Classic Summer 2015

Classic Summer 2015

I have decided to begin again on something that I started two summers ago. In the summer of 2013 I vowed to reread the Harry Potter series straight through (something I realized with embarrassment that I had never done.) Shortly after that, I found out that I was pregnant, and quickly lost all motivation for doing anything but keeping what little food I was eating down.

So, this summer I determined to complete this! Not only because I feel I need to. But, if everything pans out and the good Lord willing, my husband and I will be taking a weekend vacation to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in August! I am beyond excited. This is something I have dreamed of doing ever since I heard that the theme park was a concept, and I cannot believe that it is finally happening. ( Although, I feel that it needs to be stated that my husband and I are both working through some guilt about not taking our precious boy with us. We know that it is better this way, and that we deserve it, but good Lord it makes me feel awful when I think about it too hard. :( Praying for peace over this.)

During that summer in 2013 I did manage to reread the first in the series, and I actually wrote a review then. I'm not sure why I didn't publish it then, but last month I found it in my drafts and published it. I will be starting with the first one again because I am a classicist at heart and I just want to! But I will not write another review. Although I may update the one I already have if it strikes my fancy.

I am so ready for this!

The Mara Dyer Trilogy, Books 2 &3

The Mara Dyer Trilogy, Books 2&3

Well, I sort of did a bad thing and instead of stoping to write between books I kept reading. I just couldn't stop myself. I had to know what happened! So hopefully I will be able to separate the two and write two coherent reviews.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

We open with a very damaged Mara. The more she tries to control herself, and her abilities, the more she loses control.

This book gave me bad dreams. And I am not normally affected by things that way. ( I am also blaming it on the combo of this book right after watching a particularly disturbing episode of Game of Thrones. Valar Morghulis.) 

Mara tries her best to act her way through  everything and pretend that she is recovering. The meds are helping, the stupid treatments are helping. But they are not. She is more convinced than ever that not only is her EX- boyfriend Jude alive, but that he is stalking her. She knows he has something planned for her, but she could never imagine what.

And Noah. Oh Noah. Amazingly enough, I still haven't wanted to slap the teeth out of his head. He has actually remained a pretty decent bad boy. I can dig it. 

And now, my memory keeps bleeding these two together so I am going to move on to the next one!

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

 

So at this point I am just going to have to write my feelings because I still can't separate the two books enough for a normal review. I gave this book five stars. I use to be very generous with my five star reviews, but now I make myself find a reason for giving them, and my reason is this. The ending of this book is not exactly cut and dry. There are still several questions that are left unresolved. And honestly until you read the last page you are still not convinced of anything. And even so, its not perfect. I liked that there were still consequences. They were told what would happen if they stayed together, and they are excepting that the best they can. They are not sure what that means for their future. I wrote this in my review on Goodreads: " I think the reason I am choosing to give this one five stars instead of four is because of how complicated the ending was. There was no magic wand waved (technically). Everything didn't just click into place to give the reader a cathartic happy ending. No, there are still some issues when the book ends, but its something we can live with. It was realistic to me, sometimes you can learn to live with something that you never thought you could. That you never knew you wanted."

So there. 

I also have to commend Michelle Hodkin on her use of vocabulary and for not repeating phrases over and over. Some of her imagery combined with her description of color were really brilliant. 

And, am I the only one who felt like the ending of this book could set up for another set of books? 

Sigh, hopefully we don't have another Mortal Instruments on our hands ( sorry Clare, but it's true.) But who knows, I might not mind visiting this world again. :)

Until next time,

Happy Reading,

HLP

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

** Scrolling through my posts, found this draft. NO IDEA why it never got posted So, here.

Classic Summer 2013- Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling


"Harry, yer a wizard"

Well I have finished the first one, and as I had hoped, I am totally in love with it. I can definitely see what drew me in as a young reader, but reading as an adult really takes it to another level. My vocabulary is much improved, (and I must say, Rowling's writing vocabulary is very impressive. Something I am very picky about) so I am better able to understand the full meaning of certain things, much more so than when I was reading this for the first time at about twelve years old. I will admit, I was not a very experienced reader. I read quite a lot, but the books I read were certainly not on par with Harry.



Okay, if this post contains spoilers for you, then I don't know where you've been for the past sixteen or so years but, get with the program already!





One of my favorite things about this book is the way it made me laugh out loud at times. There are some very serious themes going on, such as child abuse, homicide, as well as race and class issues, and Rowling can still make me giggle with a stunt that the Weasley twins pull, or something cleverly funny from Dumbledore.

I really loved getting lost in this world that Rowling has created. Everything is so specific and detailed. There's an explanation for everything, and a good one, too. It is truly a world that I would want to live in.

I have always questioned whether or not Dumbledore had suspicions from the get-go about what it would take to finally destroy Voldemort. This has always been a sore spot for me, because of course I love Dumbledore, and Harry really never has a clear answer. It's really hard to think that Dumbledore could have been "using" Harry in a way. But after reading I think that Dumbledore could never have predicted what happened in the end. He says something to that effect when they leave Harry at 4 Privet Drive.

