What’s this 52 Books in 52 Weeks thing about?

[Obviously, this being the last book, if you've not read it, you'll want to steer clear of this entry, because there will be a lot of spoilers in it. You've been warned!]

Well, it’s over. Last night at around 2AM, after having read around 550 pages throughout the day, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The ending – with the return of Harry, with the final truths about Snape and Dumbledore revealed – simply blew me away. I mentioned before that I’d accidentally ran across a spoiler about Harry dying in book 7; luckily, however, I had no idea that Harry came back. When I discovered the spoiler, I just assumed that in a climactic final battle, he and Voldemort killed each other, and that would be that. Clearly (if you’ve read the book), my assumptions were quite wrong. I noted, however, that my supposition that Harry himself was a Horcrux turned out to be correct.

That Snape ended up truly being a “good guy” pleased me, because I had felt quite betrayed by him ever since he’d killed Dumbledore. Up until the revelations from Snape’s memory, I really was at a bit of a loss as to who was helping Harry out, particularly in the instance of the Gryffindor sword and the doe Patronus. Throughout the series, there were a few mysteries which I was able to guess at successfully, figuring it out before the explanation came along; the deal with Snape was certainly not one of them. Rowling covered her tracks amazingly well by having Dumbledore and Snape plan Dumbledore’s death at Snape’s hand. That’s something I never saw coming.

As was brought up in previous posts about the Potter series, as well as in the comments for those posts, Dumbledore did indeed have some things in his closet which he didn’t want known. I was a bit bummed about learning of Dumbledore’s past, perhaps feeling a bit like Harry: the great, wise, kind wizard’s file had been marred. Certainly, he and Harry spoke at the end (in that peculiar ethereal place), and Harry forgave Dumbledore once he understand Dumbledore’s motives and thoughts, but still – that Dumbledore was more than a bit of an ass in his youth was a downer. It did, however, lend more humanity to him – I suppose, looking back at his character in earlier books, he was portrayed as perfect.

In the previous books, I noticed Rowling’s exploration of the concept of “Mudblood”, those who were Muggle born and had no “pure wizard blood” in them. When I saw this in the earlier books, it reminded me of the Nazi persecution of Jews. This analogy can really be seen in Deathly Hallows, after Voldemort has basically taken over the Ministry of Magic. The “Muggle-Born Registration Commission” sounds eerily similar to some of the race-related offices that existed within the Nazi state. When groups of Snatchers started “rounding up” Muggle-born wizards, it just gave me the creeps. This sentence in particularly leapt out at me:

“Not a bad little haul for one night,” Greyback was saying, as a pair of hobnailed boots marched close by Harry and they heard more crashes from inside the tent.

Hmm – hobnailed jackboots, worn by the Wehrmacht, anyone?

I may be breaking from what the masses wanted to see, but I really wanted to see Harry and Hermione get together. Nothing against Ron, of course – I liked him tons – but I just felt Hermione and Harry would make a better couple. Then again, I suppose Rowling couldn’t simply “swap” – Ron marrying his own sister? Probably wouldn’t have gone over real well with the public.

I have only one negative feeling about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and that is that I’m now done with the series. I have nothing more to look forward to other than the slow release of all of the movies. I could turn to fan fiction, I guess, but I’ve never cared much for any fan fiction, regardless of what it’s based on, so that’s unlikely to happen.

Oh well. It’s been one hell of a ride, and I’m very, very happy that I got over my book elitism and read the first one. It’s been a lot of fun.

See you around, Harry and Co.

Last night, I was up until 2AM finishing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The ending was awful. Before I go any further with this post, please be aware that there will be some major spoilers in it. If you’ve not read this one yet, steer clear. With that out of the way…

I can’t believe that Dumbledore is dead! Certainly, I knew major characters were due to start dying at this point in the series, but Dumbledore? He was certainly not one of the main characters who I imagined dying! He was always the strongest, the wisest of the cast – he was supposed to make it to the very end! His death was all the more worse because of who caused it, that sneaking, slimey bastard, Snape. Despite the hints dropped throughout this book that Snape was actually lying to Dumbledore, I thought, just maybe, that Snape really was on the good side. Indeed, when he burst onto the top of the astronomy tower, I rather expected him to show his true colors and attack the Death Eaters. No such luck, however… I turned the page to read of him screaming “Avada Kredavra” and killing Dumbledore.

