Like the show on ABC Family, this book shouldn't win any awards but it does have a way of setting up various mysteries that leave you wanting to read Like the show on ABC Family, this book shouldn't win any awards but it does have a way of setting up various mysteries that leave you wanting to read more. The show was great for me when I was recovering from my latest back surgery; I could watch it and not have to use too much of my brain but stay intrigued and entertained. As I expected, the book was pretty fluffy but entertaining, a book that was easy to listen to while doing work around the house or even while doing slightly brain-involving tasks...
Basically, it's a story of 4 girls, juniors in high school in Perfect Town (Rosewood), PA. They were very good friends in 7th grade, along with another girl, Allison (Ally) DeLaurentis. However, on the last day of 7th grade, Ally disappeared. Since then, the girls have drifted apart, and are only brought together again when they start getting mysterious letters, emails, and text messages from a person calling themselves "A." This person, whoever it is, knows each of the girls' deepest secrets, stuff that only Ally knew. But Ally is gone...or is she? Toward the end of the book, a few of the girls have dreams where they talk to Ally...but then, Ally's body is found, which more or less ends the first book. There is more I know that's "to come" because I've watched the TV show. It's interesting, this book really only covered the first episode or two of the show.
I kind of want to read the rest of the books in the series, because I'm hoping that at some point we find out who A really is and what's going on with Ally...and I suspect I can read the books more quickly than the TV show will answer those questions. That said, I guess I'll wait for a later time, as my current queue is long enough. ;) ...more
Original Review I've been in a reading funk lately. This book might have been exactly what I needed to snap out of the funk, to get ready for my next bOriginal Review I've been in a reading funk lately. This book might have been exactly what I needed to snap out of the funk, to get ready for my next big read in early March.
A light, fluffy mystery book with a little bit of thriller aspect, this book is exactly the type of thing I turn to when I want to read something (instead of say, watching TV) but don't want to have to think too much. I eat these like popcorn and they mostly lump into the category of "Beach books" for me (i.e. books I'd read while relaxing at the beach). This is a book in the Hannah Swensen series, which apparently has 16 books released so far. This was the first one I'd read and is the 16th, so obviously one doesn't need to read the books in order to not be lost. Hannah Swensen is a small-town, Minnesota baker/owner of The Cookie Jar (a bakery/cafe) and part-time detective, at least when the need arises. Many of her social interactions seem to surround food, and recipes were included in this audiobook for the various desserts and dishes that were mentioned during these times. In this particular book, there is an attempted murder and a murder in small-town Lake Eden, MN. The woman, Barbara, who almost died, suffers from memory loss due to a blow to her head, making it harder for anybody to figure out how she fell from the penthouse of a 4-story building (side note, it's weird to consider something on the 4th floor a "penthouse"). The woman who was murdered, "Dr. Bev," is sort of despised in the town, so it's hard to feel too bad that she's gone. Unfortunately, Hannah is implicated in the murder, since everybody knows that she has a reason to dislike Dr. Bev and when they did the autopsy, they found coffee, tranquilizers, cream, artificial sweetner, and Hannah's Red Velvet Surprise cupcakes in her stomach. Eventually, Hannah manages to figure out who tried to kill Barbara and who did kill Dr. Bev, with the expected showdown at the end of the story.
While most of the book was pretty predictable, I still found myself not taking breaks from listening. I started and finished the book in one day...well, I ended up staying up until 1 a.m. to finish, so I guess technically it was 2 days, but you get the idea. The final showdown, which of course I knew how it would end, still had me on edge. When I finished, I was still on edge/had the rush, and it was hard to fall asleep. Needless to say, the book did exactly what it was supposed to do. One small oddity, when I listened, it felt like the main character--who I think is supposed to be kinda my age-ish--seemed like a bit of an old lady. She goes to bed early, gets up early. Though she goes out, it's not like she goes out and parties. And maybe it was due in part to the narrator (who reminded me of a grandmotherly voice from various TV shows), but she just seemed....old. Ah oh well.
