Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

870 pages

This is definitely my least favorite of all the HP books I've read so far. I did not like it.

It was longer than it needed to be. Actually, all we really needed were the last 100 pages or so. It was actually boring in a few spots.

There was no huge encounter with Voldemort as in the the previous books (although the book leads you to believe that there will be). There is an encounter, but it is not nearly as dramatic as in the previous installments. I find it hard to believe Voldemort would just disappear so easily.

I found myself getting frustrated that the adults wouldn't tell Harry what was going on. It would have prevented a tragedy.

However, towards the end of the book Dumbledore explained to Harry why he didn't tell him - and then he comes clean with everything, incuding exactly why Voldemort came after Harry when he was a baby, and why Dumbledore kept him (Harry) in the dark so often.

I hope the next book redeems itself.

2008 total: 3

Total Pages read: 1,826

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

734 pages

I admit it.
I love Harry Potter.

These books grab you from the first chapter and carry you along on an exciting and emotional ride to the very end.
You barely notice that the book is over 700 pages long, it is so fast paced.
It is plain and simple very good story-telling.

I still do not think I would let my children read them- at least not now. The first two are not so bad, but they get progressively darker.

It took me about a week to read this book, which is good time for me since I only read a few minutes before bed every night. I must confess, though. Those "few minutes before bed" turned into a "few hours before bed" while reading this. :-)

2008 total: 2
Total pages read: 956

Winter Reading Challenge

I've decided to join this reading challenge.

I'm a bit late, however.

It is for the months of Dec-Feb.

My goal is to finish the Harry Potter series.

I read the first 3 a few years ago, and I believe it's time I finish. lol

Gruel and Unusual Punishment- Tamar Myers

Book Description:
Pennsylvania Dutch Inn owner Magdalena Yoder returns in the tenth book in the mouthwatering series... When an imprisoned con man meets his Maker after sampling a bowl of gruel laced with arsenic, it's cruel and unusual punishment-indeed. And since Magdalena provided the last supper, she's convinced that one of his many visitors must have added the sinister secret ingredient. With the reputation of her establishment at stake, Magdalena puts on her detective bonnet to discover who in Hernia poisoned the porridge


I love Magdalena Yoder. These books are very funny and entertaining.

They are not deep and certainly not thought-provoking, but they are delightful diversions.


I could not get the picture to upload for some reason.
If you're interested you can check out the amazon reviews here.

222 pages

2008 total: 1

2007 Reads

January
Love, Lies, & Liquor (Agatha Raisin)
The Complete Peanuts (1950-1954)(2 books)
Then End- Lemony Snicket
The Year of Pleasures
The Tale of Despereaux
The Messenger of Magnolia Street

February
Miss Julia Stands Her Ground
The Edge of Darkness (Babylon Rising)
Cure for the Common Life
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
Blue Shoes and Happiness

March
My Antonia
Louisiana in Words

April
Strawberry Girl
Sounder
Homeschooling from Scratch
By the Pricking of my Thumbs
The Whipping Boy
Farenheit 451
Bad Kitty

May
The Giver
Breaking Free

June
Digging In
Before You Leap (Kermit the Frog)
Monster
By the Light of the Moon

July
nothing :-(

August
The Sign of the Beaver
Murder at the Vicarage

September
Death of a Dreamer
Death of a Poison Pen
Out of the Dust

October
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
Hatchet
Violet Dawn
Halloween Party

November
Invisible
In Plain Sight
On the Run

December
Stranded
Santa Cruise

2007 total: 41

Santa Cruise- Mary Higgins Clark

I am a big fan of Mary Higgins Clark.

That is why is pains me to say that this book was really bad.

There wasn't really any mystery to the story at all.

The characters were confusing, especially the Reillys:
Nora Regan Reilly, her daughter Regan Reilly, Regan's husband who also happens to have the last name of Reilly (and who calls Regan "Reilly Reilly"), and then there was Nora's husband whose name I forget.

There were a lot of characters, most of which were very under developed. It was hard to keep up with all of them. The plot felt was shaky. At times it felt like 2 separate stories that had been pieced together.

I hate to write such a terrible review (especially about one of my favorite authors), but this book was just really, really bad.

I'm sorry. :-(

Stranded- Lorena McCourtney

I actually finished this one a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to blogging about it.

I'm also glad to say that I finished it before Dec. 21, making it the last book in my Fall Reading Challenge goal. Yay! I did it. :-)

Now, on to the book.

I admit that the first book in this series was a tiny bit too "Christian fictiony" for me. (Yes, I know that's not a real word ;-))

The second one was better and the last two were even better. I loved these books. I only regret that there are no more for me to read.

I was thrilled (and quite surprised) to see that Ms. McCourtney left a comment on my last post!
If she happens to stop by again, I just want to say
Thank you, Ms. McCourtney. I really enjoyed these books and I can't wait to try your new series. :-)