GOBLET OF FIRE is one of my favorites in the series. It's the one where, when dealing with plot devices in literature, we have the true turning point the overall series. The kids aren't kids anymore--they're teenagers who are discovering just who and what they are and what they want to be in life. (As a side note, it's interesting that even though Moody isn't the real Moody throughout this whole school term, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine all take his advice and choose to become Aurors. You would think they wouldn't listen to anything Barty Crouch, Jr. says even if what he says is as Alastor Moody. But, interestingly enough, Harry, in particular, does pursue a career as an Auror, proving that in spite of the fact that Moody wasn't Moody, Harry (and Ron and Hermoine) greatly admire and respect him.)
I love that we get more of an inkling that there might be something between Ron and Hermoine. There have been hints in the 3 previous books, but this is the first time there's really a serious indication that there's more than meets the eye between these two. Of course, it can't be TOO obvious or TOO easy for the two of them to get together ("The course of true love never did run smooth" you know!), so throwing in the fact that Ron is totally clueless to the fact that he cares more for Hermoine than as a friend as well as Hermoine getting a little friendly with Viktor Krum add a little spice and sizzle to the whole situation.
Rowling has gone on record stating that she'd originally thought about killing off Ron at some point in the series. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted her to do that, but I have to say that a powerful, romantic love scene between Ron and Hermoine as he lay dying would have been something else to read.....I wouldn't have been able to keep reading or to sleep for a week from weeping and sobbing so hard! It would have been genius on Rowling's part....to have Ron die, saving Hermoine's life somehow--and the two of them somehow realizing their true love for one another---only when it's too late. And maybe even Ron telling her he understands if she finds someone else to love....even if it would be Harry.
Oh, wow. That's powerful. I'm all choked up just thinking about the possibility of Rowling doing that! Not that I wanted Ron to die, you understand! I just would have been a very powerful, moving, and, yes, romantic scene!!!
Anyway, GOBLET OF FIRE is also where we have an actual death IN and DURING the story itself. Of course, Professor Quirrell dies in Book 1 when he touches Harry and Voldemort leaves his body. But we all know that death doesn't really count in the overall scheme of things. The death in this book is of a beloved character--even though Cedric Diggory doesn't really come in to the story until Book 4. (He IS mentioned very briefly in at least one of the previous books during a scene when several other characters are in a group and are mentioned, but Cedric doesn't actually enter the STORY until Book 4.) It's a very violent and powerful death, one which Harry feels responsible for simply because he and Cedric agree to take the Goblet together at the same time. Plus, Harry almost dies--again.
GOBLET OF FIRE is a long book that is a bit of a challenge to get through--there's a lot of information that we have to remember as well as quite a few new characters. It gets a little complicated trying to remember everything, but it is a testament to the fact that Rowling truly is an incredible storyteller in that we as readers DO remember as much as we do remember throughout this long, great portion of the HARRY POTTER series.....!
I had a thought during the reading of this book.....does anyone know the exact number of times Harry has had to have medical attention throughout the whole series??? And can anyone name each of those times and which book each happens???? I think it'd be fun and interesting if we started a running list that we all share and add to as we remember them!!!! (It'd be interesting to include the times Ron and Hermoine need medical attention, too. Hermoine needs more than I remembered from my first couple of readings!)
Great Books
To read or not to read?....that is a silly question!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Choose to Forgive
As usual, Joyce Meyer tells it like it is without holding back. It's one of the main reasons I like her. In her book DO YOURSELF A FAVOR.....FORGIVE, she lays it all on the table and bluntly tells us that if we're believers, true believers in and of Jesus Christ, we have an obligation to forgive those who have hurt us--regardless of how we may FEEL about it. It's all about making choices.
Interesting how Kay Warren says that CHOOS[ING] JOY is about making a CHOICE to live a life full of joy and Joyce Meyer says that forgiving is all about making a CHOICE to do so. God gives us free will. We can choose to hold on to our pain and hurt, or we can choose to forgive, doing ourselves a huge favor in the process.
