n   Why are you worrying about YOU-KNOW-WHO, when you should be worrying about YOU-NO-POO? The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation! n

The twins. Gah! You got to love them.

Now that we are far past what I like to call "the happy era" (books 1-4), it's little moments like these that keep me from taking the book too seriously.

Yes, Draco is skulking around. Yes, Lord Voldemort evilly plotting. Yes, they still have to keep up all sorts of homework and practice....BUT if given the opportunity, Rowling still slips in a good ol' poop joke.

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Read by Jim Dale - the audio master himself!

The 2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A book that makes you feel nostalgic

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⭐5 stars⭐

n  "Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me "sir" Professor."n

I will never not laugh at this.

As a war is being fought NOT in plain sight, it's up to Harry and co. to investigate Voldemort's past for any vulnerabilities. Am I allowed to say that this the pen-ultimate book of one of the most popular serials ever written, has a slow start, a slow middle, but a thrilling final 200 pages! It took me nearly six months to wade through!

2016 read

It never gets old, rereading this series. I love always picking up on new things I didn't notice the first 10 times around. Also, with these later books, I wish the movies had stayed truer to the books.

“It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”

As Harry Potter prepares for his battle against Lord Voldemort with the guidance of his headmaster and mentor, Albus Dumbledore, the backstory of the Dark Lord is revealed.

This book is a goddamn heartbreaker! I’ve become a big fan of listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks during my daily workout (Stephen Fry’s narration is FAULT-LESS) and there I was... bawling my eyes out during those final few chapters while getting on with my lunges and burpees... quite the sight, I’m sure!!

The first three novels just feel like a different story. It’s all so light-hearted and enjoyable, then we hit Goblet of Fire and from then on Rowling is just tightening her grip on our hearts and bringing the FEELS. This one in particular crushes me. I remember on my first read I was just so freakin’ SHOOK by the events towards the end. I’d love to say it’s easier when you know what’s coming, but it isn’t!!

I’ve seen complaints that nothing really happens in this book, but that’s almost what I love about it. It’s the build-up to the big finale, we’re learning about Voldemort’s backstory, we’re introduced to horcruxes... the fun is in the learning and the story progression!

And I simply adore that moment when Ron *sorry, WonWon* tells Hermione he loves her (yes it’s in a friendly manner but it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside) I honestly don’t even know if I fully ship Ron and Hermione, it’s conflicting for me - I think she could do better - but I still love this moment. And also when Ginny and Hermione have a little spat and both were quite sassy with each other.. I love it! However, I do not love how inferior Ginny is in the movies compared to Ginny in the books. RUDE.

I feel like my Harry Potter reviews are just word vomit! “I LOVED THIS. I hated that. This was so good.” and so forth... but I feel like Harry Potter just makes my brain go into overdrive and my excitement takes over. Apologies.

Love Half-Blood Prince. It definitely ranks very high for me in the series! 5 stars!

”I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. “I am with you.”
…
It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew—and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents—that there was all the difference in the world.

At this point, you’ve either read the Harry Potter series, or you’ve deliberately chosen not to read them. Either way, there’s not much to say here.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has a bit more of a leisurely pace than the others in the series, perhaps because a substantial portion of the story is told in flashbacks. Still, some of my favorite scenes in the whole series are in this book. The Unbreakable Vow. Ron on love potion. Jealous Harry. Harry on Felix Felicis. Luna providing Quidditch commentary. Harry finally getting the girl. Everything that happens between The Cave and the Flight of the Prince. There's a lot of set up for the last book in this one, but it's still an entertaining read.

The author may have let people down later in her life; people sometimes suck more than you realize at first. But the Harry Potter series is an achievement that will outlast her and all of us. If somehow you've stubbornly refused to read it, you are really missing out.

I have read this book many times, although the penultimate one was years ago. Let's say that this was the first time I've read them in e-book form.

The reading was marvellous. There were things I'd forgotten, e.g. how late Harry and Ginny got together. I'd also forgotten about most of the funeral. I'll say no more, spoilers oblige.

What this book tells me is that sadly the more conservative of readers, grammarians etc will place so many books above Harry Potter #6, none of which is worth mentioning in the same breath as Potter lore.

To me this series is special. Nobody else will undertake waiting for each book to come out and lay our hands on them. The Potter universe will belong to our descendants forever. But it was we who helped create this fervor and unmatched popularity.

For a long time this book had a special place in my freezer with my favorite ice creams and frozen food I was banned to cook (I eventually burn them when I defreeze them. I was born with non-culinary skills!) I repeated what Joey Tribbianni did because after finishing this book I cried so hard,
I cursed nonstop, I screamed till my local cords declare their uselessness and I tried to throw the hardcopy out of the window but I changed my mind because an innocent kid may have found the book at the outside and started to read and cry nonstop! So instead of throwing away or burning the pages( which is so harsh punishment because this book is still a classic and it’s one of the best ones of the series)freezing the book and never forgiving the author for killing one of my favorite characters were the best choices I’ve had.

As my new weekend quarantine habit: I started retro weekend tradition and reread my favorite series. Even though this book broke my heart more than a decade before, at least this time I prepared myself with lots of tissues and golden toilet papers( they’re so precious things and I hang them on the walls with hand sanitizers as if they’re historical artifacts.) and I bottled up my happy memories inside my head to protect my heart tear apart.

