Quidditch through the Ages

1 / 4 / 1912 / 2 / 19

Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, J.K. Rowling
Published by Scholastic on June 1, 2001
Pages: 64
Goodreads
three-stars

The most checked-out book in the Hogwarts Library, and a volume no Quidditch player or Harry Potter fan should be without!

If you have ever asked yourself where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence, or why the Wigtown Wanderers have pictures of meat cleavers on their robes, you need QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES. This invaluable volume is consulted by young Quidditch fans on an almost daily basis.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Comic Relief, who will use your money to continue improving and changing lives -- work that is even more important and astonishing than the three-and-a-half-second capture of the Golden Snitch by Roderick Plumpton in 1921.

Hello!
I know that it has been a hot minute since I have written a post here, but while I have still been busily reading I haven’t been reading Harry Potter books this month which deeply saddens me since it was #hpdec. I also wanted to let you know that I was also doing work on the blog over the last month and there will be more work done here in the future, which includes how my book review posts are structured.

I know that this book was done in conjunction with Comic Relief and wasn’t meant to be taken as a main part of the Harry Potter series, but in doing my re-read of the series I knew that it was finally time to read this book in its entirety. I have skimmed this book many a time in Barnes & Noble, but had not owned it until the last year. I am glad that I have now corrected that error in my judgement. Weighing in light 103 pages, I found this book quite intriguing to read and that I finished it in mere hours. I would definitely recommend this read for any fan of the Harry Potter series and anyone who wants some light reading without diving into the Harry Potter Universe too hard.

I found that the light-hearted informative nature of this book allows readers to dive more into the world of Quidditch and gives us a small taste of what Harry might have experienced when he discovered Quidditch for the first time. I am glad that I included the Hogwarts text in my my #HPDec reads and hope that in the next year I will be able to finish re-reading the entire series and give you some more updated thoughts on it. Hope to see you soon.

Tistheseasonathon

12 / 14 / 181 / 9 / 19

Hey!
I’m back again with yet more book reviews. If you haven’t been here in a bit because I haven’t posted and notice that the site looks different, that’s because it does! I’ll talk more about it in another post. Let’s get back to the real reason you are here. Recently several book tubers I follow including Heather from Bookables decided to host a readathon for the holiday season, called ‘Tistheseasonathon. I decided to participate mainly because who can resist reading holiday books around the holidays! I did manage to almost finish 4 books during the week and also did a vlog on my reading. So here’s a recap of all the books I read during the week

This was the first book I tackled this week mostly because it was short, I had also been wanting to read this book during the holidays ever since I read Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist earlier in the year. I found the back and forth between Dash & Lily charming and delightful though very YA romance. This book almost makes me want to visit New York during the holidays just to experience it like in this book. This may make my list of books to read during the holidays every year.

The second book I finished during the week was the follow up book to Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares. I loved that there was a follow-up book that took place one year later and that explored more of the intricacies of relationships and family. I thought the how the authors played off the 12 days of Christmas theme was cute and added to the experience of the book. I should also add that I thought that it was so charming that all the books that I have read from this pair of authors have tied together in simple ways building a series that could be read together or simply as standalone books.

The third book I read this week was also the Paper & Glam book for December. Yay for knocking 2 birds out together. I am honestly surprised at how much people hate this book. I found the book cute and charming again for a holiday read. This is the book that the movie Christmas with the Kranks is based off of. If you have never experienced the mentality of a small town, you may not be able to relate to all the hijinks that happen in the book, but if you are then you will definitely be able to understand. I found myself in some ways relating to Luther Krank throughout the story and thinking about how I treat Christmas in my own way.

The last book I read during this week though I will admit that I didn’t finish it during the week was the group book for the Readathon. This is a recently published compilation of 4 short stories all around the holiday season. I would say Christmas, but one of the stories is about Hanukkah in a way. I liked several of the stories in the book and didn’t like some of the others. This made for a nice variety of authors and encouraged me to check out some new authors in the coming year.