I do completely agree. Of course, it isn't easy to forgive when I have been hurt to the depths of my soul, but I'm certainly not doing myself a favor by hanging on to the hurt. I'm getting more and more frustrated and angry, causing my friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, etc. around me to want to avoid me rather than being near me. Remember: hurt people, hurt people. It's true. We don't just hurt the person who hurt us by holding on to our anger and hurt feelings, we hurt everyone around us, especially ourselves. And don't forget the heartache it causes our Lord and Savior when we choose to life in unforgiveness rather than a life full of the JOY and PEACE He so wants us to have when we choose to live in and through Him.
I find it interesting that Joyce doesn't say anything in her book that I don't already know. I mean, I have studied forgiveness before. But the truth is, even the best of us--yes, me too--hold on to our hurt and anger, even when we KNOW and feel the Holy Spirit nudging us to forgive. So whether I already know the information or not, I need to hear it---again and again and again and again....until I get to the place where I have forgiven anyone who has hurt me, especially the one closest to me who has hurt me the most--and also especially myself, my body, for the way it has betrayed me over the years.
I think that last one, more than anything or anyone else in my life, has been the hardest to forgive. My body failed me when I needed it the most and it continues to do so--in spite of whether I'm eating right and exercising or not. (I won't go in to detail here....I've written about all the things that have happened to me in previous posts, so if you're interested enough to find out, you'll have to go backwards. I especially discussed them in my blog about Kary Warren's CHOOSE JOY.)
Needless to say, whether we know the information Joyce Meyer talks about in her book DO YOURSELF A FAVOR....FORGIVE or not, until we can and do forgive every one who hurts us every time we're hurt, we need to keep reading it and re-knowing it.
Only one or two quick negatives: 1. she does, essentially, say the same thing over and over about forgiveness. It's a lot of repetition, finding a new way to say the same information. 2. She misuses subject/pronoun agreement with singular indefinite pronouns throughout the book. It's very frustrating. It doesn't take away from the effectiveness of the book as a whole, but I couldn't help notice them, and yes, marking them. 3. She has quite a few split infinitives, too. Both of these grammar issues are becoming more and more prominent in literature these days. I'm noticing that almost every modern-day book I read, these two grammar problems are fairly rampant. As far as I know, though, they're still on the books as far as grammar rules go, and, even if they weren't, they still bug the tar out of me....
I know. I know. I should focus more on the content--WHAT--Joyce Meyer says about forgiveness and then DO what she says, but I am an English teacher. Asking me not to notice grammar problems is like asking me to cut off my right arm.......
Interesting how Kay Warren says that CHOOS[ING] JOY is about making a CHOICE to live a life full of joy and Joyce Meyer says that forgiving is all about making a CHOICE to do so. God gives us free will. We can choose to hold on to our pain and hurt, or we can choose to forgive, doing ourselves a huge favor in the process.
I do completely agree. Of course, it isn't easy to forgive when I have been hurt to the depths of my soul, but I'm certainly not doing myself a favor by hanging on to the hurt. I'm getting more and more frustrated and angry, causing my friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, etc. around me to want to avoid me rather than being near me. Remember: hurt people, hurt people. It's true. We don't just hurt the person who hurt us by holding on to our anger and hurt feelings, we hurt everyone around us, especially ourselves. And don't forget the heartache it causes our Lord and Savior when we choose to life in unforgiveness rather than a life full of the JOY and PEACE He so wants us to have when we choose to live in and through Him.
I find it interesting that Joyce doesn't say anything in her book that I don't already know. I mean, I have studied forgiveness before. But the truth is, even the best of us--yes, me too--hold on to our hurt and anger, even when we KNOW and feel the Holy Spirit nudging us to forgive. So whether I already know the information or not, I need to hear it---again and again and again and again....until I get to the place where I have forgiven anyone who has hurt me, especially the one closest to me who has hurt me the most--and also especially myself, my body, for the way it has betrayed me over the years.
