Reading

William finished the last Harry Potter book today, taking just 11 days (over 600 pages)! Here he is reading at the cafe at the Mendal in Saskatoon yesterday:He's already deep into the new Animorphs books I found for him, finishing one of them before supper time (book 41, " The Familiar", 143 pages).

Another one down

This afternoon, with the four day weekend stretching ahead of him, William finished the sixth Harry Potter book, "The Half Blood Prince". 606 pages, 23 days. He'll start the seventh and last one this evening.

We had a bit of a reward by me and Paul taking him out to see the 6th movie again at the Rainbow.

ich habe einen kater

I think I've picked up a bad case of cat head.
The long awaited new Lego Bionicle movie: "The Legend Reborn" came out today. I picked it up first thing this morning and William watched it twice after school. I caught it the second time. It was all right although at times it was quite sloppy. Two scenes in particular bothered me. In one, the main character is in a cavern of ancient technology and triggers a gateway to open. He is surprised and jumps back. The scene then cuts to the group of characters 2/3 of the way down the stairway with the opening far behind them. Where was the moment of nervous first steps into the darkness? Cutting room floor? Later when two of the heroes have been captured the same main character declares that he will go alone to rescue them and the other heroes must stay behind to protect the villagers. He then turns and exits amid musical cues that lead us to believe his new mission is under way. Cut to him standing on a hill side watching the sun set and one of the characters from the previous scene walks up behind him and says "I thought I'd find you here" and they have a chat about the likely position of the hostages. Very obtuse. All the key creatives had European names. All the actual animators were Asian. I sense some major disconnects in the production.

William finished reading the 760 page "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" this evening. He started it on July 9 and has now started the sixth book.

Reading or Movies?

This morning William finished the 635 page "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". He started it 24 days ago. This afternoon he watched the fifth movie in preparation for reading the book. He told us this evening that he prefers to read books than watching movies, although he hummed the "Get Smart" theme for about an hour (we watched the first two episodes this evening after supper - it's a rainy day). Paul, Margaret and I watched the first half of "The Spirit" but have left it for tomorrow. It's not as good as the Will Eisner comic but better than Warren Beattie's "Dick Tracy", although there are many similarities.

Harry Potter

This morning William woke up at 7 am, even though he was up late last night reading, and without a word picked up his book and continued reading. By 8 am he completed "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". Two weeks ago, with only the first 60 pages under his belt, I challenged him to finish reading it before the end of the school year. We have agreed that he will be able to pick his own prize for this feat, and this is still not determined. He's 9 days ahead of schedule. Very impressive for grade 2 in my opinion. I've not yet asked him what he'd like to read next.

Harry Potter

A week ago, at the beginning of William's spring break, we sat down and watched all five Harry Potter movies over three days. Now that I can't find any more Animorphs books for him to read, we're offering other things for him to try. On Sunday he suggested he wanted to read Harry Potter. We misplaced the first book but he decided he wanted to read the third Harry Potter book, the Prisoner of Azkaban.

skat or blitz

I assume that some of you are aware that a new, the last, Harry Potter book came out a week or so ago. I wasn't initially a fan and didn't know anything about the character until the first movie came out on dvd, but it grew on me and the past three books became special events in our household as Margaret and I read them out loud to each other, forcing us to stay on the same page, to digest every word, and to take moments to share thoughts about the book as the story unfolds. The movies are interesting as well, although not so much so that I'd made the time to see the newest one, but will eventually. Anyway, the process of reading out loud is slow but, as we are a bit obsessed and persistent, we completed it in a week. I was pleased with the book, it was paced better than the last couple, it kept focused on the central three characters without undue distractions, and tied up details that I did not believe she had the capability to reconcile. So there are a couple of more movies to go but then what? Rowling has already demonstrated a willingness her willingness to licence the characters through the creation of a theme park, although never through writing, but I got to thinking that a good television series based at the school could be really go for developing many details there. For example, what does it mean to be placed in Hufflepuff, outside of just being a loser? Can a member of Slitherin have a heart? Some good tv, when guided well, can have enough time to explore new issues and break down stereotypes. What if Joss Whedon, or someone of similar calibre, were to produce such a series, we might discover strength and weakness in all characters, not just the black and white world painted by Rowling. I understand the Rowling intends to write something different next, but even if she returns to the Potterverse, she will be unable to tell a simple small story that reveals intriguing truths about the characters and the history, she will have to embark upon a big new quest that will never build as well upon the human beings that could emerge from her characters.