Days 6 & 7, 1,166 pages

Days 6 & 7 : June 28th and 29th, 2011

Current Book : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, page 82

Total pages read : 1,166 of 4,100 (28% completed)

     These past two days have been a lot busier than the rest of the summer, and I haven’t been able to get in as many pages. On Wednesday I went to Cedar Point with the amazing Dawn Purcell and Zach Jones and we had some great HP discussions. Links to their own "Harry Potter Challenge" blogs are on the left. Do it! So anyway, I figured I should just combine the past two days into one entry so as not to waste your time with two short ones. So here we go!

     I finished the 3^rd book and got just a little way into the 4^th! One of my favorite things about re-reading is that it brings back how I felt when I first read them. I remember feeling really confused near the end of Prisoner of Azkaban; primarily when Dumbledore comes in and instructs Hermione that “three turns should do it”, and especially when the truth about the betrayal of the Potters is revealed in the Shrieking Shack. I remember being so confused because the trio thinks they have things figured out, but their beliefs and deductions are really shattered. It was a different experience than the “mystery novel” endings of Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets.

     As I finished reading Prisoner of Azkaban, I realized that I really hate how the 3^rd movie was directed. The 1^st and 2^nd were very similar to the books, but man does the 3^rd one just butcher and mangle the timeline. Sure, when you’re transferring a book into a movie there’s bound to be a lot that just has to be changed. But in the 3^rd movie some things are changed and added for no reason. Things like future-Hermione throwing the shell-like stone at past-Harry’s head to get the past-trio to move out of Hagrid’s Hut, etc. But where this really frustrated me was the area of Lupin. I think the character Lupin is great and is really important to Harry. But when I re-read the 3^rd book I realized that the relationship between Lupin and Harry isn’t really that strong, but it’s portrayed as being very tight-knit in the movies. In the books, Lupin is very distant when he explains to Harry why he didn’t want him to face a boggart, he’s reluctant when Harry wants lessons to defend himself against Dementors and tells him to wait until a better time, and once he’s back from his last werewolf-bout he forgets he’s agreed to help Harry. Of course, he does act as a mentor figure, but the way I saw it was that he’s more of a literary tool to link Harry to Sirius and his father. When Sirius comes along, that is who Harry is interested in. It’s all he can think about during the hour that he thinks he may be able to live with Sirius instead of the Dursleys. I don't know, I just feel like the focus of the movie is really off. But that's just my opinion. 

     On to the bits of the books that got my attention. This one really got me thinking about how much Voldemort's wrath pushed people apart, but at the same time, pulled them together. "You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!" "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" What Voldemort's reign was doing was putting people's character to the test. Some people crumbled, like Pettigrew. But others stood strong and were connected in ways they never believed possible, like Sirius, Remus, James, and Lily. This kind of love is what saved Harry, what held the trio together, and ultimately is what gave Harry the strength to defeat Voldemort in the end. As Jo Rowling put it so well in a past interview, "Love wins. It does win. We know it wins!".

     And on a less serious note, this quote was the first to make me laugh out loud in GoF. Harry is talking about Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. Dursley describes her as "dumpy". "Harry frowned. He thought it was a bit rich of Uncle Vernon to call anyone "dumpy", when his own son, Dudley, had finally achieved what he'd been threatening to do since the age of three, and become wider than he was tall."

     GOTTA GO, time to catch up! Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or ideas :) 

     Only 2,937 pages to go!

Day 5, 982 pages

Day 5 : Monday, June 27th, 2011
Current Book : Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, page 332
Total pages read : 982 out of 4100 (24% completed)


     I love this book! Prisoner of Azkaban used to be my least favorite... now it's growing on me more. I'm basically at the part right before they all journey to the Shrieking Shack, it's about to get really good. I just took a break, and when I came back I looked at my book and started laughing out loud... it looks like I'm reading it for school or something! 

