Title: Quidditch Through the Ages Author: J.K. Rowling Series: Harry Potter Companion Book Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Witches Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2001 5th sentence, 74th page: Quidditch was well established in Ireland by the fourteenth century, as proved by Zacharias Mumps’s account of a match in 1385: ‘A team of Warlocks from Cork flew over for a game in Lancashire and did offend the locals by beating their heroes soundly.
If you have ever asked yourself where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence or why the Wigtown Wanderers have pictures of meat cleavers on their robes, you need Quidditch Through the Ages. This invaluable volume is consulted by young Quidditch fans on an almost daily basis.
This was my least favourite book in the Hogwarts Library series. I just found it a little dry to read. Although, I feel that way with a lot of history books, so that’s probably why. Sport doesn’t fascinate me, and neither does the way it evolved in the world.
Having said that, I thought that it was really well written. It actually reminded me of the PE textbook that I had to read in my first two years of high school. And the attention to detail that J.K. Rowling has in all of her books added another layer of reality to the world.
Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Author: J.K. Rowling Series: Harry Potter Companion Book Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Witches Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2001 5th sentence, 74th page: A black market in Runespoor eggs and in the serpents themselves has flourished for several centuries.
A copy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them resides in almost every wizarding household in the country. Now Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl.
I can’t wait for this movie to come out – it’s going to be really interesting to see how people are able to change a cute little textbook into something more. I loved constantly discovering new creatures throughout the Harry Potter series, but having the text book just opened me up to a whole new world of discovery.
I thought that the creatures in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were a great mix of well-known mythology and J.K. Rowling’s imagination. As someone who has a slight obsession with mythology and the paranormal world, this was brilliant and refreshing.
Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Author: J.K. Rowling Series: Harry Potter #4 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Witches Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2000 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘We’ll be a bit cramped,’ he called, ‘but I think we’ll all squeeze in.
It is the summer holidays and soon Harry Potter will be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is counting the days: there are new spells to be learnt, more Quidditch to be played, and Hogwarts castle to continue exploring. But Harry needs to be careful – there are unexpected dangers lurking…
I always feel like this is the Harry Potter book that goes from a childish fantasy tale to a series that is complex and a little too serious. Partly it’s because of the content, but I it’s also because if you look in the book case, this book is a LOT thicker than the first three tales in this epic story. Since the first Harry Potter book, I have loved J.K. Rowling’s investigation of relationships. From Ron, Harry and Hermione’s rocky start to their friendship to Malfoy’s jealousy, the relationships follow a really realistic pattern and feel real. And the Goblet of Fire follows this progression.
Ron’s jealousy of his incredibly popular friend is something that I completely understand (after all, my girlfriends all seem to be stunningly beautiful, and I am always jealous of the attention that they get). Not only did this make them seem far more relatable, but it would be hard to believe a story where the best friend (and sidekick) didn’t get jealous. Yes, when you read about his pig-headedness and the ways he manages to ostracise not only Harry, but also Hermione, you kind of want to reach through the pages and slap the boy, but really, if you were in that position, wouldn’t you do the same? Haven’t you?
Then there is Ron’s refusal to see that he has feelings for Hermione. Their relationship is one of my favourite literary romances, not only is it totally natural, but it’s entertaining. There isn’t a moment of wow, we like each other, let’s get together, the end. It’s cat and mouse, people growing up in some really difficult times, and emotions just slowly reaching out to take hold. There’s not even a moment when you realise that they both accept their emotions – it just happens. And, at least in my limited experience. This is what happens in real life. There aren’t grand gestures and roses (at least not for me), but there are these beautiful little moments caught in time. The seconds that make you go “huh”. It’s a perfect contrast to Harry and Ginny’s relationship – Ginny is blatantly in love with him, and then Harry is blatantly in love with her and they take a little while to figure it out. Get together. Break up again.
As I previously said, The Goblet of Fire marked a real change of pace in the Harry Potter stories. And part of this was the return of Lord Voldemort. That moment still brings tears to my eyes and shivers up my spine. Not only is a young life tragically cut short, but the sinister nature of his return and the unashamed disregard for life is kind of terrifying.
Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Author: J.K. Rowling Series: Harry Potter #3 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Witches Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 1999 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘The new password’s Fortuna Major!’
Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can’t wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn’t if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There’s an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school…
Growing up, The Prisoner of Azkaban was my least favourite Harry Potter book. It just seemed slightly slower and a little off-topic. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve finally gotten a good appreciation of how wonderful this story actually is. I love the character of Sirius and finally getting to meet him and watch the story of James Potter’s childhood unfold is really interesting. After reading the whole series numerous times, the set up in this story makes the rest of the series make so much more sense. The small pieces that seemed so insignificant when I was a child are actually what make the series so potent.
