Confession: Toward the end of last year, I started to regard writing book reviews as more of a chore than something I really enjoyed doing. I'm not sure why, but it just seemed like one more thing on my never-ending To-Do list. Rather than force myself to continue doing it, I decided I would just back off for a while. Who knows? -- I might decide I miss it in a few weeks and start back up. That being said, I still want to keep up with the books I read and let others know what I'm reading. So, for the time being, I'll just be posting the titles of the books I read (with a link to the book on Amazon so you can learn more about it with minimal effort), the author, genre, and a 0-5 star review. I'll probably do this monthly. If I come across a book I really want to review, I'll jump back on the wagon and write one.
Of course, if you want to know more about my thoughts on any of the books I read, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email: rowbseat13@gmail.com. (Before you ask, "Row B, Seat 13" is a lovely song by my favorite band of all time, Jump, Little Children.)
January 2012
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Young Adult)
5 out of 5 Stars
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Young Adult)
3,894,892,038,409,328 out of 5 Stars
3. The Girl Who Couldn't Say No by Tracy Engelbrecht (Memoir)
3 out of 5 Stars
February 2012 (So Far)
4. The Long Run (Kindle Single) by Mishka Shubaly (Memoir)
3 out of 5 Stars
5. Eleven Twenty-Three by Jason Hornsby (Science Fiction)
3 out of 5 Stars
Showing posts with label harry potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harry potter. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Book #27: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
At the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry witnesses the murder of a classmate and faces Voldemort himself, but Harry returns to Hogwarts as an outcast instead of a hero because none of his classmates believe Harry's story. As this book begins, some wizards begin to prepare for a possible war with Voldemort and his Death Eaters by forming the Order of the Phoenix. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic (the "government" of the wizard community) is trying its best to convince everyone that Harry was lying about Voldemort's return. The Ministry begins to interfere at Hogwarts, including passing educational decrees and making faculty appointments that stand in the way of the Order's plan to prepare wizards and witches for defending themselves against Voldemort.
Of course, it's very hard to go into a detailed review without a) spoiling the previous books and/or b) rambling about a bunch of characters that you don't know unless you're familiar with the previous books. My reviews of the later books in any series are always lacking, but that's just the way it has to be.
I will say that there is quite a lot going on in this book. Let's see... There's the building anticipation of a clash with Voldemort's followers, Harry's reputation re-building at Hogwarts, the tyranny of Hogwarts' new instructor, a crazy look into Professor Snape's past with Harry's father, some underlying family issues, some developments with Harry's love interest, some REALLY IMPORTANT PEOPLE DYING, and... I could go on. I mean, this book is heavy -- literally and figuratively. (Seriously, every book is longer than the last one. This one is nearly 900 pages. In hardback. It's like carrying around a brick.)
If you had asked me when I was half-way through if I thought this book was better that the last four, I would've said no. Ask me now, and I will say it's my favorite. The last half, or maybe even just the last third of this book is exquisite. Say what you will about J.K. Rowling, but I think she is fabulous at character development. These are just kids, after all, who are growing into young adults, and Rowling gracefully moves us right along with them. As for the plot... I have said this about pretty much all of the Harry Potter books, but I am continually surprised by the depth and surprises this series has. Rowling's a very, very creative and intelligent author.
Confession: I totally cried toward the end of this book. (That's TWO books in the last couple of months that have made me cry. It's terrible. I need to read happier things.) It was gut-wrenching. I had to reread a few pages three or four times to be sure I was reading it right, and then I cried. And then I felt like crying for the rest of the book, but I toughed it out. From what I understand, the next two are even more of an emotional rollercoaster, so that should be fun. This book ends with some serious "WHAT?!" moments, so I'm very much looking forward to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. SOON!
5 out of 5 stars
Read from August 8, 2011 to September 18, 2011
--C
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Book #20: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
In the fourth book of J.K. Rowling's massively popular series, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine attend the Quidditch World Cup. Quidditch is the most popular sport in the wizard world, and the World Cup brings together wizards from all over the world... Turns out to be the perfect place for the evil Lord Voldemort's supporters (known as "Death Eaters") to rally together and cause some trouble. The Death Eaters' stunt sends everyone into a frenzy. Meanwhile, as the school year begins at Hogwarts, Harry learns that students from the Belgian and French schools of magic (Durmstrang and Beauxbaton, respectively) will be visitors at Hogwarts to participate in the Triwizard Tournament -- a series of tasks to determine the strongest wizard or witch. Harry is too young to participate, but that doesn't stop a hidden Death Eater from trying to bring Harry straight to Lord Voldemort, who is still seeking revenge.
The Triwizard Tournament is the main reason that I enjoyed this book so much. The selection of school "champions," the clues they are given for each task, the strategies to consider for facing each task... Beautiful. I have to say, it reminded me a little of The Hunger Games... Of course the entire Harry Potter series was written before The Hunger Games... and the Triwizard Tournament is much less violent and cold-hearted. Still, there were some similar elements. Just enough to make me smile.
Another dimension of the Hogwarts' students lives was added in Goblet of Fire, and that is romance. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are 14 in this book, and hormones are kicking in. All three of them are struggling with crushes, and things get complicated when Hogwarts hosts a ball to bring together the students from the competing schools. There's plenty of drama about all of that, but it wasn't overkill. (And by that, I mean, it wasn't the kind of drama you might read in, say, Twilight.) It didn't take away from the story, and I appreciate that.
