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

Can you believe the first Harry Potter book is 21 years old?!? Harry would be in his 30's by now! Hagrid would be in his 80's! A baby could have been born when the first book came out and be able to drink today! I'm amazed at how timeless and magical the books still are. And even after my having read this one 3 times and seen the movie, there are still little treasures here and there that I discover each time.

I love Rowling's characters, the world she's created, and the little life lessons peppered throughout. This book is different from the others in that we don't have a full appreciation of all the characters. Dumbledore is really absent throughout the book, more than my memory let on. And for more than half of the book, Hermione was more of an annoyance to Harry and Ron than a confidante. They don't really become close until more than halfway through the book, when a troll brokers their friendship (and we aren't talking about the trolls that roam the internets nowadays). In many ways, things were definitely in their infancy here.

This, my third reading, was devoted to my six-year old son. He's a bit green for the book (in his ability to pay attention long enough, as well as to fully appreciate a lot of the details), but I couldn't wait to expose him to this beautiful world. We spent a looooong time reading through this book, a chapter here and there, not necessarily on consecutive nights. But we got through it.




If I had any doubts that my son was too small to listen to this story, they were quickly allayed after we read chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised. Harry becomes transfixed with a mirror that shows you your heart's greatest desire, obsessively sitting in front of it nightly for hours, as it shows him his parents, long dead. I asked my son what he would see if he sat in front of the mirror and he said "I would see my great grandma, because she only got to see me when I was a baby."

Are you hearing this?!? Melted my effing heart.





The themes Rowling weave through her writing, of family, belonging, good and evil, loyalty, bravery....I could go on and on...are so deftly handled in such creative and fun ways. I am a proud Potterhead to be sure.

Another bonus with this reading is that we read the illustrated version, which is what the pictures in this post are from. It's an over-sized, unabridged hard cover version with beautiful drawings to accompany the text. If you read the book and don't think it could get any better, pick up this version and relive it all over again.

The Exorcism of Sara May by Joe Hart

Ugh. I almost don't want to review this book because the cover image is so creepy. Christian me is clutching my holy pearls at the obviously satanic image on my blog and wondering if it will somehow infiltrate my life through my Chromebook.

But I already read the book so I guess any potential damage has been done. But STILL. Her eyes...blech!

I decided to give this one a go, despite the obvious danger to my soul, because I had read (and liked) another Hart novella, "And the Sea Called her Name."

Much like the last book, Hart creates a creepy setting, but this time it's in the 1930's in Rath, Minnesota. We've got a small dusty town, where all the kids attend school in a single schoolhouse, and farming is the livelihood of many. We hear the story as a retelling from a man who was in love with Sara May, seventy years ago. As a teen boy, Lane's simplest pleasure was getting a Coke at the local store. Things started to get more exciting for him when the father of his crush hired him and a friend to clear some land for planting. But Lane's life was complicated by sinister events that, at first, he wondered if he was just imagining. But when people around him also started experiencing strange things, it was only a matter of time before Lane found himself participating in an exorcism.

What I like about this book is the mood Hart is able to create, and so quickly. I can richly imagine the setting, and there is an undertone to his writing that is just a little bit unsettling. Because this book is so short, the events that occur aren't too spread apart and it packs enough excitement and suspense to keep me reading, and wanting more.

And I'm confident my soul stayed intact after it all was over. Pretty sure at least...

And the Sea Called Her Name by Joe Hart

This is a great novella from Joe Hart about two people who start starry eyed, like any other couple, but slowly grow apart. Set on the blustery Maine coast, Hart describes Jason and Delphi in a quaint home on the seashore, with the cold, dark ocean just beyond their doorstep. We see events through Jason's eyes. A reluctant fisherman following in the steps of his father, Jason wants nothing more than to provide for his wife, Delphi, and build a family. But as Delphi becomes despondent and her behavior stranger and more unexplainable, Jason is hard pressed for any answer that makes sense.

After reading it, I thought, "Okaaaay?" As the ending was a bit fantastic for my taste. But then I read a blurb at the end that Hart wrote about what inspired the story. And that made me appreciate it a lot more. And my heart actually ached a little bit more, not just for Jason and Delphi, but for anyone who has experienced similar devastation, or alienation from a loved one, or complete loss. The symbolism Hart uses to show Jason and Delphi's unraveling is so out there, it shows the extreme ruin people go through emotionally.