I suppose, however, that Rowling could always pull a Tolkien, and have Dumbledore come back, right? Right… ? (Yeah, I’m not going to bet on it.) While on that topic, Dumbledore has always reminded me a great deal of Gandalf, but the similarities really poured out in Half-Blood Prince. When he and Harry were in the cave, searching for the Horcrux, and Dumbledore was searching the walls for a hidden doorway – wow! Trying to enter Moria, anyone? The giant lake inside a cave with the little island in the middle reminded me a lot of Gollum’s abode, too. Finally, all of Harry’s private lessons with Dumbledore reminded me of the chapter in Lord of the Rings where Gandalf sat up late into the night, explaining the history of the Ring to Frodo. Anyway… onward:

That Draco is now in the employ of Voldemort pleases me, in a way. Previously, he was just a nasty little jerk, but he wasn’t completely on the “bad side”, despite his father’s Death Eater status. Now he’s most definitely on the bad side, and I hope to see him get his comeuppances in book 7.

In regards to Voldemort’s Horcruxes, I’m wondering something (and this is a rhetorical question, don’t bloody answer in the comments! ): Is Harry one of the Horcruxes? If he is, I suppose that would explain why he has to die in Deathly Hallows. He would also fit (sort of) the description of being “of the Gryffindor House.” Wouldn’t that be a bummer for him? All of this fighting Voldemort, figuring out how to take him down, only to discover that he himself (Harry) has to die before Voldemort will kick the bucket.

Of course, I now stand at that awful point that everyone who reads series must face: only having one book left in the series to read. I’m torn – obviously, I want to rush and get the next one from the library and find out how it all ends. On the other hand, I really don’t want it to end. However – my desire to know what happens outweights my feelings of “no, it’s almost over!” I’ll be checking out book 7 from the university library tomorrow.

Finally! After much chipping away at this mountain of a book, I finished it last night. It took me much longer to finish this one, mostly thanks to school. The bulk of my reading during the day has been for class, and so Potter and Co. had to be relegated to bedtime reading. A major negative point about it taking me so long to finish this one up is that, truth be told, I can’t remember much from the beginning at all! Anyway:

Like all of the other Potter books, I quite enjoyed this one. It’s been enjoyable to watch Harry and friends age through the series – even if not all of the characteristics that have come forth from that aging have been, shall we say, positive. I mentioned something to my friend Joshua almost right away when I started reading Order of the Phoenix: Harry is becoming more and more whiney. Sure, he has reasons to be a bit grumpy at times, but damn does he have a temper. There were a few points in the book where I wished Ron or Hermione would give him a good slap, to snap him out of his raging about like a baffoon. I get that Rowling was trying to show his “coming of age” and the associated hormonal – issues? – but I think it was a bit over the top.

Other assorted, bullet-point style thoughts:

• Hagrid really topped himself this time. Dragging home a giant, and hiding it in the forest – nice. Hagrid is definitely one of those characters I wish were real, so I could hang out with him. Great guy, great fun.
• Umbridge! Argh! Bitch of a woman! She definitely got was coming to her near the end of the book. There was definitely a point in the book at which I thought she was going to get away with being horrible, and not have to pay any consequences for it. Luckily, the centaurs took care of that.
• Definitely saw a darkening of the overall mood of the series in this book. It seems that more and more talk of death and murder came up in this one, along with other general nastiness. Filch, for example, clamoring to whip Fred and George? I can’t really imagine that being in the first book.
• I chuckled a great deal with how Rowling dealt with the students’ emerging relationship interests. I loved how Ron and Hermione (who I know “get together” later on) were constantly bickering like a married couple. I also laughed a bit at how Harry’s struggles with Cho were described.
• The prophecy about Voldemort and Harry explained a great deal (and it was about time!) I can definitely see why Harry and Voldemort both end up dying (grumble, grumble about stumbling on that spoiler!)
• This note is specifically at Cas: nope, sorry! The more I read, the less and less I picture Dumbledore as the Michael Gambon version. Richard Harris’ version was (in my opinion, obviously!) much, much better. Michael Gambon is just too weird with the part. His portrayal makes Dumbledore look like some wizard who is persistently high or something. Oh well. Not like we have much choice, seeing as Harris is dead.
• I can’t believe Sirius is dead. As I get closer to the end of the series, I expect people to start dying – it’s inevitable – but I did not expect Sirius to die. Is that weird archway thing that he fell through explained in Half Prince or Deathly Hallows?
• Noseblood Nougats sound so disgusting. Makes me want to never eat a candy bar with nougat in it again. Puking Pastilles don’t bother me much, for some reason.

I’ve already started reading Half-Blood Prince (indeed, I’m already 150 pages into it), and I must say: dirty, slimey bastard! Snape’s been spying on Dumbledore all this time! And I liked him! Ugh!