As I mentioned, there are recipes throughout this book. I'm slightly annoyed that the audiobook didn't come with a PDF attachment with the recipes, though I've sent a tweet to the publisher of the audiobook to ask if something like that is available. If not, I'll have to transcribe it, and this would probably be something that steers me towards buying the print edition of the book if I read others in the series. We'll see.
Recipes Included Red Velvet Surprise Cupcake Pink Lemonade Cookie Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole Easy Fruit Pie Coffee & Cream Cookie Raspberry Bar Cookie Razzle Dazzle (Raspberry) Brownies Double Whammy Lemon Cake "Mom's" Bran Muffin Oatmeal Apple Pancakes Pineapple Coconut Whippersnapper Cookies JAMboree Muffins Chocolate-covered Peanut Cookies Monkey Bread Snappy Turtle Pie Guac "ad hoc" Brownie Cookie ************************************* 2019 Revisit It was interesting to revisit this book now that I've read most of the books in the series before it (I've skipped the books with multiple authors/pseudo-compilations). Now with the history, I can appreciate that there were a few multi-book arcs that got resolved in this book. This is the first time that I've seen Fluke do an arc like that, and it was sort of refreshing for her stuff. Other than that, my original review holds up. I read this all in one day, yay for starting the year ahead on my Goodreads challenge! ;) I was honestly going to take a break on these books but, as I already owned this one, I figured I could knock it out.
Side note: one of the characters in the book (and other books in the series) repeatedly mentions how she doesn't like oatmeal. But in a previous book, she'd "confesses" that she has started to enjoy it. I realize that this is a silly complaint and it doesn't matter, but with so many books in the series, I feel like consistency is key....more
I confess, when the Sword & Laser online book club put up a poll to read a book by Octavia E. Butler, I was nervous. While Butler's works have a good I confess, when the Sword & Laser online book club put up a poll to read a book by Octavia E. Butler, I was nervous. While Butler's works have a good reputation, I've found that many sci fi books that are hyped really don't work for me. In the poll, I voted to read Fledgling, which came in dead last. The winner of the poll was Dawn, which I guess worked out well because I'd bought it sometime before 2014 and therefore it was in my queue to pick from this year.
To my surprise, I was immediately drawn into Butler's post-apocalyptic world. Written in 1987, it's not a surprise that Butler created a world that ended in nuclear war between the US and the USSR. I was intrigued by the aliens that rescued the humans and found a way to cure cancer. As the book went on, the relationship between Lilith, one of the first humans they "awakened," and her alien "family." As the story went on, Butler explored some interesting concepts, such as what defines humanity and what we (or the aliens) can learn not just from the individual humans but what humans do in societies, in groups. It was simultaneously terrifying and draw-you-in interesting.
This is the first book in a trilogy, which I sort of knew going in, but didn't think much about. In honesty, I didn't think I'd like the book. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it and would like to see what happens next...but maybe next year. I don't have the other books in the Xenogenesis trilogy already in my personal library....more
I'm fairly torn on this one, which I read as it was Sword & Laser's pick for June, 2014. I liked the world. I liked the ideas and the magic systems (wI'm fairly torn on this one, which I read as it was Sword & Laser's pick for June, 2014. I liked the world. I liked the ideas and the magic systems (what we learned of them). I didn't like or at least become sympathetic for most of the characters. I didn't hate them or otherwise particularly dislike them, I just felt fairly ambivalent on most of them. I did like Adamat and Ka-poel.
I wanted to get more of the background on why the events in this book actually went down. What really motivated a member of Tamas' council to turn traitor? Why did someone decide to blackmail Adamat? What was hoped to be gained from trying to summon a god and what happened to that god? What ended up happening to some of the other characters, like Taniel? To that end, this didn't feel like a completely stand-alone story, though I was glad that it wasn't a complete cliffhanger, either.
In the end, I think I'll end up reading the 2nd (and 3rd) books in this trilogy, but maybe not immediately......more
I've been hearing good things about this book more or less since it came out. G. Willow Wilson was interviewed on The Sword & Laser podcast and piquedI've been hearing good things about this book more or less since it came out. G. Willow Wilson was interviewed on The Sword & Laser podcast and piqued my interest, and then some of my friends here on Goodreads read it and recommended it...I don't know why I waited so long, other than that I didn't have a lot of time. Something else always came first: an S&L pick or a book to review for SFF or some major hospital trip...