So I guess I missed the point until Hart told me what it was. But a little reminder every now and then to look deeper than the surface is ok. And what better place to delve into the depths than the cold, black, sea.

The Shining by Stephen King

I've found many readers can be put into two categories: those who love Stephen King, and those who don't, but are afraid to admit it. Okay, maybe I'm projecting. But the internet LOOOOOVES Stephen King. At least the circles in which I find myself. So much so that I know there's something wrong with me for not loving his books. It's been my dirty little literary secret.

I started with IT. I remember bits and pieces of the miniseries that aired in 1990. Did I actually see the whole thing? Regardless, I picked up the book and gave it a go. I'm pretty sure I didn't get through that, so I'm gonna go ahead and say I saw the TV version in it's entirety. I had to, because I remember that I hated the ending.

Then came the Tommyknockers. 1993. I remember clearly that I didn't get through that book. I was too bored by the minute details that went on for pages and pages about what'shisname...Garrett? Gardner! (thanks wikipedia). Again, wasn't crazy about the ending.

If you're beginning to wonder why I decided to read these books knowing already I didn't like the ending of the movies, I too, wonder.

But it's Stephen King! And he's a master! And I already had the books at home. And I think I liked the movies enough to give the books a go.

Maybe the problem was my age? I was in junior high and high school in the 90's. Maybe I wasn't mature enough for King.

So skip ahead about 17 years and we are at Bag of Bones. Now THIS one? Wasn't too bad. Although I read it before I started blogging, so I don't really remember much about it. But it's probably what gave me the confidence to tackle The Gunslinger.

THAT? A big fat nope. Just a lot of dust and wandering and a guy and a kid and I don't even know what else.

So I'm batting about .250. Not too shabby if you have a leather glove instead of a Stephen King book in hand. So why, WHY did I think The Shining would be a good idea? I honestly don't remember. Except that I was on vacation and in the mood for something scary.

And thank baby Jesus I thought it was great! I didn't just finish it ( a crowning achievement in itself) I actually, truly, liked it! I'm not going to go into details about the plot except to say that the movie isn't a good representation of the book. So if you really want to know what Stephen King's The Shining is about, read the book. And you'll get a great dose of a grand, empty hotel with haunted rooms and characters you'll care about. I loved the setting, the backstories, the isolation, and yes, even the ending.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

This is a YA novella that debuted with much acclaim and has won many awards. So of course, I didn't like it.

It was the premise that reeled me in. It's about students at a boarding school for kids who have entered and then returned from fantasy worlds. They are obsessed with returning, but have to wait for the doorway to their world to reappear. When and where it appears is different for everyone.

I like the idea that everyone has a magical door, an opportunity at some point in their lives to shed their "real" existence. For some, the door is large and obvious. For others, it's small and inconspicuous. No one knows when it will appear, or for how long. Some people never see their door. Others, like these kids, do and go through them. The world that awaits them could be one of their deepest desires, or worst nightmares. It might be a world of war or chaos. And depending on the child, that could be the best, or worst thing for them.

Some kids return from their worlds and want to forget about their experience altogether. And there are special schools for them. But others want nothing more than to return. And these are the kids at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children.

Do you want to know more? Me too! Do you want to know what each child's fantasy world is like? So do I! And that's the main problem I have with this book. We only catch snippets of each child's world. The entirety of the story takes place in the "real" world. And any flashbacks or descriptions McGuire gives us of someone's fantasy realm is seriously lacking.

The main mystery is that students are ending up dead at the school. So we are trying to figure out who the killer is. But I wasn't really interested in that. I guess I too, was obsessed like the kids. I just felt McGuire could have focused more on the fantasy, rather than the reality. THAT'S what I signed up for. Silly me.

I think this is one that is better in theory than execution. But plenty of people disagree with me about that. So maybe check it out? It's short at least. And it's a series. Maybe it gets better?

Come Closer by Sara Gran

This is a sinister story that you can read in just a few hours. It's about Amanda, who is happily married with a great job as an architect. As strange things begin happening to her, she can't quite figure out if it's her, or something else. Like the tapping she constantly hears at home (it's the pipes), or the strange incident at work (must have been a practical joke).

But as things get more sinister, Amanda finds herself consulting a book on demon possession she's sure was sent to her by mistake. And each time she consults the checklist of symptoms, her score creeps higher and higher.

