Harry Potter re-run

I am quite literally on the first page of The Reader because I got distracted with the Harry Potter series. I had read the sixth book last week to reacquaint myself with the plot before the movie comes out (July 15!!!). But then I wanted to read the seventh to round out the series. But then I picked up the first book… then the second, third, fourth, and now I’m on the fifth. I hadn’t noticed that the first through sixth books all came out before I started keeping track so they’re all finally making it onto my list. However, I’m honestly not feeling up to writing an entry on each book! Too much to talk about with people who have read the series; too many spoilers for people who haven’t read, and probably quite boring for them as well. Suffice it to say, I will still always love the series and will probably keep reading them again and again.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I’ve already read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince but it was before 2006 when I first started keeping track so I’m counting it now. Mainly I wanted to re-read it before the movie came out to refresh my memory and I ended up reading it all in a day. I swear I can never put down a Harry Potter book once I pick it up.

Anyway I really liked Half-Blood Prince. It seemed, more than any other book, to take time out to explain a lot of the past which was still a mystery, and I liked that. I think that’s some of my favourite parts of the series, when there are flashbacks and explanations of the past, whether it’s about Voldemort, or James and Lily, or any of the Marauders. I think my favourite part of this whole book was Slughorn. Such a well-written character! It’s like he ought to be detestable, but you can’t quite hate him because he’s just so jolly.

The Sorrows of Young Werther

I’m about in the middle of The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (free at Feedbooks). I swear, Werther is the original emo kid. I’m an awful person and left my poor Guy in my mom’s car so I can’t finish until I get home later and I can’t post any of the quotes that I’d highlighted. I definitely like Sorrows, although I can’t really imagine receiving letters like this and actually… enjoying them.

By the way, I LOVE the highlight function. I used to Post-It the hell out of my books and if I didn’t have any around I’d resort to dog-earing and underlining (with pencil, as much as I can) but that’s just so sad for my books! This way I don’t feel like I’m butchering my books! Also I like being able to type little notes… I remember in the Introduction to Sorrows there’s a reference to Sturm und Drang, which, being as unknowledgeable as I am about German literary and musical movements, I had never heard of before – but I immediately connected it to “Durmstrang” from The Goblet of Fire. Oh, bully for you J.K. for making an oblique literary reference that most of your readers would never catch!