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
Part Little Brother, part Middle Eastern fantasy, combined with modern day events, politics, and technology. I figured they could work, but had no idea how well they would work. G. Willow Wilson did an amazing job blending them and really drawing the reader in. At first, I was a bit skeptical as to how the "fantasy" part would be incorporated--it seemed very much like Doctorow's Little Brother taking place in an unnamed Middle East state, and it seemed like with main character Alif's special program, it could take a Daemon-like turn. Well, I guess there were demons, but they were demons of a different sort... This is a book with layers, and at times there are definitely multiple meanings to the prose. I want to read it again, somewhat soon-ish, knowing how it all plays out. There were times when I felt like I was being dense, not necessarily "getting" all the levels, but it always seemed to come together by the end of the scene.
I really liked listening to the audiobook, but found that I couldn't listen to it at a fast enough speed to be able to get through as much of the book as I wanted. I ended up reading a lot of it on the Kindle, then staying up late to read more. Go read this book. Fall into the world of technology blending with jinn, of love. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)...more
I finished this book last night and wow, was it a rush at the end. Just like The Way of Kings, the book had some slower points (the first set of interI finished this book last night and wow, was it a rush at the end. Just like The Way of Kings, the book had some slower points (the first set of interludes in particular dragged for me a bit) but finished in a whirlwind of excitement. There were some twists and turns along the way, though many of the end outcomes were somewhat predictable, such as (view spoiler)[Syl coming back to Kaladin and Jasnah still being alive (hide spoiler)]...
I'll write more once I've decompressed a bit. My immediate thought, now having finished this, is that I really want to re-read both The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance back-to-back. When I started Words of Radiance, there were definite parts of WoK that I had forgotten, and there were definitely things early on in WoR that played a role later...things that may have seemed small at first, or characters that I didn't think much of, until they came back or were referred to later......more
I've seen mixed reviews of this book from typical Brandon Sanderson fans, so I'll admit that I wasn't sure what to expect. Unlike the traditional fantI've seen mixed reviews of this book from typical Brandon Sanderson fans, so I'll admit that I wasn't sure what to expect. Unlike the traditional fantasy that I usually read from him, this was a sort of post-apocalyptic (or post-Calamitous) sci fi ish story.
The backdrop for the story is that at some point before the story started, an event called "the Calamity" or "Calamity" occurred. Not much is known or at least said about Calamity, but it seems to be some sort of alien ship or spy satellite or something that has resulted in a new bright object in the sky and the creation of super beings on Earth. As the Prologue opens, these "Epics" have started to wreak havoc on the USA (it's not clear if this is a USA-only problem), though it's about to get super-crazy for the residents of Chicago. An Epic called Steelheart has come to town, and makes his move to basically run Chicago. After an event at a bank where he kills almost everybody--including the protagonist's father--and then buries the evidence and all the survivors (or so he thinks, though David escapes this fate), Steelheart turns the town to steel, forming Newcago. Surviving the event, David is the sole witness to one key thing: he watched Steelheart bleed. Normally, it's very hard to kill or even harm an Epic. In addition to super-powers, they also seem to have minimal weaknesses, weaknesses that must be determined and exploited.
But all hope is not quite lost. A group called the Reckoners has formed, and they work tirelessly to take out Epics. David isn't a member at the beginning of the story, though since Steelheart killed his father, he's made it his primary business to learn as much as he can about the Epics, their weaknesses, their patterns, their strengths...all Epics, not just Steelheart, though his hope is to one day take out Steelheart. The first third of the story or so is of David joining the Reckoners. Of course, he must prove himself and gain their trust, and then he has to be trained in their ways. After that, they work to learn more about Steelheart with the eventual plan of trying to take him down. The book culminates, as you might expect, with a massive showdown with Steelheart.