I wouldn't describe this book as scary, so much as eerie. Sara Gran pulls you in right away in this short, densely packed read.

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

Although one's looks may not be completely obvious over the nets that inter, you may be surprised to hear that I am in fact, a white girl...with blue eyes, medium-length brown hair, and a build that's not too fat or too thin. I get the feeling when people meet me and see me later, they think, "Have I met her before?" That's because they can't quite place me, as they've seen me in every other blue-eyed, brown-haired, medium-built white girl. I just don't have anything particular about my appearance that stands out. No flaming red hair, no obvious birthmarks or peculiarities, just a very generic white girl look.

I like to think my genericism is only skin deep, of course. But I suppose internally I'm still just as generic as everyone else, if we can all agree everyone has their own unique story to tell.

And it's Starr's story we are focusing on today. Sixteen-year old Starr struggles with her identity. On the outside, she is black. On the inside, in some ways she might wish she were more generic. Unfortunately, she is dealing with a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly common across the United States - the death of young black men at the hands of police. And this time, it's her friend, and she is a witness to the event. (Don't hate if you think that's a spoiler - I haven't revealed more than the movie previews have).

If that's not enough, Starr has a duality in her personality that is becoming too exhausting for her to keep up, especially in the wake of recent events.  She has her home life, with her family and friends from her neighborhood, which she would describe as a ghetto. And then there's her school life, which is in a mostly white, suburban setting.

As you may guess, I identify more with Starr's school life. So when she's at home and says things like she gave dab to her brother, or did the nae-nae, I have to consult Dr. Google for enlightenment. It was interesting to understand her non-school life and identity. I had questions, like, would Starr act the same way around a white person in her neighborhood? Or what about a black person at her school? How much of her personality and identity is tied to her environment (living in her neighborhood versus being black)?

And this latter point is something that the author addresses really nicely. She gives Starr a strong voice and makes her family just as interesting (if not more so in the case of her father) than Starr. It's from them we learn the meaning behind Starr and her siblings' names, and what THUG life really means. And it is this whole angle upon which the book title is based - an eye-opening insight that had me googling Tupac Shakur and learning more about his life and music. I've said it before and I'll say it again, any book that has me seeking out new information beyond its pages is a winner to me.

So it's a thumbs up for this relevant and culturally necessary novel.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I wasn't sure what this book was about, just that it was good. So I took a chance and was thrust into the interrogation of a Scottish World War II war prisoner for the Germans. The subject of the interrogation? Not your usual WWII prisoner, as it's a female. And she seems especially...perky?...for being interrogated. Okay, maybe perky isn't the best choice of words, but she's definitely not short on wits, snark, or even a sense of humor. And who can resist someone who says things like, "buckets of blood" as an expletive? It is this voice that kept me intrigued as I progressed through the first part of the book.

I wasn't sure the story was interesting by that point. And it wasn't clear where things were headed, but I damn well knew I liked this chick and wanted to hear what she had to say.

We eventually get the gist that there are two women serving in the military, one as a pilot, and another a radio operator, or something...They develop a friendship that is forged by the vagaries of war. Their unique positions in the British war effort offer a refreshing take on the genre as well.

One of the best things about this book is how each detail is carefully researched by the author. She tried to make things historically accurate, and where she took liberties, she tried to at least make things plausible, asking some literary forgiveness in that respect. In doing so, she provides an amazing war story whose unfolding is a slow-burn, but well-worth the wait.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Usually the research leading to a book is a means to an end. But with this one, I feel like the book is the means, and the real story lies in the lead up to the book.

We could talk about a man so evil he is believed to be responsible for more than 50 rapes and at least 12 homicides. A man who terrorized California for a decade...whose dauchebaggery was low enough to taunt a child, saying he was playing with mommy and daddy. A man who would call his victim's before and after his crimes. A man who enjoyed sitting in quiet to make his blindfolded victims think he had left, only to remind them of his presence once they gathered the courage to get up to get help.

Or we could talk about Michelle McNamara, the late true-crime writer who became obsessed with the East Area Rapist. Whose research into this man led her throughout California visiting crime-scenes and meeting investigators, criminalists, arm-chair detectives, and even a forensic geneologist. Her efforts even led to the Orange County Sheriff's Department releasing boxes, BOXES of case files to her in an effort to drum up leads in the case. Knowing first-hand the beauracracies that make up local law-enforcement agencies, my brain is boggled that she was able to so cleanly and easily cut through what could have amounted to miles of red tape.

