kininarimasu!

Continuing on with Harry P, I just finished the fourth book and would like to proceed to the fifth one as soon as possible. But before that, this post!

Some digital retro goodness

I'm not your bro

I want to put up a small series of posts about my thoughts on the Harry Potter series, since I'm rereading them!

Bought this on a whim just because!

I know I've already put up one short post about reading them in the past, but I only got to about the middle of the fifth book before getting distracted (again). But now, I want to pause every book or so and give a little more insight about some things I've noticed.

It's been more than fifteen years since I borrowed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (yes, the British version) from my then best friend in sixth grade. I've since then fallen madly in love with the series. I mean, who hasn't? And what book lover hasn't read the series yet? This could very well be considered a classic. The magic never wears off.

But when I was reading Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, even when I know what's going to happen, it gave me a different sort of feeling, like browsing through an old photograph album of the most obscure, yet memorable parts of my life. I found myself thinking, Oh yeah, that happened!

It was like reminiscing with a childhood friend who remembered everything while you didn't. Yet with every memory she brought up, you found yourself living in that particular situation, clear as day.

Then there's also the movie stigma. The movies were all modified and different from the books (of course), and after seeing all of them, you can't help but picture the book as it went on in the movies, with Daniel Radcliffe as Harry and my long love Tom Felton as Draco (yes, I fell in love at first premiere with Tom). I also remembered scenes that should have been there, or weren't supposed to be there at all.

I've also realized, that after reading the whole series, reading it again raised some questions in me, but also answered some that confused me the first time I read them.

So like my Divergent post, I will just randomly talk about them, in no particular order, I'll lay them out as the come to mind.

When Harry confronted Quirell below the trapdoor with the Mirror of Erised, I can't help but think, the menace from Voldemort wasn't that prominent yet. I mean, if I were Voldy, as evil as he is, and I saw face to face the person who caused my downfall, I would try to kill them as quickly as I can, then try to regain my power. I mean, he could possibly thwart me again, so why not kill him ASAP? That's probably just me and my thirst for revenge.

I can't help but notice the shortness of the first two books, compared to the intricate details of Goblet of Fire and beyond. I could've finished both in a day, if it wasn't for work. The story was quickly jumping from term to term, with not much activity in each. The ambiance of the books weren't as dark as the last of the series.

I wasn't as scared to read Chamber of Secrets as I used to. I avoided reading it in the dead of night because for some reason it creeped me out, but now I wasn't anymore. 

Hellz yeah

After knowing the different dark curses and spells that have spread throughout the course of the seven books, it occurs to me now that the enchantments guarding the stone was pretty lame. I mean, three eleven year olds got past all of them, how can that prevent the most cunning, most evil wizard of the century? Anyone (in the wizarding world at least, apart from squibs) can conjure flames to kill a plant, use Accio to get the key for the door, even a muggle can win a chess game, kill a troll or Fluffy with Avada Kedavra, and solve a riddle. It didn't need all that. The mirror alone, I bet, was enough to conceal the stone. Being sucked in forever at a vault in Gringotts is scarier, I think.

Lockhart was really annoying.

I think Oliver Wood should have gotten more mention (and more attention) in the forthcoming books. I nearly forgot about him.

Such a keeper.

I've always wondered where the Gryffindor shower rooms were. The one and only time a shower was mentioned was in Goblet of Fire. Have they not been keeping up with their hygiene on other times???

When Ron and Harry were driving the flying car to Hogwarts, I never realized what a high altitude they were flying in. Wouldn't it have been hard to breathe above the clouds? And that's at least an 8 hour ride if the Hogwarts Express leaves at 11 and arrives around dinnertime at the castle.

