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Jane's Great Re-Read: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Review
The final book in such an epic series always had such a lot of hype to live up to. I read it on the day it was published in two sittings and I had not read it since. Until now. What struck me the first time and was reinforced the second was just how much death there was and how much J K Rowling took from Harry. It still feels brutal the way that Hedwig is disposed of and it doesn’t get any easier as the read goes on. I do think that the book is flawed in some ways. The seemingly endless scenes in the woods camping got rather…
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Jane's Great Re-Read: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I can’t quite believe I’m here. About to embark on the final one Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This one I have only read once because after finishing it I didn’t feel the need to read it again until now. So whereas I know Philosopher’s Stone like the back of my hand this book is almost a stranger. Of course I remember the events but I am fuzzy about the details. I do recall sobbing at various character’s deaths and that’s what I mainly remember so many deaths of characters that I have loved and made a place in my heart for. There are I’m sure, a lot of…
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Jane's Great Re-Read: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Review
I always felt smug about this book, mainly because I worked out who the Half-Blood Prince was prior to it being published. I also guessed that Dumbledore would not make it to the final book. Although that was rather more obvious. This is a wild ride of a book, I loved all the sequences between Harry and Dumbledore. Dumbledore diminishing, though having learnt important lessons in the Order of the Phoenix. Also Snape you can’t talk about this book without thinking deeply about Snape stuck between a rock and a hard place and with no choice to his actions. And the questions about who is he actually loyal to? And…
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Jane's Great Re-Read: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The half-blood Prince is one I’ve only read twice. There are a lot of explanations in this book. We get to learn what Dumbledore has been thinking and some of what he has been planning. I’m looking forward to Horace Slughorn, the only Slytherin I ever liked. One thing that I remembered reading in this book was that it felt quite visceral particularly the animosity between Harry and Draco in this novel. The scene on the train and Harry’s use of the Half-Blood Prince’s spell both gave me the jitters. I’m looking forward to Ginny Weasley finally coming into her own, having waited patiently for Harry to gain enough maturity…
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Jane's Great Re-read: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Review
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was with no small amount of trepidation that I approached this one. Because dear me CAPSLOCK!Harry really is a sulky pain in the you-know-where. That said my memory did lie to me because I found the novel far more compelling and satisfying than I remember. It is such a dark novel, so many themes which are disturbing. Umbridge being as vile as I remembered if not more so. Her quill and the fact she’s willing to use physical force against students. There is a scene in which Dumbledore calls her on it which made me cheer. Of course Dumbledore’s Army is…
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Jane's Great Re-read: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I can remember finishing Goblet and being aghast and wanting to read the sequel immediately. We had to wait the best part of two years before we got it. And then it was weird. Harry was not the Harry I remembered. He’d gotten really surly and quite mean and it took me a fair few chapters to get used to this new aggressive and angry Harry. In addition this is the book where Dumbledore lets the reader down and we become as frustrated as Harry because he isn’t there and when he is he’s aloof. And then we come to Delores Umbridge. She has to be in the running for…
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Jane's Great Re-read: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Review
Goblet of Fire is such a long book after Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s like a Peter Jackson adapted Hobbit version of the earlier Harry Potter books. I am torn because whilst I love all the detail of the world, some of the subplots are weak and don’t seem to go anywhere. There is just so much stuff to plough through. Revisiting it does feel more of a chore than it did the first time. That said the level of information and detail is where a lot of the humour lies and I really enjoy absorbing it all and giggling when I notice something new. The good thing is that I’m…
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Jane's Great Re-Read: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The re-read is continuing at a fair pace. The First three in the series have verily flown by but I’ve reached the first in the Door stop phase of the series. Goblet of Fire is over twice the length of Prisoner of Azkaban so it is always feels a little daunting. That said this is the pivot point in the series. This is where Voldemort regains a lot of his powers and I can remember the first time I devoured the novel I just sped through desperate to know what was going to happen next and then dying for the Order of the Phoenix. I am looking forward to the…
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Jane's Great Re-Read: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Aw yeah. Re-reading Prisoner of Azkaban was a complete joy. This really is J K Rowling writing at her best here. No extraneous bits, the plots moves at a thundering pace and it is fantastic. Even the time travelling which is notorious to pull off well is competently done. The character development really starts here, we start to learn more about Snape and some of the reasons why he hated James Potter so much. Oh Severus, so much disappointment for you in this novel. So without further ado five things from Prisoner Minerva Mcgonagall being disrespectful and passive aggressive towards Professor Trelawney and barely even managing to conceal it from…
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Jane's Great Re-Read: Prisoner of Azkaban
I have really been looking forward to re-reading this one. This is where things start heating up. Harry blows up Aunt Marge, there’s the lovely bit with the Knight Bus. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, the marauders. Oh yes Sirius and Lupin I adore them. So many characters and elements get introduced in this novel I can’t wait to get reacquainted with them. I remember Prisoner of Azkaban as being the book where the stakes really got high and it felt tightly plotted and well executed. The doorstops that come after this loose some of the tightness that is in this one. Also the cover has a purple header. I…