My two favourite things about the Prisoner of Azkaban are the introduction of dementors and the twisting of perceptions. It is well publicised that dementors are the manifestations of depression and a reminder of mental illness within people’s lives. I really love the fact that such a potent reminder of people’s inner scars is a large aspect of our current culture and such an astonishingly popular book series. I think that the introduction of dementors into the Harry Potter series was a huge step towards the understanding of mental health in the general population and a great way to raise awareness for such a serious issue.
Everyone has a different take on what is happening around them. Just ask my sister and I, we both have seriously different recalls of the same moments in time, and I’m fairly certain that neither of us is 100% correct in our recall. So, investigating this through the unfolding story of the Potters’ and Wormtail’s death throughout the story, and contrasting it against Sirius’ version toward the end was a great way to highlight how perceptions can so drastically be altered.
The combination of perceptions and depression are probably what has endeared this to me in my adulthood. And will for everyone else out there.
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Author: J.K. Rowling Series: Harry Potter #2 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Witches Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 1998 5th sentence, 74th page: They squirmed, kicked, flailed their sharp little fists and gnashed their teeth; Harry spent ten whole minutes trying to squash a particularly fat on into a pot.
Harry Potter is a wiard. He is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last…
The Chamber of Secrets is one of my all-time favourite Harry Potter books (if I must pick a favourite that is). If I’m in the mood for a Harry Potter book and don’t feel like reading the whole series (since that can take a few months), it’s the second book that I tend to pick up.
I think that it’s the introduction of Ginny and the pure innocence of the book that has made it so important to me. Even though all of the Harry Potter books have a level of darkness about them (which I love to bits), The Chamber of Secrets seems to highlight Ginny’s innocence and the boys’ tendency to find trouble. But, mostly it’s about the fact that a young girl with a crush and annoying older brothers is so vulnerable – well, any young girl can be vulnerable if approached in the right way. Although it’s incredibly dangerous, Ginny’s purity and the way that she is manipulated reminds me so much of my childhood innocence. Something that I think all of us adults sometimes miss.
As I’m writing about this, I am replaying every moment of the story in my head. A very enjoyable way to procrastinate, I assure you.
Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Author: J.K. Rowling Series: Harry Potter #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Witches Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 1997 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Anyone sitting here?’ he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry.
Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy – until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The reason: HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!
I don’t think that you can say anything about a Harry Potter book these days that someone else hasn’t said. It is so ingrained into our culture and our minds, that I can’t even imagine a person who hasn’t read or at least heard of, the Harry Potter novels. It is certainly ingrained into my memory and childhood.
I can remember exactly where I was when I started reading the first Harry Potter book. I was ten. My mum had given it to me because it just happened to be something she picked up, skimmed and then gave to me. I was hooked from the first page. And I, like most of the children of my generation, spent the lead up to my eleventh birthday waiting on my letter from Hogwarts.
I think that the thing that makes the Harry Potter books so damn wonderful is J.K. Rowling’s brilliant writing. Yes, it’s the storyline and the world that she created. But this would be completely useless if it wasn’t for GREAT writing. The sense of humour, the way that her words invoke visions and feelings – that’s what makes me read these books again and again and again. I know the story off-by-heart, but it’s the one-liners, the language and the way the words just wash over me that makes me read these at least once a year.
Title: Brightly Burning Author: Mercedes Lackey Series: Valdemar #15 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Easy reading, Fantasy Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Daw fantasy Year: 2000 5th sentence, 74th page: He won’t kill me.
A CURSE OF FIRE
When Archer and Nelda Chitward moved their family from a small rural village to the bustling city of Haven, it was cause for great celebration. After all, their textile skills had made them leaders among their Guilds, welcomed into the highest of Guild social circles.
But not everyone in the Chitward home was happy about this “improvement” in the family’s position. Lavan, their middle son, had no desire to be a cloth-merchant, needleworker, cloth-dyer, or anything related to his family’s Guilds. He didn’t really know what he wanted to be – except back home in Alderscroft! To make matters worse, his parents had enrolled him in an “exclusive” private school. It was a place where the arrogant older students were expected to keep discipline, and as a lanky, undersized, sixteen-year-old newcomer, Lavan quickly became the primary scapegoat.
It didn’t help that whenever the older boys caught him he turned a bright scarlet with suppressed rage – a rage which left his skin feeling sunburned and tender, and so filled his mind that he was unable to see, hear, or even to think. For days on end Lavan was overwhelmed by blinding headaches and was unable to attend classes, yet even his pain was a welcome respite from the daily torture he suffered at school.
