Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J.K. Rowling

Oh, my god I love this book.  I know I said I think the third one was my favorite but I might have to remedy that.  This book just has so much more going on in terms of action and clues and mysteries that get introduced as early as the Quidditch World Cup and don't get solved until the very end but they all intertwine and make for a great read.

Firstly, I love the Quidditch World Cup.  Rowling absolutely captures the atmosphere of a major sporting event and I love the way in which she works elements of her own world into this event to help create that atmosphere.  Things like leprechauns flying into the air to form words and pictures to mock their opponents is, of course, extremely reminiscent of the sorts of things we Muggles do with our technology.  But, as usual, Rowling has managed to take that sort of thing and put her own twist on it.  And I will never forget the wizard wearing a nightdress because he prefers a healthy breeze 'round his privates!

Magical things I love in this book: Portkeys.  How awesome would it be if these things actually existed?  Also, I love the way in which Rowling introduces us to this particular bit of magic early in the book so that when it plays a major role towards the end of the book, she doesn't have to waste time explaining what just happened.  Harry (and, consequently, her reader) has already been made to understand;  Dumbledore's Pensieve (again, how cool would it be if this actually existed?); Rita Skeeter's quill. I'm not going to lie, I totally want one of those.  I would love to have a quill which just hangs in the air and writes down everything I say only more entertaining.  I also love the way in which Rowling makes fun of journalists and the fact that you can never believe what you read in the paper, whether you're in the Muggle world or at Hogwarts.  This is also the first time we really see Harry struggling with fame he never asked for.

I just have to take a moment to say GO HERMIONE!  Not because she's so smart and just generally awesome (I think that goes without saying) but because she proved that the nerd can get the jock once in awhile!  Krum was actually kind of adorable in his supremely awkward way and it made me like him so much more when he went after Hermione rather than showing up at Hogwarts with each arm draped over a gorgeous blond.

By the end of the book I was kind of traumatized.  And I had already read it and seen the movie!  But, upon re-reading, I was extraordinarily impressed with Crouch Jr.'s ability to fool even Dumbledore that he was really Mad-Eye Moody and to make it seem as though he were on Harry's side.  That would take some serious skill and, if I were Harry, I don't think I would ever be able to trust anyone ever again after having been through that.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

by J. K. Rowling

This is probably my favorite Harry Potter book. I love Sirius Black and I love Professor Lupin. He really is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher EVER! I think I really appreciate Black, not just because he's awesome, but because I love that Harry finally has something like a real family. He has a godfather who knew Harry's dad, grew up with him, loved him dearly, and so loves Harry just as dearly. It's probably at least part of the reason I don't like the last two books as much. I have to admit that I wanted Harry to move in with Black and live happily ever after but then, of course, we wouldn't have the Dursleys and it just wouldn't be a Harry Potter book without the Dursleys.

Magical things I love in this book: the Marauder's Map and, of course, chocolate. Something I had forgotten because I don't think it's in the movies is, when you've been around dementors, the best cure is chocolate. So the dementors suck out all of your happiness and make you feel despair and the cure for that is chocolate? I think Rowling has just proven one of my life-long theories!

I also appreciate that, even in a world where magic exists, Rowling still can't get behind Divination as legitimate. Her description of Professor Trelawney is exactly the kind of person you would expect to find trying to charge you money in order for her to "look into your future". But I also appreciated that she had Lavender and Parvati as her little groupees. They honestly thought she could see into the future and, every time she did, they found ways to justify it. I love it because people do that because they want to believe and they just won't listen to the voice of reason (in this case, Hermione). And again I have to take a moment to applaud the casting here. I can't stand Professor Trelawney but I always, always, always love Emma Thompson! She took this role and ran with it!

I also like the Snape character development in this book. I'll admit that, upon first reading these books, I had my doubts about whether Snape was really a good guy until the very end. This book shows some of the basis for that doubt when he has his own version of what happened at the Shrieking Shack and he tries to send Black back to Azkaban. On the one hand, he's held a grudge against Black since they were sixteen and that's just too long to hold a grudge. On the other hand, Black's little prank would have been fatal for Snape had Potter Sr. not intervened, and an attempt on one's life is not something one can let go so I can forgive Snape for that. I cannot forgive him for trying to sentence an innocent man to a fate worse than death. So, while I have been convinced that Snape is not a bad guy, I have decided that he's not really a good guy either. He has his faults.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by J.K. Rowling

I still love re-reading this series, knowing how it all turns out. When I first read them I couldn't understand why everyone was saying that Ron and Hermione need to get together. Upon re-reading it's so obvious I can't even believe how thick I was, and yes, I say "thick" now. That's what happens when you read too much of a British author in one go. Next it'll be "daft". While Harry is just as much Hermione's friend as Ron is, Ron is the one always losing his temper every time Draco insults Hermione. Admittedly that could just be Ron's personality - maybe he's just more hot-headed than Harry. But, then again, we haven't seen him be hot-headed at all except when it comes to Hermione. Yep. I was daft.

