Harry Potter books – Book Journey

Morning Meanderings…. A New Harry Potter Book? I Am Not Sure…

Published on February 11, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

I swear some days my sheltered world surprises me.

I am not a newspaper reader. I am not a news on TV watcher. I do not follow any website for the “happenings” in our world – either entertainment wise or real world stuff. I used to…. but now my world is all a little too real and raw and so I miss much of what is going on unless someone tells me. I like living in my Hobbit Hole.

And that is how I missed hearing about the new Harry Potter book.

and honestly, I am not sure how I feel about it.

Of course back when the books were coming out and we were drawing to a close in book 7….. I wanted more. Shoot – who didn’t? Yet as time went on it became a household discussion here. I still wanted JK Rowling to find a loop hole in her ending and bring the story back…. perhaps the rebuilding of Hogwarts and continue the story through the next generation, Harry’s, Ron’s Malfoy’s kids. I honestly wanted to keep the magic going…

and Justin did not.

When we talked here, Justin (wiser than me and clearly less muggle in him) knew that continuing the story would only create dissatisfaction. The books were too good, he would tell me. They are better off left as is.

And as time went on, as much as it pained me to admit it, I began to agree with him.

So here we are.

In case any of you were as oblivious as me (thank you for that if you were) here is the basics of what I know:

JK Rowling, after years of saying there would not be a continuing story, has indeed written an 8th book that will release as the others did, on midnight of July 31st. As I type this, there is a lump in my throat because it was Justin and I who would plan crazy things to grab the book hot off the shelves at midnight each release. I have to wonder, how I do it this year.

To my understand, as I try to catch up, there is a play in London with the same title as the book. The push was that HP fans who were unable to get to London to see the play wanted a book so they too can be a part on this experience. JK Rowling and the Publisher Little Brown came to an agreement to give the fans what they wanted.

The official synopsis is:

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

It’s new. Admittedly it is exciting. And of course for me, a bit sad. “It’s happening,” I think…. and I have to do this one alone.

What do you think of this new development? Are you YAY for it? Or NAY leave it alone? Is Rita Skeeter retired now? What ever happened to Hagrid? I would love to know your thoughts. 🙂

Looking For Potter Heads! Winter Re-Read/Readalong

Published on October 24, 2014November 3, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)67 Comments

Are you a Potter Head? Do you….

Sometimes find yourself whispering a spell under your breath at a family member, co-worker, or friend?

Get excited every time you see one of the movies playing on TV?

Have now or ever in your past used a Harry Potter type of ring tone (this also counts if your phone case has now or ever been Harry Potter)?

Own(ed) any sort of Potter paraphernalia – IE. Article of clothing, movies, costumes, a wand, board game, posters, bookmarks, signs… ok – you know what I mean ;).

Ever went to Universal Studies in Orlando mainly because of Harry Potter World?

Recited movie lines or profound Dumbledore quotes with a sense of superiority?

Well… if you said yes to any of the above. YOU are a Potter Head. And this post is for you. AND if you are new to the whole Potter literacy PHENOMENA, well, first I take a moment of silence for you…. and then I offer you to read on as well, as an opportunity awaits you as well. (you will be known as First Years)

Starting in November I will be hosting a Harry Potter Re-Read that I am SUPER EXCITED about. Pull those books off the shelf, or pick them up at your local library, download on your e readers, or listen to on audio (also super fantastic with either narrator I am just saying!). However you decide to join in… all are welcome.

Throughout our 5 months allowed for the Re-Read there will be dates to discuss the book, add your posts, or add comments to the new tab I will have right below the Book Journey Header. You can pop in whenever you want to add your thoughts, look for new contests, etc… check back often – not everything will be posted and I want to keep this as lose as unstructured as possible as that is where I thrive best.

If you want in… and I hope you do… please grab one of the following memes from below for your own blog. If you do not blog, see below for further instructions.

Once you have chosen your House, please write a post about your involvement in this project as well as what year you are (see years below to help you). By writing a post you will be helping to pass the word about this Re-Read so more may hear about it and join in. You may also choose to leave a comment here about which House you are in and what year you are. *This will also be where those without blogs can can leave a comment of how they are participating.

So… here is how you decide on what year you are:

First Years: You have read The Sorcerer’s Stone or you have not read and Harry Potter books

Second Years: You have read Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets

Third Years: You have read the two mentioned above as well as The Prisoner or Azkaban

Fourth Years: You have read the three above as well as The Goblet Of Fire

Fifth Years: You have read the four above and the Order Of The Phoenix

Sixth Years: You have read the five above and The Half Blood Prince

Seventh Years: You have read all of the Harry Potter books

Now, some of you may be unsure what house you may fall in. So we will pull out the sorting hat. Click below on the sorting hat to have the hat choose a house for you… but know this… what you desire is also considered, so you may choose your own house as well.

The “loosely applied” reading of each book will look like this:

Nov 1 – Nov. 16 – The Sorcerer’s Stone

Nov 17 – Dec. 6th – Chamber Of Secrets

Dec. 7 – Dec. 29th – The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Dec 30th – Jan 20th – The Goblet Of Fire

Jan. 21st – Feb 13th – Order Of The Phoenix

Feb. 14th – March 7th – The Half Blood Prince

March 8th – March 31st – The Deathly Hallows

There you have it! All communications will be under the tab under the Book Journey Header called “Harry Potter Re-Read”. As I mentioned check it often as surprise posts and giveaways will be added by sponsors as we go.

