Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The fifth installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest of the seven books, at 800 pages of absorbing reading.

You can notice from the picture that the title of the book has completely disappeared from months of reading!

It's not easy writing a long story (and reading one too!). There are a number of challenges involved which I picked up on while reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

* keeping each character unique to him/herself

* not allowing individual characters with specific traits and personalities to become too similar to each other

* maintaining a page-turning power to the story

* not giving chance for the reader to become bored mid-way through

* having a big enough story line with sufficient sub-plots

* connecting sub-plots to the main plot but not allowing sub-plots to become too lengthy and consuming the main plot

* knowing which significant circumstances/events/details to include and which irrelevant ones to omit

* getting the right balance between prose and dialogue

* everything must lead to the grand finale

* being able to transition neatly through time and smoothly switch to later time throughout the story

For all of these reasons, I thoroughly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. For the first time, we read about real friction between Harry and Dumbledore which simmered through the novel and boiled over at the end. We also see Professor Dumbledore duel with Lord Voldemort, and cringe at the awfully irritating character of Dolores Umbridge in her brief and ignominious stint as High Inquisitor and Headmistress of Hogwarts. Harry also learns for the first time of his destiny as related to Voldemort. One of them must kill the other. 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix represents a highly emotional and difficult time for Harry as he loses his only remaining living family member, Sirius Black, who was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, in addition to coming to terms with the prophecy of his destiny. We are left with the impression that it can't really get any worse for Harry.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third installment of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. It is a page turner as Rowling keeps the story going tirelessly. 

Harry learns how to create a 'patronus' from Professor Lupin which combats the frightening dementors who love nothing more than to suck out every last ounce of a person's soul and happiness. When in trouble, Harry conjures a powerful patronus to scatter a host of dementors.

Quidditch is the sport of choice at Hogwarts and Harry helps the Gryffindor team to victory. He also learns more about his family history, discovering who are enemies and who are friends to him.

Dumbledore sets the rules of Hogwarts and also relaxes them when the breaking of the rules (almost always by Harry, Ron and Hermione) are put into context by the Professor's sagacity. As always, Dumbledore steals the show at the end with his words of wisdom:

"You think the dead we have loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that particular Patronus? . . . So you did see your father last night, Harry . . . you found him inside yourself."

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The second of J. K. Rowling's fantastic works, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is just as good a read as the first. She picks up from the first novel and continues the story, building on Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, Gryffindor and Slytherin, and all of the other fascinating aspects of Hogwarts.

Though but little is written about Albus Dumbledore, the Principal of Hogwarts, he seems to be the calming influence of the story, a thoughtful character whose wise words inspire those who hear them despite the drama that unfolds around the school.

Near the end of this book, Dumbledore remarks, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Teaser Tuesday (Nov 6th, 2012)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish event held by MizB at Should Be Reading

>

Anyone can join in – just do the following:

·       Grab your current read

·       Open to a random page

·       Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

·       BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

·       Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today is taken from the long-term reading project I'm engaged in with Robert Jordan's fantasy novel, "The Eye Of The World"

Here's my teaser, taken from the very first lines of the book:

"The palace still shook occasionally as the earth rumbled in memory, groaned as if it would deny what had happened. Bars of sunlight cast through rents in the walls made motes of dust glitter where they yet hung in the air."

Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think, and share your teasers too in a comment.

Teaser Tuesday (Oct 2nd)

Hi all, it's Teaser Tuesday again, which is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along - just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) lists if they like your teasers!

My Tuesday Teaser:

"Egwene's hands trembled as Moiraine laid the stone on her fingertips. She started to pull back, but the Aes Sedai held both her hands in one of hers and gently touched the other to the side of Egwene's head."

The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan

Share your teaser with me in a comment, or leave the link to your teaser!