Harry Potter Re-Read

Re-Read Thoughts: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Since I read the final two books in my Harry Potter Re-Read back to back I thought it would be a good idea to put my thoughts together because the books sort of melded in my head.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

By JK Rowling

Scholastic Inc.

ISBN: 0-439-78454-9

The short re-cap: Harry returns to Hogwarts for his sixth year.  His hopes are high after learning he will be having private lessons with Dumbledore, finds he has feeling for Ginny he never imagined, and realizes his life is about to change forever.

Spoilers below; I’ve warned you so no complaints.

I love how book six begins with a visit to the Muggle Prime Minister.  I don’t know why but the scene where the Muggle Minister gets annoyed by having to wait for the Minister of Magic to appear just makes me laugh.  I love, love, love Fred and George and the new joke shop.  U No Poo!  How can you not chuckle at that?  Also, the Fleur and Mrs. Weasley testing of the waters of the in-law pool is a nice aside in a book that can otherwise be full of tension.  The pensive is probably one of my most favorite of Rowling’s magical inventions and the ways she uses it to tell Voldermort’s story makes it all the more interesting.  And then, there’s the romance.  I don’t care much for teen angst but here it’s not annoying.  Ron and Lavender are amusing but poor Hermione getting stuck with Cormac McLaggen is just mean.  And yes, I know she’s doing it to hurt Ron but she could have picked better.  Harry and Ginny — I love that these two get together but I hate that they break up.  Harry, can you be more stubborn?  Yes, he can but I won’t go there now.

I can’t escape it so I’ll mention it — Dumbledore’s death.  It’s sad and it makes the ending of this book seem so final.  Each time I want it to end differently and it doesn’t but I appreciate that Rowling has people die in this series.  It’s necessary for the story and adds much more weight to it.

The Half-Blood Prince is one of my favorites in the series.  This is probably my second favorite followed by the Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

By JK Rowling

Scholastic Inc.

ISBN: 0-545-01022-5

The short re-cap: Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hogwarts and their families behind to search for the horcruxes hidden by Voldermort.  Camping ensures, fighting begins, and life as Harry knows it will never be the same.

OK, folks, spoilers drill remains in place.

The Deathly Hallows is a sad book for many reasons but for me it’s sad because it’s the end.  There’s no more to look forward to.  Also, the first time I read this book I didn’t so much mind the epilogue.  This time it didn’t feel necessary for me to know that Ginny and Harry marry and have three children or that Ron and Hermione stay together.  But, that off my chest now, let’s move on.

The camping is slow and the first part of this book does feel like it drags a bit.  While the searching for the horcruxes bit is a necessary part of the plot, it’s slow and the in fighting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione gets tired.  Although, this is the book in which I fall in love with Neville and Luna.  They both shine brightly doing more to help Harry that he could or would have ever asked them to do.  They’re stand up people and I couldn’t be happier that it’s Neville that chops off Nagini’s head!  Luna is still loopy but she gets people so well, that in the end, when she sees Harry sitting on a bench in the Great Hall after the battle, she’s the one that provides him his means of escape.  Ginny is pure fire and the way Harry looks for her dot on the Maurader’s Map is sweet, if still a little creepy.

Snape.  I skipped mentioning him in my thoughts on the Half-Blood Prince even though he plays a large part there because I wanted to talk about him here.  No, I didn’t have a change of heart.  I still dislike him greatly.  He does redeem himself, in Harry’s eyes, but not mine.  My dislike of him has been cultivated for far too long for me to like him now even after knowing what he has done to help Harry.  Snape harbors too much hate for Harry’s father James to really care much about him the end.  Yes, I know he does care but for me it feels forced and I can’t go along.

Earlier I said I found this book sad.  There are a number of reasons but the one that stands out is Dobby’s death.  I got a little teary when reading it.  Dobby has been there for Harry and to have him die now is heartbreaking.  Harry finds resolve in his death but I don’t.  For me, it’s sadder than Dumbledore’s death.

There are some amazing moments:  Mrs. Weasley taking on Bellatrix.  How fabulous is Molly!  Ron finding he cares about house elves, at least for Hermione’s sake.  Hermione’s quick thinking that gets them out of several incidents.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s escape from Gringotts on a dragon.  Neville becoming the man!

My re-read may have started on a whim and took a lot longer than I thought it would to finish the seven books but I’m glad I made the time.  These aren’t books I pull off my shelf often, in fact, it’s been years since I’ve read any of them but it was fun to re-live this story.  Even knowing what happens and how it will all end, there were still a few surprises here.

