Progress Report: April - May 2018

Well, I have all but given up on book blogging. I just can't seem to make it happen. I'm terrible at writing reviews anyway. I can appreciate how taking notes and writing a review helps to really comprehend what you've read and be able to discuss any topics it raises... I get that. But that's not why I read. I read to escape, for entertainment, to have a harmless pastime. I'm not in a book club so I don't need to discuss anything with anyone. And then it comes down to it, if it was a good book, I will remember the basic premise and my feelings about it enough to either recommend it or not. Admittedly, after some time, I barely remember the plot of most of the books I've read, and I literally have to check Goodreads to see if I've read it or not. *sigh* Anyway...

Since it has been a while, I guess I'll just do a summary of the books I read in April and May, and how I rated them. And I will try to come back in a couple weeks to summarize what I read in June, and do a little 6 month recap! Ok, here goes...


April 2018 reads:
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (audio) - 5 stars
Alice in Tumblr-Land by Tim Manley - 3 stars
The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris - 5 stars
The Hogwarts Library by J.K. Rowling - 5 stars
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee - 4 stars
Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs - 4 stars


My favourite read in April was definitely The Magic Misfits. I loved how interactive it was, with actual clues and puzzles in the book for you to solve as you read. I really enjoyed the story as well, and I am looking forward to reading any sequels.

My least favourite read in April was definitely Alice in Tumblr-Land. It's just a sort of coffee table book, conversation starter, not exactly a "read" as such. It's basically just comics about the "real" lives of fairytale characters in a modern world. Some were funny, but some weren't. I had picked it up because when I flipped through it there was one that struck me funny, but in the end, not worth it.


May 2018 reads:
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (audio) - 3 stars
York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby - 5 stars
The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero - 4 stars
The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon - 5 stars
The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell - 3 stars
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell - 4 stars
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - 4 stars


In May I did a reading challenge through one of the Facebook groups I am in, called TBR and Beyond. The challenge was called "Book to School" and we had to read all middle grade books. There was a "report card" to fill out, and at the end of the month we were graded, and every middle grade book read equalled one entry for a prize. My favourite read in May was a tie between York and The Doldrums. They both have so many elements that I love in a middle grade book: adventure, mystery, friendship...

My least favourite read in May was probably The Wizards of Once just because I had such high hopes and was really disappointed by it. I had never read any of the author's other books. It's classified as middle grade, but definitely geared toward the younger end of the 8-12 age range. I have more appreciation for books that are written for the older end of that range. Her other book, How to Train Your Dragon, was in the same style, but I enjoyed it more, perhaps because of the movie.

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So, as of the end of May, I had finished 34 books out of my goal of 80, putting my 2018 Goodreads reading challenge at 43% complete!

Unboxing: LootCrate vs. GeekGear | September 2017

Hey guys, what's up? I've been thinking about unboxing posts lately...

I've been wanting to do some for a while, with my various subscription boxes, but I never seem to get around to it. More specifically, I have been wanting to do an unboxing post comparing two of the most popular Harry Potter themed subscription boxes out there, namely, Wizarding World by LootCrate and World of Wizardry by GeekGear. So that is what I'm about to do...

First, a little more information about these boxes: LootCrate is an American-based company. Their Harry Potter box, called J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, is issued bi-monthly (every other month). They have several different themes of boxes, the Harry Potter one started last November (2016), and I have been subscribing since the beginning. They have a general theme for each issue, and each box contains 5-7 items, which usually includes a t-shirt. Items are licensed and exclusive. They do slip in some Fantastic Beast items as well. When you sign up, you choose which House you would like to be in, and any house-specific items will be for that House. LootCrate's box comes out to around $65 CAD ($51 USD), with shipping.

GeekGear is based out of the U.K. and they currently have two boxes: a generally geeky one. and Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts. Their HP box is called World of Wizardry and it is issued monthly. I'm not sure how long they've been doing this box, but I first subscribed in August 2017. This box doesn't really have a monthly theme, but also contains 5-7 licensed & exclusive items, usually including a t-shirt. When you sign up, you can choose a House, or not - if you choose "Any," they will send you random House items when things are house-specific. GeekGear's box comes out to around $43 CAD ($33 USD), with shipping.