Moving on. Magical things I love in this book: The Womping Willow. Who could forget the Womping Willow? And the car which drove off on its own after dumping Ron and Harry on the lawn in front of the school. I like the fact that enchanting a normally inanimate object also seems to give it a personality of its own. And the howler. Oh, the howler. I love this because, if it were available in our world, you know every parent everywhere would be using it every single time their children misbehaved. And, once again, I must say how much I love the character development - it's so easy to hear Mrs. Weasley's voice screaming through that envelope.

As long as I'm back on the topic of character development I should take a moment to mention how much I deeply appreciated a scene in the beginning where Mrs. Weasley is yelling at her son's, all of whom are taller than her, but still cower under her wrath. It reminds me of my own mother. I also cannot say how much I love Lucius Malfoy. In the scene towards the end where he storms into Dumbledore's office he almost comes off the page, he is so vividly described and clearly has such a presence. And I can't help but take a moment to say how much I adore the casting here. Jason Isaacs is perfection. Always.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

By J.K. Rowling

HARRY POTTER TIME!

See?  I told you I'd read something more interesting next.

First off I have to say that there will probably be spoilers for this and every Harry Potter post because if you haven't read Harry Potter yet, or at least seen the movies, then that is something you need to remedy immediately.  I'm serious.  Right now.  Turn off your computer, find a book store or library, and start reading.

I first read this book right before the first movie came out, got caught up with the books that were published at that point (I don't remember how many there were by then) and read the remaining books as they came out.  I just recently decided it was time to go back and re-read them.  Excellent idea.  While the movies largely stay true to the books there are still things I missed, such as Peeves.  And it was fun to read knowing the full truth (such as the fact that Snape really is a good guy) and seeing all the places where the characters are just plain wrong.

As fantasy goes I have always deeply appreciated the fact that Rowling used a main character who was entirely new to the world she was building as it made it that much easier for her to introduce us to her world.  As Harry encounters new aspects of this strange and fascinating world, the characters around him have to explain things to him and, thereby, to us, the reader.  It's brilliant and, I think, particularly well-suited to a children's book.

I also love her characters.  One perfect example is while Harry is getting measured for his robes, he meets a snobby blond boy.  We don't get the boy's name until much later but it's so obviously Draco Malfoy that it made me love how individual each and every one of Rowling's characters are.  Not only are they all visually striking in their own unique ways, but they all have such strong personalities and characteristics which are so uniquely their own that it's incredibly easy to know who's who as soon as they're introduced.

All-in-all: excellent book.  Excellent world-building.  Excellent character development.  Read it.  Read it now.  Even if you already have.

A Most Dangerous Method

by John Kerr

I read this book for 2 reasons: 1) I saw that the movie was coming out and I was intrigued.  Okay, I'll admit it, I wanted to read a book about a woman who slept with both Jung and Freud.  Of course I knew a non-fiction book about the development of psychological methods wasn't going to be anything like a movie made for entertainment but I still wanted to see what the book had to offer.  2) I majored in psychology and, since graduating, have decided that I should read a non-fiction book every once in awhile to keep my mind from turning to mush.  So this fulfills my learning quota for a while.  Glad I got that out of the way.

The result: I had no idea men are such babies!  I mean, I know men are babies but this is just ridiculous!

Freud, already an established genius in the new world of psychoanalysis, takes the younger but equally brilliant Jung under his wing.  My problem with Freud has always been that he thought that EVERYTHING was about sex.  Really?  Everything?  That and the fact that his methods were so glaringly unscientific.  I was relieved in this book to find that even his contemporaries complained about these things.  Jung included.

Poor Jung had his own theories about psychoanalysis.  Many of them were directly in line with some of Freud's theories, some were not.  Rather than discuss these differences the poor young Carl felt that he had to adjust his theories (or, at least, adjust how he presented them) in order to match Freud's theories.  He felt that Freud, being older and so well established in his position as the father of psychoanalysis, couldn't possibly be argued with.  I can understand this, given his position, but I still wish Jung had stuck to his guts from the beginning.

However, Freud did not take criticism well.  He adopted this very immature "you're either with me or against me" attitude and anyone who differed from his theories or found fault in any of his work was decidedly against him.  When Jung finally got up the balls to stand up to Freud and put forward his own views, their relationship finally ended.  Apparently, after having agreed to end the friendship, some of the papers they published were meant to be little jabs at each other.  I'm sorry, but are they twelve-year-old girls?  Because that's all I could think while I was reading this!

Well, as it turns out, we have absolutely no proof that Spielrein slept with either of them.  There is quite a bit to suggest that she did sleep with Jung - at the very least the two had some very deep feelings for each other - but I see absolutely no evidence that she did anything of the kind with Freud.  None of her correspondence with Freud struck me as anything but professional.