But nothing could have prepared Lavan or anyone in Haven for what was to come. For from his rage a Gift unlike any known in Valdemar would be born in a fiery conflagration which Heralds and Healers alike would be hard-pressed to contain…
As usual, Mercedes Lackey managed to seriously surprise me with this story. Similar to The Last Herald Mage trilogy, I knew that Brightly Burning would be a tragic tale – it’s mentioned in some of the other Valdemar books. But, it still hooked me and took me on an amazing journey through Lavan’s short, and sad journey.
I’ve read about homosexual and heterosexual characters, and love triangles until I’ve been blue in the face, but Brightly Burning is the first story that I can remember reading about a character that is asexual. Or at least, that is the way he seemed to me. There is a huge difference between a lack of sexual interest in the storyline (because they are too young, or it isn’t part of the author’s plot), but to read about a character that actually doesn’t appear to have any sexual interest in another was really interesting. I have read articles that say that Sherlock Holmes is supposed to have been asexual too, but I haven’t had the privilege of reading the original stories yet. So this was a really welcome difference. It was refreshing.
Even though I knew that Lavan wasn’t going to have a happy ending, it was really nice to find out the whole story. As myths and tales of our past are warped with time, I felt that the truth of Lavan’s tale was so much more exciting and surreal than the pieces I had managed to put together throughout reading the other Valdemar books. Lackey is a master of intertwining completely different generations throughout her books – Valdemar has become a very real place within my head because of this. It is so multidimensional that I can’t store all of the facts in my head, much like real life.
The final moments of this book are etched into my mind forever. All I have to do is think of fire of Lavan Firestorm and I can picture his final moments. To so vividly engrave a moment into my mind is a mark of how brilliant Lackey is.
Title: Subversive Spiritualities: How Rituals Enact the World Author:Frederique Apffel-Marglin Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Anthropology, Mythology, True stories, Non-fiction Pace: Slow Format: Ethnographic text Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: It goes much further than simply the health of an individual.
Even in the twenty-first century, some two-thirds of the world’s peoples quietly live in non-modern, non-cosmopolitan places. In such places the multitudinous voices of the spirits, deities, and other denizens of the other-than-human world continue to be heard, continue to be loved or feared or both, continue to accompany human beings in all their activities. In Subversive Spiritualities, Frederique Apffel-Marglin draws on a lifetime of work with the indigenous peoples of Peru and India to support her argument that the beliefs, values, and practices of such traditional peoples are ”eco-metaphysically true.” In other words, they recognize that human beings are in communion with other beings in nature that have agency and are kinds of spiritual intelligences, with whom humans can be in relationship and communion.
Ritual is the medium for communicating, reciprocating, creating and working with the other-than-humans, who daily remind the humans that the world is not for humans’ exclusive use. Apffel-Marglin argues that when such relationships are appropriately robust, human lifeways are rich, rewarding and, in the contemporary jargon, environmentally sustainable. Her ultimate objective is to ”re-entangle” humans in nature, by promoting a spirituality and ecology of belonging and connection to nature, and an appreciation of animistic perception and ecologies. Along the way she offers provocative and poignant critiques of many assumptions: of the ”development” paradigm as benign (including feminist forms of development advocacy), of most anthropological and other social scientific understandings of indigenous religions, and of common views about peasant and indigenous agronomy. She concludes with a case study of the fair trade movement, illuminating both its shortcomings (how it echoes some of the assumptions in the development paradigms) and its promise as a way to rekindle community between humans as well as between humans and the other-than-human world.
This book was such a unique experience for me – it was an engaging and insightful look into phenomenological ethnography. For those of you who don’t know (as I didn’t when I started reading this book), phenomenology is the different ways in which we view the world. Our phenomenological understandings of our realities are shaped by culture, personal experience and spiritual considerations, amongst other things. Ethnographies, of which I have read a few, are anthropological texts. Ethnographies involve the author immersing themselves into another’s culture and life. Here they participate and observe at the same time, at once part of the group and separate.
I found this ethnography to be really theoretically engaging, and whilst I have read others, this is the one that left me thinking for a long time after I closed its pages. Not only did Apffel-Marglin open up a whole new realm of studies and theoretical points upon which to pursue my own research, it also introduced me to the world of agriculture in the Peruvian Andes. I loved the combination of scientific understandings and cultural knowledge in the care for these passionate people’s environment. And delving into such a wonderful blend of objective and subjective knowledges of the world struck a chord deep within me. So much so that I used this idea within my own Anthropological Honours thesis.