I think that last one, more than anything or anyone else in my life, has been the hardest to forgive. My body failed me when I needed it the most and it continues to do so--in spite of whether I'm eating right and exercising or not. (I won't go in to detail here....I've written about all the things that have happened to me in previous posts, so if you're interested enough to find out, you'll have to go backwards. I especially discussed them in my blog about Kary Warren's CHOOSE JOY.)
Needless to say, whether we know the information Joyce Meyer talks about in her book DO YOURSELF A FAVOR....FORGIVE or not, until we can and do forgive every one who hurts us every time we're hurt, we need to keep reading it and re-knowing it.
Only one or two quick negatives: 1. she does, essentially, say the same thing over and over about forgiveness. It's a lot of repetition, finding a new way to say the same information. 2. She misuses subject/pronoun agreement with singular indefinite pronouns throughout the book. It's very frustrating. It doesn't take away from the effectiveness of the book as a whole, but I couldn't help notice them, and yes, marking them. 3. She has quite a few split infinitives, too. Both of these grammar issues are becoming more and more prominent in literature these days. I'm noticing that almost every modern-day book I read, these two grammar problems are fairly rampant. As far as I know, though, they're still on the books as far as grammar rules go, and, even if they weren't, they still bug the tar out of me....
I know. I know. I should focus more on the content--WHAT--Joyce Meyer says about forgiveness and then DO what she says, but I am an English teacher. Asking me not to notice grammar problems is like asking me to cut off my right arm.......
Sunday, June 10, 2012
AZKABAN, not my Favorite HP
AZKABAN is not really one of my favorites in the HP series, and the movie has a lot to do with it. What I don't like about the book:
1. The movie is least like the book. I kept waiting for Harry to see Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map and to ask Lupin how someone dead could be seen on the map. Why'd they have to change that so thoroughly between the book and the movie?! There's no need. It works that that's how Lupin knew where Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Sirius, and Scabbers (Peter) were. In the movie, Harry tells Lupin that he's seen Peter Pettigrew on the map, and it's AGES and AGES later before Lupin does something about it. Lupin knows immediately that the map never lies which means that the whole deal with Sirius killing all those people had to have been a lie--and that Peter was the "bad guy," not Sirius. Anyway, that just made that part really ridiculous.
2. The way both Remus and Sirius are described when they change in the book is that they're both very large--huge, in fact. The wimpy, walking on two-legs werewolf that is Lupin in the movie version is just so very ridiculous-looking that it ruined Lupin as a werewolf for me. I mean, here's this GREAT guy who turns into this huge, scary creature and all I want to do when I see the movie version of him is to punch the guy who created the werewolf. And Sirius is just the size of a large wolf, not even close to the gigantic size he's described as in the book. So very disappointing.
3. In the book, as long as they're at Hogwarts, especially, everyone always his/her school robes. In the movie, only the teachers wear their robes, and sometimes even that's not true. Snape is the only one in the movie who always seems to wear his robes--which is great for the bat-like effect he has. But I like the idea of the school robes. Americanizing the story or "Muggl-izing" the story by having the wizard kids (and adults in most cases) wear regular Muggle clothing is just ridiculous. It completely takes away for the whole wizarding world for me. That's part of what's so great about this series: we're taken to a whole new world (kind of going over the rainbow, you know, or being in Middle Earth), but the director of the movie felt that we didn't need to be experience that world so he put everyone in Muggle clothing?! Stupid director.
4. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, for more than half (close to two-thirds, maybe) of the book are fighting and not even talking to each other. Harry and Ron do a lot without Hermoine and it just isn't right. I get that young people fight/argue all the time, but best friends don't go MONTHS without making up. That's just not right. I guess that, ultimately, it solidifies their friendship even more, but for them to go as long as they did without making up just because of a few ridiculous things--Crookshanks looking like he's eaten Scabbers (good grief---it's a STUPID rat! It just isn't feasible that even Ron would choose a dumb rat over one of his best friends) and then Hermoine getting Harry's Firebolt taken away (she was just worried about him---it shows she really cares---Harry and Ron should have seen that--how could they be so blinded by their desire to keep the Firebolt not to see that Hermoine did what she did because she truly cares about Harry? So ridiculous!!!)
