Pottermore and Me

I love Harry Potter. The books are fantastic, and I can (and do) re-read them often. The plot is engaging and intricate, the characters unique and complex, the writing conversational and engrossing, and the themes important and universal. The movies...well, you know, they are....there and...okay. I honestly think I loved the books too much to garner much appreciation for the film. I felt every detail the movie was missing even though I know it is impossible to include everything from the books in the movies. I have not yet been to the theme park, but you can bet your buttons that I'll be there as soon as money, work, and baby allow. I figure Sandy, Heather, or Jenny will accompany me (and maybe suggest a nice place to stay...like their couch...j/k!). I'm pretty sure they all live at least within driving distance....

When I heard about Pottermore - from you lovely bloggers I might add - I was excited. My mother said it best: "Finishing the seventh book was like losing a friend." I was happy that there would be some new way I could experience the story. After qualifying for early entry, I waited quite impatiently to be let in.

Now, I am finally playing around, and I must say I am really pleased with how things are shaping up. It's been so much fun going through book one. A taste of what you can do:

• Explore various scenes from the story: You see a slightly animated illustration of a place from the story, and you can zoom in twice to get more detail (see one short of Diagon Alley below). Certain objects you can click on and collect. Others you can click on for a closer look, like letters, newspapers, signs, etc.
• Read more about stuff: Characters, creatures, places, etc. have pages with more information on them. Some just have a quick summation; others are more fully fleshed out than they were in the book (new material peeps!); and some even have a section revealing Rowling's thoughts or her notes from creating the story. Awesome.
• Win House Points: Once you are sorted, you can win house points by collecting objects from inside the scenes or from creating potions. That's right, I'm making potions. We will also be able to duel, but that's not up and running quite yet.

I'm sure I'm not hitting everything here, but those are the basic cool things to do. And of course, it was awesome getting my wand and being sorted into a house. I am in Ravenclaw, which really isn't a surprise; although based on the questions, I'm thinking it was a toss up between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. My wand is 10 inches long, unyielding, made from larch, and stuffed with a phoenix feather...if you were curious.

Screen capture from Rhii Sparks

Despite how much I'm loving it, I will say that I am getting a bit bored. Right now, we only have Book One to play with, and I made it through in just a few days (I may have gone a bit crazy for those days). Now, the only thing for me to do is make potions and refresh my ingredients supply, but since you can only make one potion at a time, and those suckers take at minimum 80 minutes, I'm getting bored. And if they don't give me a way to earn more galleons, I won't be making too many more potions anyway because I'll run out of money.

Perhaps if the Wizard's Duel fun was up and running I'd be good to go, but what I really want is the rest of the books! Last I saw, Book 2 isn't coming out until 2012. I honestly am unsure of what I am supposed to do until then.

For those on there, am I missing something?

For those not yet there, I can't wait to see what you all think!

And everyone be sure to let me know your name, so I can add you to my friend list!

Book Review: HP and the Order of the Phoenix

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher/Year: Scholastic/
Date Finished: 9 December 2010
Source/Format: Bought/Print

Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, Reading Resolutions, 101 Fantasy Reading, Young Adult Reading, Read the Book, See the Movie,

The Short and Sweet of It
After a brutal summer with no news, Harry arrives at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a small organization dedicated to preventing Voldemort from rising to power. The rest of the wizarding world refuses to believe Harry and Dumbledore, trusting in the slander slung by the Ministry of Magic, so once again Harry is the oddball out, the freak. The intrusion upon Hogwarts by the ministry and Voldemort's own nefarious plans for Harry, means that our poor hero finds himself fighting on two fronts.

A Bit of a Ramble
My first time reading this, I wasn't too thrilled. Harry's snottier-than-thou attitude coupled with the not-very-heartwarming relationship hullaballoo with Cho annoyed me. I have to admit though that this time, I loved the book. While I still wished for a bit less lovey-dovey, on the whole, I sped through this chunkster and even felt a sort of loss when I finished. I am not sure what has changed that allowed me to enjoy the story on  a new level this time through. Who knows? Maybe the negative feelings have to do with the loss of a certain someone which definitely affected me on first reading.

