Spoilers Ahead: Read with Caution
Greetings Browncoated Potterheads! It's a Shiny day! (I've been watching Firefly again)
Today we're reviewing Chapter 4, The Keeper of the Keys. I know it's only been a couple of days since my last review but the Chapters go by really fast. I may post the next one as well, Either it'll be up soon after this one is posted or it'll be up tomorrow (yes I update at very odd times, it's very rarely consistent). So, buckle your seat belts and grab your pink umbrellas!
Summary:
OK, when we left our intrepid boy hero and those atrocious muggles they were in the Hut on the rock and someone was knocking to come in from the storm but they're on a rock in the middle of nowhere. So, the booming knock sounds again and the door crashes inwards, enter Vernon Dursley with a rifle. Hagrid comes in and gives the Dursleys a dressing down they won't soon forget complete with a little piggy tail for Dudley. He also gives Harry his letter, the one he's been waiting for. The truth comes out, his parents never died in a car crash but were murdered by the dark Lord Voldemort and he's off to the finest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the world. Of course the muggles weren't about to allow that but there's not really much they can do about it. We also find out that Hagrid baked Harry a birthday cake and they settle down for the night again with Hagrid on the couch to await morning.
Commentary:
OK, so, admittedly not much happens in this chapter, Hagrid arrives, gives Harry his birthday cake and letter, cooks sausages, gives Dudley a pigs tail, bends Vernon's rifle and they settle down for the night. I think one thing I was sad that they left out of the movies was Vernon running from the letters, I think it really showed just how far his character was willing to go to make sure Harry never got that letter (I'm sure you all remember what happened last chapter). However, the persistence of Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore won out. They found the Dursleys, Harry got a birthday cake and his Hogwarts letter out of the deal.
I really like Hagrid as a character, he's unfailingly loyal, to both Dumbledore and Harry and, even though he was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year (for something that wasn't his fault, may I add) he put the broken pieces of his wand in his pink umbrella and uses Magic, to a lesser degree, regardless. Just because the Dursleys insulted Harry's parents (and Dumbledore, and Harry, basically in just a few lines) he tried to turn Dudley into a pig. I mean, we all know how well a broken wand works at the best of times *cough Ron, 2nd year, cough* but it still made them rethink preventing Harry from going to Hogwarts, especially once they saw how far the wizards (and witches) were willing to go to get Harry there.
I think that's it for Chapter 4, the next chapter is Diagon Alley, that should be fun! See you next time!
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Saturday, 25 April 2015
The Harry Potter Re-read: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Chapter 3: Minerva's Persistence
Spoilers Ahead: Read with Caution
Hi all I'm back! What this? 3 chapter reviews in 2 days? Shock! What can I say? Harry Potter's kind of hard to put down and I'm hard pressed not to do all my chapter reviews in a steady stream all at once, that would be an interesting way to do it but it would be over really fast. I think I'm going to try to stick to one chapter a day or so when I can but you never know. Especially with how this one ends, it gives a lovely lead in for the next chapter doesn't it?
Summary:
This chapter starts, like most summer chapters do, during a normal day at the Dursley's. Dudley's practising for Smeltings by whacking alternately, his father, Harry, the table and Harry with his Smeltings Stick, (A kind of knobby can they carry around to whack each other with, it's supposed to be good practice for later life though personally I don't see it). Harry, come secondary school will not be attending Smeltings with Dudley but rather Stonewall High, the local comprehensive, of course, being an absolute Jerk, Dudley thinks this is very funny and takes to teasing Harry about it, leading to the following exchange between the cousins;
"They stuff people's heads down the toilet first day at Stonewall." Dudley told Harry "Want to come upstairs and practice?"
"No thanks," said Harry "The toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it, it might be sick."
And one of his pithiest lines is wasted on his whale of a cousin. This chapter is where you really (or I did) start to notice that Harry really is tremendously funny and witty and sarcastic and great in general. Another one of my favourite examples is his exchange with his aunt (she's dying some of Dudley's old things grey for his Stonewall uniform);
"What's this?" Asked Harry
"Your new uniform." Answered Aunt Petunia
"Oh...I didn't realize it had to be so wet..."