 

LootCrate's September Wizarding World Magical Must-Haves contents:

• House scarf with leather crest
• Harry Potter wand pen
• Salazar Slytherin's Locket pin
• Honeydukes eraser set (chocolate frog, sugar skull, jelly slug, cauldron cake)
• MACUSA office stationery set (folder, sticky notes, paperclips, list pad)

GeekGear's September World of Wizardry contents:

• House themed socks (HP's glasses & scar print in house colour)
• Keychain (4 designs: Death Mark, Golden Snitch, Hogwarts Crest, Deathly Hallows)
• Harry Potter figurine
• Newt Scamander's wand
• Hogwarts Express print
• Niffler tee "Every day I'm nifflin'" designed by Risa Rodil

I like the items in the LootCrate boxes: this month's stationery set is right up my alley! And I love the scarf, I almost can't wait for cooler weather so I can wear it! ;) But the wand pens aren't really interesting to me, I find the pins over-sized and gaudy, and while I love the idea and the packaging of these erasers, they are pretty useless aren't they? If they had been actual candies I would have been much more excited. :P My favourite part of the box, actually, was the box itself: it is reversible and when you flip it inside-out it becomes a blue Hogwarts trunk - I just love that! :)

I find that the items in the GeekGear box are just a little bit nicer. I absolutely adore the t-shirt (and have worn it on several occasions, to be asked, "What's nifflin'?" haha!) and will definitely wear the socks. The figurine is admittedly pretty useless, but it is so detailed and lovely that I really can't say anything bad about it. The Hogwarts Express print, while I have no space to display it, is simply gorgeous. And Newt's wand, well... it's wonderful and I only wish it had a little stand or box for displaying (when I eventually get my room made over, I will have my wands displayed on my bookshelves :) ). The only item I really didn't like was the keychain. I don't love PVC keychains that much anyway (they get so grubby so easily), and I got the Death Mark one, which I kind of hate. I would have literally preferred any of the other designs.

So in general, I like both boxes, but I have to say my preference leans more toward GeekGear. It is less expensive, seems to contain more and better quality items, and I love the Fantastic Beasts franchise just as much as Harry Potter, so I appreciate that they include more items from that fandom (as I said, LootCrate does contain Fantastic Beasts items, but they haven't been all that memorable). Also, GeekGear's tees are way more comfortable and more fun, and you have way more sizes/styles to choose from!

Please let me know in the comments below if you would like to see more unboxing posts. I will try to do it more faithfully, if there is any amount of interest... I get OwlCrate just about every month, and will be getting both GeekGear and LootCrate again in November (maybe another comparison post?). I'd also like to try out some other boxes in the future, particularly FairyLoot and Unicorn Crate, which are both book boxes. I also saw an unboxing video last week for a Pusheen Cat box (not a book box), which sounds pretty awesome because I definitely love Pusheen Cat! I really enjoy the book boxes because, of course, I love books! But they always include other fun bookish items that I can usually use, and as much as I love new books, sometimes the bookish goodies are what I get more excited about. :)

Book Reviews: Harry Potter - Part 2

Continuing with my review of the books I read in 2016 (I promise I will try to wrap these up soon and do better with 2017's reads!!), here is part 2 of the Harry Potter series (read my Part 1 review here), covering the last 4 books. Be warned that there may be spoilers! (The images below are borrowed from Google Images, and these are the versions which I own and read. Someday I hope I'll be able to complete the series with the new covers!)