The little tidbits of character development sprinkled throughout the story really stood out to me this time through. The scene with Mrs. Weasley crying over the images of her family, the argument between Snape and Black, Hagrid and Grawp, Minerva's loyalty, fallibility of Dumbledore, all of these situations and more further the relationship the reader has with the world as a whole. Rowling's ability to humanize the many characters in the novel adds to the depth of emotion the reader feels.

The plot is fantastic in this book as well.  So much is happening but at no point in the story do I feel overwhelmed or frustrated. Instead, I feel completely immersed in a wonderfully complex tale. Once the holidays are over, I plan on delving into books 6 and 7.


The Filmic Connection
I thought I would include a paragraph from Ebert here as what he says mirrors my own thoughts: As for the cast, the "Potter" series has turned into a work-release program for great British actors mired in respectable roles. Staunton is perfect here as the Teacher From Hell. Helena Bonham Carter looks like the double for all three of Macbeth's witches. And then take a roll call: Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes (in the wings as Voldemort), Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Warwick Davis, Julie Walters and the incomparable Maggie Smith.

I know, I know, it's not exactly a critique of the film, but really how can you not mention all of those awesome actors!

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Book Review: HP and the Goblet of Fire

Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher/Year: Scholastic/2000
Date Finished: A long time ago
Source/Format: Bought/Print

Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid

Challenges: Challenges: 100+ Reading, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, 101 Fantasy Reading, Young Adult Reading, Read the Book, See the Movie,

The Short and Sweet of It
Once more Harry returns to Hogwarts; only this time, the entire school is in a tizzy due to the reintroduction of a cross-school event: The Triwizard Tournament, pitting the top students of three wizarding schools against each other in a terribly exciting competition. But when Harry's name is called up, the action takes a decidedly more sinister turn.

A Bit of a Ramble
This is the book I can most easily skip over when I'm reading the series. For some reason, it doesn't hold the same interest for me as the other installments in the series. I'm sure it is technically better than the first two, but while they seem necessary for stage-setting and the such not, Goblet of Fire feels like an almost irrelevant middle book.  Perhaps my problem is that the book serves as a bridge between the first three and the last three; as such, it is both immature and sinister, entertainment-driven while trying to be more "epic" simultaneously.

A few exciting and important events do happen in the book: we finally see the horror of the Death Eaters when they torment a muggle during the Quidditch World Cup; we get first hand looks at the three Unforgivable Curses (control, pain, and death); and of course, there's the little matter of Voldemort returning. Big apologies to those who haven't read the series yet (but really?). Despite the big happenings, I still don't have strong feelings towards this one. I am thinking, however, that I might want to re-read it to be sure...


The Filmic Connection
The film is much darker than the three prior, which makes sense as this is the point where the story takes a darker turn. I went with my cousin to a midnight showing of the film, and I remember enjoying it. But as with many adaptations, the changes, the losses, bother me. The story Rowling has written is long and complicated, and to make the epic tale into a series of films requires a great deal of pruning.

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Book Review: HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher/Year: Scholastic/1999
Date Finished: 7 November 2010
Source/Format: Bought/Print


Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid

Challenges: 100+ Reading, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, 101 Fantasy Reading, Young Adult Reading, Read the Book, See the Movie,

The Short and the Sweet of It

Harry, Ron, and Hermione are back at Hogwarts for their third year. After defeating Voldemort's quest to possess the sorceror's stone and to open the Chamber of Secrets, the three young students surely wish they could just have a normal year; unfortunately, once again they are thrust into a dangerous situation. A wizard accused of murder and conspiring with Voldemort has escaped the wizard prison of Azkaban, and before he left, the guards overheard him muttering, "He's at Hogwarts".