Not only was the subject matter of Subversive Spiritualties highly engaging, Apffel-Marglin’s writing style was incredibly engaging – you couldn’t help but be pulled into the world she so vividly describes. It was also highly appreciated that she was so aware of her own biases. It helped to highlight my own cultural biases and the ways in which our views of the world completely colour everything that we experience and see.
Title: The House of Hades Author: Rick Riordan Series: The Heroes of Olympus #4, Camp Half-Blood Chronicles #12 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Easy reading, Mythology, Urban Fantasy Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Penguin Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: This one began leaping around the deck, stuffing things into a burlap bag – Piper’s dagger, Leo’s Wii controllers.
A THOUSAND DEADLY MONSTERS. THREE BATTLING DEMIGODS. ONE FATAL DECISION.
Hazel looked behind Hecate at the middle gateway. She saw Percy and Annabeth sprawled helplessly before those black-and-silver doors. A massive dark shape, vaguely humanoid, now loomed over them, its foot raised as if to crush Percy.
‘What about them?’ Hazel asked, her voice ragged.
‘Percy and Annabeth?’
Hecate shrugged. ‘West, east or south… they die.’
‘Not an option,’ Hazel said.
‘Then you have only one path – and that’s the most dangerous of all…’
Riordan tried a new tack in this story – in that he split the storyline into two stories, running parallel in time. It effectively split the story into the well-known characters of Percy and Annabeth, and the new arrivals in the Percy-verse. This gave the story such a variety and flavour that it was hard not to continue to flip the pages late into the night.
Nico was so easy to relate to in the first books – at least for me. So having him take such a predominant place within The House of Hades was really exciting. It also made me feel like he finally had the potential to stop his wandering ways and find a home amongst the other Demigods. The feeling of Nico’s final acceptance is expanded when he finally reveals what has made him so removed from the others. It was a plot twist that I didn’t see coming – it took me completely by surprise. But, once I read the great reveal, I looked back on all of Nico’s past actions in a new light with a new understanding.
Although I love Annabeth and Percy’s journey, and thoroughly enjoy the fact that Nico seems to finally be finding his place amongst the others, it’s Frank’s journey that really pulls me in. His discomfort throughout the story at his identity as Ares’ / Mars’ son is tangible. His inability to understand how to take charge and fight throughout makes me think of a cuddly teddy bear. And this idea is reflected in the others’ views of him. But, his ability to harness his abilities and use his brain to fight the good fight were admirable. It is Frank that reminds me that brawn can be brains too. That the child of war can show the honourable side of such a battle.
ONE FATAL PROPHECY. SEVEN BRAVE DEMIGODS. A QUEST TO FIND – AND CLOSE – THE DOORS OF DEATH.
Annabeth and her friends Piper, Jason and Leo have landed at Camp Jupiter with one mission in mind. The time has come for Roman and Greek demigods to unite. With Percy Jackson, hazel and Frank by their side, they must combine forces to find – and close – the Doors of Death.
But Annabeth is hiding a secret – a command from her mother, the goddess of war and wisdom: ‘Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me.‘ Annabeth is already risking her life… What more does Athena want her daughter to do?
Now the seven demigods must begin their quest across land and sea to Rome, but what will they have to sacrifice this time – and what unspeakable horrors await?
For me, The Mark of Athena was Annabeth’s story. She first had to test her pride and courage in Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth, but it was this journey that really tested all that she was. Not only was she forced to strike out on her own and rely completely on her own skills, but Annabeth had a huge choice to make. Honour her mother’s wishes or save the others (and in the meantime, the world).
Not only is Annabeth faced with difficult decision after difficult decision, but, she is also forced to face her greatest fears and toughest challenges. If I hadn’t guessed it from the previous books, Annabeth is an incredibly strong and powerful young woman. And I think that it is this journey that forges her in fire. She comes out much stronger and more confident in her own abilities than before. Annabeth’s character and plight are a great way to remind us all that wisdom is sometimes the most powerful weapon of all. At least, that has always been my belief (or hope).
The parting between Percy and Annabeth after their recent reunion was particularly painful. It was wonderful to see the childhood crush of the previous series bloom into love at the beginning of The Heroes of Olympus series. the way that Percy plans for their future together was maybe one of the sweeter and more realistic aspects of a relationship that I have read. His inability to tell her about it because he was scared – well, that was far more realistic than anything else in the series. It is this love and reluctance to be separated again that gives us the strongest cliff hanger in the series. Well, I was certainly holding my breath and longing for the next book!