     The red tab is my awesome bookmark, the blue sticky-note is the one I use to mark the place I need to read up to each day. The orange sticky-notes are what I use to remember the important things I want to blog about here, and the yellow sticky-notes are ones I put in there years ago when I was comparing the 3rd book to its movie. Reading Harry Potter is not a joke ;)

     So, things that have caught my attention thus far! The first is when Sirius sneaks into the school and students speculate that he could've Apparated in. Hermione quickly clears this up with her Hogwarts A History knowledge by saying "The castle's protected by more than walls, you know ... there are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here ... They'd have seen him fly in too." This made me think of the end of the 6th book where Dumbledore and Harry Apparate into Hogsmeade (which is allowed), then quickly fly up to Hogwarts. Dumbledore has to mutter spells to lower the enchantments so they can safely pass thru to Hogwarts. Huh, well there have been plenty of times that people've flown into Hogwarts without those enchantments stopping them. Ron and Harry flew the Ford Anglia in and Charlie flew in to retrieve Norbert(a). There are also a few times where people fly freely out, like when Sirius escapes on Buckbeak, the gang flies to the Ministry in the 5th book, and when Fred and George Weasley leave Hogwarts on broomsticks in the 5th book. Maybe it doesn't really matter for people leaving, but still, there are a lot of cases where people freely entered. Thoughts?
     In the Hogsmeade conversation where the adults unknowingly inform Harry about Sirius' supposed betrayal of the Potters, Hagrid talks about Sirius' giving him his flying motorcycle. "I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then ... what was he givin' it ter me for? ... Fact is, it was too easy to trace." But, was it? That's what Harry and Hagrid ride in the beginning of the 7th book because it's a method of transportation that isn't able to be traced by the Ministry. Though, I'm thinking Hagrid might be saying "trace" in the sense that there aren't a lot of flying motorcycles around, even in the wizarding world. So people might've been able to quickly identify it as Sirius' bike. Maybe.
     Next, one of Harry's dreams is being described. "He was walking through a forest, his Firebolt over his shoulder, following something silvery-white. It was winding its way through the trees ahead, and he could only catch glimpses of it between the leaves. Anxious to catch up with it, he sped up, but as he moved faster, so did his quarry. Harry broke into a run, and ahead he heard hooves gathering speed. Now he was running flat out, and ahead he could hear galloping. Then he turned a corner into a clearing and ----" he wakes up. This reminded me a LOT of when Harry follows the doe Patronus through the Forest of Dean to find the Sword of Gryffindor in the pond. He didn't have his Firebolt, and Patronuses don't make noise as far as I remember, but still, this dream seems like some big foreshadowing. I'll have to check that out once I get to the 7th book.
     Another one that just straight-up made me laugh out loud. ""Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," said Hagrid wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow." Hahaha that's just so Hagrid.
         These last two are going a little more into Dawn's territory with the whole relationship thing, but I'll give it a go. Each is a moment I found funny about each couple.  First is after the Quidditch match where the Dementors enter the field and Harry falls off his Nimbus. He's in the Hospital Wing and it says "Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously, turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang shrilly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit." I'm sorry, but I just had to burst out laughing on that one. In the past 3 books there have been plenty of hints toward Ginny crushing on Harry and I didn't want to take note of all of them (again, Dawn will!) but this one was just so great I had to talk about it.
     The second relationship quote is where Ron resolves to help Hermione prepare Hagrid to Buckbeak's appeal. "You won't have to do all the work along this time, Hermione. I'll help." "Oh, Ron!" Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely. Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkwardly on the top of the head." This falls in line with what I said in a comment on Dawn's blog post. I basically said that Ron and Harry are being protective over Hermione and Ginny, but the feelings haven't really kicked in yet. It's still just subconscious. Hermione and Ginny (Ginny especially) have a better understanding of where their emotions are leading them. Bottom line, nobody full-on knows, but the girls are way closer to knowing what they want than the boys are. It'll be great seeing all of this take shape over the next few books!


Only 3,118 pages to go!