A Bit of a Ramble
In my review of the first two books in the series, I said that re-reading these books for the 12th time has reminded me of the relative immaturity of the first books compared to the later in the series. My guess is that Prisoner of Azkaban is where I finally fell in love with the series. While the book still contains the wonderfully creative action of the first two, in this installment, readers start to get the history of characters, to see the epic timeline of the world Rowling has created. Plus, we get Sirius Black, a character I find extremely intriguing and actually wish had received more attention.

While the story still isn't as complex as later installments, the foundation is there. Here we start to get a real feel for the time before Harry. Lupin, Black, Potter, and Wormtail's history provides a great foil for the current relationship between Ron, Harry, and Hermione, and in this book and in future installments, I found myself comparing the groups of friends.

We also get to see the more complex capabilities of magic with the introduction of the Marauder's Map and the Timeturner, two devices that I really enjoyed. The Marauder's Map allowed the holder to see where everyone was inside Hogwarts, and the Timeturner, obviously, allowed the user to go back in time. These objects stand out to me as indicators of a world of magic outside of what they are learning at school. Just like with the history, this inclusion helped fill in the spaces, broaden the map, of the world of Harry Potter.

Memorable Scene: I find this scene rather poignant.

Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at strips of moonlight on the ceiling. When the dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her...Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake to dwell again on his mother's voice.

Memorable Quote:

"But you believe us."


"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth..."

Many times while reading, I do so wish that some character had the power to make other men see the truth.

The Filmic Connection
Watching the HP films is something of a painful experience for me, especially the earlier ones before the young actors learned that acting is a subtle activity. At this point in the films, the acting is still quite a bit over-the-top for me, at certain times even just painful to watch with cringe-worthy vocalizations. Thank heaves for Gary Oldman as Sirius and David Thewlis as Remus Lupin; I really enjoyed their performances.

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Book Review: Harry Potter 1 and 2

In light of the absolutely splendiferous Hogwarts Reading Challenge and the equally wonderful Flashback Challenge...and then there's the Young Adult Reading Challenge and the 101 Fantasy Challenge...okay, I think that may be all of them...anyway..In light of all these challenges, and just for fun, I've decided to re-read the Harry Potter series this year.  I'm going to review them particularly from the perspective of a re-read, so the reviews may not make much sense to those who haven't read the books.  I apologize for this, but I just don't think it's possible to write a regular review of a book you've read 10+ times; you have too many biases going in to the reading.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, followed by The Chamber of Secrets, were, of course, my introduction to the series years ago.  I think I picked up the first pure and simple to see what all the fuss was about.  At the time, I rarely read YAL.  Actually that's one thing the Harry Potter series did for me - it introduced me to an entire world of books that I adore.  I remember feeling the book was a bit immature for me when I first started reading, but then the experience took over and before I knew it I was flying through the next two books in the series.

I believe I've read these books about 12 times - an educated guess - and I have to admit that both of them lack the spark they once held for me.  While the world Rowling creates in the first two books is fascinating, her later books are so much more detailed and mature that re-reading the first in the series is a bit of a let down. Quite a bit of the plot feels contrived: Harry seems to always be in the right place at the right time; then there's that whole scene where he forgets the invisibility cloak but he and Ron still think they have it on...really?; and of course one can't forget Dumbledore's feeling he needed to be back at the castle; and in book 2 Snape sneezes at a particularly opportune moment....hmmm... My enjoyment may also be affected by the film versions of these two books which, with some bad acting and repeated phrases, I found sad and disappointing.

You may argue that the spark has left because I've read them so many times, but I find that is generally  not the case with me.  I enjoy re-reading books because I tend to find something new in them every time.  The Sorcerer's Stone though is a relatively simplistic tale, and my discovery of "something new" is more of an attempt to find clues and foreshadowing to events in later books.  The Chamber of Secrets is definitely a better tale, in my opinion, primarily because the story is a bit more complex.  Plus, there's Dobby, whom I adore.

I will say that these books are wonderfully quick reads, and my familiarity with the stories makes them doubly so.  I had to continually remind myself to slow down, read each word, because my brain was having a grand old time getting ahead of the plot.  Even though some of the magic is gone, I still liked reading both books - in part because I know what's coming.

Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid

Hogwarts Reading Challenge

I tried to resist; I mean I seriously am involved in enough challenges, but the concept was so unique I just had to join in.  Worth Reading It is hosting a Hogwarts Reading Challenge where participants are sorted into houses and compete for the House Cup.  Points are awarded for reading books that fall into specific categories.

I took the test to be sorted into a house, and - not really a surprise here - the sorting hat put me in Ravenclaw.  While I appreciate the honor and nobility of Gryffindor, the amiability and honesty of Hufflepuff, and even the ambition and cunning of Slytherin, I'm really not surprised to be placed with the nerds...

 I am now and always have been a geek.  So what wonderful categories do I get to read by December 13?

MY CURRENT POINT TOTAL:  367 (includes Summer Reading Challenge)

The Series
First, I will read the Harry Potter books themselves, earning 25 points for each one read.  This will fit in with my Flashback Challenge and my YAL Challenge, so that is just fantabulous.  But I also get to read based on the below "classes".

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 

The Classes

Transfiguration - read any book that has trans or figure in its title, is about shape shifting, has a shape shifter in it, or is about anything having to do with changing one thing into another.

• Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
• Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
• The Surrogates by Robert Venditti 
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin 
• The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff  
• Beastly by Alex Finn 
• Film Club by David Gilmour 
• Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey  
• Incognegro by Mat Johnson 
• The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson 
• Dracula, My Love by Syrie James 
• Marked by P.C. and Kristen Cast 
• Gender Outlaws by Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman 

Defense Against the Dark Arts - read any book that has defence (defense), dark and/or art(s) in its title, read any book that is about self defense, war, history of war/marital arts, murder mysteries

• Coraline by Neil Gaiman 
• Allies of the Night by Darren Shan 
• Badass by Ben Thompson 
• Denial: A Memoir of Terror by Jessica Stern 
• The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky 
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan 
• The Passage by Justin Cronin 
• The New Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker 
• How to Grow Up and Rule the World by Vordak the Incomprehensible 
• March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham 
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott 
• Annexed by Sharon Dogar 
• Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
• Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
• Agamemnon by Aeschylus 
• The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus 
• The Eumenides by Aeschylus 
• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
• Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Charms - read any book that has charm in its title, any book that deals with gives something or someone a new aspect (for example the nerdy guy become a handsome doctor)

• Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
• The Great Lover by Jill Dawson 
• Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz 
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel 
• Strings Attached by Nick Nolan 
• Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins 
• Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates 
• The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter 
• The Odyssey by Homer

Potions - read any book that has potion in its title, cookbooks count but you must cook at least one recipe out of the book

• The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames 
• The Wave by Susan Casey

Astronomy - read any book that has astronomy in its title, books about planets, stars, etc, sci-fi

• The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim 
• Trickster by Matt Dembicki 
• Packing for Mars by Mary Roach 
• Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

History of Magic - read any book that has history or magic in its title, books about magic, witches, etc

• Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts 
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 
• Search for Senna by K.A. Applegate 
• The Bacchae by Euripides 
• The Boneshaker by Kate Milford 
• Land of Loss by K.A. Applegate
• Enter the Enchanted by K.A. Applegate
• Realm of the Reaper by K.A. Applegate
• Discover the Destroyer by K.A. Applegate
• Fear the Fantastic by K.A. Applegate
• Fables: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

Herbology - read any book that has herb in its title, again cookbooks count and again you must cook at least one recipe out of the book

Arithmancy - read any book that has arithmancy in its title, any book with a number in its title, any book that deal with numbers or math

• 101 Things I Learned in Film School by Neil Landau and Matthew Frederick 
• Matched by Ally Condie 
• The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Ancient Runes - read any book that has ancient or runes in its title, books about historical places like the pyramids, Stonehenge, great wall of china, or any book about symbols

• Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri  
• Nomansland by Lesley Hauge 
• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood 
• Inferno by Dante Alighieri 
• The Epic of Gilgamesh