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Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

In this book we experience the first death in the series. Not a beloved character we've known from the beginning (thankfully), but a shocking (and perhaps unnecessary?) death all the same. Now in their 4th year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament (this after attending a Quidditch championship game over the summer), which had not taken place in some 200+ years because there had been too many deaths. It is a contest between the 3 main European wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons (so we are introduced to these 2 other schools and their headmasters), and is composed of three tasks, each more dangerous than the one before. In an effort to keep it safer, Dumbledore ruled that only those aged 17+ could enter their name into the Goblet of Fire, which chooses one candidate from each school. Harry's name is mysteriously entered into the cup and he is chosen as a 4th candidate, despite being underage and there already being a Hogwarts contestant, Cedric Diggory. Unfortunately, once the Goblet chooses a name, the contestant must compete, so there is nothing that anyone can do about it. Harry is scorned by the whole school (even Ron) as they all assume he somehow managed to enter his own name into the Goblet. After succeeding in every task, while facing near-death, Harry becomes a hero among his peers once more. In the final task, a maze with the Triwizard Cup in the centre (the first contestant to touch it being the winner). Cedric and Harry both touch the cup at the same time, with unexpected and tragic results.

I was terribly disappointed with this movie. There was just so much missing or changed from the book. Perhaps I watched it too soon (literally a day or 2) after finishing the book, but I felt totally cheated.

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Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

I found this book pretty long. I enjoyed the read, and it wasn't lacking in adventure or excitement. But I found Harry's attitude and mood-swings (while understandable and justifiable in the end) to be extremely annoying. Professor Umbridge is vile and I hated her! I especially hate that she gives fuzzy pink clothes, doilies, and kittens a bad reputation! This book also features an emotional death.

So in this 5th book of the series, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn about The Order of the Phoenix which is an underground group of wizards who fought Voldemort's Death Eaters the first time, and who are now preparing for Voldemort's return, and protecting Harry. When the trio return to Hogwarts, they meet their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to be a Ministry employee called Dolores Umbridge. She's a very unimposing-looking woman, dressed in pink, but she is the Ministry's poster-woman, and the very essence of evil. By having a woman on the inside, the Ministry now has "control" of Hogwarts, and Defense Against the Dark Arts becomes "no defense" as the Ministry only wants the students to be taught theory, "No wands!" Professor Umbridge imposes hundreds of rules to try to keep the students under control, but Harry and his friends form their own underground group. They meet in the Room of Requirement, call themselves Dumbledore's Army, and Harry is their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. A portion of Dumbledore's Army find themselves eventually find themselves sneaking in to the Ministry of Magic on a mission to save Sirius Black, and Harry finds a prophesy about him and Voldemort.

Again, this movie was missing so much from the book, it just felt like I was being cheated. I will have to watch it again someday, maybe when the books aren't so fresh in my mind, the movies will be better...

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Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

I could barely even handle the major murder at the end of this book (Dumbledore by Snape). I was shocked and angry and could not for the life of me figure out why J.K. Rowling would do such a thing!

The biggest plot point in this book is that, now in their 6th year at Hogwarts, Harry comes into possession of an old copy of their Potions book, completely scribbled through with spells and potions, and inscribed as belonging to the "Half-Blood Prince." Harry also has private lessons with Dumbledore, during which Dumbledore shares with Harry about Voldemort's past: who his parents were, how Dumbledore met him, and how he became the vile creature he is at present. Harry also learns about Horcruxes (a thing which possesses a part of a person's soul), and that Dumbledore believes Voldemort has 7, and 2 have already been destroyed, but they don't know what the rest may be, nor where they may be located. Dumbledore promises Harry that when he learns of the location of another Horcrux, he will bring Harry with him to find and destroy it. They do find one, but at a terrible price, and in the end, it is a fake. Dumbledore leaves Harry, Ron, and Hermione with the mission of finding & destroying the remaining Horcruxes. At the end of the book, Harry resolves to not return to Hogwarts the next year as he has a mission to fulfill.

Strike three with the movies. I think this one was marginally better than the previous two, but there were just annoying little changes, and always with the missing parts, and I just... *sigh*

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Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

Wow. That's pretty much all I can say to sum up this book, and the series as a whole. I'm so sad that it's over, and yet so much has happened, that I'm kind of happy to just let the characters be - they've been through so much! I thought my heart had broken at the end of The Half-Blood Prince, but as awful as that was, it was nothing in comparison to all the losses and deaths and revelations in this final book.