Anyway I digress, soon after these respective exchanges letters start arriving for Harry. Of course, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia brush them off, shred them in food mixers and even burn them just to prevent harry room getting them, But my Chapter review isn't called Minerva's persistence for nothing, once letters start arriving in such large quantities they overrun the house they run, and run and run, and end up on the Hut of the rock.
But there's someone at the door...
Commentary:
As I mentioned this may be the chapter in which Harry really comes into his wit and humour. I think that's one thing I missed about the movies is that in the books Harry really is tremendously funny but in the movies his best lines are cut.
I love this chapter, it may be one of my favourites, not only because of Minerva;s persistence that Harry Potter will get his Hogwarts letter and under no circumstances will those no account, good for nothing Muggles keep it from him. Remember she knows exactly what the Dursley's are like and I think she's having fun trying to figure out interesting ways to have them delivered and watching Vernon slowly go mad.
I think what bothers me about wizard logic in this chapter is that, every muggle raised or muggle born child gets a Hogwarts letter but there's is always accompanied by a teacher so they can explain things. If they had just sent a teacher (or a Hagrid, in this case) to deliver Harry's letter in the first place they might have avoided all that hassle and someone could have knocked some sense into the Dursley's earlier. As it is though I think Hagrid does a pretty good job knocking some sense into that oaf Vernon Dursley.
I think that concludes my review of Chapter 3, the next one will be up either later today (it now being the 25th of April) or tomorrow. Hopefully by Monday we'll have reached Chapter 5, I'll try and come up with a decent update schedule so it's not just an info dump.
Hi all I'm back! What this? 3 chapter reviews in 2 days? Shock! What can I say? Harry Potter's kind of hard to put down and I'm hard pressed not to do all my chapter reviews in a steady stream all at once, that would be an interesting way to do it but it would be over really fast. I think I'm going to try to stick to one chapter a day or so when I can but you never know. Especially with how this one ends, it gives a lovely lead in for the next chapter doesn't it?
Summary:
This chapter starts, like most summer chapters do, during a normal day at the Dursley's. Dudley's practising for Smeltings by whacking alternately, his father, Harry, the table and Harry with his Smeltings Stick, (A kind of knobby can they carry around to whack each other with, it's supposed to be good practice for later life though personally I don't see it). Harry, come secondary school will not be attending Smeltings with Dudley but rather Stonewall High, the local comprehensive, of course, being an absolute Jerk, Dudley thinks this is very funny and takes to teasing Harry about it, leading to the following exchange between the cousins;
"They stuff people's heads down the toilet first day at Stonewall." Dudley told Harry "Want to come upstairs and practice?"
"No thanks," said Harry "The toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it, it might be sick."
And one of his pithiest lines is wasted on his whale of a cousin. This chapter is where you really (or I did) start to notice that Harry really is tremendously funny and witty and sarcastic and great in general. Another one of my favourite examples is his exchange with his aunt (she's dying some of Dudley's old things grey for his Stonewall uniform);
"What's this?" Asked Harry
"Your new uniform." Answered Aunt Petunia
"Oh...I didn't realize it had to be so wet..."
Anyway I digress, soon after these respective exchanges letters start arriving for Harry. Of course, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia brush them off, shred them in food mixers and even burn them just to prevent harry room getting them, But my Chapter review isn't called Minerva's persistence for nothing, once letters start arriving in such large quantities they overrun the house they run, and run and run, and end up on the Hut of the rock.
But there's someone at the door...
Commentary:
As I mentioned this may be the chapter in which Harry really comes into his wit and humour. I think that's one thing I missed about the movies is that in the books Harry really is tremendously funny but in the movies his best lines are cut.
I love this chapter, it may be one of my favourites, not only because of Minerva;s persistence that Harry Potter will get his Hogwarts letter and under no circumstances will those no account, good for nothing Muggles keep it from him. Remember she knows exactly what the Dursley's are like and I think she's having fun trying to figure out interesting ways to have them delivered and watching Vernon slowly go mad.
I think what bothers me about wizard logic in this chapter is that, every muggle raised or muggle born child gets a Hogwarts letter but there's is always accompanied by a teacher so they can explain things. If they had just sent a teacher (or a Hagrid, in this case) to deliver Harry's letter in the first place they might have avoided all that hassle and someone could have knocked some sense into the Dursley's earlier. As it is though I think Hagrid does a pretty good job knocking some sense into that oaf Vernon Dursley.