You find out some interesting things about some of the recurring characters in this book, like Snape and the Malfoy family, among others. I'm really looking forward to seeing how things shape up as far as that goes. I'm kind of sad that I'm over halfway done with the series. That's why I'm reading them about a month apart... Spreading it out as much as I can.
5/5 Stars
Read from May 29, 2011 to June 11, 2011
--C
Friday, March 25, 2011
Book #14: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
In The Prisoner of Azkaban, the dangerous dark wizard Siruis Black has escaped from Azkaban, intending to hunt down Harry Potter. Black is on the loose for the majority if the book, which has magic world and the muggle (non-magic) world anxious and frightened. The plot thickens when Harry learns exactly how he is connected to Black (of whom Harry has never heard before his escape). And, of course, as is usually the case in the Harry Potter series, we learn that things (and people) aren't always what they seem...
STELLAR, RIGHT?! I know. I loved this one. Almost as good as the first one, although I think I will always love Sorcerer's Stone the most. I am continually impressed with J.K. Rowling's ability to be unpredictable even though she's writing for kids.
As always with books in a series, I have a hard time coming up with much to say without ruining the previous books, so... A short but sweet review for this one, but make no mistake: It is a fantastic book.
Read from March 19, 2011 to March 23, 2011
5/5 Stars
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Book #4: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Yaaay, more Harry Potter!Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, begins with an elf paying an unexpected visit to Harry's home during Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's summer break. He warns Harry that he should not return to Hogwarts, because his life in in danger. Of course, our brave hero returns anyway to begin his second year of wizardry. Soon enough, there are a series of attacks on the students, staff, and even pets of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that the danger might originate from the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, which many claim is only a Hogwarts myth. So, off they go into harm's way to figure out what's going on.
I have to admit, when I read the first book, I pretty much devoured the first 3/4ths of it in one night. This one didn't quite start off as captivating, but the last few chapters made it all worth it. The way the story of the Chamber of Secrets unravels at the end is brilliant. I have to give J.K. Rowling credit for keeping me guessing up to the end... Not an easy thing to do for me, especially when you're writing a book for children. Even though the plot in this book took a while to get going, it definitely opened the doors for so much more of the series. I'm looking forward to seeing where it's heading.
The new characters introduced in this book are some of the best parts -- Ron's clever little sister, Ginny; the handsome, self-absorbed Gilderoy Lockhart who is hired as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts; the nervous and loving elf, Dobby... They all made the story so much more enjoyable. And of course, my old favorites are back and much more developed. I was glad to see a little more background on Draco Malfoy and his family. And that Severus Snape... I can't wait to find out what his deal is.
As will probably be the case with all of the rest of the books in this series, I'm not going into much detail because I don't want to spoil anything in the earlier books for those of you who have yet to read them. (Which, please, just do it. Now.) I have to say, though -- So far, I am seriously impressed with how well these books have lived up to all their gigantic amounts of hype.
Read from February 12 , 2011 to February 16, 2011
5/5 Stars
--C
P.S. -- Technically, this was Book #5, and Book #4 was The Hangman's Daughter. I'm not going to post a full review of the latter until the end of the month when our book club is done discussing it.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
(BONUS) Book #41: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
And I thought I'd have trouble getting to forty.
Unlike my feelings for the Twilight series, I have never had anything against Harry Potter. It never particularly interested me, but as I mentioned in my very first post here, I will pretty much read just about anything. (Except Frankenstein, apparently.) Most of the reason I've never read the series so far is that I didn't have the books. I didn't want to read them when I was younger, so I had a lot of catching up to do. I am notoriously thrifty, yet for some reason don't frequent libraries, so asking me to invest in, like, eight giant books is pretty much like asking me to give you a kidney. Lo and behold, I happened to mention that I'd like to give the series a go, and my mother-in-law told me she bought the first five books for her classroom back when she was a 3rd grade teacher. She has no use for them now, so home with me they came. Merry Christmas to me!
Everyone knows that Harry Potter is a giant phenomenon, which, admittedly, does turn me off a little bit. Maybe that's the small portion of hipster in me, but when something is off-the-charts mainstream like that, I am immediately skeptical of the hype. I never understood the people waiting in line at midnight for copies of the books as they came out, or people dressed as Harry in line to see the movies, or those crazy folks who play Quidditch...
... But it is so easy to see how those people became crazy Potter addicts. It's horrible, and I am mostly ashamed to admit it, but... ohmyGod, where has this been all my life? I loved it. I read it in a matter of hours. I was grinning like a child when I finished it. I HATE MYSELF.
Really, I feel terrible for liking it so much, but I shouldn't! J.K. Rowling, unlike many over-hyped series authors, is actually extremely talented. She's clever and funny, and she does a really good job of not dumbing the plot down. It's obviously written for kids, and that often means (as was the case with The Secret of Platform 13) that I figure out plot twists early. Not this time. No, no, I was screaming, "WHAT?! What? WHAT?" at the end. Ask Derrick. It was embarrassing. It really was. But honestly, a couple chapters in and these people feel like your best friends. It's so good. Ugh.
Ugh!
5/5 Stars
Read from December 29, 2010 to December 30, 2010
--C
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