Harry Potter Moment of the Week [72]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Announcing Harry Potter Month in July!! Learn more.
I'll be posting having a few Potter related posts throughout the month in addition to my usual Harry Potter Moment of the Week posts.

If I went to Hogwarts, who would my boyfriend be?

First things first, the Weasleys are my favorite family at Hogwarts so it would most likely be one of them. Percy is far too stuffy and has familial-loyalty issues. Ron has so much going on with Harry and Hermione all the time. Plus, it's obvious he's got it bad for Hermione. Bill and Charlie aren't at school. It would have to be George. I like that he's hilarious and exceptionally smart.

Who's your choice?

My Introduction to Harry Potter

Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July!! Of course, Harry's birthday is in July so it's a celebration! I am competing for my House Cup as well for Hufflepuff. As most of you know, I adore Harry Potter so this month will be full of even more Potter goodness at JC's Book Haven.

Ever since I was a young child, I have always loved reading. I remember the Accelerated Reader program at school, and constantly checking books out so that I could win those personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut. I was checking books out like Romona Quimby, The Bridge to Terabithia, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, Freckle Juice, The Indian in the Cubbard, and The Incredible Journey. I enjoyed them all, but I can't say I LOVED any of them. 

Then I moved on to high school and was in the accelerated English class. We HAD to read for school, and it was mostly classics. I had Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, Romeo and Juliet, The Grapes of Wrath, and more. Now, I admit that I have a hard time with being told I have to do things, immediately making me not want to. Needless to say, I never liked reading any of the books for school that we were forced to.

Moving on to after graduation and a friend brought me a book thinking I would enjoy it. It was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. There were three books out at this time, and it was the first I was hearing of the series. I DEVOURED it. I went to her two days later asking to borrow the next two books and read those in two days each as well.

I finally found what I enjoyed reading. Not just this incredible series, but what Harry Potter brought to me was that I am a genre-oriented reader. I want MAGIC. I want things that can't possible happen in my every day life. I want ADVENTURE and creatures I haven't even dreamed of.

I now obviously have a number of books that I love, but none more than Harry Potter as it was the start to my journey not just in loving to read, but in loving the books I read as well.

After reading those three, I not so patiently waited for the rest to follow. I remember the thrill that there were movies being made, and seeing them all in theater. I bought all the movies as they came out and all the books immediately when released as well. 

Now, I've been able to share my love of the series with my son. He watched all of the movies and loved them. He dressed as Ron Weasley for Halloween (looking the part as he is a redhead himself). I took him to Harry Potter World in Orlando for his 9th birthday, and the second we got home, he dove into the books for the first time reading them all so quickly. He had discussions with me on what is different in the films and how reading the books was such a wonderful experience, offering so much more than what the movies alone give us.

We have since created quite a collection of Harry Potter fan merchandise and both are on Pottermore. We randomly reread the series and re-watch the movies. I can honestly say I haven't read a series near as many times as I have Harry Potter.

Sunday Cover Scramble [126]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [71]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Announcing Harry Potter Month in July!! Learn more.
I'll be posting having a few Potter related posts throughout the month in addition to my usual Harry Potter Moment of the Week posts.

Favorite Lupin Moment:

This one is easy for me as I just mentioned it on Micheline's Birthday Buddy Spotlight for Lupin.

My absolute favorite Lupin moment is when he taught Harry how to perform the Patronus charm to protect himself against dementors. Those dark creatures with their soul-stealing mouths, and chronic depression causing auras incredibly freak me out. I would definitely want to be able to defend myself against them, especially with such a traumatic past as Harry. Since they bring your worst moments to the surface, he was affected by them particularly hard as someone who had been through really trying times.

What is especially telling to me in this moment is the fact that Lupin takes on the mentor role here with Harry and teaches him something that he knows students his age can't do. He did warn Harry not to feel bad if he didn't learn it, but he also went along with it and eventually taught him well enough to become the only wizard his age able to produce a Patronus.

What is your favorite Lupin moment?

Review: The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

Published: May 6th, 2014 HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

The time has come for one winner to be crowned.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.

“This isn’t happily ever after.

It’s so much more than that.” 

The Good

Finally! I was getting really tired of the waffling on America's part between two men. While they are both great, you either love one of them or you don't. I was glad to see this decision made and the love triangle effectively ended.

I was also really proud of the fact that America realized that she could in fact be a princess if she wanted it. She's got a lot of great ideas, truly cares about people, and is brave. These are some great qualities for a leader to have.

The action here was done well. It starts out with rebel attacks, and this part of the story is expounded on exponentially in The One. There were a lot of losses, but that makes victory so much sweeter in the end for those that make it out.

These girls that are in the selection have gotten closer and closer with each book as their numbers dwindle down. I loved getting to know more about each of them and even have one that I couldn't stand early on do a 360 so that she became one of my favorites in the story.

The Bad

The ending and how the story is wrapped up is very satisfying, but predictable.

The Romance

I was so glad to see a conclusion to a love triangle that had been driving me bonkers. The connection that America shares with both guys is real, but there is only one that she was going to end up with. I did notice little signs of another romance blooming and was very happy to see it come to fruition.

Conclusion

A great way to end the series, even if predictable. Action packed, well-paced, and filled with characters that I enjoy, The One is a quick and easy read that is executed well. Recommended.

Excerpts

“I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you.”

Maxon: “To be clear, no one agrees with you.”
America: “To be clear, I don’t care.” 

“Leave it to you to find beauty in something others would say ruins a day.” 

Sunday Cover Scramble [125]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [70]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Announcing Harry Potter Month in July!! Learn more.

If you could change one thing in book 1 what would it be?

This is a tough choice. If the first one wasn't fantastic, the hordes of rabid fans would never have continued reading through the series.

Every little bit of the first one was an introduction to these fascinating characters and the world in which Harry is thrust into.

My least favorite part of the book is Quirrell. The focus is off him during the story and Snape is spotlighted as the bad guy. Obviously he had an incredible mind or else he wouldn't have been the only one to find Voldemort. I feel that the 'good' side who didn't believe Voldemort was gone would have been searching as well to end him for good. What happens though is that by the time we do find out what was happening with Quirrell, it's hard to believe he would be good at being bad. This stuttering fool found Voldemort and helped hatch this plan to get the Sorcerer's stone? It seems far-fetched. Believe me I love that as readers we have no clue who the bad guy is, but I do wish that we would've gotten some insight into his intelligence and despicable nature other than the conversation with him at the end. That way we wouldn't have thought he was the bad guy, but at least better believed him capable of it.

What would you change?