This is a woman who searched the internet for trinkets stolen by the Golden State Killer, who coined this term for the man also known as the Visalia Ransacker and the Original Night Stalker. As her body of research grew, so did her manuscript for a book that was stopped short by her untimely death.

While some chapters are Michelle's voice entirely, some are edited and pieced together. Notes before many chapters tell us the source material for that chapter, whether a previous article she'd written, or notes found on her computer. It is in this way you are reminded of the woman who hunted the Golden State Killer until her death. I found myself more saddened by her inability to finish her work and not see, just months after the publication of this book, Joseph DeAngelo arrested on eight counts of first degree murder and believed responsible for countless other crimes of deeply disturbing violence.

I was more moved by her life and work, than by the account of destruction committed by the pure evil described in the pages of this book. While it isn't my favorite true-crime book I've ever read, the faults are understandable and forgivable.

You can thank her husband, Patton Oswalt, who saw that her book was published. Because he'd be damned if the Golden State Killer, who once threatened a victim, saying, "You'll be silent forever," was given one more opportunity to silence another voice.

Version Control by Dexter Palmer

ver·sion con·trol

noun

COMPUTING

1. the task of keeping a software system consisting of many versions and configurations well organized. - google

When I'm feeling particularly sorry for myself over something, I like to think that in some other, parallel universe, I was in a similar situation, only things were worse. And now here I am, living in the version of my life that follows the lesser of two evils. 

How many versions of your life have you imagined? Is there any way to know that we are living in the best possible outcome? And if so, at whose expense might that be? Is there a way to somehow keep track of all the possibilities, or do they exist outside of time as we know it?

These are questions that Rebecca doesn't have time to think about. She lives in the not too distant future, where Facebook is still a thing, but self-driving cars are the norm. It's a now where no one blinks an eye when the President comments on your daily life via your restaurant's table screen over hamburgers and fries. Rebecca, a part-time customer service rep for the online-dating service, Lovability, occupies her thoughts and time with her son, a drinking problem, and a physicist husband whose life work is a device that doesn't seem to work. It is more appropriate to say that the existential questions of time are left to Phillip, whose stress of constant negative results is second only to his worry that people call his device a time-machine.

Palmer peppers his story with a supporting cast of characters, as well as online dating anecdotes, some big brother paranoia, salacious affairs, secret government projects, and tragedy. He also explores issues of grief and race, which seemed more as asides, but there were a few interesting moments with both that I felt were eye-opening to say the least. This is a story about cause and effect and the things we do to disrupt the delicate fabric that keeps our relationships and everything we hold dear in place. It's about the possibilities that could be, those we've left behind, and the realities of the moments we have left.

Palmer's writing style is dry - I didn't find myself laughing at much, or even liking a lot of his characters - but as the story unfolded, I became more engrossed in it.  While, at first, I wasn't certain how I felt about the book, I couldn't imagine a better outcome for the ending.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

I share much the same initial sentiment of my fellow readers on this WTactualF did I just read. I was thrust into a world where the players affectionately sniff each other in greeting (as was polite) and kill small children for multiple reasons because you can't have just one. Just as this tale was at times unsavory, yet at times really intriguing, I'm also of two minds about how I feel about it.

To say the characters are unlikeable is an understatement. There's our "librarians" - David, whose catalogue is murder and war. His hobbies include squeezing blood from the hearts of his victims into his hair, creating a sort of warrior's helmet over time, and bringing his girlfriend the still animated, severed heads of his spoils to play with. Speaking of Margaret, her forays into the underworld require dying, obviously. But with each visit, she loses a bit of herself after every trip, until, well, she thinks it's fun to lick the tears of severed heads. And of course this constant dying and reviving is made possible by Jennifer, whose catalogue is medicine. She can heal and bring back the dead, but her constant dabbling with pain and its relief has led to her working most effectively in a drugged out stupor. Then there's Rachel, who kills children on a regular basis. She walks surrounded by her ghostly charges, who enable her to see the future.

Speaking of reanimated dead (because there are many types), some serve as housekeepers and placeholders for the librarians. Think complacent zombies that sweep and dust and live in houses that serve as a front to disguise the library, which exists in 17 dimensions.