I think that concludes my review of Chapter 3, the next one will be up either later today (it now being the 25th of April) or tomorrow. Hopefully by Monday we'll have reached Chapter 5, I'll try and come up with a decent update schedule so it's not just an info dump.
Friday, 24 April 2015
The Harry Potter Re-read: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Chapter 2: Freedom for Snakes
Spoilers Ahead: Read with Caution
Welcome back to my Harry Potter Re-read! It feels really good to say that. Welcome back. Now, last chapter we learned quite a bit about Harry's abysmal relatives, The Dursleys and now we learn more about Harry. On with the show!
Summary:
About 10 years have passed since Harry was left on the Dursley's doorstep in November (No I'm not going to stop bringing that up, it really bugs me), and ever since he was old enough to reach to reach the stove the Dursley's have treated him like their own personal house-elf. We learn much about their mistreatment of poor orphaned Harry including the fact that he lives in the cupboard under the stairs, the cupboard under the stairs. As far as we know no one has gone to check on Harry in those 10 years, make sure he's alright, that his living conditions are adequate, for all the wizarding world knows he could have died and no one would have been the wiser. Anyway, it's Dudley's birthday and Aunt Petunia gets Harry up to finish making breakfast. We get the first real glimpse of the Dursley house including the absolutely spotless kitchen and dining table covered in 37, 37 birthday presents for Dudley. Of course that's not enough for their little angel so Petunia and Vernon agree to get him 2 new presents when they're out that day. Then Harry's luck begins to change.
They were going to leave him with their dotty old neighbour Mrs. Figg (who we later learn is a squib) while they go out for the day to the zoo but she has broken her leg tripping over one of her cats and can't take him. So the Dursley's are forced to be nice to their nephew for the sake of public appearance for the day and take him to the zoo with them. Everything's going alright, until they reach the reptile house. Harry speaks to this immense Boa Constrictor and it tells him it had never been to Brazil so his accidental magic kicks in and he accidentally lets the snake out. They might not have known it was him except that Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss (Prat) said "Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?" So when they get home he;s locked in his cupboard for the forseeable future with no meals. As I'll expound on more in Chapter 3, he wasn't let out until the summer holidays started (Dudley's birthday is June 23rd, according to the Harry Potter Wiki at least)
Commentary:
As I mentioned, Harry lives in the cupboard under the stairs which is totally unacceptable and no one seems to have noticed that he's being mistreated at all. Not even the all powerful Albus Dumbledore. I find that kind of fishy actually, cause he placed Harry with his relative and never bothered to check on him at all? Anyway, this chapter centres on Harry's bouts of accidental magic, mainly the ones on Dudley's birthday at the zoo, he vanishes the glass on the Boa Constrictors tank and uses his Parseltongue abilities to speak to it. I know Parseltongue is vaunted for being the talent of dark wizards including The Dark Lord, and Salazar Slytherin himself but what does he do? he uses it to speak to a snake and find out it's never been to Brazil.
He uses his Parseltongue to make friends with a snake and sets him free, i think that might be something only Harry Potter might do. This Chapter is, all in all, very short and only touches on Harry's accidental magic as a plot point but I really I love the scene with the Boa Constrictor because, who else would talk to a snake, find out that it was bred in captivity but wanted to go to Brazil and set it free?
It earns him quite a bit of time in his cupboard as is specified and the end of the chapter and the beginning of chapter 3 but all in all I think it's a pretty cool bit of accidental magic, cooler maybe, that turning his teacher's wig blue or shrinking a horrible sweater or growing back his hair after a terrible haircut.
Next Chapter: The letters from No one :D That's definitely a fun chapter. See you next time! I'll try to post the next chapter or 2 soon either later today or tomorrow
Welcome back to my Harry Potter Re-read! It feels really good to say that. Welcome back. Now, last chapter we learned quite a bit about Harry's abysmal relatives, The Dursleys and now we learn more about Harry. On with the show!