To be fair, this book was fairly predictable in many ways. It definitely had Sanderson's characteristic "new magic system" (in this case, the powers of the Epics and the "twist" that each had unique and specific weaknesses), which is always refreshing, but otherwise it followed pretty typical adventure-type story paths. There was a "twist" in the book that not only was I completely expecting to come in general, but I called what it was really early on. Nothing particularly surprised me. That's not to say that the book wasn't enjoyable--it was. But it wasn't as (pardon the use of the term) epic as Sanderson's work typically is. I'll probably read the rest of the series as the books get released, but I probably won't be lining up to buy and read them day one (like I am doing with Stormlight).
Oh yeah, I had a physical copy of this book that I'd bought at Barnes & Noble. I bought the physical copy because Sanderson released 4 versions for different booksellers, each with a different chapter annotated. The B&N version had chapter 1 annotated. It was fun to read that chapter after getting pretty far into the book, to see his process but also to see where he was setting up certain traits and such. I was happy to see that I'd picked up on various things he set up, and it was cool to see them come to fruition as he expected/outlined in the annotations....more
Audiobook from Brilliance Audio Narrated by Luke Daniels Length: About 2 hours
Note: I received this audiobook as a complete package with the 3rd MongoliAudiobook from Brilliance Audio Narrated by Luke Daniels Length: About 2 hours
With the first two Mongoliad books, I read the prequel delivered with the book before I read the main series book (i.e. I read Dreamer: A Prequel to the Mongoliad before I read The Mongoliad: Book Two). Having read these two books "out of order," having read Book Three before Seer, I wonder if I managed to miss the tie between the prequel and the main series book, or if that tie was just particularly relevant with this pair of books.
In Seer, one of the main characters is Andreas, one of my favorite characters from the main series and a main character from previous prequels. This time, however, Percival is not involved. Andreas' character is explored in this story, and in many respects, it makes some of the events in the third main series book "make more sense." The story is about a small, remote European village where some of the Cathars have settled, pushed out of the larger towns by Christian Crusaders. In this village, there is a young woman (it may be a girl, it was hard to tell), who seems to have prophetic dreams. After waking from one of her dreams, she sends out a villager to bring back "the rose knights," members of the Ordo Militum Vindicis Intactae.
This villager, who has facilitated trade opportunities with other villages, approaches Andreas and some of the other rose knights, asking to hire them on as protection for his carts as he returns to the village. The knights take affront to this, since they eschew mercenary work, though they eventually agree, thinking something is afoot. Andreas and a few other knights go back with the villager, and what they find eventually sets up Andreas' involvement with Ordo Militum Vindicis Intactae in the main series of The Mongoliad.
Through the short story, the reader learns a bit more about Andreas. This is done via his interactions both with the men he leads but also the villager. He's revealed as smart but subtle. Maybe a little cocky. And loyal, but restless. These traits make a lot of sense in the larger context of the series. If I had a complaint, though, it's that this story was kind of...bleh. It felt like a lot of setup that felt (like other stories in this world) quickly concluded, rushed at the end. Unlike the first or second prequels, which I read last year, this one really was about the one character and didn't have much tension or typical "pyramid" story flow. I think it would have been nice to have more development of the actual story.
That said, in retrospect, I can appreciate what this book was setting up. and enjoyed it well enough. I wonder if I would have felt the same if I'd read it before reading the third book....more
I loved this book. I didn't really know what to expect from it. It got a lot of good buzz, so I figured it was most likely at least halfway decent. I'I loved this book. I didn't really know what to expect from it. It got a lot of good buzz, so I figured it was most likely at least halfway decent. I'd read Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy and while it was entertaining, it was very obviously a "first book" for him. Though the books got better as the series progressed, Weeks' inspirations and influences were pretty obvious, and the story was semi-predictable. But oh how he's grown in this, his second series, The Lightbringer trilogy (that has 4 books).