What’s this 52 Books in 52 Weeks thing about?

And finally, I’m done with the fourth book in the Potter series! As I mentioned previously, my vigor for the series was dampened a bit when I tripped over a nasty spoiler at amazon.com. Alas, such things happen, and I’m still going to finish the whole lot of them. As usual, I’m going to remark that if you’ve not read this book, you really should stop reading this entry, because it will, most definitely, contain spoilers. Having set forth that warning, onward, with unsorted thoughts about the book:

• The ending of the book really threw me for a loop. I didn’t see it coming at all. I was quite bummed to find that Mad-Eye Moody was the hidden Death Eater at Hogwarts – and then pleasantly surprised to find that was only sort of true. Kind of. Not really. Moody has definitely moved up into one of the top spots on my favorite character list.
• This bit is directed specifically at Cas: I saw in this book, perhaps only a little, of what you were talking about, in regards to Dumbledore having a side other than the happy old man. For example, when he was speaking to Cornelius Fudge in the hospital ward about the return of Voldemort. I definitely see what you were talking about in regards to Richard Harris vs. Michael Gambon. I’m not sure how well Harris would have been for the “other” side of Dumbledore. I still like his portrayal of the happy Dumbledore more, however.
• Aha! So Lucius Malfoy really was a Death Eater, and it wasn’t just speculation on Ron’s part. All the more reason for Harry to beat the crap out of Draco, I say. (Not that Harry needs much more reason…)
• I’d like a Pensieve, please.
• If I’m not mistaken, other than Harry’s parents, Cedric Diggory was the first named character in the series to die, right? I get the feeling that character deaths become much more regular in books five, six, and seven. Not looking forward to it – I hope Hermione doesn’t die.
• The book was long. Really long. Admittedly, I was reading the large print version (the library didn’t have any regular print copies in), but it looks like the regular print paperback weighs in at 752 pages. However, while it was long, I honestly can’t think of anything I’d want to see taken out. All of it served a purpose. At least up to book 4, Rowling hasn’t fallen into the Stephen King trap: writing excrutiatingly long books just because he knows folks will buy it.
• Snape continues to intrigue me. Despite his general sliminess and nastiness, I can’t help but like the guy in a strange way. His character gained a lot of complexity in book 4, and I’m interested in seeing where it goes in the last 3 books. I never know whether he’s to be trusted or not, and perhaps that’s exactly what Rowling was going for. As an aside, Alan Rickman has done a wonderful job in bringing Snape to life in the movies.
• I am still a bit confused as to how I fell into this Harry Potter obsession. I recall a time, not too far in the past, yet hazy all the same, in which I despised the very idea of reading the Potter books. Why, they were beneath me! Childrens’ books. Hmph. I can’t, however, continue with that line of thought anymore right now; I’ve got to get back to the Order of the Phoenix.

1. I finished The Pale Horseman by Cornwell, just a few minutes ago in fact. Despite some of his writing quirks being a bit irksome, I still loved the book. Medieval history, blended with a good tale, with likeable but flawed characters? What’s not to like? Oh, and, of course – Vikings. I’ll be writing up a longer entry on the book, perhaps today. Looking at Cornwell’s site, it looks like the next book in the series is Lords of the North; another one, Sword Song, will be released in the States in January of ’08.

2. And now, the sadness bit. A few days ago I was poking around on amazon.com, probably looking at potential bookmooch items. I saw a link to a forum discussion about great fantasy books, thought it sounded interesting, and clicked on it. I had scrolled down a mere 3 messages when the text struck my eyes: “Oh, well, I wasn’t disappointed that Harry died in the final book.” So, there you have it. I accidentally spoiled the ending of book 7 for myself, when I’m only halfway through book 4.

Stumbling across the spoiler definitely dampened my vigor for reading book 4. Everytime I pick it up, while reading, I seem to constantly think “it doesn’t matter, this here – Harry ultimately dies!”I don’t know if I’m going to finish reading the series or not.

What would you Potter fans recommend? Is it worth continuing on, now that I’ve ruined the final ending for myself?