Day 4, 728 pages

Day 4 : Sunday, June 26th, 2011
Current Book : Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, page 78
Total pages read : 728 out of 4100 (18% completed)


     Didn't read as much today! Too much stuff going on lol. But still, I finished Chamber of Secrets and started Prisoner of Azkaban. The part in PoA that really got me excited was when Harry was given 2 weeks to stay in the Leaky Cauldron to explore and wander around Diagon Alley. He kept talking about how much better aquinted he was becoming with the area, and when Ron and Hermione come to shop he's able to recommend places for them to go. This just got me a bit excited for the college atmosphere of being able to go out and have fun in the city your college is in and really make that a new home for yourself.


     At the end of the book when Harry and Dumbledore have their annual "let's-talk-about you-and-Voldemort" meeting, one snippet of conversation stuck out to me. ""Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" Harry said, thunderstruck. "It certainly seems so."" Of course, this seems obvious to me now, but back then we didn't think it was so literal! Not only did Voldemort put a bit of himself (Parseltongue, some of his powers, etc) in Harry, he inadvertently inserted a bit of his soul! But it's funny how Harry just says it so literally so that we can get a better idea. I wonder how much Dumbledore knows at this point. Do you think he has an inkling yet?
     And then a little bit later, Dumbledore explains "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Michelle put this in her graduation speech last year, and it's perfect! There are plenty of truly talented people out there who just squander their abilities. It's all about harnessing your different gifts and talents and using them to make the world a better place. Makes me think about Voldemort. He had all of this potential and these fantastic gifts, but his choices steered him away from being good. It makes you wonder if he was born like this, or if his environment (the potentially toxic environment of the orphanage) made him the way he was?


     Didn't read as many pages as I should've today, gotta catch up! Only 3,372 pages to go!

Day 3, 582 pages

Day 3 : Saturday, June 25th, 2011
Current Book : Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 273
Total pages read : 582 out of 4,100 (14% completed)


     Phew! Again, this is difficult but fun. This is putting me in the perfect state for the premiere. As I keep reading, I'm remembering all the crazy stories and mishaps that are to come. What I've found interesting is how dire everything seems to the trio. Not that they're not facing legitimate dangers in these first two books, but compared to the eventual showdown in Hallows, Voldy/Quirrell just seems like nothing! It was interesting to see them dealing in absolutes in times of danger ("it doesn't matter if we risk being expelled, we have to do *this* or else all is lost"), knowing that they've got real troubles ahead. They don't even know about horcruxes lol.
     So there were only a few places that stuck out to me this time. The first is just that we've really gotten to get a good look at Percy Weasley as a person. There've already been a few instances where he's staying on the path of pushing his family away. Here he's yelling at Ron. ""Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum!"" The future fall-out with his family is being really well set up. It's sad.
     Oh--the other thing that literally made me laugh out loud was the description of the Mandrakes! It's completely left out of the movies, and I was probably too young to get it all when I first read this book. Their maturation is described in terms of a human, and it's hilarious! "Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning that they were fast leaving childhood. "The moment their acne clears up, they'll be ready for repotting again" Harry heard her telling Filch kindly one afternoon" and later on it says "in March several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three. This made Professor Sprout very happy. "The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature," she told Harry." Yeah, there've been a few times that I just had to burst out laughing while reading haha.
     Right now I'm at the point where everyone's been petrified and Ron and Harry have "followed the spiders" into the forest. They're about to meet Aragog. Gettin' close to the end!
     Only 3,518 pages to go!

Day 2, 321 pages

Day 2 : Friday, June 24th, 2011
Current Book : Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 12
Total pages read: 321 out of 4,100 (8% completed)


     Wow, this is gonna be hard... but fun. I did the math, and because of my retreat I'm going on I'm gonna need to read a little under 250 pages a day to make it. This isn't necessarily really difficult, but it does mean that if I skip reading just for a day I'll be way behind.
     Anyway, the books! I finished the first book, and then read 12 pages into the second. The Sorcerer's Stone... cracked me up. There's so much foreshadowing and laying down of a perfect foundation that it's not even funny. Plus, the characters are just perfect. I'd forgotten how good of an author J.K. Rowling really is. What really made me laugh was how stupid Harry is. Just young-stupid. Think about it! He's not a freshman or anything in this book.... he's 11, so that puts him in 5th or 6th grade. And so are Ron and Hermione. I'm excited to see this arc with all of them. For Ron to come out of his shell and be comfortable with himself as an individual, for Hermione to learn to shaddup, and for Harry to become the hero we all know.