Set in an Earth-like world, at least from its terrain, animals, and humans, The Black Prism is a story about a religious leader (the Prism) trying to win back some land from a self-proclaimed King (King Garadul) who has broken ranks with the religion and started to take land and power for himself. The primary POV characters in the book are: Kip: a fat kid who finds his village destroyed by King Garadul. While trying to escape, he discovers that he can do magic, and finds himself saved by the Prism and whisked away to be trained at the magic school. Liv: the daughter of a general, she's been at the magic school for a few years and is actually from the same village as Kip. The Prism/Gavin: a religious leader who has "ultimate" magical abilities. He got to be the leader by fighting with his younger brother, Dazen, since both exhibited "ultimate" magical abilities, something unheard of before. Their fight was called The Prism's War. Karris: one of the Blackguard, the personal guard for the Prism. She had a relationship with Gavin before The Prism's War.
The magic system in this book is grounded in physics, oddly enough, and is a system I haven't seen used elsewhere (though it's possible a similar magic system exists in books I haven't read). Magic is based on transforming light into a physical substance called luxin. Luxin can be used as an offensive weapon (such as creating weapons on-the-spot or making traps using the luxin) or can be used to create things (such as buildings or parts of buildings). The colors available are the visible spectrum, minus violet, but plus infrared (called sub-red) and ultraviolet (called superviolet). Most magic users are able to "draft" (convert light to luxin) in one color, or possibly two colors that are contiguous on the spectrum (such as orange and yellow). Some people who can draft two colors are special in that they can draft non-contiguous colors (such as green and red). Some people with even more power can draft three or more colors. Typically, there is only one person per generation who can draft the entire spectrum and that person becomes the Prism. However, part of the history that goes into this book is that there were two people in a generation who could draft the entire spectrum, Gavin and his brother Dazen. Drafting takes a physical toll on people, and the amount of magic they can draft over their life is limited. Once a person has used up their allotment, they are said to have "broken the halo" (so called for how it looks in their eyes--whatever color(s) they can draft show up in their irises, but when they are "broken," the color seeps into the whites of their eyes). Generally, people who have broken the halo are killed on the spot; if not, they become color wights. As a part of the religion (also based on color), drafters are supposed to volunteer to be "Freed" before they break the halo--be killed in a religious sacrifice.
If I had one quibble with the book, it's that the language was somewhat boring. That's not really a bad thing per se--some books that use flowery language forget that they're also supposed to be entertaining, and seem to get caught up in the language. But there may have been room for a little richer development of the land and such. The character stories, on the other hand, were told organically, and at no point in the book did it feel like there was a passage "only" for the purposes of defining a character or backstory. Everything felt like it belonged in the narrative, and I was sucked into the book from the get-go.
I should also mention that the narrator for the audiobook was really "meh." His voices made Kip seem really childish and weak and made some of the other characters seem arrogant, more so than the actual text made them seem. Apparently, others agree with me. The audiobook gets low marks for narration at Audible, and the 2nd book in the series, The Blinding Knife, is narrated by Simon Vance.
I think this is a book most fantasy lovers will enjoy. The third book in the series is coming out in late August, 2014, so I'm trying to read the first two before then...so on to book 2!...more
Audiobook from Penguin Audio Narrated by George Newbern Length: 28.75 hours
I hate to admit this, but I judged this book by the cover at first. I knew noAudiobook from Penguin Audio Narrated by George Newbern Length: 28.75 hours
I hate to admit this, but I judged this book by the cover at first. I knew nothing about the book when I started listening, I hadn't even read the blurb in the description. I saw a fantastical-looking image on the cover and, knowing that Tad Williams typically writes fantasy novels/series, I just assumed it was a fantasy novel. I was wrong. This is actually a cyberpunk book, a quite good one at that. There was only one downside to the book, which I may as well get out of the way now: it's not a complete story. The book ends with no plot lines resolved and more questions than answers...so, if you read this book, be prepared to read at least the next book in the series (River of Blue Fire. I say "at least" because I have only just started that book (and it's 24.3 hours long!), and I have no idea if it resolves any of the story. There are 4 books in the Otherland series in total (City of Golden Shadow, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, and Sea of Silver Light, the first two of which are available in audio so far).
