HARRY POTTER, Part 2

OK, so now I have all that other stuff off my chest, I can talk about the books themselves.

The biggest thing I have to say at this point in time (I'm halfway through Book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) is that there is SO MUCH....I admit that there are parts where I'm having a difficult time getting through because it's taking so long to get from point B to point C (or whatever it might be), but I obviously have to read the WHOLE thing, in order, to completely understand what's going on.  It's not that this "in-between" stuff is boring.  It's just that it's SO MUCH, how do I know what I really need to pay careful attention to and what parts and I can read quickly?!

I'm the type of reader who typically remembers most of what I read, but this is getting ridiculous.  Rowling does throw in every once in a while brief reminders of what's happened previously to help keep me reminded and up-to-date.  And she does it in a manner that's not "back story" that I have to weed through to get back to the story.  It's actually often included in interesting dialogue.  But because there is SO MUCH, it is difficult to remember everything and to keep up as I need to. 

I don't feel like I'm explaining myself very well, but if you've read the series, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

The other thing that I'm having a hard time keeping up with is....the vast number of characters!  Good grief!  I realize that as the story moves on, new characters must be added, but by now, there are SO MANY names, I'm having a difficult time remember who is who!  When I read The Count of Monte Cristo, I joked with a couple of people that I wish I had had a white board in front of me where I could write down the names of the characters and how they were all "related" (connected) to one another.  That did not detract from my enjoyment of The Count, nor does it detract from my enjoyment of Harry Potter, but the fact remains that the sheer number of characters in the story by now is difficult to keep up with. 

I will say that Rowling has done a wonderful job keeping all of her characters interesting.  I think that's why I'm a little frustrated with keeping up with the characters.  I want to keep track of them all because I find them ALL interesting.  But I keep getting Lupin and Sirius (Snuffles-?) mixed up, especially which one is the werewolf.  It's too confusing that one is a wolf and the other is a basic house dog (animagus-?). 

And that's another thing that I'm having trouble keeping up with--all the names of the spells, potions, books, etc., especially the ones that seem obviously important to the story as a whole.  It took me forever to remember and keep in mind the Patronus charm Harry uses to get rid of the Dementors (very interesting characters, I must say---I honestly believe that there are real Dementors alive and thriving in the world around us---just look at some of the people around us who go into deep depressions and struggle mightily to pull out of them). 

Don't even get me started on the classes Ron, Hermoine, and Harry are taking!  Or how many Weasleys there are (especially the boys) or who is who!!! 

Of course, anyone or anything that's been part of the story since the very beginning, I'm not having a lot of trouble with.  It's the ones/things that have been added as the series goes on.

Don't try to say that I must not be really reading the story carefully if I'm having so much trouble remembering such details!  I'm reading EVERY word and every word is registering!  I'm paying attention to what I'm reading.  I've been reading the book while Samuel is in the room.  Samuel was bleeding (he'd picked a scab from his bites from our camping trip), and I was so into my book, he had to literally put his face between my face and my book in order to get my attention!

Not all of my posts about the Harry Potter series will be blasts against the books.  I honestly am thoroughly enjoying reading--finally--the series.  I am very glad I'm--finally--reading the books.  I want to be reading right now, in fact.  I've stayed up late to read.  I have been reading when I should be doing house cleaning or other things around the house.  I'm just as thoroughly engrossed in the series as I ever have been with the Twilight series.  But I feel that I need to be completely honest and share the good, the bad, and the ugly....especially considering that this is my blog and I'm simply sharing my own, personal opinion....which everyone is entitled to---his/her own opinion, not to mine!!!!  ;)