Summary:
About 10 years have passed since Harry was left on the Dursley's doorstep in November (No I'm not going to stop bringing that up, it really bugs me), and ever since he was old enough to reach to reach the stove the Dursley's have treated him like their own personal house-elf. We learn much about their mistreatment of poor orphaned Harry including the fact that he lives in the cupboard under the stairs, the cupboard under the stairs. As far as we know no one has gone to check on Harry in those 10 years, make sure he's alright, that his living conditions are adequate, for all the wizarding world knows he could have died and no one would have been the wiser. Anyway, it's Dudley's birthday and Aunt Petunia gets Harry up to finish making breakfast. We get the first real glimpse of the Dursley house including the absolutely spotless kitchen and dining table covered in 37, 37 birthday presents for Dudley. Of course that's not enough for their little angel so Petunia and Vernon agree to get him 2 new presents when they're out that day. Then Harry's luck begins to change.
They were going to leave him with their dotty old neighbour Mrs. Figg (who we later learn is a squib) while they go out for the day to the zoo but she has broken her leg tripping over one of her cats and can't take him. So the Dursley's are forced to be nice to their nephew for the sake of public appearance for the day and take him to the zoo with them. Everything's going alright, until they reach the reptile house. Harry speaks to this immense Boa Constrictor and it tells him it had never been to Brazil so his accidental magic kicks in and he accidentally lets the snake out. They might not have known it was him except that Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss (Prat) said "Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?" So when they get home he;s locked in his cupboard for the forseeable future with no meals. As I'll expound on more in Chapter 3, he wasn't let out until the summer holidays started (Dudley's birthday is June 23rd, according to the Harry Potter Wiki at least)
Commentary:
As I mentioned, Harry lives in the cupboard under the stairs which is totally unacceptable and no one seems to have noticed that he's being mistreated at all. Not even the all powerful Albus Dumbledore. I find that kind of fishy actually, cause he placed Harry with his relative and never bothered to check on him at all? Anyway, this chapter centres on Harry's bouts of accidental magic, mainly the ones on Dudley's birthday at the zoo, he vanishes the glass on the Boa Constrictors tank and uses his Parseltongue abilities to speak to it. I know Parseltongue is vaunted for being the talent of dark wizards including The Dark Lord, and Salazar Slytherin himself but what does he do? he uses it to speak to a snake and find out it's never been to Brazil.
He uses his Parseltongue to make friends with a snake and sets him free, i think that might be something only Harry Potter might do. This Chapter is, all in all, very short and only touches on Harry's accidental magic as a plot point but I really I love the scene with the Boa Constrictor because, who else would talk to a snake, find out that it was bred in captivity but wanted to go to Brazil and set it free?
It earns him quite a bit of time in his cupboard as is specified and the end of the chapter and the beginning of chapter 3 but all in all I think it's a pretty cool bit of accidental magic, cooler maybe, that turning his teacher's wig blue or shrinking a horrible sweater or growing back his hair after a terrible haircut.
Next Chapter: The letters from No one :D That's definitely a fun chapter. See you next time! I'll try to post the next chapter or 2 soon either later today or tomorrow
The Harry Potter Re-read: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Chapter 1: Voldemort's Downfall
Spoilers Ahead: Read with Caution
Alright, to start off my re-read obviously we start at the very beginning, a very good place to start (sorry, the Sound of Music reference just made itself). Let's dust off those Hogwarts house robes, grab your wand and glasses and get reading! Before I found that fic I was talking about in my last post for my part it had actually been a ridiculously long time since I had read Harry Potter and I'm glad I took the opportunity to re-read. From a re-reading perspective the events in the books take on a whole new meaning when you know what will happen later on and yes I may have cried just a bit thinking about Hedwig (I also looked at the Website for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida and that really didn't help at all cause now I'm semi-broke but desperately want to go to Florida (and I will! Mark my words I will go).
Also, when I re-rad the books I notice a lot of flaws (not in the books themselves) but in Wizard logic and reasoning (I'll get to that later in the commentary section).
Summary:
OK, Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived. We start with the Dursley's. We are introduced to them and we know that they are perfectly normal, nothing out of the ordinary every happens to them. Vernon works at a firm called Grunnings that makes drills and he's married to his loving wife Petunia and they have an infant son Dudley who they think is an angel. He's actually quite the terror. By all accounts Vernon loves his family very much and they're a typical (ish) suburban family living in Surrey. Petunia spends her days staying home with Dudley and spies on the neighbours and Vernon works for Grunnings. From what we can glean Petunia has an estranged sister, married with a child of her own, but, as we find out later she doesn't really approve of and definitely doesn't speak to her sister or her sister's husband. However we know that Petunia's sister is a bit weird (at least by Dursley standards) and they don't want their perfect angel Dudley mixing with his cousin in case some of the weirdness rubs off.