My favorite part of this book was learning about Sabina Spielrein.  Yes she was a little crazy but she also had some brilliant theories of her own and she wasn't afraid to publish them.  Even when she was Jung's patient she argued with him over her diagnosis - and argued well (this in an era when the shrink is always right).  She did gradually move from Jung's school of thought to Freud's and, as mentioned, she did maintain correspondence with Freud but, even then, her own ideas were her own - not to be easily swayed - and that made her my favorite person in this book.

I'll read something more interesting next.  Promise.

Dead as a Doornail

by Charlaine Harris

So I'm currently in the middle of a rather large non-fiction book and needed a break about half-way through.  Naturally, I decided Sookie would be just what I needed.

Of course, I was right.  It was the light, mindless read I needed.  This is the fifth in Harris's series and, while I thoroughly enjoyed the first four, this one (although fun) was certainly not my favorite.  The thing that frustrated me the most is I'm pretty sure Harris has started to lose track of (or just outright ignore) certain previously established aspects of her main character.  I've already given away the first four books (as much as I enjoy them I'm sure I'll never re-read them) so I had no way to go back and look it up, but I'm pretty sure Sookie had already learned to block other people's thoughts from her own mind before she met Bill.  In this book she states that the best part about dating Bill was that she had learned to do just that.  Wrong!  The best part of dating Bill was that, because she couldn't read his thoughts, she could let her guard down.  The other bit that annoyed me was that Harris had established that Sookie cannot read the minds of shifters: she can pick up general feelings and moods from them but no specific thoughts.  Ok, I can buy that.  Yet, in this book, she gets a rather detailed fashion tip by picking it up from a shifter's brain.  I understand that Sookie's telepathy comes in handy in solving her supernatural crimes and just generally picking up information from the people around her.  It's a tool and I'm all for using it to it's fullest advantage but I also believe that a writer needs to stay consistent with the world she's building.

That being said, there were some things I definitely enjoyed.  Harris is great at character-building and that skill once again makes itself apparent, particularly in the new vampire, Charles.  I loved him and I loved reading about him.  I also enjoyed the development of the relationship between Sookie and Eric and, of course, I was glad to see Bubba again, however briefly (the biggist downfall of the show is that there's no Bubba! I can understand that they probably couldn't get permission, but I'm just sayin'!)  Harris also excels at the suspenseful scenes.  There are several in this book that I just couldn't tear myself away from and they were, without doubt, the strongest and most interesting parts of this book.

Blankets

by Craig Thompson

This was my first experience reading a graphic novel and I absolutely loved it.  The entire thing was so beautiful.  The story it told was beautiful and I found the ending to be incredibly satisfying.  I also thought the artwork was beautiful but I am not a dependable art critic, given that I can't draw to save my life, so I tend to think that anything more than stick figures is beautiful.  But, more than the talent of the artist, I appreciated the way many of the drawings were used to convey metaphors (an early scene where Craig is vomiting up his drawings is a good example).  I also enjoyed the way in which blankets were a recurring theme throughout the book, not just in the blanket Raina made for Craig but, from the very beginning, when Craig was sharing a bed with his little brother.  The word takes on several different meanings in the course of the book and I really enjoyed that.

SPOILER ALERT!!!
I know I said in an earlier post that I wanted to avoid spoilers on this blog but I have since changed my mind.  I have decided that I prefer using this blog to talk as in-depth about the books I read as I like.  That being said, while the love story in this book made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it wasn't hard to tell where it was going.  Craig's extremely reverential view of Raina was incredibly romantic but not terribly realistic and not actually a healthy basis for a relationship.  I predicted her feeling intimidated by his overwhelming feelings almost as soon as they met.  However, I was still sad when she broke up with him but I was pleasantly surprised at the way Craig dealt with it.  I was expecting him to crumble and crawl inside of himself and never come out again but instead he dealt with it like a grown up.  I was so proud of him when he called to tell her good-bye and I cheered for him when he burned all of her things but I was also glad he didn't burn the blanket (I can't imagine how long that must have taken her to make).

I also thoroughly enjoyed the religious aspect.  I won't lie about being concerned for young Craig.  I was glad that he was able to find solace in religion from the bullying he endured but it worried me that he took every single thing he did wrong so seriously - that can do a lot of damage to a kid.  So I was glad when he started questioning aspects of the Christianity he was being taught and I was ultimately thrilled with his conclusion to continue believing in God and the teachings of Jesus but not in churches.  I personally think that's the best way to go and it particularly made sense for him.  I absolutely loved the last few pages of the book because they were beautiful and I hated that, for the rest of the book, there were characters trying to tell me that nothing I do matters.

DISCLAIMER:
I am in NO WAY anti-Christian! Nor do I think that Christianity is damaging to children!  While I don't practice myself, I fully believe that if going to church works for you then, by all means, go to church - whatever church that may be.  Please don't come and murder me in my sleep.