• The Dementors looked eerily similar (eery pun intended) to the Ringwraiths from the Lord of the Rings films. They were a bit more wispy, whereas the Ringwraiths were definitely solid beings, but still – the similarities are quite strong. Not to say that Rowling copied the Ringwraiths, however; tall, thin, black hooded creatures seem to be a pretty common thing in the fantasy world. Ringwraiths, Dementors – hell, look at most depictions of the Grim Reaper.
• I thought the werewolf form of Lupin was somehow off. Its hair wasn’t shabby enough or something. It looked too humanoid and not wolfish enough. Then again, I’ve always been one who prefers his werewolves to be men that turn into just an overly large wolf, not some humanoid looking thing.
• I wasn’t very fond of Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Sirius. He seemed too frantic, too nervous. When reading the book, I pictured him as quite smooth and relaxed, sure of himself. Oldman’s version acted a bit like he was going to explode at any moment. Perhaps I perceived this incorrectly though; I was, after all, trying to maintain some bit of cleaning momentum while watching.
• As noted, I only caught the last hour, so perhaps I would have seen the reasoning for the change if I’d seen all of it, but… why did Harry only get the Firebolt broom at the end of the movie? In the book, he got it much, much earlier.
• The Richard Harris Dumbledore from movies 1 and 2 were so much better. I loved the Harris version, and thought Michael Gambon’s version in Azkaban was, for lack of a better word, awful. His speech was off, and he didn’t have the “twinkle” of character that the Harris version had. Harris’ version, while obviously nutty, was funny and enjoyable. Gambon’s version was just weird.

And, worry not, those of you who aren’t fellow Potter fans. I’m halfway through book 4 already. I’d say once I’m done with the series, my Potter mania will pass.

What’s this 52 Books in 52 Weeks thing about?

Three down, four to go!

Like my post on the Chamber of Secrets, with this one, I’m not going to go too much into the plot bits; everyone who reads my blog knows about the books, I think. Instead, here are a few random thoughts I had about the book. One major spoiler below:

• I was let down with what “the prisoner of Azkaban” ended up meaning. I was hoping that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would end up inside Azkaban, getting someone out. That turned out to be quite far from what was actually being referred to in the title.
• I want a Time-Turner. Period. My birthday is coming up, you know… Wow. Think of how many more books I could read if I could roll back time!
• I ended up also being let down about Hagrid’s course on magical creatures. I thought it’d be an interesting diversion, to “sit in” on his classes, but they ended up amounting to nothing. Thanks, Malfoy!
• The ending was great. I would have liked it even more if Harry could have stayed with Sirius, as Sirius offered, but just him being set free and the truth being revealed was good.
• Hmm. Dementors = floating Ringwraiths?

What’s this 52 Books in 52 Weeks thing about?

And then, I had read two of them. With that, my addiction was sealed. Sigh.

I thought book two of the series was better than the first. It seemed to me that with book two, Rowling, while still writing with kids as her target audience, made things a bit darker. From what I’ve heard, this is a continuing trend throughout the series.

I don’t think I need to write much about the plot per se, because I get the impression that everyone who reads my blog has already read it. And, for that matter, I’m not crazy about spoilers, so I try to not spoil things for others (and when I do spoil things, I put a hefty warning at the top of the post). Having said that, here are some random things that I thought about the second Harry Potter book, in bullet point form. Before proceeding, keep in mind that reading the list could be considered spoilerish, so go forth with caution:

• Professor Lockhart – ugh. Rowling did a wonderful job in making this character obnoxious. I shared with my friend Ethereal that I thought Harry and Ron should have gone further with him; they should’ve killed the irritating chap. He was merely annoying when he was always bragging about his books, himself, etc.; my frustration with him, however, shot through the roof when he openly admitted to Harry and Ron that he’d stolen the tales from his books from other people.
• My love for Hermione grows with each book I read. I don’t mean that in a sick way (I’m not lusting after the actress, although that does seem to be a common occurrence with male Potter fans). I just really, really like her character. She reminds me a bit of a younger, female version of… well, me. Always has her nose stuck in a book, and likes it that way. I think we’d get along splendidly.
• I’d like a house-elf for Christmas, please.
• My loathing of the Malfoys grows with each book. I do hope that at some point in the series, Harry has a good old fashioned fist fight with Draco, and wins outstandingly. I think my utter dislike for Draco is amplified by the fact that I’ve seen some of the Potter movies, and the kid who plays him does a great job. Little jerk (Draco, not the actor).
• This brings me to my final bullet point, something which came up when I was talking to Ethereal: now that I’ve read two of the books, I think that Rowling is wonderful at creating real characters, characters you can really like and hope for (or characters you wish would fall off a nasty cliff, or perhaps get eaten by a dragon). I said in my review of the first book that a lot of the characters are stereotypes, and I stand by that judgment, but, that doesn’t change the fact that the characters are well written, with their own flairs, types of dialogue, etc. Even if the main plot of the series didn’t interest me (and it does), at this point, I’d probably read through the whole series just to see what happens to all of the characters.

