#re3 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

As you guys know, I have been feeling in a bit of a reading slump - which is weird when you look at the blog posts that have been going over the past few weeks. Still talking and reviewing stories in book/ebook/audiobook form. But it has been a weird few weeks as I have been feeling a tad ... it's hard to explain. I have wrote a blog post (which will never see the light of day - not yet, maybe never), where I tried to figure it out and while I'm still in that blogger/reader mindset, real life has thrown a huge "life-changing" thing at me (not bad, FYI. Is good. Very good. But not gonna say anything for another few weeks), so my reading and blogging is going to be a bit erratic for a while. I might even do a small blog break randomly till things calm down.

Now with that public announcement out there (if anything changes, I will let you know via Twitter), let's reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Ok, back story. Because of reading slump, I decided I wanted to do a few rereads. A bit overwhelmed where to start, I did a poll of twitter, asking what series to go towards: Harry Potter, Twilight Saga, The Old Kingdom, or Hunger Games/Artemis Fowl (I wanted 4 opinions here the merging of these two series). Just the series, not the book. And, of course, you chose Potter. So, decided to do another flash poll of Twitter on which Potter book to read: Chamber, Prisoner, Goblet or Order (no to Philosopher as this is my usual fail-safe for reading slumps. Plus, I thought you would say Goblet or Chamber for some reason). But, of course, you chose Prisoner. Which I am grateful for as I have this on several forms (book and audiobook - Chamber would have been a tad tricky as I don't have this on  audiobook - I had on CD but not audible...), so I could jump back and forth between the two styles of storytelling while at work and home.

I have actually gone back to my previous #re3 of Prisoner of Azkaban back in my Harry Potter #re3 Challenge (if you want to check out my rereading of Harry Potter in 2015, ta-dah!) to see if I agreed of disagree with myself and, for the most part, I do. I still think Snape is a bad person - a bully, hypocrite, bitter, an abuser ever (I am willing to go that far). And yet, the fandom sees him as flawed.... I need to sit down and do a blogpost about Snape in the future as OH, I have thoughts and opinions on this and I really, REALLY want to vent.

What does surprise me is my thoughts of Lupin? Now, I love Lupin. He's a flawed human who is kind and a decent human, but makes mistakes and suffers terribly. He says and does things that, when other characters say them seem underhanded and a tad cruel, he says it in a way where Harry and us go "He's right". Though, on this reread, he doesn't seem as fleshed out as I remember him behind. Same with Sirius and Pettigrew, but these two have very little screen time compared to Lupin. I still love Lupin, but, as this is a children's book and Lupin is a teacher, we don't see him as a human being. We see him as a teacher. Harry (and us) see a more fleshed-out, rounded character at the end of the book and in the upcoming books, which now I might have to read.

What's so interesting to read this time round is the tiny little clues with the future and how this mirrors Order of the Phoenix. Most fans believe in the "Ring Theory" - where each book reflects a later book (Philosopher's reflect Deathly Hallows, Chamber reflects Prince, Prisoner reflects Order and Goblet stands alone because it's the turning point in the series). Harry "officially" mets the Minister of Magic in Prisoner and it's on friendly terms whereas in Order, the terms have become dangerous frosty. We met Sirius in Prisoner and we say goodbye to him in Order. We're told Trelawney has made a second correct prophecy in Prisoner and in Order, we find out her first and we have to deal with prophecies as a whole. We talk about Harry's dad (Harry hero-worships, up to a point) and Snape's hatred for him in Prisoner and in Order, we see why Snape disliked James so much and the rose-tainted glasses come off Harry when he thinks about his father. He's just a human who made mistakes and is hugely flawed. Yes, Prisoner and Order are very much Harry's books about his father...

I adore Hermione in this and am still hissy over Ron and Harry's treatment of her in the book. I get why, but still...

Also, what surprised me was there were one or two occasions, I paused the audiobook and didn't return to it for a while due to a knot in stomach over what was about to happen next. This happened a lot in the chapters Talons and Tea Leaves but it happened once or twice with other chapters - I believe it was Grim Defeat - and there were times I had to stop audiobook as I wanted to read the next section (in some cases, this was great idea. In one, not so sure as I sped-read!).

But I really enjoyed returning to rereading Harry Potter and I should reread this series (and other books) in general. So, this might be something I do more often in the coming few months. You have been warned.

PS - I now own the illustrated version of Prisoner of Azkaban (the only illustrated I own... I plan to get Goblet and, possibly, Order as well) and i jumped a few times to see what Jim Kay drew in where I was reading. Some I went "YES!" and others I went "...what?". But it's a beautiful edition and I plan to pour over my copy soon... ish...

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!!!!

#re3 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hello again! My second #re3 of 2013 (yes, you can laugh as I decided to start this so late in the year). And today, I am going to chat about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So, let's get busy and answer the #re3 questions!

WHY DID YOU REREAD HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN?
I always wanted to reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but when I decided to reread Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (#re3 chat of Order of the Phoenix is here), I knew I was going to read this. Plus, when I decided to reread Order of the Phoenix, I bought the white signature edition (just because) and with it under the "Buy One, Get One Half Price", I knew I had to buy Prisoner of Azkaban.

WHAT WAS YOUR HONEST OPINION WHEN YOU FIRST READ THIS BOOK?
This is my favourite Harry Potter book. I loved how this introduced to Lupin and Sirius, two characters that I love, and introduced to, what I still think is one of the creepiest/frightening creatures in children's literature, Dementors.

WHAT IS YOUR HONEST OPINION NOW THAT YOU HAVE REREAD THIS BOOK?
I loved rereading this. I still love this book as much as I did before, but I did noticed that, after reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, that JK's writing style has changed and grown, saying her growing more confident in, not only her writing style, but showing her grown-up and dark the series is becoming. This is the last book where it has a "childish" feel to it.

And Crookshanks - I LOVE this cat! It's snarky, even more so for a cat!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY?
I was cheering the moment Hermione slapped Draco. Need I say more?

BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK, WILL YOU REREAD ANY OTHER BOOK WITHIN THE SERIES?
I kinda want to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I'm not 100% sure why I want to reread (because am listening to the Harry Potter ReadALong podcast, Alohomora) or because I was thinking of writing a blogpost about the "Circle Theory" and wonder why Goblet of Fire is a standalone in this theory. But I think it's because I wanna reread the first chapter - The Riddle House - as that's one of my fave chapter within the Harry Potter series. And, because of the new JK Rowling movie news (read the news on her website here or BBC News) , I am going to reread Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them before the year is out.

(PS - if you are a fan of Remus Lupin, his backstory was revealed on Pottermore. However, I listened to the special edition of the podcast, Alohomora. If you want to listen to the episode, click here.)