WWW Wednesdays #103 – August 10th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I started my previous TBR jar pick Secret Letters by Leah Scheier a few days ago, but I’m really struggling to get into the story. I’m not sure if it’s because of the prose or the main character, but I cannot seem to manage to convince me to continue it. Maybe after I finish my last pending Netgalley ARC: All Fall Down by Tom Bale? That one is turning out to be yet another brilliant thriller! I’ve also finally FINALLY picked up my copy of A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin. I’m hoping I will be able to make a dent into this monster during my 15 hours on a plane this Sunday…

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last WWW is The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller. It was a fast read and I LOVED the comic/geeky references, but the many high school cliches and the fact that the main character was ashamed of liking comics and seemed to prefer being popular ruined the story slightly for me.
* I then gave in and read Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. It was quite an entertaining read and brought back a lot of nostalgic memories, but it wasn’t as good as the first seven books. The fact that it’s a script makes it less pleasant to read as well…
* The Girl From The Sea by Shalini Boland is yet another psychological thriller to add to my list of favorites. SO good! It’s well written and the fact that the main character has amnesia and therefore is an unreliable narrator is a refreshing twist. Recommended!
* The last book I finished is The Last Girl by Joe Hart, which unfortunately didn’t turn out to be as good as I thought it would be. It’s not a bad read and the synopsis sounds interesting, but I felt it was missing that little something that would turn it into something special. In fact, it all sounded all too similar to the typical dystopian story with a strong female character… I did really appreciate this story has almost no romance and NO love triangle. Definitely a miracle when it comes to the YA dystopian genre.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I can’t wait to finally start Red Rising by Pierce Brown! If I like the first book I will probably read both sequels as well… I also want to read Vicious by V.E. Schwab (and This Savage Song as well, but I have decided to read this one first). The Art Of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson is also high on my list. A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas is my newest TBR jar pick, which is really convenient since I wanted to read it soon anyway. I will probably reread ACOTAR first though…

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BOOK REVIEW: Harry Potter And The Cursed Child – by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany

Title: Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
(Harry Potter #8)
Authors: J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany
Genre: YA, Fantasy
First published: July 31st 2016
Publisher: Pottermore
Finished reading: August 4th 2016
Pages: 320

“Those we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch.”

I was lucky enough to be growing up along with the main characters as the books were first published, and it’s easy to say the Harry Potter series is one of my childhood favorites. I’m still a fan, so of course I was thrilled when I first heard about Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. But then I started thinking. The original series played such an important role in my life when I was younger; how will this new title ever live up to that? And I normally don’t like reading hyped books either… Plus, this eighth book is actually the script of a play I will probably never actually see. To be honest, I was going to resist temptation and not read Harry Potter And The Cursed Child for the time being. But then the publish date arrived and reviews started popping up everywhere. And as you might have guessed, I couldn’t resist temptation. I gave myself the excuse that I didn’t want to run into any spoilers, but to be honest I just wanted to revisit their world one last time and see what the future had in store for my favorite trio. And it sure was a journey full of nostalgic feelings! I can’t say this new story actually lives up to the original series and I can understand why so many people seem disappointed by it, but Harry Potter And The Cursed  Child scored bonus points simply for the nostalgia. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but I can say this: I liked the time travel and alternative past, but I wasn’t convinced by all the characters and final acts. And the fact that it’s a script does make it less pleasant to read even though it’s a superfast read. I wish I could actually watch the play! Still, if you are a Harry Potter fan it will be hard to resist this new story. I know I couldn’t…

WARNING: SPOILERS!! DON’T READ THE SUMMARY IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST SEVEN BOOKS.

It still isn’t easy being Harry Potter even nineteen years after the final battle. It’s a different kind of difficult though as he is now the overworked employee of the Ministry Of Magic, a husband and father of three children. He still struggles with the past and memories still haunt him. And not all his children are happy with their famous dad… His youngest son Albus feels like he isn’t living up to the family legacy and hates being a Potter and above all resents feeling likea disappointment. He doesn’t really fit in at Hogwarts and has only one friend: Draco Malfoy’s son Scorpius and another misfit. Then one day the two take a decision that will threaten to change the past and present forever…

I can’t say this new story lives up to the first seven books, but I still really enjoyed reading Harry Potter And The Cursed  Child for nostalgic reasons. It’s a script which makes it less comfortable to read, but it is a fast read and there are many references to the past. I didn’t love it, but I think it’s still worth reading if you are a Potter fan. I hope they will make a movie version one day though! Either that or a rewrite of the script to a novel.

WWW Wednesdays #92 – May 25th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

Note: I’m actually out of town right now, but will be back before the weekend… Gotta love the post scheduling option! 😉

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I have been seriously neglecting one of my favorite genres lately, so I decided to put all my planned books on hold and pick up a proper whodunit: Heartsick by Chelsea Cain. I’m not far into it yet, but I hope to finish it before I come back! Also, I will try to read The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry during my trip. I’m ashamed to admit I have never read this classic, but better late than never right?

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I managed to finish is Binge by Tyler Oakley, which turned out to be a really entertaining memoir even though I hadn’t heard from the author before.
* I’ve also finished Hero by Belinda Crawford, a very enjoyable ARC with an interesting worldbuilding, no romance and a fast pace. Definitely recommended!
* I also finally picked up my Spanish copy of the first Harry Potter book again. I have been wanting to read more books in Spanish and it was the perfect excuse to reread this series… Because no matter what language the story is told in, it always stays magical (Although I prefer the original version). I found out while reading Harry Potter Y La Piedra Filosofal that I’m still able to read Spanish with a ‘fast’ pace, so I’m quite a happy camper right now. 😀

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Once again I haven’t been able to start any of the books I wanted to read last week…Whcih is partly to blame to the lack of time and I was in the mood for different genres as well. But I’m going to try and read them this week though! First up is another ARC: Housebroken by The Behrg. I haven’t read a good horror story in too long, so I’m really looking forward to it. I also want to read Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys, but I’m probably going to read A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas first since I’m not sure how much longer I am going to be able to resist the temptation. My newest TBR jar pick is still The Opposite Of Loneliness by Marina Keegan.

