harry potter

I was cleaning and reorganizing a bit in our bedroom this past weekend, and saw that the Prisoner of Azkaban movie was on. Having seen only bits and pieces of it previously, and having just finished the book, I thought I’d tune in. I ended up catching the last hour or so. I had a few thoughts on it:

• 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.

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [amazon]
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic; First American Edition edition (September 8, 1999)
Pages: 435
Book Number: 24

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?

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [amazon]
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (October 22, 2002)
Pages: 433
Book Number: 22

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…

Well, it happened. It was tentative for a brief period of time, when I had only reread the first Potter book. Now, however, it’s done. I suppose one could say that the spell has been successfully cast.

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.

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone [amazon]
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic; 1st American Ed edition (September 1998)
Pages: 309
Book Number: 21

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.