Divination - read any book that has divine in its title, any book about psychics or psychic abilities, tarot reading etc

•  From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris 
• Trance by Linda Gerber

Care of Magical Creatures - read any book that has magical or creatures in its title, about supernatural beings

• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 
• The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan 
• Animal Farm by Bill Willingham 
• The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan 
• The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan 
• Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris 
• The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
• School's Out - Forever by James Patterson
• Dust by Joan Frances Turner 
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 
• Soulless by Gail Carriger 
• Changeless by Gail Carriger

Muggle Studies - nearly any book works here, what better why to understand Muggle than to read what they read

• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson 
• Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
• W;t by Margaret Edson
• The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet by Myrlin Hermes 
• Either You're in or You're in the Way by Logan and Noah Miller 
• Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan 
• Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon 
• Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger 
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba 
• Thumbing Through Thoreau by Kenny Luck 
• Why Our Decisions Don't Matter by Simon Van Booy 
• Deliver Us From Evie by M.E. Kerr 
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 
• The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman
• The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen 
• Queer Questions Straight Talk by Abby Dees 
• Wildthorn by Jane Eagland 
• Disturbed by Her Song by Tanith Lee 
• will grayson, will grayson by david levithan and john green
• Room by Emma Donaghue
• Blameless by Gail Carriger
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

How to list your books and keep track of points:
When you copy this post onto your blog just list the book you read for the challenge under the subject to which it fits. Please include the name of the book/author and the the date you finished reading it

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SUMMER MINI-CHALLENGE = 140

Read 3 books from any summer reading list = 60 points
Each extra reading list book = 15 pts each
One word match to Hogwarts Reading List = 25 pts

• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan from the Getting Boys to Read  and the School Library Journal summer reading lists.
• The Passage by Justin Cronin on Oprah's Summer Reading List 
• The Boneshaker by Kate Milford on the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library list

Extra:


The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba on Saint Ignatius High School list extra for matching Men Who Love Dragons too Much

The New Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker and Leslie K. Klinger on the Lahser High School summer reading list, extra for matching New Theory of Numerology

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Kids Can't Be Naked....Ever

Harry Potter is not a real boy. Daniel Radcliffe (who plays Harry) is. And he can do whatever he wants. Some people disagree with his current choice as this article from thisislondon.co.uk suggests.

Divested of his clothes, not to mention the lightning scar on his forehead, this is Harry Potter a million miles from Hogwarts. Between filming the fifth and sixth Potter movies, 17-year-old Daniel Radcliffe is appearing on the West End stage in a revival of Peter Shaffer's controversial play Equus.

He plays troubled stablehand Alan Strang and is involved in a lengthy nude sex scene with former Holby City actress Joanna Christie. Radcliffe was clearly keen to impress with his physique, pumping up his slender frame in the gym for seven hours a week.

But whether his young fans will be impressed by his transition from Hermione Granger's boy wizard friend to hunky sex symbol remains to be seen. Websites were receiving e-mails from parents worried about Radcliffe's appearance in the play, which will be open to children despite its explicit adult content.

One said: 'We as parents feel Daniel should not appear nude. Our nine-year-old son looks up to him as a role model. We are very disappointed and will avoid the future movies he makes.'

Another wrote: 'I am curious as to how and why his parents said this was okay.'

Radcliffe has been rehearsing his nude scene for a week with his female co-star and although he was 'a little hesitant and shy' at first, he had overcome his embarrassment, said producer David Pugh. He added: 'Equus is on the school syllabus and I would never stipulate what age people should be to see it.'



Okay, so apparently Parent #1's son is never naked. That must make it difficult to take a shower or a bath, eh? Or maybe he washes half of his body at a time so that he is never completely nude.... And all I have to say to Parent #2 is He's 17, not 7! And we are not talking about porn here. We are talking about art!

To me the lack of logic shown by over-protective parents is absolutely astounding. Daniel Radcliffe is an actor, not Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe is an adult, not a child. Not to mention the fear of the naked human form is illogical, prudish, and well...ridiculous.