Check out Book vs Movie comparison of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at my blog and share your opinion! http://www.pottertalk.net/2014/03/book-vs-movie-half-blood-prince.html


In the sixth installment of Harry Potter facing off against Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore becomes a stronger leader and grandfather figure to the boy who lived than ever before. Perhaps the most suspenseful mystery that brings them closest together comes from the most grueling and devastating circumstances. To understand how Tom Riddle came to the inexhaustible hatred that lingers where his soul would be (if he had one), the beloved Headmaster reveals to young Potter a series of important memories connected to Slytherin's heir. The prophecy stated "neither one can live while the other survives", and in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, we finally figure out why.

Rating The Book
The violent and relentless mystique of Voldemort's motivations explored throughout the book comes to close without losing an ounce of oomph. The revelation of Tom Riddle's parents and childhood is a major page turner - perhaps the biggest story since Prisoner of Azkaban. After all the murders and manipulation Riddle commits in order to become the immortal heartless Lord Voldemort we've been hearing about in the past five books, the stakes are raised to its most pain-inducing loss so far.

Half Blood Prince may be Rowlings most sharp and balanced novel of the series. Her prose equally balances all the hormonal ranges of the characters without becoming redundant or exceptionally pervy. The story sustains mystery while revealing all of Lord Voldemort's skeletons in his closet. I would have preferred if some of Riddle's history hadn't been so restricted to Dumbledore's longwinded speeches and continuously jumping into the Penseive, but those are just nitpicky complaints.

Perhaps my biggest complaint for the book is how two-sided Ron Weasley is in both the books and films. It's no secret that his transformation to the big screen would be almost intolerable if it wasn't for the splendid subtle acting by Rupert Grint. However, on that note, I felt like Rowling really tried to keep Mr. Weasley in a box while the rest of the characters had ample opportunities to show different sides of themselves and evolve. Every brilliant choice or action Ron made, or could've made instead of dumbing down his personality and abilities, was usually swept under the rug or disregarded....

In what may be Rowling's best constructed novel of the series, her prose and focus of the storyline does not wander too aimlessly through side storylines or scenes that don't push the plot forward. The prolonged quarrels between the golden trio, or Hermione Granger's stubborn efforts to get S.P.E.W. off the ground doesn't infinitely absorb numerous chapters like in Order of the Phoenix or Goblet of Fire, respectively. While much of what Rowling provides is pitch-perfect for delving into her world-building, sometimes her plots lose focus. With Half Blood Prince, ninety-percent of the character interactions serve a purpose to either push the overall story forward, or their own. It's entertaining and engrossing without going all over the map (Order of the Phoenix finale, anyone?).

It’s hard to believe the road that 2020 has taken. If I wind back the clock to the end of 2019, and trying to welcome the new year with open arms, it feels like a lot of my goals went up in smoke when the Coronavirus hit. I started off well by completing a thirty day cycle of yoga, walked around my neighborhood almost every day (while wearing a mask / social distancing), and gradually replaced coffee with tea and more water. Over the summer, my anxiety and depression acted up to the point of dropping my habits and not being able to get back on track since.

Even with the election looming, and the outcome for the year feeling bleak, I still want to extinguish the dumpster fire that is 2020 and try to start over. "Atomic Habits" by James Clear (non-commission link) recently popped up on my ebook library at my library and offered hope to change direction.

I was surprised by how straightforward the book lays out how and what makes habits work, and what to do when they don’t. James Clear explains the evidence that proves habits work because of specific cues, cravings, and rewards that play into what makes habits attractive or unattractive, and why it’s so easy to fall off the wagon when one of those elements aren’t attractive, easy, or rewarding. If you don’t have a personal investment in a habit or its outcome, chances are you will not have the willpower to start, let alone see it through to the end.

Habits in a lot of ways are like a domino effect. When you start off on the wrong foot with not getting ready in the morning, you can easily give yourself permission to not follow up on other things afterwards. As for some of the habits I broke earlier this summer, "Atomic Habits" showed how preparation is necessary to wanting to do one small thing every day. I’m trying to get ready for yoga practice early in the morning by laying out my clothes the night before, making sure my desk is clear, and keeping a better track of my to-do list. I really want to write a few books I’ve had in mind for a while, so I’m using a calendar to track blogging, using social media, etc. because small posts will go a long way to holding myself accountable for actually writing. Or at least, I hope.

We all do things every day that are very easy habits – brush our teeth, go to work, study, eat, etc. that primarily keeps us going. If we didn’t do them, we’d suffer in some way – financially, health-wise, etc. But when it comes to our personal dreams, our minds build more roadblocks that either propel us forward or hold us back. Instead of feeling like habits are a make-or-break situation, "Atomic Habits" offers a different way of reshaping progress and believing it’s possible to get things done – if there are stumbles, it’s okay to start again.

Emily St. John Mandel crafted a really beautiful story of survival, not just about people but art's ability to persevere. Our connection to books, graphic novels, theatre, etc. can survive just as courageously and deeply as people can. With or without civilization, it has the power to bring people together. Her variety of characters and the mix of humane survivors and even the inhumane ones are shades of what the world used to be; all adversely affected by how they want to remember the way it used to be and sustain the new world they're in. Her balance of time, places, and people is quite extraordinary; she manages to shift focus between the past and present and not becoming confused. (My only critique is perhaps the narrative switching quickly from one of the main characters (Kristen) to some of the others towards the end and it felt wrapped up for too swiftly.) As much as this book takes place before and after epidemic, like The Walking Dead, the importance of the story is not so much on the apocalypse, brutality or violence, but the delicate connections of people, to who they were and who they will become when they face threats, human or otherwise. It left me thinking about the world differently, the delicate network not just of people but technology and so many things we come to rely on - each other, essentially life itself.

I'm on the fence about how much I liked this. I'm not a big fan of first person voice, but I didn't mind it here as I enjoyed the 'old-fashioned' style of Ada delving into self-discovery and the sisterhood she finds. I mostly enjoyed the gender-non-conformity of the Holl in the Wall's leader The Kid since they had the most distinct presence excluding Ada. But she and many supporting characters were also written too similarly to tell them apart. From beginning to end, there was a pang of wanting a grander scope of the world-building and where the plot was going. As a book set with an alternative history, I also wished it had gone the opposite route than sectioning off white characters VS everyone else, or only recognizing gay and lesbians from the LGBTQ+ community. The plot felt like it was touching on feminist themes, but not quite sure how to go all the way with intersectional ones.

Westerns with a feminist-edge are becoming an emerging genre, and this was a fine entry with an alternative twist. Even with ever-extending library due-dates, I wasn't exactly racing to finish it. I mostly enjoyed the atmosphere of the book (if that makes sense lol) and would love to see it as a TV series. I'm also low-key loving the amount of reviewers who wanted a different book that didn't focus on social justice...when the mere summary heavily themes women's reproductive issues. Talk about expectations vs reality.

I'd recommend to read it if you enjoy True Grit mixed with Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.