The plot is intriguing. In a future-world setting (the book was written in 1996), virtual reality (VR) in the form of using an avatar to explore the "net," is fairly commonplace. Many people, instead of congregating/living in cities with malls and town centers and such, live good parts of their lives in the virtual world. At least, the younger people seem to do this. Main character Reny (a nickname for Irene) is a teacher of computer science/VR manipulation at a university. One day she comes home to find her little brother, Steven, comatose after spending some time in the VR world. Setting out to try to figure out what left him in the coma, she comes across a hint of a world called "Otherland," a world within the VR world. In parallel, a kid named Orlando is exposed to "Otherland" in a part of his online video game. They find themselves searching for answers on Otherland, enlisting the help of some others who have also found out about the mysterious world, all seeking answers for what it is and why it's harming kids. There is another story in the book, of a man named Paul. He may or may not have been a soldier in World War II, but somehow has found himself stuck in the world of Otherland without the ability to escape. There is also the story of those running Otherland, some with more nefarious reasons than others...
The entire plot is engaging, if sometimes a little confusing to keep track of who is where (especially at first, as the world and characters are introduced). That said, the book drew me in more or less from the get-go, and I found excuses to listen more as I went about my days. Williams, unlike many authors I've read recently, is able to describe the world and the technology organically through the telling of the story. Where some people would spend time info-dumping, Williams is able to make the world comprehensible by explaining things to characters, or having the reader go along with the process of discovery with the characters. For a book written in 1996, Williams was somewhat a visionary of technology and how people use it. In the book, there are VR systems (think: Oculus Rift taken to the extreme), normal day-to-day use of the internet, tablets, videophony...things that are in the early years of widespread adoption now.
The characters in this book are very interesting. I've read a lot of complaints, recently, from people who wish that there were more women and/or minorities in the books that they read, especially genre fiction. This book doesn't have that problem. Reny is a South African black woman, and one of her closest friends through the story is a native African. One of the main villains is Australian and there seem to be people from across the globe involved in either the world or trying to study the world. When Reny needs help, she turns to another woman (another professor in computer science-type fields) for aid, and though men are involved, they are on an equal footing with the women. While I normally don't fault a book for having weak female characters, it was refreshing to have such diversity in the book.
George Newbern's narration was fantastic, if a little slow. I found that I had to bump up the playback speed slightly, otherwise it felt like the pauses were a little too long, the speech a little too slow. This made some of the characters or world aspects a little hard to understand at times (pronunciation-wise), but that didn't detract from the story. It was always easy to keep track of who was talking and what was going on, thanks to Newbern's voices for the characters and for the main narration.
All in all, I really liked this book. I wish it had come to some form of closure, or at least given some more hints on the motives of the villains, but that's a minor complaint. I've already started the second book and can't wait to see where the story goes....more
Listened to the UK edition this time. I really do like Stephen Fry's narration. It's different from Jim Dale's and while I like Dale's narration, Fry'Listened to the UK edition this time. I really do like Stephen Fry's narration. It's different from Jim Dale's and while I like Dale's narration, Fry's seems to work better for me. At some point, I'll have to listen to the rest of the UK books...but not now. Maybe as bedtime listening. ;)...more
I re-visited this book this year because one of my book clubs (the one I'm admittedly not as participatory in as I should be) is doing a HP series re-I re-visited this book this year because one of my book clubs (the one I'm admittedly not as participatory in as I should be) is doing a HP series re-read, and I thought it'd be fun. But immediately after it started, i got behind schedule. I'm pretty good like that. But even though I'm way behind schedule and likely won't be able to catch up, I figured I would still re-listen to all the books. And yes, that's re-listen. I could fly through the books and catch up by reading them in print. But I wanted the chance to re-visit them in a little more intimate way...but more on that in a few sentences.