But back to our librarians. There's Carolyn, who is a language expert for every language ever to exist, including things like the poetic language of storms. And Michael, ambassador of beasts. He lives among and communicates with animals (hence the sniffing greetings). These are some of the 12 librarians, all selected and trained by "Father," whose methods of discipline include roasting his children in an exotic bull shaped barbeque, among other things. A man who could call down lightning or stop time, to whom stones spoke to by name. But is he God? Or a god? Hardly.

And that's part of the intrigue of this book. Who is God? What are the rules of the universe? What makes someone good, or evil, or powerful?

With all the violence, death, and heavy themes, Hawkins blends humor and farcical touches throughout the book.

Like the part where one character is celebrating being basically a god but sits around drinking Budweiser. BUDWEISER!

Or the part where Father explains how all the horrible things he's done had reasons behind them, as if he's some misunderstood psychopathic sadist. Like we're supposed to sympathize with him when he explains how he had an epiphany the last time he roasted David in the bull.

Or how the language of the librarians is Pelapi, a singsongy cross between an illegitimate child of Vietnamese and a cat fight.

Or how David, having to spend some time in America, decides a tutu is the closest thing to his customary loincloth. Hawkins loves to remind us of how bloodstained it is each time David makes an entrance to engage in mass murder.

Or when Carolyn concocts an overly complicated plan that involves killing someone, getting someone else locked up in jail, breaking said person out of jail, then sending him off somewhere to be potentially attacked and killed by wild dogs, in the off chance that he'll drop something somewhere for someone else to find later and on and on. Just hearing her explanation of her plan was more ridiculous than the playing out of said plan.

Then there's the whole, the sun disappeared bit, where earth basically experiences an apocalypse, something Hawkins really just glosses over, having one character note that maybe she noticed something off because the store WAS out of guacamole...

And I could go on and on.

Here's the rub for me...if still you're on board after reading all of this so far. I basically read the book twice. After the first read, I wrote an angry I-hate-this-book review. But I felt I needed specific examples of what I actually hated. So I skimmed the book a second time through. I noticed two things, first, I didn't remember a lot of details from the first read. I think I read the book half asleep the first time. Second, because I had some context, a lot of the details I (legitimately) read the first time, actually made sense the second time. After that second go, I felt completely differently about this book.

It's hard to follow, confusing, and seriously random. But it's also wildly creative and original. It's definitely not for everyone, as there is a lot of violence. But it's written in a way that you don't really feel too invested in anyone or anything that dies. And death isn't necessarily a permanent condition, so...I wasn't really bothered by the violence as much as others seemed to be. Let's just say this book would make for a great Tarantino film. I almost hope that happens.

And while I've only read great reviews on this book, I also wouldn't be surprised if you, like me, hate it, at least the first time around.

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

This World War II biography is written about Jan and Antonina Zabinksi. Jan was the Warsaw zoo's zookeeper. Before the war, he and his wife lived in a villa at the zoo and enjoyed a home filled with strange and exotic pets, (besides the animals in the zoo, of course).  It wasn't unusual to see a hawk hopping throughout the house, or a baby lion being nursed. But what was once a beautifully strange and fulfilling way of life turned to a life of survival and secrets, when Germany invaded Warsaw during World War II.

What may have appeared to be the Zabinskis' love for animals before the war was revealed to be a love for life of all kinds, during the war. Although they lost most of their animals, they held on to what they could, and became active participants in the Warsaw underground. The zoo, amidst war-torn Warsaw, and occasionally visited by Nazi soldiers, was an unlikely location for hiding Jews. But the unoccupied animal enclosures served as convenient hiding spots for Jews making their way through the Polish underground.

What I liked about this book is that, despite the atrocities described and the undertones of war, Ackerman's writing didn't leave me as drained as I've felt when reading or watching other things about World War II. She focuses on Antonina's spirit of hope and humanity, which makes reading about some of the more distasteful things more palatable.

There is also an almost whimsical quality about Antonina, from her playing "Go Go Go to Crete" on the piano as a warning to those in the home, to her love for creatures both large and small. While she lives in constant fear and worry, she hides it well from those in the house, and in a way, from whomever is reading the book as well.

It's an amazing story about even more amazing people during an extraordinary time. For more information about Antonina and Jan, here is a brief interview from her daughter, Teresa, who happens to give the movie, based on this book, an endorsement.