Special note: You will win “House Points” by participating in commenting, giveaways, and more (all of this will be revealed thought the Harry Potter Re-Read tab). Your house point totals will show under tabs as well. It s going to be good fun! Really!

To commit (and so I can communicate with you if you win anything) please sign up using the form below:

I will personally be kicking off with a trip to Harry Potter World in Orlando Florida. I will send some posts from there and give you a peek at some of the items that may be coming home with me for giveaways!

The hashtag for the read-a-long on twitter is #hpreadalong

Hope you will join me!

Morning Meanderings… Good Bye Harry Potter

Published on September 23, 2014September 23, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

Good Morning! Happy Banned Book Week Tuesday! I am having such a blast and there is more to come each day! I have a sticky post on the top of the blog this week for the banned book posts and giveaways that fellow book reviewers are posting about the banned! Please check it out as that will have the full list of those participating – great posts and great giveaways too.

Today two more posts go up from:

Tracy at Uncharted Parent is talking about The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and there is a giveaway!

Jennifer at The Book Den talks about her experience reading The Great Gatsby!

Please show both of these reviewers comment love, as well as the other that are linked to Banned book Week (top sticky post on Book Journey).

Harry Potter. If you read me… you know. You know of my unquenchable love of these books and my constant gushing about Dumbledore’s logic, Harry’s capacity for friendship in the worst of situations, JK Rowling’s brilliance from book one to book seven… every time I read them I pick up on something new and clever that ties in later down the story line….

Did you know the Potter books are banned books?

On a website I was reading called info please, I thought they put it very well when they said:

The most prominent objections to Harry Potter fall into three categories: they promote witchcraft; they set bad examples; and they’re too dark. Let’s take a look at each of those.

The Trouble with Magic

One school to ban Harry Potter was St. Mary’s Island Church of England school in Chatham, Kent. Head teacher Carol Rockwood explained that “The Bible is very clear and consistent in its teachings that wizards, devils and demons exist and are very real, powerful and dangerous and God’s people are told to have nothing to do with them.” She added that “I believe it is confusing to children when something wicked is being made to look fun.”

Rockwood is not alone. Her opinion is shared by others who believe that real witchcraft exists, and that all witches are evil. They fear that any books which have good witches or good magic—like the Harry Potter series—will lead people not to take the threat of real witchcraft seriously, and possibly lead them to take the Bible’s teachings in general more lightly. They might even lead readers to become witches themselves.

Others disagree. Some point out that Harry Potter is a fantasy, not a true story, and claim that even children know the difference between the two. Whether or not there is such a thing as evil magic in real life, it has nothing at all to do with the made-up spells and potions found in the books. As an editorial in Christian Century put it, “…critics are right in thinking that fantasy writing is powerful and needs to be taken seriously. But we strongly doubt that it fosters an attachment to evil powers. Harry’s world, in any case, is a moral one.”

Setting a Bad Example

Some people find the Harry Potter books to be inappropriate reading because of the way Harry and his friends behave. Some note that Harry “lies, breaks rules, and disobeys authority figures, including the professors at Hogwarts,” and that he ends up being rewarded and praised for his actions. They feel that heroes should be entirely good people who do as they’re told and respect others.

Others feel that Harry’s rule infractions are part of a long tradition in storytelling. A bit of rule-bending is necessary to get to a story outside of the ordinary, they say, but children can understand that behavior that makes a good story is different from behavior that’s good in general. They also point out that Harry’s rule-breaking does not go without any punishment. And some note, as Mike Hertenstein does in his review of the first Potter film, that “much of Harry’s rule-breaking… involves the principle of disobeying a lower law to keep a higher one—not to say he’s Rosa Parks, but who could criticize Harry’s violation of the no-fly rule to broom his way over a bully and stand up for his friends?”

Finally, some believe that even heroes aren’t perfect; Harry and his friends may do some things wrong, but they are positive role models on the whole, working selflessly for all that’s good and noble.

Scary Stuff

Some people think that the Harry Potter books—especially the later ones—are too dark and scary for children to handle. The series begins as Harry is orphaned, and he soon learns his parents were violently killed. There are intense battles. Good people die, suddenly and horribly. This, some say, is the stuff of nightmares, not something to be handed to kids as entertainment.

Ahhh…. Harry. What they do not mention of course is how many kids came to love books and reading because of these books. Both of my boys read the books. I read the books to see what my boys were reading and soon, as the series went on – we had three copies of each book in the house as we could not wait to read them.

My favorite Harry Potter story is when we were reading the final book, I was ahead of my son Justin but wanted so badly to be able to discuss the book with him as soon as he read significant parts….

So… I went through his copy and put a post it note on the next page of each BIG MOMENT with something like “Oh wow! Can you believe she just said that?”

When Justin arrived at the first post it note he looked at me (we were both still reading) and said, “Did you do this through my entire book?”

I had.

No Harry Potter books. No super cool memories like that one. I am just saying 🙂

The year that final book came out I had a contest here for someone to sing a song about the ending of the series. I can not sing… but I can write. SO I wrote the words, and put it out there for someone to sing it. Danielle responded to my plea:

I still love that…. that sums it up. Harry Potter was for many of us the books our kids read, the books we read… the books we loved. They are the new classics… and I for one, am so glad I was part of the first generation of Potter readers.

Banned shmanned. You can not put a label on that.

Thanks for letting me rant and rave. Any Harry Potter memories for you? Your kids? Your grand kids? The crazy neighbor next door who looks a lot like Snape?

Pretty sure I am re-reading the whole series over the winter.

Comment on this post as well as any of the banned book related posts here this week and you will be entered into my giveaway for the week. One chance per comment.