One last note, which isn’t about the Chamber of Secrets, but is instead about the Prisoner of Azkaban. (Warning – mild spoiler alert if you’ve not read book 3!):

I’m ecstatic for Hagrid, the big oaf. When I learned that he had been made a teacher at Hogwarts, I very nearly jumped off of the couch (my preferred reading habitat) and cheered. Then I read that he was all teary about it, and wanted to give him a hug. Following, I’d probably be sent off to the hospital wing to be treated for a few broken bones, but oh well.

I can’t believe how completely I’ve fallen into these books…

I’m hooked to Harry Potter.

I finished reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets tonight, and I’ve already started the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. These silly books have drawn me in, and won’t let go.

It’s really quite funny, because before I really gave them a fair chance, I constantly poked fun at them. “Hah, they’re just kids’ books – not worthy of my time!” So much for that mindset. Damned books. I can’t put them down!

I’ll have a lengthier post up soon, tomorrow (if the third book allows me to blog anymore), about the Chamber of Secrets. For now – back to Potter! Why, in the two hours before I go to bed, I could read at least 100 or so pages.

What’s this 52 Books in 52 Weeks thing about?

Note: The widely loved Cas (well, I love her to bits) brought it to my attention that in the United Kingdom, the book was apparently called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, not the Sorceror’s Stone. I read up a bit on this here, and learned that many words were translated from the original English to American English. For this, I may very well hunt down a copy of the original version and read it instead. Really, are we Americans that stupid? And now, on with my little review:

This was not the first time I read this book. I don’t recall exactly when I read it the first time – perhaps a couple of years ago? When I read it the first time, I was reading it to try and figure out what the big deal about Harry Potter was. On that first reading, I didn’t really find what I was looking for. It seemed like an okay book, but I certainly didn’t love it. I think, however, that my first reading was marred by something, namely, me. I think I went to Harry Potter expecting it – perhaps even wanting it – to not hold up to the hype, to fall on its face. I believe that mindset drastically altered my perception of the book. (Well, duh!) With the recent release of the final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I decided I’d give the books another try with a more open mind. Instead of reading them to figure out the hype, I’d read them for – here’s a concept! – enjoyment.

So, how’d this second reading go? Great. I enjoyed the book a a lot. If I were to sum it up in a few words, those words would probably be “a fun little book.” Sure, the book isn’t written amazingly well. The characters are not hugely unique (and indeed, quite a few are very stereotypical). But when you get past that, if you skip criticizing it like I did previously – all in all, the book is a blast to read.

I came to really like a lot of the characters. I felt sorry for Harry, having to live with the intolerable Dursleys, and I simply loved Hagrid. If he were real, I’d invite him to come live with me. Albus Dumbledore could come visit, too, as long as he promised to do a bit of magic. (Speaking of Albus – Gandalf, anyone?)

Continuing with the fun and likeable mindset: Hogwarts. There are now two fantasy places that I’d love to live in for a while: Bag End and Hogwarts. Bag End could be the place I hang out to relax and read; Hogwarts could be the place I go when I want to get lost in an old, magical, spooky castle.

I suppose it’s a testament to how much I enjoyed this book, to say that I’m already reading the second one, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, alongside another sequel I’m reading, The Pale Horseman. If my enjoyment of the second one is on par with the first Potter book, I’ll probably end up reading the whole series. Ah – the power of having an open mind.

If there were any more books coming out (and I’m still not entirely convinced that there won’t be, but I’ve not read the last), I wouldn’t be going to the release parties, nor dressing up as a wizard. I’m not that into it. However, I can understand now what people see in the books. They’re not masterpieces by any means, but they’re a genuine blast to read.

Three notes:

1. Yes, I enjoyed the first book – a lot. Yes, I think I was a bit too hard on poor Harry and Co. on my first reading of the book. But – no, the books are not on par with Lord of the Rings. So there.

2. Look at this amazon.com search for “sorceror’s stone” in books. See anything peculiar? Why is the Urdu edition of it in the #1 spot? I have nothing against Urdu (or any other language), but my gut feeling is that the vast majority of folks searching on amazon.com for Potter books are looking for them in English. Strange.

This last note is really, really important…

3. PLEASE DO NOT POST SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. I have NOT read past book one (well, besides a little bit of book 2), and I don’t want anything spoiled. I don’t know who dies and who doesn’t, I don’t know who the half blood prince is, etc. etc. Please – no spoilers. Thanks.