On the day our story starts, presumably it's November 1st, or thereabouts, given what we know from later, and Vernon's day starts as normally and boringly as it usually does. He picks out a dull, boring tie for work, dons a normal, workaday suit and leaves. Then things start to get interesting. First he sees a cat sitting at the corner reading a map and later the street sign (but cats can't read can they? *Snort*) He starts seeing people in strange clothes conversing on street corners (blatantly flaunting the Statute of Secrecy I might add). He hears something about the Potter's his sister-in-laws family, maybe, Potter being a very common name after all, and goes home resolved not to mentioned it to Petunia. Later that evening, after the owl...I mean weather report they go to bed completely unconcerned.
Later that night, the cat on the garden wall transforms into Professor McGonagall and she meets with professor Dumbledore to find out the truth about the Potters and complain about her fellow witches and wizards for flaunting the Statute of Secrecy. Hagrid arrives on Sirius Black's flying motorbike with baby Harry and they leave him on the doorstep of Number 4 with a letter for his relatives.
Commentary:
I love the way that Rowling describes the Dursley's. When the story opens, it opens with "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive were very proud to say they were perfectly normal, Thank You very much." Reading the rest of the paragraph she kind of makes them sound like Hobbits, they're perfectly normal, and they don't hold with nonsense, imagination or adventure. Also, I'm not going to lie, when I pictured the Dursley's the first time they turned out really funny looking. A stick of a woman with a huge neck, she uses to spy on the neighbours, a huge walrus of a man complete with moustache and a round beach ball of a son who just gets bigger as the years progress.
However, as years (and books) progress and we hear more and more about just how awful the Dursley's are to their nephew but for the fact that they are horrid to Harry they seem to love each other quite a bit. (I saw a theory that it was maybe the Horcrux in Harry's head but I don't think so, prolonged exposure for 10 years wouldn't just have made them horrible to him, it would have driven them insane, if what the locket does to Ron in Deathly Hallows is any indication, or what the diary does to Ginny in Chamber of Secrets.)
Also, I'm struck by the sheer stupidity of wizards, like, Harry has a perfectly good, maybe a little overly playful, but perfectly loving godfather. If Hagrid had left Harry with Sirius, would he have gone after Pettigrew? There's the entire possibility that he wouldn't have and Harry would have grown up loved and knowing his parents and you can't tell me that he didn't have cousins on the Potter side of things who couldn't have taken him in. Yes I get not wanting him to grow up arrogant and getting a swelled head but doesn't Dumbledore remember what happened last time a half-blood wizard child was left in an abusive situation? The Dark Lord about, and we got Severus Snape, need I say more. Minerva spends the entire day sitting on a garden wall watching the Dursley's, one day, that's all it takes for her to peg the kind of family they are and what does she do? She tells Dumbledore all she's seen, seems logical right? What does Dumbledore do? LEAVES HIM ON THEIR DOORSTEP! Like, charms to keep him safe and warm notwithstanding, it's November and he's leaving a baby on a doorstep? Of abusive relations who didn't want him in the first place with a letter a letter explaining why they had to keep him and couldn't just ship him off. He claimed it was for their protection and his but it's clear from the snippets we get as Harry's growing up that whatever Blood wards there may be to keep Wizards from finding him? Don't work. At all. An old man bowed to him once in a shop, he got waved at on a bus by a random old lady, by all accounts that probably shouldn't be happening if Dumbledore's protections worked at all.
But enough about that. Thinking back to the whispers about the Potters. When you first read it the gravity of the situation doesn't really sink in. But on the second/third whatever read through you come to the realization, The Potters, a new couple, no older than 21, with a son who's only a year old have just died and their son is now an orphan. Does anyone think about that. No, they're just happy that the Dark Lord is finally gone and they didn't think about what it cost poor little Harry, or indeed Neville, he lost his Parents that night as well, just not in precisely the same way.
But the next chapter, further along in Harry's life, will be alright right? Nothing could be more horrible for him than it already is right? Wrong.