5. And don't forget that neither Neville nor Ginny appears in this book very much at all! I want more of those two!!!!
What I love about the book:
1. Hermoine punches Malfoy right in the face!!!! Now, granted, I honestly like Malfoy. I know he's a bully, but he's really a kid who just needs some attention and to know that he's special, too. He's obviously very jealous of Harry and would like people to notice him, too.
2. Harry is able to produce a full Patronus. That's really awesome. And he's only 13 in this one, so to be able to do that already shows that he's not such a weak wizard after all. It's why, ultimately, he becomes the teacher for Dumbledore's Army.
3. For just a few minutes, Harry has someone else he could live with instead of the Dursley's. I, too, would have liked for Harry to be able to live with someone who truly cares about him and will do things with him and treat him as a son. Of course, Sirius is just insane enough after being in Azkaban all those years, that he sees Harry as James a bit too much. Not so much in this particular book, but we do see it more and more and the series goes until Sirius' death---and it's just plain creepy.
There's more, but I'd better stop now......I should even it out--have the same number of likes as dislikes, but right now I can't think of anything else--even though I know there's plenty more! :0)
*Side note: I've been reading all the HP books on Samuel's Nook. I'll read the whole series that way!
1. The movie is least like the book. I kept waiting for Harry to see Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map and to ask Lupin how someone dead could be seen on the map. Why'd they have to change that so thoroughly between the book and the movie?! There's no need. It works that that's how Lupin knew where Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Sirius, and Scabbers (Peter) were. In the movie, Harry tells Lupin that he's seen Peter Pettigrew on the map, and it's AGES and AGES later before Lupin does something about it. Lupin knows immediately that the map never lies which means that the whole deal with Sirius killing all those people had to have been a lie--and that Peter was the "bad guy," not Sirius. Anyway, that just made that part really ridiculous.
2. The way both Remus and Sirius are described when they change in the book is that they're both very large--huge, in fact. The wimpy, walking on two-legs werewolf that is Lupin in the movie version is just so very ridiculous-looking that it ruined Lupin as a werewolf for me. I mean, here's this GREAT guy who turns into this huge, scary creature and all I want to do when I see the movie version of him is to punch the guy who created the werewolf. And Sirius is just the size of a large wolf, not even close to the gigantic size he's described as in the book. So very disappointing.
3. In the book, as long as they're at Hogwarts, especially, everyone always his/her school robes. In the movie, only the teachers wear their robes, and sometimes even that's not true. Snape is the only one in the movie who always seems to wear his robes--which is great for the bat-like effect he has. But I like the idea of the school robes. Americanizing the story or "Muggl-izing" the story by having the wizard kids (and adults in most cases) wear regular Muggle clothing is just ridiculous. It completely takes away for the whole wizarding world for me. That's part of what's so great about this series: we're taken to a whole new world (kind of going over the rainbow, you know, or being in Middle Earth), but the director of the movie felt that we didn't need to be experience that world so he put everyone in Muggle clothing?! Stupid director.
4. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, for more than half (close to two-thirds, maybe) of the book are fighting and not even talking to each other. Harry and Ron do a lot without Hermoine and it just isn't right. I get that young people fight/argue all the time, but best friends don't go MONTHS without making up. That's just not right. I guess that, ultimately, it solidifies their friendship even more, but for them to go as long as they did without making up just because of a few ridiculous things--Crookshanks looking like he's eaten Scabbers (good grief---it's a STUPID rat! It just isn't feasible that even Ron would choose a dumb rat over one of his best friends) and then Hermoine getting Harry's Firebolt taken away (she was just worried about him---it shows she really cares---Harry and Ron should have seen that--how could they be so blinded by their desire to keep the Firebolt not to see that Hermoine did what she did because she truly cares about Harry? So ridiculous!!!)
5. And don't forget that neither Neville nor Ginny appears in this book very much at all! I want more of those two!!!!
What I love about the book:
1. Hermoine punches Malfoy right in the face!!!! Now, granted, I honestly like Malfoy. I know he's a bully, but he's really a kid who just needs some attention and to know that he's special, too. He's obviously very jealous of Harry and would like people to notice him, too.