So, as we knew from the ending of The Half-Blood Prince, Harry, Ron, and Hermione do not return to Hogwarts for their 7th year, instead setting off to find and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes, which Dumbledore entrusted them with. The Order tries to help and protect them, but Harry and his friends insist that Dumbledore left them with the mission, and no-one else is to know about it. Right away in the first few chapters there are more deaths, one in particular that really made me mad, and injuries. It is at this point that Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off on their own on their secret mission. The wizarding world is in an uproar as Voldemort and his Death Eaters are in control of the Ministry and have infiltrated Hogwarts, so they have to take great measures to hide from everyone. They do find and destroy Horcruxes, and along the way also learn about the Hallows: 3 magical items that, when possessed by one person, make that person the strongest wizard and conqueror of death. Our friends get separated, caught, tortured, etc., escape again... The story climaxes when they return to Hogwarts to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters in an epic battle of good vs. evil.

I haven't watched these movies yet. I thought I owned all of the movies, so I was really excited to have a little marathon last weekend after I finished the last book. But, come to find out, I only have The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. So, I am on the lookout for Part 1 for cheap, but if it takes too much longer I may have to break down and rent it and wait for someone to give it to me for birthday/Christmas. :)

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So... that's the end of it, then. As I said in Part 1 of my reviews, I wouldn't have appreciated or enjoyed them at all as a kid when these books first came out, so I'm really glad I finally got around the reading these books because I've really enjoyed the journey. And I would highly recommend them to older children or teenagers who like fantasy, magic, and bravery. I am so excited that my younger nephew also started reading the books this year. I'm hoping that once he gets a little older and a little further into the series he'll want to geek out with me. :)

Unboxing: Wizarding World LootCrate - November

Hey guys! If you read my last unboxing post (November "Wonderland" OwlCrate), you will remember that I received a free OwlCrate in November after winning one of the photo challenges on Instagram, and so because I was getting a free OwlCrate box, I decided to treat myself to the November Wizarding World by LootCrate. As you may or may not know, that first crate sold out very quickly, but then they did a second batch, which I managed to get in on, that wouldn't be shipped until December. I was fine with that, it would be like a Christmas gift from me to me. As it turns out, this box arrived on the 23rd, and I didn't get my December OwlCrate until the 29th, so I'm really glad that I went ahead and got this one. It's quite a bit more than OwlCrate, but it is bi-monthly, and there's no book included in these boxes, just loot. I considered only getting the one box (because of the cost), but after seeing the contents, I'm definitely going to keep going as long as funds will allow.

So, on the the unboxing! The theme (as I understood it) of this first ever J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World box by LootCrate was Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, in honour of the movie's release that month (which, by the way, was amazing! I loved it, I'm so excited that there are 4 more to come, and I can't wait to see where the story goes!). The box is really cool, it's black with the logo on the top, and what looks like a suitcase lock on the side. Mine was a little damaged from it's long journey, as you can see, but everything inside was fine.

When you open the box, the inside cover graphic is awesome! It's dark teal and says "I want to be a wizard," and it makes me very happy.The first item at the top of the box was this sweet t-shirt! It's black, with the front page of a New York wizard newspaper "The New York Ghost" - it's really cool, I like it a lot.

The next item was this Pigwidgeon stuffed animal. He's kind of cute, but... not sure I have a use (or a desire) for a stuffed Pigwidgeon. :) It's also super soft.

Next item was a Harry Potter keychain. It's really big and bulky, so it's not something I think I would actually use as a keychain, but it's kind of neat. There is a black leather tassel, a metal Hedwig in flight, and a metal Hogwarts letter.

The next item I pulled out of the box was a Fantastic Beasts lapel pin. It is the Bowtruckle from the movie, in Newt's shirt pocket. Again, cute, but a bit bigger than I'd like. But it's a pin, so I think I'll be keeping that one for now.

There was also a Funko Pop! figure, which I was pretty excited about! There were a few possibilities (either characters from the new Fantastic Beasts movie, or Dumbledore). I got Dumbledore, which I was happy with because I didn't already have him, but then my brother ended up giving him to me for Christmas, so now I have a double which is up for trade (any takers??).