It makes me wonder how it's like to live in a co-ed dormitory 24/7. To see how your classmates live, have your laundry done, not to cook, stuff like that. But of course, the important question is, I wonder how many kids have done it in the Room of Requirement. Maybe it'll look like the Red Room of Pain when they do get in *wiggle eyebrows*

I've been thinking how the basilisk was able to attack all of those students. I mean, it's not exactly a small snake, right? And it was staying inside the plumbing, but it's not like the pipes were exposed, nor would I think there are tree trunk sized holes gaping along the school walls. The attacked students mentioned seeing a pair of big yellow eyes, so the snake can't just be looking through a keyhole. If Ginny was doing the attacking by controlling the snake, how the fuck did she do it?

But then again I forgot it's the wizarding world, so one can just simply say 'It's magic!'

So yes, so far these things came to mind after finishing the second book. The first two were fairly short reads, and it didn't have much scenarios in it, so it didn't pose much questions. But reading them again is very fun and anyone who's loved them before will surely love them again!

I'm a quarter into the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is one of my favorites in the series, so I'll be talking about that in the coming post! :D

Edit: I also forgot to include pictures of the books. The US editions are better than the UK ones, imo

I know, I know, this is one of those popular series that don't really need another review on the internet.

Everyone's been on the Divergent bandwagon, and two movies have already been released, but it wasn't until a couple weeks ago did I start to read the series after my coworker kept on raving about it, telling me to read the damn thing.

Who hasn't read or even heard about the series yet? Gone are the days of wizards (sob) and vampires (thank god), and have since then been replaced by the dystopian genre.

But I did promise myself (and for this blog) to talk about the books I have been reading. And instead of talking about this like my other reviews, why don't I just go straight into what I think about all three books? (Warning: spoilers for those who haven't read them yet). I'll be talking about them in general, and not sequentially. They may be all over the place.

First off, I like Roth's writing. It's easy to read, no big words that try too hard and nobody understands, and the characters speak like any other teen would *cough* John Green *cough*. You could be someone who loves to read, or just happily familiarizing yourself with the trend that's why you picked up the book, and it still wouldn't be such a bore coz you understand half the shit the characters are trying to say. Kudos to you, Roth.

That being said, there seemed to be a lot of fan service in terms of Tris and Four's relationship. Like, wow, that escalated quickly. Seriously. Not even a little flirting? Stolen glances, secret memos, playing hard-to-get? There were hints but it didn't really give me that *giddy* feeling of a budding new romance. It was just bleh. Then they wouldn't stop eating each other's faces.

And I know that the book is PG-13, but she still included a sex scene. A lame one at that. Bitin. If you're bold enough to hint it, go all the way. Pun intended.

I liked Christina's character. I can see myself in her sometimes. Reckless, being blunt more than what the situation calls for, holding grudges. I liked how Roth built her character. Although after watching the first movie, I can't help but picture her as Zoe Kravitz. But Kravitz is short and Christina's supposed to be tall. I can't seem to stretch her in my imagination.

The whole genetic reasoning as the cause of all this didn't sell for me. It was a little bit far-fetched to be the cause of a human experiment, let alone be a solution to problems across a whole country. But hey, what do I know about dystopian America? I live in Canada.

In terms of suspense, it wasn't really that much of a page-turner for me. I was able to put the book down. It holds my interest long enough that I keep reading it when I have nothing to do, but it doesn't make me seek out the rest of the story. I found myself playing Candy Crush Soda instead of reading it on the train sometimes.

But as much as there were characters all over the place, the author somehow manages to build each one of them enough to gain some significance in the story, without really taking the essence away from the protagonists. It wasn't all about Tris and Four. Yes, in the first two books, it was Tris talking, but the myriad of characters were still introduced and explained in detail. It didn't make me confuzzled, so that was good.

Did I cry at the end? It made me a bit glassy-eyed, but I didn't love Tris enough to mourn her death (spoiler!) She's still Shailene Woodley in my mind, and I see her as just another actress. I'm unattached, even to Tris. I don't know why, but I just didn't connect with her, no matter how good her character buildup was. Sorry.

