Nick how the Bloody Baron was covered in blood.  "I never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. He KNEW the Bloody Baron and the Grey Lady's backstory. JK ROWLING KNEW ABOUT THIS FROM BEFORE BOOK ONE!!!

Another thing that caught my attention was when the Gryffindor's and Slytherin's had their first lesson and Neville had to go to the Hospital Wing with Madam Hooch. Draco makes a joke about Neville that makes the Slytherins laugh and it's Parvati Patel who speaks out against Malfoy. Not any from the main trio, but a side character! That is very telling.

There is faults with this book - I can see that now, with JK Rowling's discovering her voice - but it's great to reread this and discover new details and my love for this series.

One book down, six to go...! See ya after Chamber of Secrets!

#re3 Harry Potter 2015 Challenge

I can't believe I am planning to do this (and tell you about it after the whole Morganville Vampire distaster), but here we go...

Next year, I am planning to do something I have always wanted to do for the past few years but I have always found a reason to not do it. I have too many books. I don't have time to read them. I really dislike that book so if I want to read it, I have to read that horror.

Ok - *deep breath* - here we go.

Next year, I am planning to reread these books...

Yes, all seven Harry Potters by JK Rowling.

Ok, here is the thing. I have never read all 7 books in one year or back-to-back. Ever. I have when the first 3 and/or 4 books were published but not when all seven were published. 

I know - I call myself a Harry Potter fan. So, here's the plan. I am going to try (TRY!) to read all seven book within the next 12 months. But I really want to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone NOW!!!

Oh well, I shall blog about this via blog post (and there is a tab on top of the blog so you can keep up to date THAT way), which I am still figuring it out as I want it to be a bit different from my normal #re3 posts. It might be my Goodreads updates. It might be chapter by chapter. It might be filled with gifs like these:

And let's not get even started over the whole "calmly" debate...

But yes, I shall try to complete this! It should be fun! Join me in rereading Harry Potter or reread that series you always wanted to reread but always found an excuse not to next year. It'll be fun... You can give people death glares if they decide to talk to you while reading...