I hope that you enjoyed this wrap of books that I read during the ‘Tistheseasonathon Readathon. I hope to do this readathon again next year with some even more amazing books to read. I hope to see you in another post real soon!

The Crimes of Grindelwald

12 / 6 / 1812 / 2 / 19

Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay (Fantastic Beasts: The Original Screenplay, #2) by J.K. Rowling
on November 16, 2018
Pages: 287
Goodreads
three-stars

At the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, his former Hogwarts student, who agrees to help once again, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

This second original screenplay from J.K. Rowling, illustrated with stunning line art from MinaLima, expands on earlier events that helped shaped the wizarding world, with some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of both the books and films.

Hey!

I know I said that real posts are coming and once again I promise they are, but since it’s already December I could resist starting #HPDecember early. This was started a few years ago when a couple of book bloggers decided that there was no better way to indulge in the holiday season than to read Harry Potter. They were entirely right and with the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald it seemed like a perfect way to continue the tradition.

If you were paying attention to my Goodreads linked in the sidebar you will have noticed that I did finish the script book a few weeks ago, however it took me until last week to see the movie. Yes, I knew all the spoilers and if you haven’t seen the movie or read the script book turn your eyes away because I will be spoiling all of it here for you.

In this movie , we catch up with Newt Scamander nearly 6 months after the last movie has ended. He has published the first edition of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them , returned to England and been banned from international travel by the Ministry of Magic. After Newt has a hearing that doesn’t quite go well at the Ministry of Magic, Newt runs into Professor Albus Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore informs Newt that Creedance is still alive and in Paris, he also strongly suggests that Newt go find him before Grindelwald does. Newt refuses and heads home, but not before Professor Dumbledore slips him Nicolas Flamel’s address. Once home Queenie and Jacob show up on Newt’s doorstep to announce their engagement. After a very weird fight and undoing Jacob from a love potion, Queen storms of to Paris to find Tina and the guys follow just to make sure they are all safe. Things only get crazier and more questions arise and get unanswered than ever before. The end of the movie shows Queenie and Creedance siding with Grindelwald, Leta Lestrange dead, and Dumbledore holding a blood pact that he and Grindelwald made years ago.

The movie and the book was so crazy that I barely even have words, but then again this does seem in typical J.K. Rowling fashion to keep us in the dark about so many things until the very end. The mere thought that this series will span 5 movies because we are going from 1926 to 1943 is crazy! The first bomb that was dropped from the trailer was that Nagini was a human, which to some of us wasn’t that big a deal, the bigger deal that was divulged in the movie was that she didn’t automatically side with Grindelwald. The second bomb that was dropped in the movie, at least to some was that Queenie chose Grindelwald’s side after she and Jacob fight about getting married. I’m still hoping that Queenie comes back to the good side in the next movie. The third bomb that was dropped was Grindelwald’s revelation that Creedance was Aurelius Dumbledore. If you have been following all the threads online regarding this revelation you might realize that either Grindelwald is lying or that Creedance isn’t a real person.

I was impressed by the visuals of the movie and how beautiful Paris looked in the 1920s. It was also nice to see Professor Dumbledore as a young man and to catch a glance of Professor McGonagall as a young woman. I won’t nitpick as some of the movie illustrations of some of the spells we have seen in other movies, but it was interesting to see how Professor Dumbledore and Grindelwald used magic as compared to everyone else. I was also impressed to see Newt’s lab and to see all the creatures he has collected. We only were able to see a small fraction of it in the first movie. Ahhh…Baby Nifflers! They are really so cute and the Niffler might be my favorite character and unsung hero from these movies so far.

Image result for crimes of grindelwald movie poster

If you have seen this movie or read the scrip book let me know your thoughts. Have you read Harry Potter again since your first read? Will you be joining me in #HPDecember? Look for my Harry Potter related content this month as well as more content in general in the coming weeks.

See you soon!

Spellbook of the Lost and Found

12 / 4 / 181 / 9 / 19

Image result for spellbook of the lost and found

Hey!

