Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as
a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what
is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what
others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN
My son is way above me as a reader, reading mostly classical history non-fiction. Our dinner conversations frequently center around the Roman empire and battle strategies. I love learning but I have trouble keeping up with who was whom in the classical world. I listen carefully and try to ask questions that will provoke a response letting him speak at length about his passion. I understand how important it is as a reader to be able to regurgitate the material and to express your thoughts and opinions. This is one of the reasons I take part in a Twitter #virtualbookclub. I look forward to this monthly exchange of thoughts and opinions based on middle grade books. I just don't know many adults in my daily life who like to chat about kids books like I do. I am a firm believer in reading the books I recommend to children so I read a LOT of kid's books at all levels.
Harry Potter Reading Challenge
ANYWAYS...I challenged my son and his cousin to join me in re-reading the Harry Potter series. I have gotten lazy about reading them every July (my birthday gift to Harry) and have fallen back on watching the movies on ABC Family. The trouble is, the movies leave out some of my favorite parts and I want to remember those parts. We started this past weekend. My son is already on H.P. and the Order of the Phoenix. I am on H. P. and the Chamber of Secrets and having to listen to it on audio book at work and using my print copy at home. I am a big audio book fan.
Re-reading Harry Potter has been so much fun. We quiz each other on the tiniest details. Here are a few quiz questions we have posed.
- Which day and month were James and Lilly Potter murdered by Voldemort?
- How many Sickles are there to a Galleon?
- What does it cost to send a message by owl?
- What was the number on the Gringott's vault that contained the Sorcerer's Stone?
J. K. Rowling did an excellent job of describing the settings and making the wizard world's food sound so delicious. Kids love detailed descriptions of unusual food in books. I spent years wishing I could eat Turkish Delight after reading The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. We are both enjoying our re-read.
Has it been a while since you read Harry Potter? Why not join us? Give it a go and let me know in the comments section.
Well, other than a lot of barcodes that I have been deleting out of my library catalog, I have pretty much been sticking to Harry Potter.
How has your reading week been going?
Harry Potter is on my list this summer as well. I lost all of the audio books in a harddrive crash in December and I've been mourning them because of the work it took to get the chapter titles named 'just so.' I guess it's time I get the CDs out and start the process again! There's just nothing like Jim Dale's narration and it's perfect for summer.
ReplyDeleteOh, too bad about that hard drive crash. Yes, Jim Dale was the perfect choice for the audio book but I have trouble hearing him present other titles now. I had the same difficulty hearing Amanda Galvan (Tris in Divergent) in another audio book.
Delete:) I had to quit listening to Peter and the Starcatchers for exactly that reason!
DeleteMy son and I are working our way through the series together. I've read all the books already, but it's so much fun to read them to him and marvel over Rowling's clever wordplay. We keep an Internet-connected device handy to look up the meanings of character names, words used in spells and charms, potion ingredients, and more. After we finish a book, we watch the movie together and complain about how many of the best parts were left out!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to share this with your son. Have you visited the Pottermore website to read the additional chapters that Rowling wrote after the series was complete?
DeleteMy dad frequently retreads the books, I think he's on his third go-round! I want to read each one with my 8yo before she sees the movies. Like you said, the details are just amazing. Rowling is such a talented author. I've read her adult novels and while they have the same attention to detail, the "magic" (no pun intended) has not been captured yet!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michele. That's cool that your dad reads them too.
DeleteMy youngest daughter just finished the series so the rest of the family can freely talk Potter. Now we have to practice self-censorship with the Hunger Games trilogy. Hoping to go to Orlando next year to see Diagon Alley.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go to Diagon Alley! I have several magic wand pens that I bought from Scholastic and I have fun casting spells on kids who have read the series. They always know how to react.
DeleteI need to re-read Harry Potter soon. It has been quite awhile since I visited Hogwarts. Thanks for sharing! Have a great reading week!
ReplyDeleteHave you really been to Hogwarts? I would love to go. I really want to see the new Diagon Alley too.
DeleteHi Julee, I've been meaning to reread the Harry Potter series too with my 12 year old girl, but as per usual she is way ahead of me now, at Book Four. She has taken a hiatus from HP though to focus on Catching Fire this week. :) She hopes to read Mockingjay before it hits the theaters.
ReplyDelete