Sunday, July 31, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows






(book 7)

by J. K. Rowling


A satisfying end to the series, one that keeps my interest and invites me to read the series again (or watch the movies, which I shall do). Again, I find nothing objectionable to Harry Potter from a Christian point of view... there's much in the storyline to be lauded, actually. The power of love, the sacrifice of self, it's there, very much.


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Harry Potter 6: and the Half-Blood Prince




How about that... an image and a link. I hope you like it. Ha.


As I said, I read HP books 1-4 when they came out, and lost interest, never finished the series.

In April 2011 or so my daughter asked about reading HP, so I started reading #1 to her. Well, she lost interest, but I didn't.

I liked #1 (Sorcerer's Stone). I liked #2 (Chamber of Secrets) a little less (it got a little convoluted for my tastes) and #3 (Prisoner of Azkaban) a little less than that (same...).

#4 (Goblet of Fire) piqued my interest again, #5 (Order of the Phoenix) was okay, and... ...


#6 (Half-Blood Prince) was my favorite of the series so far.



I liked the depth of character we get with Harry and Dumbledore, and the character development with Snape, which had been disappointing in the previous books.


And if someone ever says Christians shouldn't read Harry Potter because it's about witchcraft, read #6 and tell me it has nothing in common with Christ-like love.




On to #7, and then the movies!

Monday, July 11, 2011

First Half of 2011

28 books listed for the first half of 2011. I read the Hunger Games trilogy, and the chilling Battle Royale. I read a series from childhood -- The Chronicles of Prydain. And I started Harry Potter. I read the first four when they came out and then stopped. I'm on book six now.

June 2011
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (HP4)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (HP3)

May 2011
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (HP2)
The Alchemist -- Paulo Coelho
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter series #1) -- J.K. Rowling
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century -- George Friedman
The Faith Club -- Suzanne Oliver
The Shack -- William P. Young

April 2011
Into the Wild -- Jon Krakauer
Battle Royale -- Koushun Takami
The High King (Prydain 5)
Taran Wanderer (Prydain 4)
The Castle of Llyr (Prydain 3)
The Black Cauldron (Prydain 2)
The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain #1) -- Lloyd Alexander
The Devil in the White City -- Erik Larson
Mockingjay (HG3)
Catching Fire (HG2)

February 2011
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde -- Robert Lewis Stevenson
The Hunger Games (Hunger Games trilogy #1) -- Suzanne Collins
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life -- Don Piper
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples -- Harville Hendrix
VoiceMale: What Husbands Really Think About Their Marriages, Their Wives, Sex, Housework, and Commmitment -- Neil Chethik
The Woods -- Harlan Coben

January 2011
Deep Storm -- Lincoln Child
House Rules -- Jodi Picoult
Rich Man, Poor Man -- Irwin Shaw

Books read in 2010

53 books listed for 2010, including all of Lee Child's "Jack Reacher" books. After Reacher I got into Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

December 2010
Utopia -- Lincoln Child
Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum) -- Janet Evanovich
The Book of the Dead (Pendergast/Diogenes 3) -- Douglas Preston
Only Love is Real: A Story of Soulmates Reunited -- Brian Weiss
Dance of Death (Pendergast/Diogenes 2)
Brimstone (Pendergast/Diogenes 1)

November 2010
Heart of Darkness -- Joseph Conrad
Of Mice and Men -- John Steinbeck
Relic -- Douglas Preston
Worth Dying For (Reacher 15) -- Lee Child
Eat, Pray, Love -- Elizabeth Gilbert

October 2010
Personal God: Can You Really Know the One Who Made the Universe? -- Tim Stafford
Impact -- Douglas Preston
Four to Score (Stephanie Plum)
Tyrannosaur Canyon -- Douglas Preston

September 2010
High Five (Stephanie Plum) -- Janet Evanovich
Flashover -- Suzanne Chazin
Fireplay -- Suzanne Chazin
The Fourth Angel -- Suzanne Chazin
Blasphemy -- Douglas Preston
Below Zero -- C.J. Box
Dangerous Behavior -- Walter Marks
Bad Luck and Trouble (Reacher 11)

August 2010
61 Hours (Reacher 14)
Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry -- Mark Harris
Gone Tomorrow (Reacher 13)
Tripwire (Reacher 3)
Killing Floor (Reacher 1)
Die Trying (Reacher 2)
Children of God -- Mary Doria Russell

July 2010
The Hard Way (Reacher 10)
The Sparrow -- Mary Doria Russell
The Enemy (Reacher 8)
One Shot (Reacher 9)
Persuader (Reacher 7)
WIthout Fail (Reacher 6)

June 2010
Echo Burning (Reacher 5)
Running Blind (Reacher 4)
Nothing to Lose (Reacher 12)

May 2010
Dear Pastor: Ministry Advice from Seasoned Pastors -- John Cionca
Conversations with Poppi about God: An Eight-Year-Old and Her Theologian Grandfather Trade Questions -- Robert Jenson
Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives -- Brian Weiss
Messages from the Masters: Tapping into the Power of Love -- Brian Weiss

April 2010
Faith and Politics: How the "Moral Values" Debate Divides America and How to Move Forward Together -- Senator John Danforth
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us) -- Tom Vanderbilt
The Last Week: A Day-By-Day Account of Jesus's Final Week in Jerusalem -- Marcus Borg

March 2010
Have a Little Faith: A True Story -- Mitch Albom

February 2010
Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley
School for Husbands -- Wendy Holden
Last Night in Twisted River -- John Irving
The Mermaid Chair -- Sue Monk Kidd

January 2010
Finn -- Jon Clinch
Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do -- Pearl Cleage

Intro to this blog

Hi! I'm Kerry and I like to read. I use a book tracker on that social network site, but it's not convenient to look up stuff about what I've read.

For now I'm just listing stuff, and then later I'll post about individual books. Maybe I'll even tag things, who knows.

Shout out if you read this!