     There were a couple places in the book that made me stop and think. The first was on page 128, just after everyone sings the school song (everyone sings to their own tune). "Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!" This statement is really important because music has so much meaning in today's world. And Dumbledore is brought to tears by the un-polished school song!
     The next is after the troll fiasco when Hermione lies to keep the boys out of trouble. "But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." Haha this ties back to how great of a writer Jo is, and how excited I am for the character arc of these three.
     The next quote is Harry and Hermione talking before Harry's first Quidditch game.
""You've got to eat some breakfast."
"I don't want anything."
"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.
"I'm not hungry."
Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field." This just made me crack up because I'm pretty sure that later in the books, when it's Ron's first Quidditch game, the conversation is pretty much the same. We'll have to wait and see.
     Next. "The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban."  At this point in the book we don't know that Voldemort is back there, but as a re-reader I could catch this one. Hahahaha think about it! They unknowingly just pelted Voldemort in the face with a bunch of snowballs.... repeatedly. Appreciation. I wonder if Voldemort knows it was them?
     After they send Norbert off to safety, the trio gets busted. "It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on. He'd had it with sneaking around and spying." Haha I don't think so. There wouldn't be 6 more books if that were true! I can't imagine Jo could have written that with a straight face.
     After Harry defeats Voldy/Quirrell, Dumbledore says "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows." This is so true! I was actually waiting for some sort of explanation of this in the 7th book. Think about it... this carries on for 6 more books. I wonder if there's a reason for why everything seems to leak out?
     Dumbledore explains to Harry, "You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all---the trouble is, humans do have a knack for choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." It's true! Ahhhh I love Dumbledore.
     And finally. Harry is about to ask Dumbledore a lot of meaningful questions, and he asks for the truth. ""The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."" Mmmmmm, that's a lot to think about. Truth has so much power, but it's often misused.


     So now I'm on to the second book! It makes me laugh because the beginning is such an excuse to recap the first book. I've never noticed because I usually don't read them in this quick of succession. But I'm pumped to finish this one tomorrow because I remember it being sooo good.


Only 3,779 pages to go!

Day 1, 71 pages

Day 1 : Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
Current Book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, page 71
Total pages read: 71 out of 4100 (2% completed)


     So I recently decided that I'm going to take on the task of reading all 7 Harry Potter books before the premiere of the 8th and final movie of the series. The catch is that there are only 21 days until it's time to head out for the premiere! I've read all the books more than once, and I think that at one point I've read them all again in order, but I can't remember when it was or if I actually did it! Erin gave me the idea to blog about this experience, and Zach convinced me to actually do it. So I am! Partially because... it'll be awesome. And mostly because it'll be motivation to actually finish all 7 books in time for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. Entries might technically be posted a day late sometimes just because I'll probably read when I'm in bed. So I'll be posting the next morning before I pick up reading again. 


     So today I only read 71 pages because I started later in the day. Before I began reading, I was afraid that the books would seem foreign to me because it's been a while since I've read some of them. But they're not foreign at all! Some things I had forgotten, obviously, but it feels like remembering good times with an old friend more than anything. 
     I have found, though, that the movies have somewhat warped my memory of what actually happens. Just little things. In the movies when Hagrid reveals to Harry that he's a wizard he says "Yer a wizard, Harry!". It's about as quotable as "Luke--I am your father"! And that's the way it's stuck in my mind. But in the books, Hagrid actually says "Harry----yer a wizard". Just silly little things like that.
     Right now, Harry is out of the Dursley's house and is with Hagrid. They're juuuust about to enter into Diagon Alley... and then the fun begins!
     But bottom line... I'm excited! Tomorrow is the last day of teaching Religious Ed, and after that I'll have a lot more free time to just read (minus when I go on a retreat from July 8th to July 10th, but I'll figure it out). Tomorrow begins the hardcore reading! 
     Stay tuned. Only 4,029 pages to go!