It's Dudley's Birthday next, let's see what happens. Until next time Potterheads! In the mean time check out my poll (also, some of you may have noticed that I've started tagging my posts to make them easier to sort through, if you feel so inclined, check it out (yes I'm retroactively tagging my 96 odd blog posts so sue me))
Alright, to start off my re-read obviously we start at the very beginning, a very good place to start (sorry, the Sound of Music reference just made itself). Let's dust off those Hogwarts house robes, grab your wand and glasses and get reading! Before I found that fic I was talking about in my last post for my part it had actually been a ridiculously long time since I had read Harry Potter and I'm glad I took the opportunity to re-read. From a re-reading perspective the events in the books take on a whole new meaning when you know what will happen later on and yes I may have cried just a bit thinking about Hedwig (I also looked at the Website for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida and that really didn't help at all cause now I'm semi-broke but desperately want to go to Florida (and I will! Mark my words I will go).
Also, when I re-rad the books I notice a lot of flaws (not in the books themselves) but in Wizard logic and reasoning (I'll get to that later in the commentary section).
Summary:
OK, Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived. We start with the Dursley's. We are introduced to them and we know that they are perfectly normal, nothing out of the ordinary every happens to them. Vernon works at a firm called Grunnings that makes drills and he's married to his loving wife Petunia and they have an infant son Dudley who they think is an angel. He's actually quite the terror. By all accounts Vernon loves his family very much and they're a typical (ish) suburban family living in Surrey. Petunia spends her days staying home with Dudley and spies on the neighbours and Vernon works for Grunnings. From what we can glean Petunia has an estranged sister, married with a child of her own, but, as we find out later she doesn't really approve of and definitely doesn't speak to her sister or her sister's husband. However we know that Petunia's sister is a bit weird (at least by Dursley standards) and they don't want their perfect angel Dudley mixing with his cousin in case some of the weirdness rubs off.
On the day our story starts, presumably it's November 1st, or thereabouts, given what we know from later, and Vernon's day starts as normally and boringly as it usually does. He picks out a dull, boring tie for work, dons a normal, workaday suit and leaves. Then things start to get interesting. First he sees a cat sitting at the corner reading a map and later the street sign (but cats can't read can they? *Snort*) He starts seeing people in strange clothes conversing on street corners (blatantly flaunting the Statute of Secrecy I might add). He hears something about the Potter's his sister-in-laws family, maybe, Potter being a very common name after all, and goes home resolved not to mentioned it to Petunia. Later that evening, after the owl...I mean weather report they go to bed completely unconcerned.
Later that night, the cat on the garden wall transforms into Professor McGonagall and she meets with professor Dumbledore to find out the truth about the Potters and complain about her fellow witches and wizards for flaunting the Statute of Secrecy. Hagrid arrives on Sirius Black's flying motorbike with baby Harry and they leave him on the doorstep of Number 4 with a letter for his relatives.
Commentary:
I love the way that Rowling describes the Dursley's. When the story opens, it opens with "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive were very proud to say they were perfectly normal, Thank You very much." Reading the rest of the paragraph she kind of makes them sound like Hobbits, they're perfectly normal, and they don't hold with nonsense, imagination or adventure. Also, I'm not going to lie, when I pictured the Dursley's the first time they turned out really funny looking. A stick of a woman with a huge neck, she uses to spy on the neighbours, a huge walrus of a man complete with moustache and a round beach ball of a son who just gets bigger as the years progress.
However, as years (and books) progress and we hear more and more about just how awful the Dursley's are to their nephew but for the fact that they are horrid to Harry they seem to love each other quite a bit. (I saw a theory that it was maybe the Horcrux in Harry's head but I don't think so, prolonged exposure for 10 years wouldn't just have made them horrible to him, it would have driven them insane, if what the locket does to Ron in Deathly Hallows is any indication, or what the diary does to Ginny in Chamber of Secrets.)