Friday Finds #73 – February 12th

FRIDAY FINDS is originally featured at A Daily Rhythm and showcases the most interesting books I’ve encountered during the last week and have added to my neverending TBR list on Goodreads. Below a selection of my newest additions; click on the book descriptions to go to its Goodreads page! 😀

My finds:

BOOK REVIEW: The Tales Of Beedle The Bard – by J.K. Rowling

Title: The Tales Of Beedle The Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories
First published: December 4th 2008
Finished reading: September 11th 2015
Pages: 109

“The heroes and heroines who triumph in his stories are not those with the most powerful magic, but rather those who demonstrate the most kindness, common sense and ingenuity.”

Those who follow my blog will know that the Harry Potter series was one of my favorite reads when I was growing up and I still love rereading them whenever I have the chance. I’ ve read some of the novellas as well, but somehow I’ve never read The Tales Of Beedle The Bard before. While it still shows that J.K. Rowling is behind the short stories, I didn’t think they were as good as the main series. Sure, they are entertaining enough and I enjoyed reading Dumbledore’s commentary, but they didn’t reach the same level as the actual books. If you are a Harry Potter fan and cannot get enough of the series, you will most likely enjoy this short and fast read though.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of short fairy tales set in the wizard world of Harry Potter and his friends. The collection is famous among wizards and parents have been telling them to their children during centuries. Hermione Granger has newly translated them from the ancient runes and an extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore has been added. “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot”, “The Fountain of Fair Fortune”, “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart”, “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump” and the famous “The Tale of the Three Brothers”; they are all included in this collection.

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard is basically a collection of the wizard version of a few old fairy tales. Professor Dumbledore gives his commentary after each story, although it tells little new for those who have already finished the series. I understand why J.K. Rowling would have published this novella (millions and millions of us have probably bought it over the years), but I wish she would have written more fairy tales or given us more details of what happens to the main characters… Although that would probably never happen. Nevertheless if you enjoyed the Harry Potter series and don’t want to say goodbye to their magical world just yet, this might be an entertaining read for you.

WWW Wednesdays #57 – September 16th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

Yes, I’m still reading Queen Of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas. It’s not that I’m not enjoying it (which I am!), but I’ve barely had time to read last week… I’m going to keep my fingers crossed I will be able to finish it before I start my trip this Saturday.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

Like I said above, I didn’t exactly have time to read during the last week and therefore I’ve only managed to finish two short reads. The first is a Harry Potter novella called The Tales Of Beedle The Bard by J.K. Rowling. Enjoyable, but of course not as good as the main series. I’ve also managed to finish Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, a very impressive read and definitely recommended (as well as the movie!).

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is still my next TBR jar pick, but I probably won’t be able to read it until I’m back from my trip in November (since I won’t be bringing my kindle with me). I will only bring a few paperbacks I know I probably don’t want to keep so I can swap them at the book exchanges in the hostels I will be staying… Two of these will most likely be Careless in Red by Elizabeth George and Flood Tide by Clive Cussler. I’ve had a copy of these two on my TBR shelf for ages and it guess it’s about time I read them.

BOOK REVIEW: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
(Harry Potter Series #7)
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: YA, Fantasy
First published: July 21st 2007
Finished reading: April 29th 2015
Pages: 608

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”

Magical. Just magical. It’s been a long time since I last read the seventh and last book of the Harry Potter series, and it turns out that I had forgotten quite a few details. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is probably the book I’ve read less of the series, but not because I didn’t love it. This last book is the darkest story of all where Harry and his friends have all grown up and have to face their worst challenge yet… J.K. Rowling truly delivered with this ending and I want to thank her for all those magical years reading about the life of Harry Potter. Growing up without these seven books wouldn’t have been the same… The prose is simply brilliant and the fast pace just makes you keep on reading. It is true that the books get darker as Harry grows up and it shows in the prose, but I guess that is part of the charm of this series. The main characters are written in a way that you think of them as your friends, and I think that every teenager and Harry Potter fan would have liked to visit the Hogwarts School Of Magic themselves. This series is definitely recommended for those who enjoy YA fantasy!

WARNING: Spoilers! I’ve tried to keep this summary short, but it’s almost impossible to keep it without spoilers… Please don’t read this summary if you haven’t read the previous books yet!

Harry and his friends are supposed to start their last year at Hogwarts, but after all that happened in the previous year they decide not to return to the magical school. Dumbledore has left Harry, Ron and Hermione with a special mission that they cannot tell the rest of the Order Of The Phoenix about… Voldemort has split his soul in order to survive and left the different pieces inside Horcruxes hidden in various places. It is up to the three friends to find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them, because if they don’t Voldemort cannot be truly defeated. It is not an easy quest as they don’t know where the objects are or how to destroy them… And Dumbledore hasn’t left them with many easy clues. Will they be able to solve the puzzle on time and finally beat Voldemort?

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is probably one of my favorites of the series. Even though there are so many sad moments and it was hard to accept this was actually the end of the series, J.K. Rowling did an amazing job with this last book. The final battle left me without words, as well as the epilogue… Those who have read this one already will understand why. This series is part of my childhood and I will always love revisiting the magical world of Harry Potter. The prose, the characters, the setting… Everything is just magical.