Final thoughts on all the books:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone — It must have been at least 10 years since I read this one and it was a lovely surprise.  The story is full of wonder at the beginning and I forgot how easily Rowling can pull a reader into her world.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — I wanted to pace myself for the re-read because I didn’t want to burn out.  I did rush into this one and while I loved it, I was really looking forward to book three.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — Undoubtedly, my favorite.  I loved it the first time I read it and fell in love all over again on page one.  The story takes a little bit darker turn but it also re-introduced me to characters like Lupin and Sirius that I heart.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — I have to say that I enjoyed this one more on this reading.  Why, I can’t really say but I discovered many things this time around that I forgot.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — While I didn’t find as much joy in book five as I did in the previous four, I still liked it.  Harry gets very moody in this one and my tolerance for teen angst is low so I was annoyed a bit but nowhere near enough to stop!  Besides, I get to intense moments of Snape dislike in this one and that’s totally worth it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — Again, more Snape disliking and that’s good.  Also, while the teen angst gets to me, the teen romance got me in this one.  I think it’s because I love when Harry and Ginny together.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — It’s sad because so many people die in this one but there’s something so wonderful about seeing it through to the end.  While I can do without the epilogue, the ending seems just right for me.

Well, after several months, my re-read is over and all I have to say is the end.

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Today’s Book(s) and a Movie

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I’ve still got two Harry Potter books — The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows — to finish for my re-read this year.  Since we’re planning to head out of town today (traffic gods please be on our side, say 3PM, if that’s good for you), I decided there’s no better time to finish up the series than during the holidays so in the suitcase they went.  I’m not sure if I’ll actually be able to finish but I’m going to give it a good try.

I did get the chance to see part 1 of the Deathly Hallows the other night, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts on that too since I’m already talking about the boy wizard.  It’s not really a review, just a few thoughts.

First, I’m not a book purist.  I consider movies and books completely different mediums and I never believe that a book, especially a large book like Deathly Hallows, should follow exactly the same lines.  It’s just not feasible and I’m good with differences — even major differences don’t bother me.  That said, here’s what I thought.

I liked it.  Honestly, I thought about leaving it at that but it seemed like cheating.  I saw it on Imax so the special effects looked great, the acting was good, and you know right from the start that you’re no longer watching a cutesy movie about a kid learning spells.  People die, but there’s still some humor to put things in perspective. There are some very sad moments (When Hermione erases her parents memory is one.) and some very funny ones (Ron’s awkward way of telling Hermione that he’s in love with her and trying horribly to apologize for leaving both her and Harry in a rage.) that left me wanting more and very glad that I decided to re-read the series even if I hadn’t yet gotten to book seven.  I said the acting was good, and in particular, Emma Watson’s performance.  She’s matured dramatically and it shows.  And of course Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes are phenomenally bad in a good way.  I never imagined Voldemort as creepy as Fiennes makes him and there’s something to be said for that.

While I’m not a fan of two part movies like this, they did end it in a somewhat logical spot so I can’t complain about that other than I immediately wanted to see part two.  I’m trying not to give too many things away and realize this isn’t making much sense, so in my continuing attempts to remain spoiler free, I’ll just leave you with a trailer.

Have you seen the movie?  Any thoughts?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

By JK Rowling

Scholastic

ISBN: 0-439-35806-X

4 stars

It’s taking me longer than I thought to finish my Harry Potter re-read this year but that’s all right, I’m in no hurry.  Let’s face it; it’s not as if I don’t know the story. 🙂  In all honesty, I was hoping to re-read the entire series before seeing the latest movie but that’s not going to happen so now I’m just enjoying the story.

The short re-cap: Harry is waiting patiently to return to Hogwarts when he’s attacked by dementors, almost gets expelled for performing underage magic in front of a muggle, gets off by a slim margin, heads back to Hogwarts to find out that the Ministry of Magic is slowing doing its best to take over the school.  And there’s that small little matter of Voldermort who would like to see him dead.

As always, spoilers below.  You’ve been forewarned.

The Order of the Phoenix, I hate to admit, is not my favorite book in the series.  Not to say it isn’t good but I forgot just how moody and cranky everyone is in this installment.  I can’t blame either Harry (who’s got a price on his head and feels everyone is lying to him, which in some ways they are) or Sirius (who’s still in hiding and unable to do anything to help the cause or Harry) for their dark moods but there is only so much male PMS I can take.  However, the Weasley twins stepped up and provided enough lightness to make me remember why I fell in love with the series — the magic these two manage is wonderfully silly, and so disgusting, that it makes me want to procure a flyer and order a few of their concoctions.  Umbridge is so mean, annoying, and sniveling that I somehow found myself enjoying her character this time around.  I won’t say like because that would go too far but her attitude brings out some wonderful qualities in others characters such as Professor McGonagall who goes to great means to control her temper.  Snape.  I didn’t plan on mentioning him but he does play a critical role in Harry’s fifth year and his actions only keep me securely on the hate Snape bandwagon.  I’m so very done with him, except I’m not really and I have two more books to fully loathe him, which I plan to do.