I haven't watched the second movie, but I heard it wasn't that great. I've seen the first one, and it would have been perfect, seeing as they've stuck to every aspect of the movie as much as possible, but the ENDING ruined it for me. Why did she have to throw a knife at Jeannine? That wasn't in the book! Not that I'm being a book purist, but that was just unnecessary! Hollywood being Hollywood again!

I liked the first book best. The second bored me a little bit, and the third only got interesting (for me) on the last few chapters.

I love Maggie Q and I'm so pleased she was cast as Tori. And watching the movie made me want to get another tattoo.


The gist: 7/10

Overall, the series was just okay, but with excellent character buildup. I prefer Hunger Games better, and of course, Steelheart, when it comes to dystopian. I've had the books sitting on my dresser  for a year begging to be read, until I finally gave in. I'm not disappointed, but I'm not raving like a fangirl either.

Here it is! After more than a year of waiting for the second installment, it. Is. Finally. Here!

For those unfamiliar with the series, it's better known as the Reckoners trilogy. The first book, titled Steelheart, came out September 2013, and Firefight came out January of this year. You can read my review of Steelheart here so you can join in on the epic (pun intended) journey that it is.

Let me just say first off that I liked the first book better. That is not to say that this book is a complete letdown.

To pick up where Steelheart left off, David goes with the Reckoners to pursue fish just as big as Steelheart, after his successful assassination (spoiler!). David was left with this big void that Steelheart used to fill. And now that he's gone, he's doing what he's been used to doing best: pursuing and studying epics, and plotting ways to kill them. And possibly finding Megan in the process.

The Reckoners' modus operandi this time is to kill Regalia, a high epic with the power to control water, who is currently ruling over Babylon Restored a.k.a Babilar f.k.a (formerly known as) New York, NY. 

You won't get your usual characters in here, but the main ones, Prof, Tia, and David are in it, of course. They set off to a new base with a completely different theme. Not to mention, the portrayal of Babilar has such a stark difference compared to Newcago. Images of Pandora (the Avatar world) meets civilization pops to mind whenever glowing neon graffiti are mentioned.

So glow. Much color.

Story-wise, the bulk of the middle of the book is mostly about background stories, running around Babilar, and not a lot of action compared to the first book. It's not the same whirlwind ride as before, although, of course, like the first one, the action is always packed at the very last chapter. I'm beginning to think that's just Sanderson's style. It hooks me. I like it. But there's more tactic and planning involved since they were dealing with an epic that they didn't know how to locate.

Regalia's powers (one of them) is like an all-seeing mirror on the wall, except that it's any surface of water. What makes this interesting? Babilar is a flooded city. She basically can see anything as long as there's a pool of water around. Interesting. Another thing that makes Babilar really fascinating is this mysterious epic called Dawnslight that people seem to worship. It's weird, but the one who's behind Dawnslight is even weirder.

David gets a little frustrating in the book, his judgments clouded by his love for Megan. I keep forgetting that's he's still this lovestruck teenager, and teenagers often do stupid things in the name of 'love'. There was this whole trust issue throughout the book, since, knowing what happened last time, is she really telling the truth or is she just acting under Regalia's orders? Sometimes I wanted to punch David.

Also, we get to see Prof (still think of him as a slightly younger Morgan Freeman) using more of his powers, which means we also see more of his temper. A lot more is revealed about him and his connections to the other characters in the story. And I have this feeling the next book might revolve more around him. Just a feeling.

A little tidbit about Calamity is also revealed, and, unsurprisingly, that is the title of the next book. When Calamity was mentioned, I stood upright and couldn't stop reading (the middle of the book stretched out for a whole week for me).

Overall, it's a nice second book, lots of info, epic weaknesses, previous lives. It dragged on a little bit, until you get to the end that was a CLIFFHANGER. I could almost just picture this as a movie, and I bet it would make all the viewers ask for more. Just get this on as a movie, please!

The gist: 8.5/10

A bit of a lower score because I didn't find it as big of a page-turner as the previous one, but I still liked it all the same. It's like the pickled ginger you eat after having a piece of sushi: cleanse your palette for the next bite.