Book Bucket List | The Cuckoo's Calling

I cannot wait to get my hands on Robert Galbraith's The Cuckoo's Calling.  Absolutely, cannot wait.  Why would I be itching to get my hands on a first time author's crime novel?  Well, Mr. Robert Galbraith is not actually a "Mr." at all, but J. K. Rowling!  She chose that pseudonym because she considers Robert F. Kennedy to be one of her heroes (a valid reason) and that when she was a child, she really, really wanted people to call her "Ella Galbraith" (a somewhat less valid reason.)

After the book was released on April 30, the book was positively reviewed and sales were moderate.  However, this July, Rowling told her editor that she had actually written The Cuckoo's Calling and ever since then, copies have been flying off the shelves.

The story is about detective Cormoran Strike who has recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.  His private investigation business  and personal relationships seem to be falling apart, until Cormoran is given a case concerning the mysterious death of a supermodel known as the "Cuckoo".  This new case sends Strike into the magical (see what I did there?) world of the rich and famous.

I can't wait to read Rowling's latest book and will now add myself to the hold list!

Book Bucket List | The Great Harry Potter Reread

Anyone who knows me, even just a little bit, knows that I am a huge Harry Potter fan.  When the books were being released, my friends and I would dress up as HP characters and get to Barnes and Noble around 7 pm for the midnight releases. (I was always Ginny.)  Online, I saw that some bloggers were trying to get a bunch of people to do a reread of the series this summer.  I have to admit I've reread a few of the books... a lot.  Especially Azkaban and Half-Blood Prince, those two I can pick up and start anywhere.  I was thinking this summer of spacing out the series over a few months and reading them in order.  

So today, I am going to feature two of the Harry Potter series.  One of them is my favorite, and the other is my friend John's favorite.  I've asked him to write a little on why he likes Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the most, and I will tell you why I like Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is my favorite.

From the desk of John:

"First, I loved all the H.P. books, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be the Goblet of Fire. The book stands out for me for a few reasons. First, in this book we really see the growth and development of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They are no longer children, but teenagers beginning to explore the world around them. We see this with the Weasleys inviting Harry and Hermione to the Quidditch World Cup. We also see the group begin to be exposed to new groups of wizards their own age. I loved the interactions that came as a result of the introductions of two other schools of wizardry: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Remember towards the beginning of the book when Ron idolized Victor Krum at the Quidditch World Cup? Funny how that changed. Which leads me to another development that I enjoyed, and kinda caught me off guard. In this book we see the three exploring their feelings outside of the group. Harry finds affection for Cho, not Hermione, Hermione finds herself taken by Victor Krum and not Harry, and Ron is infatuated by Fleur Delacour. It was funny watching Harry work up the nerve to eventually ask Cho to the Yule Ball, only to be shot down, because he asked too late! Probably the only time you will ever see Harry shot down! Two much good stuff to squeeze into one measly paragraph, that the blogger limited me to. She clearly is biased" 

My retort:

 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is my favorite HP book.   I love this book because it is the year when Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Draco outgrow Hogwarts.  Their relationships are developing and emotions are becoming more complex.  Hermione's jealousy over Lavender, Ron's jealousy over Cormac McLaggen, and Harry's infatuation with Ginny are developments that happen in this book which start to effect the way the characters see and treat each other.  It is also has what I consider to be the darkest hour in the whole series, the aftermath of the Death Eater's attack and MASSIVE SPOILER!  (If you haven't read this I really don't want to ruin it for you.)  The book also gives a lot of information about Professor Snape, one of my favorite characters.  The end really leaves the reader shocked and leaves the wizarding world in a very dark place and it forces the characters to grow up in ways they never expected.

So once we hit June 1, (Which is also, might I add, the beginning of the summer reading program.) I will start to reread Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Hopefully I could use it to check off a box for my summer reading card!

Book Bucket List | J. K. Rowling

I first picked up J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when I was eleven years old.  Everything about the books is so engrossing that I can go back and pick up any one of the seven books and be just as excited about it as I was the first time. The Harry Potter series is one of the most influential and entertaining series of our time.  The books inspired a whole generation to get into reading, a huge eight part film series was created, and college kids are even picking up their broomsticks and playing a "muggle", or non-magical, version of wizard soccer.  

If you have never read the series, at least read the first one to see what all of the fuss is about.  

Here are the titles in the series:

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 

Rowling also wrote two of Harry's textbooks and donated all of the profits to charity.

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Quidditch Through the Ages

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione is given the book Tales of Beedle the Bard by Professor Dumbledore to assist in the fight against Voldemort.  After the series ended, Rowling actually published the book, which contains fairy tales that are told to children in the wizarding community, and never heard by non-magical children.
  

 "Ron, you know full well Harry and I were brought up by Muggles! We didn't hear stories like that when we were little, we heard Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella —"

 "What's that, an illness?" 

           - J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Even after the series ended, Potter fever didn't die down.  In 2011, Rowling released her Harry Potter universe website, Pottermore.  Here, readers can go through interactive pages of each chapter of the books.

In the first book, when Harry goes to buy his first wand, the user takes a quiz designed by Rowling herself which tells them which kind of wand they would receive.  Similarly, when Harry gets sorted into his school house by the Sorting Hat, the user takes a quiz and gets sorted into their own house.  The great thing about this website is that it gives readers the opportunity to experience, at least in some way, the things Harry got to experience.

On September 27, J. K. Rowling released her first adult novel.  The Casual Vacancy is in no way a children's book.  It is set in a small British village and follows the lives of its residents after a parish council member dies unexpectedly.  The book contains references to many adult themes and situations including drug abuse, murder, and sex.  Readers familiar with Rowling will be interested to read this, just to see what her writing is like beyond Harry.  It is definitely different.