The Harry Potter books are like a warm blanket for me. I started reading them as I finished up undergrad, having been introduced to them by a caver who I don't think I could call a friend but was definitely someone who enjoyed caving as much as I did. Anyway, she introduced me to the books and I became hooked. The first book that I could get "first edition" was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I was still in college when it came out, a poor college student, so my mom ordered it from Amazon (back when they were a much smaller thing). I read it first, though, since I could read quickly. The love of the story continued through graduate school and my first job out of college. I ended up going to midnight book release parties and midnight showings of most of the movies. I often listed to the US audiobooks (narrated by Jim Dale) when I'm having problems sleeping. His voice is so grandfatherly...it's like being read a bedtime story. So...the books and stories are nothing new to me.
This time around, I'm listening to the UK editions read by Stephen Fry. Fry is a narrator I've thoroughly enjoyed in other books, but wasn't sure how he'd compare to Jim Dale. I'm happy to report that I think I like him better, certainly for some voices, at least. I definitely prefer his Hagrid to Dale's. And, at least in this first book, Fry seems to use a less whiny voice for Harry, which I far prefer.
So, aside from new voices, there isn't much here that I didn't know from before. I mean, I have read the series probably more than 10 times in all. So I thought I'd note some things I always found funny. But on the off chance you haven't read this book (why the heck not?!), I'll put it in a spoiler tag.
(view spoiler)[ I liked the UK-isms this time around. Like Dudley saying "shan't" instead of "won't" in the first chapter. Or football = soccer. Or studying for exams being "revision." It was something new to me and fun.
The news caster reporting on the owls in the first chapter is named "Ted." Both audiobook editions make it sound like Ted is chuckling at the news of the owls, like he knows more than the others. Tonks' father was a muggle named Ted....maybe?
I've always wondered why, if injuries can be healed magically, would someone have a nose that was "obviously" broken before? Of course, I'm referring to Dumbledore. I think that this is great foreshadowing (now that I know it) to the burden he carries with him about the fight with his brother.
How do people have clothes on them when they transfigure from animal to human? In the book AND the movies, we see that when they transfigure from a human to an animal, they shed their clothes...
"He turned on his heel..." gives us the first glance of apparation.
I like the name of Dudley's school, Smeltings. Do they melt kids down and rebuild them?
I wondered how Lily could come home and do magic like "turning teacups into rats" as Aunt Petunia complains. What about the restriction for underage wizardry? Is that something that didn't always exist?
Hagrid mentions the families that Voldemort killed, including those in the Bones family. We then see another Bones in Harry's class.
Hagrid saying that there wasn't much human left in Voldemort and that he wasn't dead was good foreshadowing.
Hagrid says that there are dragons at Gringotts. Something we don't pay much attention to until much later in the series...
The first time I went to King's Cross station in England, I won't lie, I was a little disappointed.
Interesting that Quirrell didn't have Voldemort "with him" when he saw Harry the first time in the Leaky Cauldron. It only came about after he failed to steal things out of Vault 713. How did he do that, anyway? We know from this book and later in the series that it's ridiculously difficult...he doesn't seem strong enough to do it to me.
What's up with Rowling describing everybody with long noses or fingers or feet?
Why is Ron allowed to have a rat? The letter says owl, cat, or toad.
Why is there so much focus on Neville's toad?
LOVE the names for the class books.
There is a lot of world-building of Hogwarts in this book. Not all of it comes back into play in later books, I wonder if originally more was intended to be used in later books...
Dean's club is West Ham. Wonder if that's Rowling's club. I'm an Arsenal girl, myself...
At some point in this book, the point system went from piddly points (less than 10 points here or there, awarded and taken away) but toward the end, McGonogall takes away 50 points per student. And Dumbledore awards lots of points. Why did it start so...slow?
Why on earth would Snape go to Filch for help with his injuries from Fluffy?
"Potter for President" banners at the quidditch game. Why? Is that a thing in the UK to do? They don't have a president...
LOVE Lee Jordan's commentary on the quidditch matches in this book and others.
What does it imply that Ron is great at chess while Percy and Hermione are awful and Harry's middling? I mean, sure, it's a vehicle for later in the book, but is there deeper meaning...?
Why is Peeves so afraid of the Bloody Baron? Do we ever find out?
Love the scene with the devil's snare when Hermione temporarily forgets she's a witch. ;) (hide spoiler)]...more
terpkristin
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Books:
2014
(52)
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