2. Harry is able to produce a full Patronus. That's really awesome. And he's only 13 in this one, so to be able to do that already shows that he's not such a weak wizard after all. It's why, ultimately, he becomes the teacher for Dumbledore's Army.
3. For just a few minutes, Harry has someone else he could live with instead of the Dursley's. I, too, would have liked for Harry to be able to live with someone who truly cares about him and will do things with him and treat him as a son. Of course, Sirius is just insane enough after being in Azkaban all those years, that he sees Harry as James a bit too much. Not so much in this particular book, but we do see it more and more and the series goes until Sirius' death---and it's just plain creepy.
There's more, but I'd better stop now......I should even it out--have the same number of likes as dislikes, but right now I can't think of anything else--even though I know there's plenty more! :0)
*Side note: I've been reading all the HP books on Samuel's Nook. I'll read the whole series that way!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
More Ginny....Lots more, and Neville, too
I love this series. I honestly can't believe it took me so long to read it. How did she do it? How did she create a WHOLE series, 7 whole books, and weave in all the details so seamlessly and, seemingly, effortlessly. So many details that are briefly mentioned, just thrown in with other information that they seem unimportant, insignificant, but then later, those very same unimportant, insignificant details come back into the story and reveal how very important they are.
This is definitely NOT a series anyone can read just once. It's better than potato chips. Not only can we, as readers, read just one book in the series, but we also can't read the whole series just once! I see some any incredible new details and parts of the story that I realize I missed the first time through.
I would love to meet Rowling. At the same time, I'd be scared out of my mind to do so. What would I say to her that wouldn't be gushing and the same thing she's heard a gajillion times? What questions would I ask her that are unique, that she hasn't been asked a zillion times already? It would still be awesome to meet her.
I think CHAMGER OF SECRETS is one of my favorites simply Ginny Weasley plays such an important role to the story as a whole. My only problem is that we don't actually see her as often as I'd like throughout the book. Even though she's central to the whole story, she's only mentioned briefly a few times--just to make sure we haven't forgotten about her and as VERY subtle hints that she's the one......oops. Gonna give away important information....probably already have said too much! But my point is that I love Ginny; I wish she was the series as a whole a lot more than she is. I want to read more about her. I want to see more of her on the screen in the movie versions.....
(I want to read a LOT more about Neville, too. I LOVE Neville!)
Did you know that the actress who played Ginny Weasley in the movie versions is marrying (or has already married) they guy who plays Anthony in SWEENEY TODD. He's also in one or two of the TWILIGHT movies as one of the Volturie. I think that's wonderful.....I love both of them as actors/actresses.
I can't wait to read THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN!!!!
This is definitely NOT a series anyone can read just once. It's better than potato chips. Not only can we, as readers, read just one book in the series, but we also can't read the whole series just once! I see some any incredible new details and parts of the story that I realize I missed the first time through.
I would love to meet Rowling. At the same time, I'd be scared out of my mind to do so. What would I say to her that wouldn't be gushing and the same thing she's heard a gajillion times? What questions would I ask her that are unique, that she hasn't been asked a zillion times already? It would still be awesome to meet her.
I think CHAMGER OF SECRETS is one of my favorites simply Ginny Weasley plays such an important role to the story as a whole. My only problem is that we don't actually see her as often as I'd like throughout the book. Even though she's central to the whole story, she's only mentioned briefly a few times--just to make sure we haven't forgotten about her and as VERY subtle hints that she's the one......oops. Gonna give away important information....probably already have said too much! But my point is that I love Ginny; I wish she was the series as a whole a lot more than she is. I want to read more about her. I want to see more of her on the screen in the movie versions.....
(I want to read a LOT more about Neville, too. I LOVE Neville!)
Did you know that the actress who played Ginny Weasley in the movie versions is marrying (or has already married) they guy who plays Anthony in SWEENEY TODD. He's also in one or two of the TWILIGHT movies as one of the Volturie. I think that's wonderful.....I love both of them as actors/actresses.
I can't wait to read THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN!!!!
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