And last, but not least, there was this very cool "MACUSA" (Magical Congress of the United States of America, also from the Fantastic Beasts movie) embossed, gilded, leather-bound journal/notebook at the very bottom of the box. I really love the detail on the inside back cover; it shows a map of the USA with little blue dots here and there, and it's labeled "real-time hex indicator."

So, overall, awesome box. I think the items reflect the theme very well, it's a nice variety of items, and I feel like I got my money's worth. It's not necessarily all items that I love or will use, but that's completely my own personal preference. As far as the quality of the items and the overall box goes, I think they've done a great job, and I'm really happy with it!

The next Wizarding World box will be sent in January, and the theme is "A Matter of Time," which I am pretty excited about! Some people were speculating that there might be a Time Turner necklace included - I must admit that I would be very happy if that were the case! But I guess we shall have to wait to see...!

Did you get to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Were you able to get in on the Wizarding World LootCrate? What did you think of it?

Book Reviews: Harry Potter - Part 1

So my plan to review the books I read before reviving my blog before reviewing the books I've read since... it's not working out. But here goes a continuation...

I believe I've mentioned it already, but I started reading the Harry Potter series this year, for the first time. It's magical and beautiful and exciting, and I love it. I sort of regret not reading them as a kid and getting into it from the start... But had I tried to read them, I know I wouldn't have liked them - I just wasn't really into that kind of story at that point in my life.

Anyway, because I'm running behind on the reviews, I've decided to review the books together in a two-part post. I haven't finished the series yet, so I won't be posting part two for a while.

Also, I'll try not to give too much away, but seeing as I'm reviewing the whole series, there may be spoilers - fair warning!

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Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone
This is where the magic begins. Harry Potter, a mistreated, orphaned boy, discovers on his 11th birthday that he is a wizard and gets swept off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he meets his best friends Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Rubeus Hagrid, and learns all about this hidden world he's never known anything about. He also learns about his past, and Voldemort, the dark wizard who was responsible for the deaths of his parents, as well as the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. In this first adventure, Harry single-handedly saves the Philosopher's Stone (which has the capacity to grant the owner/user immortality) from Voldemort.

I had seen the movie years ago and thought it was cute. I recently acquired my own copy, which I watched again after reading the book, and it was even better than I had remembered. It is a really great interpretation of the book.

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Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets
In this second adventure, Harry and Ron are astonished to discover they've somehow missed the Hogwarts Train, and so they steal Mr. Weasley's charmed Ford Anglia, which they end up crashing into the Whomping Willow. Strange things continue to happen... mysterious, cryptic words begin appearing on walls of the school (messages about the "Heir of Slytherin" and the "Chamber of ecrets"), and people are being found "petrified." There is, of course, suspicion that Harry might be the Heir when it is discovered that he is a parsel-tongue (one who is able to communicate with snakes), and there is fear that the school may have to be closed for the safety of the students. Harry and his friends investigate the attacks, which leads to Harry finding the Chamber of Secrets in order to save Ginny Weasley (Ron's younger sister) from a basilisk.

I waited to watch this movie until after I had read the book. As with the first movie, I found it entertaining and to be another fairly good interpretation of the book.

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Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
At the beginning of Harry's third year at Hogwarts, we find out that the wizard Sirius Black (believed to be one of Voldemort's followers, a mass-murderer, and responsible for the deaths of Harry's parents) has escaped from the high security magical prison called Azkaban, and everyone believes he is coming after Harry Potter. Dementors (the dark creatures who guard Azkaban) follow the Hogwarts Express and surround the school, terrifying students in their search for Black. But no-one is more affected by the Dementors than Harry, causing the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (Remus Lupin) to help him learn how to defend himself against them by mastering a very advanced charm. Black does find Harry, but he's not what Harry was expecting.

This movie was also pretty great. I found that it remained pretty true to the book.

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You can find Part 2 here, where I review the last 4 books of the series. Thanks for reading!