24/64 Harry Potter #6

24/64: Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Entertained Me: Med, Made Me Think: Low

Cover via AmazonPotter's awfully angry in this entire book--got rather old and did so very quickly. On the other hand, I'm interested enough to find out what happens next (and I'm wondering if Dumbledore split his soul like Voldemort). A friend told me that she gave up on the 7th book at page 66; it will be my goal to avoid the same.

And then there was ONE Potter left!

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Book #23 = Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Rowling, 4/5 Stars
Book #22 = Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Rowling, 2/5 Stars
Book #21 = Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #20 = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #19 = Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #18 = For an Architecture of Reality by Michael Benedikt, 4/5 Stars
Book #17 = The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs, 2.5/5 Stars
Book #16 = Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #15 = Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, 5/5 Stars
Book #14 = This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, 4/5 Stars
Book #13 = After Dark by Haruki Murakami, 1.5/5 Stars
Book #12 = Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #11 = Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster, 1/5 Stars
Book #10 = American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #09 = Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen, 4.5/5 Stars
Book #08 = The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson, 3/5 Stars
Book #07 = The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #06 = What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami, 4/5 Stars
Book #05 = Existentialism by Steven Earnshaw, 1/5 Stars
Book #04 = The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, 1/5 Stars
Book #03 = The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #02 = The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani, 2/5 Stars
Book #01 = Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, 3/5 Stars

See 2010's list of 40 books.
See 2009's list of 53 books.

23/64: Harry Potter #5

23/64: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, 4/5 Stars
Entertained Me: High, Made Me Think: Med
Image via Wikipedia
After having little love for book 4, I really liked book 5! Most notably because it had a dark edge to it. Odd, since when Stephanie Moon went off her rocker in the last Twilight book, I thought she did it recklessly, like she'd had it hidden in the closet for 3 books and could no longer resist the monster's whims. Rowling, on the other hand, knows her monster well--the pain, and emotion, and rage it carries--and how it renders us paralyzed when it attacks. We can no longer move, think, or decide as we curl up in the corner and wish to die.

Two Potters left!

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Book #22 = Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Rowling, 2/5 Stars
Book #21 = Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #20 = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #19 = Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #18 = For an Architecture of Reality by Michael Benedikt, 4/5 Stars
Book #17 = The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs, 2.5/5 Stars
Book #16 = Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #15 = Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, 5/5 Stars
Book #14 = This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, 4/5 Stars
Book #13 = After Dark by Haruki Murakami, 1.5/5 Stars
Book #12 = Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #11 = Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster, 1/5 Stars
Book #10 = American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #09 = Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen, 4.5/5 Stars
Book #08 = The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson, 3/5 Stars
Book #07 = The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #06 = What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami, 4/5 Stars
Book #05 = Existentialism by Steven Earnshaw, 1/5 Stars
Book #04 = The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, 1/5 Stars
Book #03 = The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #02 = The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani, 2/5 Stars
Book #01 = Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, 3/5 Stars

See 2010's list of 40 books.
See 2009's list of 53 books.

22/64: Harry Potter #4

22/64: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, 2/5 Stars
Entertained Me: Low, Made Me Think: Low
Image via Wikipedia
This book was waaaaaay toooooo looooooong. Seriously. I got to the point where I could barely stay interested enough to complete a chapter in one sitting. It could have easily lost a few hundred pages, and I'm not looking forward to the next three books, which are equally as long. I think the Dementors sucked some of my soul away.

However, though I was initially disappointed in the lack of Quidditch, the Triwizard Tourney was an enjoyable change; a spin on the normal template that had been used in the previous three books.

Since I doubt that I will finish another book by the end of the month, I find myself having achieved my 20-book two-month goal by 2 books. This puts me two weeks ahead of the normal one book per week challenge plus the additional 12 books that I added this year because I fell 12 short of 52 last year.

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Book #21 = Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #20 = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #19 = Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #18 = For an Architecture of Reality by Michael Benedikt, 4/5 Stars
Book #17 = The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs, 2.5/5 Stars
Book #16 = Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #15 = Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, 5/5 Stars
Book #14 = This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, 4/5 Stars
Book #13 = After Dark by Haruki Murakami, 1.5/5 Stars
Book #12 = Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #11 = Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster, 1/5 Stars
Book #10 = American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #09 = Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen, 4.5/5 Stars
Book #08 = The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson, 3/5 Stars
Book #07 = The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #06 = What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami, 4/5 Stars
Book #05 = Existentialism by Steven Earnshaw, 1/5 Stars
Book #04 = The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, 1/5 Stars
Book #03 = The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #02 = The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani, 2/5 Stars
Book #01 = Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, 3/5 Stars

See 2010's list of 40 books.
See 2009's list of 53 books.

My Problem with Potter

Just finished the 4th Harry Potter book (short review to follow) and I've realized a few things. These books act rather like Dementors to me; they drain my soul of all creative thought. Now, I am entertained by them, but I find that my mind isn't working in the background on my own stories while I'm reading--that's abnormal for me.Image via Wikipedia

They've put me in a dead zone--nothing much creative coming out of me at all right now--and if I could answer the question once asked about my own writing, "Do you want to write something of mass appeal or literary merit?" I'd have to say that literary merit is, by far, my preferred choice.

21/64: Harry Potter #3

21/64: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Entertained Me: Med, Made Me Think: Low

Image via WikipediaMoving right along with the easy reading. Finished Harry Potter #3 last night and started on #4. Nothing spectacular to report... aside from the book Boundaries that was prescribed to me as "homework" by someone on my super-book-team-of-editors that's staring at me from the bedside table. Expellliarmus!

NEWSFLASH: I'm reading books with the longest titles ever this year, eh?

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Book #20 = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #19 = Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 3/5 Stars
Book #18 = For an Architecture of Reality by Michael Benedikt, 4/5 Stars
Book #17 = The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs, 2.5/5 Stars
Book #16 = Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #15 = Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, 5/5 Stars
Book #14 = This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, 4/5 Stars
Book #13 = After Dark by Haruki Murakami, 1.5/5 Stars
Book #12 = Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #11 = Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster, 1/5 Stars
Book #10 = American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars
Book #09 = Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen, 4.5/5 Stars
Book #08 = The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson, 3/5 Stars
Book #07 = The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #06 = What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami, 4/5 Stars
Book #05 = Existentialism by Steven Earnshaw, 1/5 Stars
Book #04 = The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav, 1/5 Stars
Book #03 = The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, 5/5 Stars
Book #02 = The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani, 2/5 Stars
Book #01 = Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, 3/5 Stars

See 2010's list of 40 books.
See 2009's list of 53 books.