The first time I read the "Harry Potter" books (and saw the films) was in July of 2008, when I lived in Hyannis, MA. I read paperbacks 1-6 in a row, and when I found out that 7 was only available in hardcover at that point, a month later I reread 1-6 again, and then snagged & read the final book . I also watched all of the films that had been released up to that date.
Fast-forward to the present, and J. K. Rowling has released a few new very short stories on her official website Pottermore. Since one must join the site to read the stories (which I did), and since all 8 movies were on television this past weekend (I only popped in for 15-minute chunks during the commercial breaks of shows on other channels), I decided to reread the novels.
Side note: The 'Pottermore' site actually uses the Sorting Hat (a short quiz) to assign each person who signs up to his/her 'proper' Hogwarts house! It turns out that I am most suited to be a Ravenclaw. My member name (chosen with minimal input) is MahoganySkull17830. When one 'purchases' his/her wand at Ollivander's, a similar short quiz determines the wand one receives. Mine is a 14½" Vine wood wand with a Phoenix Feather core, and is 'unyielding' (non-flexible, I assume). I also have a cat for my familiar (there was one that looks like my first cat, orange & white, green-eyed Henry, so I chose him).
I'll post in the 'comments' section each day I complete one of the books, and also add any drawings I do of my character...
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
ReplyDeleteWhoops! I finished this one on Friday (7/18). It annoys me that the US publisher thought that the average American was too stupid to relate the Philosopher's Stone to magic, hence the change in title for the US market, from the original "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
ReplyDeleteJust finished this about 30 minutes ago. I'm enjoying these early books again. I'll begin the next one later tonight...
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
ReplyDeleteI finished this one yesterday (7/23). It's great how much I've forgotten in the 5 years since I last read these books, making the current rereading even more interesting. And having the "Pottermore" website to mess around with is even better! There is a ton of 'behind the scenes' information.
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
ReplyDeleteI finished this one late last night (3 am). I want to see the movie again! This one had 734 pages of competition and cool stuff. However, if I recall correctly, upcoming Book 5 has a lot going on too, but a fair chunk of it is annoyingly unsatisfying. We shall see...
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
ReplyDeleteAgain, this 800+ page book had a lot of things I had forgotten. Hagrid's brother Grawp is as lame as ever. Firenze the centaur produced an "oh yeah, that guy" moment. Cho was just as whiny and annoying as in the films. But I still couldn't put the book down. Book 6 begins tonight!
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
ReplyDeleteThe most uneven of the books to date. There was too much jumping around, even though every detail was touched upon in the various areas of Harry's life.
And DAMN, if Hermione isn't an annoying little whiner throughout most of this book!
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
ReplyDeleteThis book flew by! The book was split into two movies that dragged, yet still managed to leave things out.
I have to say, Severus Snape is one of my favorite characters. His whole story is tragic, with no reward (unfortunately).
I also watched the second movie on Saturday night & Sunday morning.