In some ways, I feel as though there is too much going on in this book.  It’s long, and that’s not a bad thing because we do get to know a few characters better — Luna and Ginny who are among my favorites — so I don’t want to point to that as the main reason for my lack of overflowing love.  So many sub-plots show up here and it’s a major turning point in the tome.  The danger is much more palpable in this one than the proceeding books and it carries on with the sadness that made its way into the series when Cedric was killed by Voldermort.  But Harry’s attitude is sometimes too much for me.  I do have to admit that I did enjoy the fight at the Ministry of Magic though.  The rooms in the Department of Mysteries are so fascinating.

Well, on to hunting horcruxes.

Monday Morning Sunday Salon

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I was planning to post a Happy Thanksgiving note last week, but thanks to a weather front creeping slowly towards the East Coast, we got in the car Wednesday night instead of Thursday morning and made the trek to PA snow free and I never got around to posting anything.  So happy belated Thanksgiving everyone.  🙂

I was also planning to have something to post for the Sunday Salon yesterday but my husband is leaving for Denver this morning and I spent the day with him trying to figure out how to fit suits and heavy sweaters into one suitcase and never put butt in chair.

So today it is and we’re going to go about this bullet style so I can cover several topics and not have to worry about coming up with pithy transitions.

  • I honestly didn’t get much reading done, and a week later, I’m still reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Between visiting relatives and a holiday, reading time was almost nonexistent the last week but I’m actually enjoying this slow meander through the wizarding world.  While I won’t say that the Order of the Phoenix is my favorite of the Harry Potter books, I will admit to it being a nice holding place.  A lot happens in this installment but it’s also where Harry tries on male crankiness and I tend to get sick of brooding easily so parts of this one don’t always appeal to me.  That said, I’m still enjoying it.
  • Thanks to a staff retreat, I had the chance to visit the Frederick Douglass house in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, DC last week.  If you need a refresher on Douglass, the Wikipedia page can help you out.  I was planning to share a few photos but I was using my cell phone and don’t have time this morning to pull them off so if you’re interested in photos, the Park Service site has a few.  Going into the tour, I only knew what I remembered from school, which I hate to admit was not a lot, so I was looking forward to the guided tour from the Park Service.  The house, which is an amazing place, contains 70% of the original pieces of furniture and artwork which Douglass used during his time at the house.  It drips with history and makes you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time.  With a portrait of Abraham Lincoln hanging over one fireplace, you feel the immense burden that Douglass shouldered and the fight which he made personal for all those that would listen.  I think we may have a copy of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave on the shelves somewhere and I need to find it.  I almost bought it at the bookstore but decided to check the house first since I remember seeing it recently.
  • Pictures.  I had several that I was planning to share but again, on the cell phone and don’t have time (really it probably has more to do with patience but whatever) so if I can get myself in gear at some point in time this week, I’ll share.

That’s it for me this morning.  I’m hoping to catch up with some blog reading this week too.  I took a look at my email and blog feeds and let’s just say it was overwhelming and I may just hit delete and start over but I plan to read as you all out there give me some great book selections and I feel I can’t miss even one.  Enjoy the week.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

My teaser today comes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

“Harry had been looking forward to the weekend trip into Hogsmeade, but there was one thing worrying him.  Sirius had maintained a stony silence since he had appeared in the fire at the beginning of September; Harry knew they had made him angry by saying that they did not want him to come — but he still worried from time to time that Sirius might throw caution to the winds and turn up anyway.” (332-333)

The Sunday Salon

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We had visitors this weekend so not much reading was done. I did get in a few chapters here and there but mostly it was filled with football games and touristy things.

In the last week, I finished The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, The Exile by Diana Gabaldon, and started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling so even if I didn’t get to read this weekend, it was still a good week overall.

I don’t have much to say today which is probably due to the lack of sleep I’ve had the last few nights.  Even the nap this afternoon didn’t help so I’ll be making this a very short salon today.  I was planning to talk about cleaning off the bookshelves or maybe even holiday reading but I don’t have it in me today.  🙂

Happy Sunday.

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

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Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

By J.K. Rowling

Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN: 043913959-7

5 stars

I’m moving along nicely with this series.  I was surprised, again, by how much more I remember from the movies than the books but that’s what’s making this re-read so much fun.

The short re-cap — Harry starts his fourth year at Hogwarts, gets to see the Quidditch World Cup, finds out that Hogwarts will host the Tri-Wizard Tournament, sees his name thrown out of the Goblet of Fire as a contestant, almost gets killed by a dragon, eats some gillyweed, and sees Voldermort re-born.

