Harry Potter!

Hey all!

So before I go too far, I’m not using blogger to post this blog as I usually do, I’m trying out Windows Live Writer. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but hopefully it turns out okay. If it looks really different, that’s why. I’m already loving this though, mainly because there are many more fonts to choose from. Blogger only has about 5 fonts to choose from, and that gets kind of dull!

Moving right along!

As you will guess by the title, this post will have at least something to do with Harry Potter. I have been a Harry Potter fan since I read the first book when it was first released. Most of my friends have been very late in reading Harry Potter (most of them just started last year). Some of their parents wouldn’t allow their children to read Harry Potter when they were kids, so I can’t really say much to that. Everyone else who is just starting though has no excuse : ).

Anywho, in anticipation for the final movie in theatres this summer, I decided to read all the books a second time before going to see the movie. Seeing how as the summer is almost over, I’m just going to say that it took me the entire 4 months to get through the 7 books. Which is kind of embarrassing, but I do other things beside read you know!

I’ve never read anything twice, so this was actually an interesting experience for me. I have to say, the first 3 books were pretty boring, the third one was probably the most painful to get through ; however books four and on were just as incredible as I remembered them being.

All of this being said, I’m not going to say “everyone should read these!” because they won’t be for everyone. What I will say, however, is if you’re interested in reading them, and are 19 or over, I would suggest watching the first three movies, and then reading the books four and on. The movies do a pretty good job of staying as close to the book as possible, so you won’t miss out too much by not reading the first three books. However, the bigger the books get, the harder it becomes to follow the plot really closely, so I would definitely recommend reading the last few to get a really good feel of the story as it grows.

 

 

Book #9, #10, #11, #12, and #13 Reviews

Oh hi!

So I am sooo behind on this whole blogging thing. And especially on the book reviews. Oooops! Things have been a bit crazy, I've been feeling a bit discouraged with this whole blogging thing, but I'm going to carry on! Maybe I'll talk about everything in a post soon. 

Anywhooo on to some reviews!

I finished the trilogy by Stieg Larsson, the final book being called The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Yet again, the book was so incredible that I really can't describe it! Just read the trilogy. Honestly, you won't regret it!

The next book I read I was disappointed with. It was written by Dean Koontz, who I usually LOVE, but he failed to deliver with Prodigal Son. He's usually a really suspenseful writer, but Prodigal Son was really just a very dull science fiction book; and science fiction isn't really my schtick anyway. It's essentially about a man who kills people for their internal organs, and makes "robot" type people to fit his mold of the perfect person. He essentially wants to wipe out the entire human population and replace them with "robots". I use the term "robots", because they aren't the typical robots in the fact that they aren't metal, and you really can't tell that they are "robots", but they can't think for themselves. That's how they're robots. Anyway, two detectives are trying to get to the bottom of all these murders, and by the end of the book, they start to figure out something funny's going on. There's a whole trilogy I think. I won't read any more of them though.

Book #11 was a book called Rescue by Anita Shreve. This was an incredible book. It was full of heartbreak, but it was just one of those books that grabbed you. It starts out as a love story. The main character works as a paramedic, and he falls in love with a woman he rescues one night. They eventually get together and have a child together, but things start to fall apart from there. It's a big roller coaster, but it's just one of those stories where you wonder why the main character makes the decisions he does. It makes for a pretty good story, but a light read. I'll definitely be reading more of her books.

Book #12 is actually a last book in a series. It's an English mystery that is also a T.V. show, which is how I was introduced to the characters. It follows Inspector Morse, who I watched on T.V. as a kid with my family.  I didn't love the T.V show, but the book was incredible. Basically, it's Inspector Morse's last case. The book is called The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter. If you're going to read this one (which I recommend you do), read a few of the others before you read the last one, because you'll get a sense of who he is. I watched the T.V. show so I was a bit ahead of the game, but I will definitely be reading more of the books, and I think they're more enjoyable if you know the Inspector at least a little beforehand.

Last but not least, is book #13, which is called Still Alice, and it's by Lisa Genova. This is a story that follows a Harvard Professor who gets diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. It's a hard story to read, and it really gave me an education on how Alzheimers affects the people who have it. Alzheimers is one of those diseases where I knew what it did, but I didn't fully understand it. I really appreciate fiction stories that also provide at least a little bit of an education, and this one did it for me. It's an unbelievable story that I would recommend to anyone.