This is sweet 16 adventures of Harry: the girl crushes, secret smiles, hormonal and characteristic changes, seeing the world from different aspect! If I didn’t get so sad with the unexpected ending, this might be second favorite HP book because JKR- wizard of the words reflected the emotional and psychical changing as they grow up more and realize the biggest danger out there to steal their best times of their lives.

I never get bored to reread any HP books or anything JKR writes. (instead of shopping list. Lately they made me sleep!) So I had quite great time with my nostalgic journey to the past and realize I will find myself reading these books a decade later and I will still get the great taste of literature and have quality time. That’s the magic of skilled writing and gifted talent!

Siempre digo esto de cada entrega de Harry Potter, pero les juro que este es mi favorito (hasta que lea el siguiente).

n  

“It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”

n



Reading this book was brutally depessing. I've never expected Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to be dark like this, but I liked it anyway. The boy from book one has grown up and makes a decision that turns out to be disastrous. The thing I loved about this book might be when Harry and Dumbledore dig into Voldemort's memory. We get to know about him and what kind of person he was before he became the Dark Lord. This is exceedingly fun !



n  

“Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.”

n

I really enjoyed many parts of this book, yet the last few chapters tore my heart out and crushed it into the ground. The development of these characters is surprisingly good too. It seems everyone has their way to deal with the problems. Harry and Hermione are perfect together, but not in the romantic way. The climax blew my mind and I didn't want to do anything more than sobbing quitely on the pillow. J.K. Rowling did a good job when she started writing this book, she knew how to unify the pieces scattering around these six books.



n  

“Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!”

n

More at http://goo.gl/0y2Lw3

”And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

In the wake of epic confrontation in the Department of Mysteries, Harry Potter and his friends start their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is rather more quiet than the fifth, but contains some incredibly intriguing aspects. An elusive Draco Malfoy, a book containing the scribbles of the enigmatic Half-Blood Prince, and more information on the backstory of a certain Hogwarts student of old by the name of Tom Riddle.

From a more objective point of view, I would not hesitate to say that this book was not as good as the fifth one, which has been by far the best in the Harry Potter series. Personally however, I may have enjoyed this one more. Mostly because there are few things I enjoy more than backstory. And while this series lacks a lot in many aspects, it does have a bunch of wildly interesting characters. Dumbledore and Snape are definitely among them. But above them all rises Tom Riddle.

That being said, Dumbledore was by far my favourite character at the end of the fifth book, and he remains so at the end of the sixth.

n  ”It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”n

J.K. Rowling uses the word “clambered” a lot. Like, a ridiculous amount.

I've never heard an American use this word one time in my life, so I can only assume it's a British habit, to use “clambered” excessively to describe going over an object, or else Ms. Rowling never learned the words “crawled” or “climbed” as a child.

She also has the most horrible habit, as a writer, of mentioning minutiae that no one gives a shit about anymore, but then leaves out some very important details. I have the perfect example to use from this book: when Draco Malfoy tries to use one of the Unforgivable Curses on Harry, at Hogwarts no less, Harry's not the least bit interested to tell anyone, but when he turns a corner, we get to read a entire page about Peeves the Poltergeist throwing chalk at him. . . again. Yes, Harry, make sure and go tell staff that Peeves is throwing chalk at you, but leave off that boring business of the student trying to kill you in the bathroom. Such inconsistencies annoy me.

Also, after rereading some 3,350 pages of Harry Potter so far this year, I can't help but wonder. . . how are we to keep suspending our disbelief that the adult wizarding world times their actions to coincide perfectly with the school year at Hogwarts? I mean, how can every evildoer in the wizarding world be inspired to perform their misdeeds right as the school year comes to a close in June? Couldn't she just one time have made some bad shit happen in February? This is a writing habit that has just been way too tidy for me.

And yet. . . here I was. . . rereading book 6 aloud to my middle child in our living room as my son was in the background, moving his belongings back into the house for summer when I got to this part:

“Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one,” said Ernie Macmillan, pointing at a small black cauldron standing on Slughorn's desk. The potion within was splashing about merrily; it was the color of molten gold, and large drops were leaping like goldfish above the surface, though not a particle had spilled.

My son stop moving, set down the box that had been in his hands, then came and sat down on the couch and said, “Felix Felicis.” My daughter and I nodded our heads in approval and Hermione Granger contributed, “It's liquid luck.”

Next thing you know, my littlest child poked her head around the corner and revealed that she'd been listening as well. My middle child blew up in anger at her, throwing a pair of dirty socks at her head, but her little sister prevailed and came into the center of the living room and declared as she sat down on the carpet, “I just want to listen to the story.”

Imagine me now, feeling the bliss, reading my favorite Harry Potter book to all three of my kids at once, in the center of my living room, on a beautiful spring day. And that right there is the magic, folks. It's not that I'm the world's most engaging narrator. It's not that J.K. Rowling writes novels like Graham Greene. J.K. Rowling's magic is in her storytelling.

Storytelling is not writing, and not all writers are storytellers, but good writing that contains excellent storytelling takes the reading experience to the sublime.

We clambered to the climax of this story together and now we are poised to take on the last novel together, next week.

When I asked my middle child how many stars out of five for this one, she answered: ONE THOUSAND.

So, ONE THOUSAND stars out of five.