As you’ve been warned — spoilers below.

There was a lot about this book I didn’t remember, one being just how mean Snape is to Hermione!  I knew it was there but re-reading it again was awful; he is just so harsh to a young girl.  As you can see, I’m moving along with my Hate Snape Campaign nicely.  There is no redemption for him.  I will not forgive him later even when he tries to redeem himself in Harry’s eyes.  Nor will I forgive Harry for forgiving him but that comes later and I’m getting way ahead of myself.  Another thing about this book I forgot is how profoundly sad it is when Cedric dies.  It’s always been a sad moment but I found myself tearing up at those bits this time around.  There’s also a lot to laugh at in this book and I like the way Rowling balances the two.  Honestly, I can’t wait for the Divination classes to be over.  I’m just as fed up with Professor Trelawney as Harry is but I find both Ron and Harry’s homework full of deathly predications to be quite amusing.  The ending of this book, while very sad, also gives you that look ahead that makes you want to pull the next book off the shelf and keep going with the story.

I’ve been pacing myself with these books.  If I didn’t, I probably would have overdosed on Harry Potter already.  It’s been fun rediscovering this story slowly and letting it unfold as it does and I’m glad I decided to go this route instead of for the all at once indulgence.  I haven’t read these books in so long that I have forgotten a lot of the little details so each one has held small surprises for me.  Those surprises are well appreciated I can tell you.

I’m excited about book five for several reasons: more Sirius Black; more angry Dumbledore; more Mad-Eye Moody; and the Weasley twins!

 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

By J.K. Rowling

Scholastic

ISBN: 0-439-13635-0

5 stars

This is my favorite book in the series, and before I tell you why, there will be spoilers so feel free to look away now if you don’t want to know.

First, the short re-cap: Harry is off to his third year at Hogwarts, and before he gets there, blows up his aunt like a balloon, worries that he might be expelled, takes the Knight Bus to London, learns that a madman named Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban, finds out that Sirius is after him, and that he may not be safe even at Hogwarts.

I love this book for so many reasons.  Aunts blowing up, Knight Buses, werewolves, dementors, boggarts, Quidditch, Firebolts, and Maurader’s Maps, ahh, yes, we’re back at Hogwarts.  Let’s start with a favorite, Professor Lupin.  He, for the first time, teaches the students practical applications in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class and his classes add a lightness to an otherwise gloomy year with dementors and escaped killers running around.  Lupin teachers Harry new skills and gives him hints into his parents’ lives from the perspective of an old friend.  He’s kind and a friend to Harry when he needs one.  The dementors are a dark turn in this book and become, sadly, a way for Harry to connect with his parents.  The attacks on him cause him to grow stronger though and he uses the sadness that he didn’t know existed, to move forward.  Hagrid, now the teacher of the Care of Magical Creatures class, is still finding odd things to harbor.  And it is thanks to Hagrid that we get to meet Buckbeak the Hippogriff, creatures I just adore for some reason.  Hermione is still being her good self in this book and when she causes Harry’s new Firebolt broom to be confiscated for fear that it might be cursed, she makes no friends and even I get annoyed at her.  Does she not know the Quidditch season it right around the corner?  And then there is Sirius.  He’s a dark figure in Harry’s past and one he didn’t even know existed.  He’s Harry godfather, a fact Harry never knew until this book.  One thing that does annoy me — when Sirius explains everything and offers Harry the chance to come and live with him, Harry jumps at it.  He doesn’t know this person and it just shows you how quick he is to make decisions before thinking about anything.  Harry?  Really?  Yes, I know the Dursley’s are awful people but this man just escaped from prison, and while I like him too, give it a second will you.

I realized while reading this book that I remembered the ending from the movie better than the book.  The incident with Hermione’s time turner is much different and I was pleased by this happy little discovery and was trying to figure out where it was going the whole time I was reading.  It’s nice to be surprised by books you’re read before.

I also forgot that Hermione doesn’t get Crookshanks until this book.  For some reason, I just always thought of the cat as there but it’s really not until the third book that he arrives and plays a much larger part than I remembered.  Poor Scabbers though.  While I don’t feel anything nice for Peter Pettigrew, I did feel for Ron having to watch his rat deteriorate.

The Prisoner of Azkaban is where I feel the story begins to take a turn and you know that no one is safe anywhere.  Sirius’s escape is even announced on the muggle news which is a warning that Hogwarts or not, there is no safe place.  The dementors with their soul sucking abilities remind the students that life will not always be filled with joy.

And to end this — Snape, still disliking him greatly.