Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)

Twelve days and counting until the movie opens!

I couldn't wait any longer. I put down the other books I was reading and reread Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. I think this was my favorite book of the series and that Ms. Rowling was nothing short of brilliant to do what she did to one of the main characters. I know that I will be carrying hankies when I go to see the movie.

Harry has spent the previous five books learning about who he is and how to use his wizarding powers and has reached the point where he feels he can make a real contribution to bringing down Voldemort. Dumbledore invites him to his office and shares memories about Tom Riddle, the young Voldemort, to try and learn how he is coming back to life and, more importantly, how to stop him.

Harry's true power, if you can call it that, is his strong friendship with Ron and Hermione and loyalty felt by other Gryffindor housemates such as Neville, Luna, and Ron's sister, Ginny. All through the series it has been shown that the love Harry felt for his parents, his friends, and his mentor, Dumbledore gives him strength to stand up to the Dark Lord. This theme is so right and so beautiful it makes me wonder how some people want to ban these books from libraries because of the sorcery practiced. I'm sure that these narrow-minded people would be perfectly content if knives and guns were used instead.

It hardly goes without saying that if a reader has enjoyed the first five books, he or she will love the sixth.

My rating for this book: +++++

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

OK, that's it. No more rereading H.P. until summer and the next movie is about to come out. It's just that J.K. Rowling's series of books is so darn addictive!
One of the interesting things that didn't make it to the movie is the major use of chocolate as a remedy for feeling down. I have no doubt in my mind that this is a factual cure and I always head for a bite or two of dark chocolate when I feel stressed. No fiction there! I also had forgotten the role Cruikshanks, Hermione's cat, had in this book. Let's hear it for cats! They can always read a person (or rat) better than other people.
If there is one criticism I could have for this book, it is the speed and ease that Harry went from hating Sirius, believing him to be the cause of his parents' deaths, to loving him when he found outSirius was his godfather. With all of the hiding and treachery going on at a rapid pace, it is amazing that Harry could switch gears from full reverse to full speed ahead in such a short time. Not that Sirius didn't deserve the love, but he was just so infuriatingly slow in revealing himself to Harry. I am also bothered that Harry's father, James, bullied Snape. I don't think Harry ever made the connection between how James harrassed Snape and how Malfoy harrasses Harry and his friends.
One of the best things about working in a high school library and having a teenaged daughter is that these books are available to me and I have a justifiable excuse for reading (and rereading) them.
I think everyone knows about these books and that everyone would enjoy them (again and again).
My rating for this book: +++++

Harry Potter 1 (1998) & 2 (1999)

Of course this is not the first time I have read these books. I was sitting watching TV this past weekend and H.P. and the Sorcerer's Stone just happened to be sitting on the table next to me. During the commercials my eyes would wander over to the book and a feeling rose in me that made me open and start to read it. When I finished it, I thought about raiding my daughter's room for the second book and I am now halfway through that one.

It has been a long time since I've read these books and I've watched the movies many times. However, the wonderful feeling of being immersed in a whole new world of magic came back to me all over again. Since we have watched them so many times, when my daughter and I watch the movies, we can recite many of the lines with the actors (to the great annoyance of anyone else in the room). However, going back to the books after 10 years, I found scenes that didn't make it to the movies and it was like reading them for the first time. For instance, in the second book, there is a wonderful deathday party for Nearly Headless Nick, celebrating the 500th anniversary of his death. I had completely forgotten it. It was a prime example of the care J.K. Rowling put into the creation of her books. Even the minor characters (and culture of the exotic ones) get attention so they are brought into the foreground and are not just window dressing.

There are so many books begging to be read that rereading books seems to be unfair to the unread books. Some books are worth the time since new scenes, characters, items, or events take on a whole new significance. These books are so full of unique characters, items, and events it is well worth taking the time sitting with Harry and his friends again.

My recommendation reading or rereading these books: +++++