I know that it has been a minute since I’ve been here with a real post let alone a review. All this radio silence all over the social media has not been good, but I have been living life and prepping my content calendar for the rest of the year and the beginning of 2019. I can hardly believe that I’m actually saying that 2019 is around the corner.

Back to real reason you are here, today’s post is yet another book review. Posts about real life are coming and more will be on the way in the future. Today’s review is on Spellbook of the lost and found by Moira Fowley -Doyle. I had tried to read this for the Creating & Co RIP Readathon in October, but didn’t finish and decided to shelve the book for some other time, luckily I was needing to pick another book up at the library.

This book is about what you believe to be 6 teenagers who find a spellbook that claims to bring back lost things. The book is written from the perspective of three of the teenagers Olive, Laurel, and Hazel. Throughout the story the spellbook is used to cast a spell several times to bring back lost things and after every spell is cast some things are found while other things are lost. The book gets really confusing for a while before straightening itself out to the conclusion.

As I’ve always promised I won’t give away the ending of the book. I would recommend that you read the book for a slightly spooky read. I thought that this would have been a perfect October read if I had finished it in October. The back and forth between the characters sometimes confused me because you were often meeting characters and then not hearing about them for a chapter or two. Overall the book was good, but it is definitely more of a borrow library book vs own book.

Let me know what you have been reading and other things that you have been up to lately. If you want to keep with all the books that I have read feel free to check out my Goodreads which is linked in the sidebar. I’m hoping to see you again soon with another post.

96 words of Love

11 / 27 / 183 / 25 / 20

96 Words for Love by Rachel Roy, Ava Dash, James Patterson
Published by jimmy patterson on January 15, 2019
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
three-half-stars

A modern retelling of a classic Indian legend, 96 Words for Love is a coming-of-age story.
Ever since her acceptance to UCLA, 17-year-old Raya Liston has been quietly freaking out. She feels simultaneously lost and trapped by a future already mapped out for her.
Then her beloved grandmother dies, and Raya jumps at the chance to spend her last free summer at the ashram in India where her grandmother met and fell in love with her grandfather. Raya hopes to find her center and her true path. But she didn't expect to fall in love... with a country of beautiful contradictions, her fiercely loyal cousin, a local girl with a passion for reading, and a boy who teaches her that in Sanskrit, there are 96 different ways to say the word "love."
A modern retelling of the classic Indian legend of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

Hey!
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been here, but I’ve been busily reading if you haven’t been following my goodreads for all the self help books that I’ve been swallowing as well as getting ready for the holiday season. I have high hopes of bringing you tons of reviews and more great content over the next month with that wonderful promise let’s jump into the real reason that you are here today.

I recently finished 96 Words of Love by Rachel Roy and Ava Dash. Before I jump into the gushy parts of this review, I should let you know that I did receive this book as part of a Goodreads Advanced Reader Copy giveaway and that I wasn’t compensated for anything I am about to say.

I loved the premise of the story being a coming of age pilgrimage and time in an ashram in India. I also loved the fact that Raya got to learn a lot more about her heritage, her grandmother, and the Indian culture. It was also interesting to know that this book was a modern retelling of an Indian folk story. As I’ve always promised I won’t spoil the ending for you , but there is a romantic twist in the book which I didn’t mind and could have seen coming a mile away. It did seem weird that there was a other minor sub-story that happened toward the end of the book.

I mean, if you’re writing a romantic contemporary story write a romantic contemporary story. If you are writing a story about humanitarian efforts and self discovery write about that. When one becomes a subplot for the other it looks dull, half assed and unfinished. Other that than I can honestly say that I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a more diverse character read. I found the book interesting, but not a serious page turner which is why it took me so long to read. I could see this as a pool book or a fun summer read.

96 Words of Love by Rachel Roy and Ava Dash is set to release on January 15, 2019. Be sure to pick it up at your local bookstore or let your local library know that you want to read this book.