Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I haven't been keeping to the plan. So sue me.

In light of the new Harry Potter movie coming out on November, I've decided to switch to Harry Potter mode. I thought they were worth a reread because a) they're fabulous, and b) I remember absolutely nothing about them except what was in the movies. Last summer (as in, the summer before this blog came about) I read the sixth book in preparation for that movie, but I was still unclear what had happened before or after it. It was a mess to read those books out of sequence. Therefore, I'm starting at the beginning.



People say that the books get better as Harry gets older, but I'm not convinced this is the case. I'm pretty interested in what is happening to Harry, so much so, in fact, that I read 130 pages last night before bed. It brought back all the memories of when I read it the first time, when I was just turning eleven and upset that my Hogwarts letter didn't come too. So, I am not convinced yet that this book is boring, uninteresting, etc. because, quite frankly, it's been a while since I've read 130 pages all at once (and in less than 2 hours). Granted, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone moves along at a rapid pace, and is generally at a lower reading level than the other books on the list. I'm currently on page 154, which is a page away from being halfway through. I tried to read more this morning and then fell back asleep for three hours. It's a rough life, sleeping and reading Harry Potter...

I figured it all out. The Harry Potter Series is 4,167 pages long. To finish the series on or before November 19th, when Part I of Deathly Hallows comes out, I will have to read at least 81 pages per day. Currently I am 3.7% through the entire series. RIDICULOUS!! This is going to be an intense project WITHIN an even more intense project. Therefore, this book should take less than 4 days to complete. It took me about an hour to read the 81 pages last night, so if that keeps up, I can just read an hour before bed every night and I'll be golden. I can also over-read on the weekends to catch up or get ahead. I'm also considering buying the books except that I have no room for them as well as no money. Oh well....

Anyway, thumbs up for Harry Potter 1! Maybe I'll finish that one today and move on to Chamber of Secrets!

Book-Buying Frenzy!

I've spent the past 24 hours in a book-buying frenzy as a result of a Barnes and Noble sale on classics. Here is a list of my most recent additions:

-The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (and other stories)
-The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I
-The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume II
-Middlemarch
-Treasure Island
-The Secret Garden
-Film: Gone With The Wind
-Film: Casablanca

Yup, lots of classics. I realize that these purchases will only cover 3 books on the list (Middlemarch, Sherlock Holmes, and The Secret Garden), but the others will cover the books to be added to the list when the first is done, along with Don Quixote and others that didn't make the top 100. Unfortunately, I am only in possession of the first 3 books on the list as the rest are coming from an online order. Now we can play a game of how long is it going to take me to read these books since I still have ones from before (LOTR, War and Peace) that I haven't read yet. Oh well, I'll get around to them all eventually. This project is going to succeed if it's the last thing I do!

(It's also going to last for several years) haha

The Magician's Nephew

"Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed."



I just finished The Magician's Nephew. I listened to the entire book on book on tape, which was an interesting experience for me, because I generally tend to zone out when listening for extended periods of time, especially if I'm not taking notes. I liked the story, although it was a little tedious at times. I'm not sure how reading the entire series is going to work out, although I'm anticipating it being easier than Lord of the Rings.

I am familiar with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but I did not know The Magician's Nephew. I have a feeling it was read to me in fourth grade, but I can't remember if it was this book or Castle in the Attic (or maybe both). It was interesting at the end to find out how this book ties in with that one, which is the next in the series. Additionally, I had never thought of the beginning of Narnia, or knew that there were other worlds besides that one. And having just found out that this book was not the first written in the series, I enjoyed how C. S. Lewis worked with his previous innovation to make the prequel make sense.

One thing I did not enjoy were the Biblical references. I'm sure I did not get them ALL because I am not well versed in Bible stories. However, this means that if I could pick them out, they must have been pretty obvious. The part with Digory picking the apple in the garden and the witch trying to tempt him to take it for himself...DUH! How much more blatant could you possibly be? There were also references to Noah's Ark as well as Aslan as God creating Narnia, etc. There were probably a lot of others that I missed, but many well known ones made it in. I'm wondering if this will continue throughout the series. I have heard about the Aslan as Jesus in the second book, but throughout the other 5 I wonder if it will be the same level of allusions.

I'll end with another quote I enjoyed.

"When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time, but when things once start going right, they often go on getting better and better."

First Steps into Narnia

I've finally done something productive! I've started The Magician's Nephew, which is book 1 in the Narnia series. For whatever reason, I decided today that I was sick of music and decided to listen to the book on tape that I've had for a month or two but haven't listened to. Surprisingly, it put me in a good mood, which was a breath of fresh air after my period of woe-is-me I'm unemployed BS.

It's an interesting story. So far, Polly and Digory have met and started exploring, and then Polly was offered a ring by Digory's uncle, touched it, and then vanished. In the second chapter, Digory's uncle explained to him his personal history and introduced him to the idea of Narnia. And that's where I ended.

So, not a TON has happened so far but it was very enjoyable nonetheless and definitely helpful for escaping a life of woe-is-me-I-need-a-job. Maybe a few more chapters later or tomorrow (but with any luck I won't have time because I'll be subbing).

Woe is me, but Narnia is distracting me from it.

End of Hiatus II

The Hiatus is over!

I've finished Mockingjay, come back home, and now have ample time to read now that I am once again unemployed....especially since reading seems to distract from my many moments of insecurity regarding this issue....

I guess next is The Two Towers. Hopefully it goes quickly. I'm really not in the mood to read more Lord of the Rings but I need to finish them up so that I can move on with my life. So, up next, The Two Towers, regrettably.