Also, I'm struck by the sheer stupidity of wizards, like, Harry has a perfectly good, maybe a little overly playful, but perfectly loving godfather. If Hagrid had left Harry with Sirius, would he have gone after Pettigrew? There's the entire possibility that he wouldn't have and Harry would have grown up loved and knowing his parents and you can't tell me that he didn't have cousins on the Potter side of things who couldn't have taken him in. Yes I get not wanting him to grow up arrogant and getting a swelled head but doesn't Dumbledore remember what happened last time a half-blood wizard child was left in an abusive situation? The Dark Lord about, and we got Severus Snape, need I say more. Minerva spends the entire day sitting on a garden wall watching the Dursley's, one day, that's all it takes for her to peg the kind of family they are and what does she do? She tells Dumbledore all she's seen, seems logical right? What does Dumbledore do? LEAVES HIM ON THEIR DOORSTEP! Like, charms to keep him safe and warm notwithstanding, it's November and he's leaving a baby on a doorstep? Of abusive relations who didn't want him in the first place with a letter a letter explaining why they had to keep him and couldn't just ship him off. He claimed it was for their protection and his but it's clear from the snippets we get as Harry's growing up that whatever Blood wards there may be to keep Wizards from finding him? Don't work. At all. An old man bowed to him once in a shop, he got waved at on a bus by a random old lady, by all accounts that probably shouldn't be happening if Dumbledore's protections worked at all.
But enough about that. Thinking back to the whispers about the Potters. When you first read it the gravity of the situation doesn't really sink in. But on the second/third whatever read through you come to the realization, The Potters, a new couple, no older than 21, with a son who's only a year old have just died and their son is now an orphan. Does anyone think about that. No, they're just happy that the Dark Lord is finally gone and they didn't think about what it cost poor little Harry, or indeed Neville, he lost his Parents that night as well, just not in precisely the same way.
But the next chapter, further along in Harry's life, will be alright right? Nothing could be more horrible for him than it already is right? Wrong.
It's Dudley's Birthday next, let's see what happens. Until next time Potterheads! In the mean time check out my poll (also, some of you may have noticed that I've started tagging my posts to make them easier to sort through, if you feel so inclined, check it out (yes I'm retroactively tagging my 96 odd blog posts so sue me))
The Next Great Adventure - my Harry Potter Chapter by Chapter re-read - Introduction
Yes, you read that correctly, chapter by chapter re-read. I'm not going to lie this was half inspired by a Harry Potter re-read that one of the authors on the Tor blog is doing (here, if you want to check it out) and half inspired by the fact that I read far, far, far too much fanfiction and I am currently reading a, not yet finished, reading the books fic, a massive 147 chapter (soon to be 148 (it updates every Friday) whopper (here, go ahead, read it, it's wonderful, even if it's not finished yet and I don't usually like reading unfinished fanfiction (for the same reason I don't like getting into shows a few seasons in, cause I'll binge watch (or in this case binge read) and then there's nothing left and I'm back to waiting for weekly (or worse, biweekly) updates) but I love this one and it's a totally new perspective of the series, from a fanfiction point of view (the other reading the books fic I was reading got deleted I was not impressed, I've always wanted to see what the characters opinions would be if they ever read the stories). It was also, kinda, sorta inspired by her publication of her Harvard commencement speech, Very Good Lives (read my review (well it's kind of a ramble) here)
Anywho, enough rambling. I will update my re-read as I go through and re-read the books (kind of the point) and I will most certainly try to be consistent in my posts but depending on life and my sometimes sieve-like brain my update schedule may change.
I'm going to tell you now and will put up a warning for every post, but, as this is a re-read and not a first time read I'm going to assume that you've read the books already. (If you haven't you totally should) and, I'm going to say it now and in every post
SPOILERS AHEAD: READ WITH CAUTION
I am aware that there are in fact people who haven't read Harry Potter and if they ever intend to I don't want to spoil it for them by not posting a spoiler warning. So, see you on the other side and look for chapter 1 (maybe 2) either later today (it now being the 24th of April where I am) or tomorrow, maybe even as late as Monday but I don't think it will come to that. Also, in the spirit of a Harry Potter Re-read I have created a poll of your favourite Ghost from the series, it will close on the day of the battle of Hogwarts, May 2...maybe, I might change the end date so the end date coincides with the last chapter review. If you have a favourite ghost I didn't mention let me know in comments and I'll add them in!
See you then Potterheads! Be Prepared for a roller-coaster of feels and fangirl ranting. I know a chapter by chaper re-read and review will be long but it'll be fun! See you on Privet Drive!
