Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, audio by Stephen Fry

I recently finished listening to Stephen Fry read Deathly Hallows. It was a book, that even on re-reading, I couldn't get through many chapters without a lot of tears. Listening to it, I found my self once again in tears over Dobby's death, the death of Fred, and all the others. The chapter when Kreacher tells his story was even more poignant when read aloud. As was Harry's meeting with his parents and Sirius and Remus in the forest and his final meeting with Dumbledore at King's Cross.

And then there was "The Prince's Tale", the chapter about Snape, the one that answered so many questions about the enigmatic potions master who finally achieved his heart's desire of being the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Thinking back to the beginning of that year, when he started the class, he knew what was coming and yet went ahead with the plan that Dumbledore had laid out for them all, just as Harry chose to follow Dumbledore in the end.

It's a powerful book, and my favorite of the series. It's even more powerful when spoken. My only disappointment is that it is the one that I won't be able to listen to when I travel - it's a bit too hard to explain why you are suddenly crying when everything seems normal around you.

So, my thanks to Stephen Fry for reading all the seven Harry Potter books so well, and my thanks to my husband for buying them all for me.

Pat

A Moment of Panic

I was looking at my blog and trying to figure out if I wanted to make any changes. I added the Harry Potter quotes at the bottom but didn't change anything else. And then I looked at my blog and all my posts were gone. I've no idea what that was all about. It seems to be back, but I think I'll definitely start copying all my posts and putting them somewhere in a file. Not that there's anything earth shattering that would be a tragedy if it disappeared. . . well, for me, it would be.

So, even though I'd like to make some changes, I like I'll just leave it alone. That was too scary.

I'm about two thirds of the way through Harry Potter and Imagination by Travis Prinzi. It's the kind of book that I will need to read more than once, and next time I'll be taking notes. He has made some observations that have clarified things for me, and he's brought up things I hadn't given much thought. I plan to sit down in the next few days and comment on some of the ones that I have found to be the most thought provoking.

For now, I'm going back to a calming cup of tea, a snack with some chocolate in it, and more of Travis's book.

Pat

Slightly obsessed? Well, I guess I am. . .

Travis over at The Hog's Head posted a list of books that he owns that are Harry Potter related and asked us to share our own. I'm glad that I copied mine before I posted, because it doesn't seem to have made it past the spam catcher.

I admit that I am a collector of things, not just Harry Potter things. But for what it's worth, here is my list, or as complete a list as I am likely to compile.

It's a little disturbing when I stop to take inventory on my Harry Potter bookshelf, which has spilled onto a place on my desk because they won't all fit on just one shelf.

I have the 7 HP books, hardback and paperback (well, not DH yet as it hasn't been released in the US - I'll get it when it comes out). I have an extra copy of COS because Laura lost the dust cover and I wanted that one. I have an extra copy of POA, GOF and OP because my first ones fell apart. And I have the UK version of PS, brought to me by my sister-in-law who saw it in a book shop in Germany. (I'm glad she realized I'd want the UK one and not a translated German version, which I couldn't have read.)

And I now have all seven of the audio books, read by Stephen Fry.

And here's the rest of the list:
Sorcerer's Stone (10th Anniversary edition)
Order of the Phoenix, deluxe edition (from ebay)
Half-Blood Prince, deluxe edition (from ebay)
Deathly Hallows, deluxe edition (bought when I bought the regular one at midnight)

Fantastic Beasts
Quidditch Through the Ages
Tales of Beedle the Bard (bought three and gave one to each daughter)

by John Granger:
Looking for God in Harry Potter, 2004
Looking for God in Harry Potter, 2006? (found it in paperback at Amazon or somewhere - John was surprised I'd found a copy)
Hidden Keys
How Harry Cast His Spell
The Deathly Hallows Lectures (two copies, one was apparently mistakenly released early, and they are different)
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys. . .

Harry Potter and Imagination, by Travis, which I'm quite enjoying and wish I'd been jotting down notes.

The Gospel According to Harry Potter, Connie Neal
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, David Colbert
Harry Potter and Philosophy, ed. Baggett and Klein (never finished it)
The Wisdom of Harry Potter, Edmund Kern
A Charmed Life, Francis Bridger
What Will Harry Do?, Janet Batchler
Harry, a History, Melissa Anelli

Traditional Symbols, J. C. Cooper (not HP, and written in the 1970s, but I bought it specifically because of HP and because I wanted something that wasn't influenced by HP)
. . . as well as some basic books on mythology, since my knowledge was definitely lacking

And then there is the shelf that has "stuff" that I have collected or been given by family members who shake their heads at my HP obsession. Included there are:
-the tiny water globes that came out with the first film
-Christmas ornaments
-the goofy HP glasses
-a wand, hand carved and painted by my talented son-in-law and daughter - when we went to Lumos 2006
-the collector's stones (I finally bought the golden snitch one since I couldn't get it by buying them at the store)
- the stones are in a cauldron-like goblet that my daughter etched with "Harry Potter"
-stamps my hubby ordered from the UK
-a small Hedwig
-a wand from Allivans given to me by my Day Camp co-site director when we had a Harry Potter themed week
-framed picture with the first 4 movie posters and cells from the films (not huge, and it was a gift from daughter, son-in-law and their friend - we had all gone to all of the midnight movies)
- a throw with a scene from HP and SS movie - crossing the water to Hogwarts (not on the shelf)

Oh, and a LOT of HP book marks, some of which say Bloomsbury on them instead of Scholastic - I'm not sure how those found their way to my B&N in Washington state, but there they are.

I also have HP mugs, one for each of the houses and one (gift) of Hagrid with Norbert.

I have a couple of movie posters from the first movie that were free at Sears and a poster from B&N for the HBP release.

Then there is the potions poster that was given to Laura that she stuck on her bedroom door (now my computer room) with what must have been a permanent sticking charm, as it's still there after 8 years. I particularly like Snape scowling over Harry's shoulder as Harry works on a potion.

And one of my favorites - a small badger sent to me by my friend from the Netherlands, Antoinette, since we are both Hufflepuffs. I knitted a small Hufflepuff scarf for it.

And last, but not least, the HP watch that Laura gave me that I still sometimes wear - with potions bottles on the face (just looks pretty and most people don't know it's HP), but not with the blue band. I switched that to a silver one a long time ago so it isn't so obviously a kid's watch.

There's more (little stuff), but that's definitely enough to list.

Like I said, I find myself "a bit scary" sometimes, as Ron told Hermione. I try not to scare everyone else quite so much by keeping it all (most of it anyway) contained in my computer room where they don't have to see it every day.

Now, everyone who is a packrat should feel better knowing that they are not alone. Actually, a packrat is never alone - or at least not alone in an empty or uninteresting room.

Pat