Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts

Friday, April 25, 2014

A-Z: Classic Monsters: V is for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

Well...I bet you thought I'd post on a Vampire, didn't you?  Well, I thought about it and decided to feature a different monster for the letter V in today's A-Z Challenge post.  I would say the moment J.K. Rowling's featured this character, he was deemed a classic monster--the Dark Lord...Voldemort.

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About Tom Riddle

Tom was a half-blooded wizard, who was born and raised in a Muggle Orphanage and then attended Howarts.  Of course, he was sorted to the House of Slytherin which only made sense since he was heir to one of the founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin.  Tom was an astute pupil and mastered wizardry like none other.  Eventually, his true sadistic nature surfaced and then he turned to the Dark Arts which lead him to his Voldermort days.

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Why is Lord Voldermort a classic monster?


For starters, the Harry Potter series books are classics.  Without J.K. Rowling and her inventive mind, we would have never known the likes of something as iconic, evil and malicious as Voldemort (all that and he's just a wizard.)  Voldemort was obsessed with power and living forever.  He was a murderer, killing anyone or anything in his path.  J.K. Rowling did a press conference back in 2005 where she answered questions about the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  One of the most interesting questions I found on Voldemort was this.

From Edward Hollet representing W H Smith: "If Voldemort ever encountered a boggart what would he see?"  (Note:  A boggart is an amortal shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear. )

J.K. Rowling's response: "The thing that Voldemort fears more than anything else is his own death. It its the quest of his life to cheat death, so we would have to see himself lying dead on the floor."



Would you consider Voldemort a classic monster?  What other monsters where you thinking about? 


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A-Z Challenge: "P" for Pottermore

The letter for the A-Z Challenge is "P" and I chose Pottermore.  If you don't know by now, J.K. Rowling's interactive magical website launched this past weekend.  Woot!  Since I'm a geek and all, I spent last night pouring through it.  Signing up was a bit strange, but hey, I'm game for anything Harry Potter.


Anyway, since we are talking about characters, Pottermore is filled with them.  JK Rowling is breaking ground in the area of ebooks and ecommerce so I'll be watching closely not just for the literary aspects, but for the marketing ones as well.  For those interested, Nathan Bransford wrote a recent post on the topic, Why the Harry Potter E-books Are and Aren't a Really Big Deal.  With so much going on with publishing, you'd be crazy not to at least be curious, right?






Have you unlocked the magic or signed up yet?  Are you planning on it?  I'm taking my son with me on this journey so I'm sure we'll have loads of fun.


Mina B.

Monday, April 9, 2012

A-Z Challenge: J.K. Rowling's Hermione Granger

It's A-Z Challenge time. Today's letter is "H" is for J.K. Rowling's Hermione Granger. I could have easily discussed Harry Potter for this character feature, but I thought I'd highlight Hermione. Why? Because she was one on my favorite characters in the middle grade best-selling series.
"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have."  

To me, she was the intellectual backbone of the threesome. She not only gave Harry intelligent perspective, but unconditional friendship.  Hermione helped guide him with her wisdom almost like a little Dumbledore.  And there is absolutely no way Harry would have flourished and eventually conquered Lord Voldemort  without her (Ron too, but that's another post.) 


What made her even cooler were her faults. I thought they made her vastly more appealing.  Isn't that always the case with lovable characters?  In fact, often their imperfections make them more perfect.  Right?  In the case of Hermoine, she was a muggle.  And to boot, she was entirely too smart, which made her more intimidating, especially since she was a muggle. She had a brash approach with her classmates and was a quasi know-it-all. These weren't horrible flaws, but at Hogwarts, one could consider them ghastly.  I loved how vulnerable yet likeable her shortcomings made her.

What about you?  What do you like or dislike about Hermione?

Mina B.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Fridays with Fred: A Wizard Wannabe

Well, minions…Fred looks quite the part, wearing my glasses and all.  Don’t you think?  I wanted to dress Fred up in Harry’s gown & Gryffindor scarf so that you knew he was representing all those JK Rowling/ Harry Potter fans.  Fred would be a killer wizard, indeed! 
Anyway, today’s the big release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and so we thought we’d celebrate in our own way.  This weekend, we – Fred & my demonic hellions – will be making wizard wands…Mina Burrows style! 

For those interested...the Wall Street Journal posted their review of the movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  Can't wait to see it too!

Have a great weekend!

For another crazy shot of Fred try here.   Remember to check out Schatze over at Mary's (BookHounds).
Mina B.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Fridays with Fred & Book Blogger Hop

Fridays with Fred is here & Book Blogger Hop too! WOW! I am Iate for this post! Sorry! Thanks for picking me Crazy-for-Books! I do love this question because I often think about it.

"If you could physically put yourself into a book or series…
which one would it be and why?"

There are several series I would do this for but if I have to name one, I have to say…Harry Potter. Why? Because I want to be a wizard! I want to soar the skies on a broom (Nimbus 2001) and fight the evil Lord Voldemort with my magical wand. I want to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and learn all about magic & potions, attend classes, fight a death match with a spider in an enchanted forest. And I want to play quidditch for Cripes sake! Doesn’t that sound like fun? It does to me.  Anyway, that’s my answer. I’m sure I one of millions who feel the same.

Book Blogger Hop


And now...Fridays with Fred!

Did you know that I used to have another Jack Russell Terrier? Her name was Buffy and she was beautiful.  But…about three years ago, she ran away.  As you can see Fred had some fun with her as did Buffy with Fred.  They weren’t best friends per se, but companions nonetheless.  Fred doesn’t like sharing the top spot, if you can imagine that.  I guess it’s a dog thing.  Anyway, when Buffy took off, it devastated our family including Fred.  To this day, we still search for her.  Today, we find humor in her leaving, attempting to reason why she left.  We joke saying comments like Buffy couldn’t take the BS of living with us anymore and so she got the hell out of Dodge type thing.  And so *sniffle*…I thought I’d share this sweet photo I recently found of the two of them. It’s a classic scene of Fred running around and Buffy trailing him.  Don’t they look like their having fun?


Enjoy your weekend!


If you'd like to see more of Fred, try here and here.  Also, please stop by and visit Schatze over at Mary's (BookHounds).  She's one of Fred's other hot babe.

And if you get a chance, enter to win a signed ARC copy of Rachel Caine's latest, Bite Club!  Contest ends April 3rd, eod.

Until next time...

Mina B.