Anywho, enough rambling. I will update my re-read as I go through and re-read the books (kind of the point) and I will most certainly try to be consistent in my posts but depending on life and my sometimes sieve-like brain my update schedule may change.
I'm going to tell you now and will put up a warning for every post, but, as this is a re-read and not a first time read I'm going to assume that you've read the books already. (If you haven't you totally should) and, I'm going to say it now and in every post
SPOILERS AHEAD: READ WITH CAUTION
I am aware that there are in fact people who haven't read Harry Potter and if they ever intend to I don't want to spoil it for them by not posting a spoiler warning. So, see you on the other side and look for chapter 1 (maybe 2) either later today (it now being the 24th of April where I am) or tomorrow, maybe even as late as Monday but I don't think it will come to that. Also, in the spirit of a Harry Potter Re-read I have created a poll of your favourite Ghost from the series, it will close on the day of the battle of Hogwarts, May 2...maybe, I might change the end date so the end date coincides with the last chapter review. If you have a favourite ghost I didn't mention let me know in comments and I'll add them in!
See you then Potterheads! Be Prepared for a roller-coaster of feels and fangirl ranting. I know a chapter by chaper re-read and review will be long but it'll be fun! See you on Privet Drive!
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling
Hey everyone I'm back. It's been far, far, far too long since I've updated or posted here. Anyway, this is less of a book and more of a commencement speech that she did put into print, like the Make Good Art Speech by Neil Gaiman that I reviewed a while back
As I mentioned this is a commencement (graduation, whatever you want to call it) speech that Rowling did for Harvard University. The subtitle of her address is "The fringe benefits of failure and the importance of imagination."
When I found this book at Coles I'm not going to lie I had hit a bit of a writer's block and was sort of actively avoiding writing at all costs and I thought maybe it would give me some inspiration, and it did...it' inspired me to read Harry Potter again, not quite the effect I was going for but it works. I was going to re-read the series anyway (for probably the millionth time, instead of reading the precariously stacked piles of books by my bed). But I read it through and she makes a lot of good points.
For Example, that achievable goals are the first step to self improvement and that failure is, first and foremost, a stripping away of the essential.
In her Harvard commencement address she is eloquent and inspiring and here, to close this post I think I will echo her sentiments,
If there is something that you want to do in life, do it. If you want to become an artist or a writer of a musician or an actor, cartoonist, animator, director, take your pick, but go out there and do it. Especially if you are in school (or work) and that thing is all you can think about doing, all you do in your off hours, if you're failing classes because you're spending too much time doing what you love and not enough time doing what you ought, or what your parents think you ought to do, stop doing the thing that you are failing at, go do the thing you love.
See you next time, until then keep reading, writing and doing everything you love. When (yes when) I come back I'll be doing a Harry Potter Re-read (Yes I know I started one for Banned books week but that doesn't really count as I never finished it and it turned out badly).
See you next time!
As I mentioned this is a commencement (graduation, whatever you want to call it) speech that Rowling did for Harvard University. The subtitle of her address is "The fringe benefits of failure and the importance of imagination."
When I found this book at Coles I'm not going to lie I had hit a bit of a writer's block and was sort of actively avoiding writing at all costs and I thought maybe it would give me some inspiration, and it did...it' inspired me to read Harry Potter again, not quite the effect I was going for but it works. I was going to re-read the series anyway (for probably the millionth time, instead of reading the precariously stacked piles of books by my bed). But I read it through and she makes a lot of good points.
For Example, that achievable goals are the first step to self improvement and that failure is, first and foremost, a stripping away of the essential.
In her Harvard commencement address she is eloquent and inspiring and here, to close this post I think I will echo her sentiments,
If there is something that you want to do in life, do it. If you want to become an artist or a writer of a musician or an actor, cartoonist, animator, director, take your pick, but go out there and do it. Especially if you are in school (or work) and that thing is all you can think about doing, all you do in your off hours, if you're failing classes because you're spending too much time doing what you love and not enough time doing what you ought, or what your parents think you ought to do, stop doing the thing that you are failing at, go do the thing you love.
See you next time, until then keep reading, writing and doing everything you love. When (yes when) I come back I'll be doing a Harry Potter Re-read (Yes I know I started one for Banned books week but that doesn't really count as I never finished it and it turned out badly).
See you next time!
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