All in all, I really enjoyed rereading this one, and my rating of five stars stayed the same. On to the next one!

And now for some lovely visual images to brighten your day!

Happy Reading,
HLP

Poetry Wednesday- Love Is Not All by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Love Is Not All by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain; 
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink 
And rise and sink and rise and sink again; 
Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, 
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone; 
Yet many a man is making friends with death 
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone. 
It well may be that in a difficult hour, 
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, 
Or nagged by want past resolution's power, 
I might be driven to sell your love for peace, 
Or trade the memory of this night for food. 
It well may be. I do not think I would.

Reading Resolutions- Workable List

On the first of January I posted a book challenge that I intend to complete this year. Now that I have read a few titles, I am realizing that it is hard to keep up with which categories I have left to choose from without opening every other one of my posts. So I am going to copy the list here so that I can come back and cross them off as I go. Again, I did not create this book challenge myself. You can find the original here.

1 A book you own but haven't read. Daughter of Smoke and Bone
2 A book that was made into a movie.
3 A book you pick solely because of the cover.
4 A book your friend loves.
5 A book published this year.
6 A book by an author you have never read before. Soy Sauce for Beginners
7 A book by an author you love.  Big Little Lies
8 A book at the bottom of your TBR pile.
9 A book with a color in the title.
10 A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit.Days of Blood and Starlight
11 A book you started but never finished.
12 A book with a lion, a witch, or a wardrobe.
13 A book with a female heroine. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
14 A book set in the summer.
15 A book of poems.
16 A book you learned about because of this challenge.
17 A book that will make you smarter.
18 A book with a blue cover.
19 A book you were supposed to read in school, but never did.
20 A book "everyone" but you has read.
21 A book with a great first line.
22 A book with pictures.
23 A book from the library.
24 A book you loved...read it again!
25 A book that is more than 10 years old. The Princess Diaries
26 A book based on a true story.

I will be updating this as I go along. I look forward to crossing them off and reading some great books this year!

Happy Reading,
HLP

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

We open with a mystery. Who is Mara Dyer? Who is she really? 

This question is honestly forgotten rather quickly as we are pulled into her story. She is the sole survivor of a terrible accident that claimed the life of her childhood best friend, her boyfriend, and his sister. But that's not the worst part. She is beginning to see things, terrible things. 

Along with all of that, her family has relocated to Florida. They all want it to be a new start, but horrible things keep happening. 

When Mara meets the infamous Noah Shaw, things only get even more twisted. 

They both come to realizations about themselves that could change everything. Now they are faced with a question; can they handle what lies ahead for them? 

I was really drawn in my Mara's "voice". I sort of have a thing for snarky teenage dialogue in my YA. It was also very refreshing to read a character like Noah Shaw. He's your typical YA boyfriend, only he doesn't SEEM to be as big of a pretentious jerk with obsessive tendencies that we are use to. And, he British, so, yeah.

This is no 'intellectual' read,  but I was really very drawn in by the story and I am excited to read the next two installments. I read this on my Kindle, so I went out and bought the second and third books in paper for my library. The next time I visit the used bookstore I will be picking the first one up in paper too.I'll be crossing this one off my list at #13- A book with a female heroine.

For now, I am reading the fifth book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, which I am completely in love with. Due to the length of said book, it might be a while before I get to write again!


Happy Reading!
HLP

Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirsten Chen

Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirsten Chen

From Goodreads:
Gretchen Lin, adrift at the age of thirty, leaves her floundering marriage in San Francisco to move back to her childhood home in Singapore and immediately finds herself face-to-face with the twin headaches she’s avoided her entire adult life: her mother’s drinking problem and the machinations of her father’s artisanal soy sauce business.

Soy Sauce for Beginners reveals the triumphs and sacrifices that shape one woman’s search for a place to call home, and the unexpected art and tradition behind the brewing of a much-used but unsung condiment. The result is a foodie love story that will give readers a hearty appreciation for family loyalty and fresh starts.

I was initially drawn in by the soy sauce. Not even going to lie. And let me just tell you, the descriptions of the artesian soy sauce had my mouth watering. The soy sauce almost becomes a character itself. Anyway, I'm salivating.

Gretchen is hiding. From her cheating husband, from her colleagues, from her own parents, and even from herself. Reeling from the scathing revelation that not only was her husband unfaithful, but with a twenty-one year old, no less, she returns home to Singapore and attempts to blend in a much as possible.

But she surprises no one more than herself with the unwilling changes that she is about to face.

My favorite thing about this story is how, in the end, Gretchen needs no one but herself. She makes her own choices, and faces the consequences.

My only complaint about this story is that there is sort of a lack of one. This comes off like more of an anecdote from a friend than a novel. I appreciated the familiarity in the writing. The characters felt real to me. I just kept waiting for something more to happen, and it never really came.

So, I'm giving this one three stars. Enjoyable read. I'm counting it as #6, A book by an author you have never read before.

Now I am just itching, yearning to get home to my library and find something else to read. I have been craving a really good book  for some time now. I'm talking life changing. Here's to hoping!

Happy Reading,

HLP