Books || June Book Haul / What I've been reading

Welcome to my monthly book post where I tell you what books I've purchased and what I've been reading this month:

Lifestyle || 2015 Goals || Mid Year Review

                   

So in January I posted a list of my goals for the year and thought it would be fun to take a look back
at those now I'm halfway through the year, seeing what I've actually done and what I still need/want
to achieve in the next six months.

Books/Movies || Harry Potter || The Studio Tour

                                            

For my birthday I took a third trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. Now this may some what excessive but I haven't been since the Hogwarts Express was added and I knew I just HAD to go again, since my boyfriend had never been he kindly treated me to another trip ( I feel he didn't really know what he'd let himself in for I was as excited as a fat young witch or wizard in Honeydukes). Despite this being my third trip I still took near to 200 pictures (don't panic I'm not sharing them all), I'm pretty obsessed. But each time I go I notice something I didn't before and pick up on the incredible amount of detail that has gone into every single set and prop - it's truly amazing. As it was my birthday I also got to open the doors to the great hall (yaaay) and then inside showed off my knowledge by answering all the guides questions (many points to Gryffindor). 

I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 22 || What I Got For My Birthday

So last week I turned twenty two (if you didn't guess from the cheesy Taylor Swift reference - it had to be done!) and I thought it would be fun to share the gifts I got. I'm obviously not in anyway trying to show off, but I just quite enjoy looking at these sorts of post myself so thought why not do one.

Baking || Peanut Butter Muffins

If like me you're a fiend for anything sweet and peanut buttery, these will definitely be you're kind of thing!

Books || Harry Potter || Would You Rather?

Next up for this part of my Harry Potter re-read series on this blog as it draws to an end (at least for now) I decided to do a Harry Potter would you rather. I rounded up questions from around the web and threw in a few of my own too. Let's get started:

 

Date James or Sirius ? 

Sirius. Easily.

 

Be Ginny or Cho?

Ginny. Not so I could date Harry, more so I could be a Weasley, even if I was the only girl.

 

Kill Ron or Hermione? 

I'm so sorry Ron. Hermione would be more useful to keep around. 

 

Get petrified or taken by the Merpeople?

Be petrified, I HATE water. 

 

Be in Slytherine or Hufflepuff? 

Slytherine. Hufflepuff will always be the least favourite house. 

 

Would you rather take the Polyjuice potion or have someone take the Polyjuice potion and pretend to be you?

Take the Polyjuice potion.

 

Be a werewolf or an animagus?

Animagus. Although I don't know what I'd be, something that wouldn't gain too much attention in the muggle world probably.

 

Be a Defence against the Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures teacher?

Defence against the Dark Arts, although I'd hope to last more than a year.

 

Fight a dementor or fight the basilisk?

Dementor? Neither is great, but I'd be prepared with my Patronus.

 

Spend a weekend with the Dursleys or a weekend with Kreacher?

Both would insult me then ignore me. If I go with Kreacher I guess I'd be a Grimmauld Place which isn't all bad, at least I wouldn't be sleeping in a cupboard.

 

Have an invisibility cloak or a time turner?

Invisibility cloak. Bad things can happen to wizards who mess with time. 

 

Receive a howler in front of your friends or eat a vomit flavoured Bertie Botts?

I've tried a vomit flavoured bean and never again, I'll take the embarrassment of the Howler, I'm sure everyone will forget about it in a week. 

 

Have Snape as your father or Umbridge as your mother?

Snape. Snape. A thousand times Snape. 

 

Broomstick or Flying Car?

Broomstick, don't want to attract too much attention from the muggles. 

 

Change the story so Dumbledore doesn't get killed or Sirius doesn't get killed? 

As much as I hate to say it I think Dumbledore needed to die so Harry could fight Voldemort alone. I love Sirius far too much, him surviving from books 3-5 was not enough.  

 

Spend an afternoon at the Burrow or Diagon Alley?

The Burrow, who wants to go shopping when you could explain to Mr Weasley the function of a rubber duck.

 

Go to prom with Ron, Harry or Draco? 

Ron. I'm sure we'd have a right laugh, even if it was mainly at his dress robes.

 

Buy an Owl, Rat or Toad? 

Owl. Seriously who wants a pet toad, except Neville Longbottom of course.

 

Drink Butterbeer or Pumpkin Juice?

Butterbeer, digging out the inside of the pumpkin every year at Halloween is the worst it puts me off pumpkin entirely.

 

Ride Buckbeak or the Flying Motorbike?

Buckbeak. 

 

Yule Ball or Qudditch World Cup? 

Qudditch World Cup. I've been to muggle balls, I know a Wizard one would be better but still the Qudditch World Cup would be pretty awesome.

 

Visit the Chamber of Secrets or the Room of Requirement? 

The Room of Requirement. At least then you don't have to deal with the harassment of moaning myrtle.

Cloee xoxo

Books || Harry Potter || The Text Books

My Harry Potter reread wouldn't be entirely complete without three extra books all of which are featured within the series and read by the characters.

I'll start off with my favourite of the three The Tales of the Beedle and the Bard.  The book comprises of five popular wizarding fairy tales, full of delight and peril in equal measure, were popular bedtime stories for young witches and wizards. This edition was translated from the original runes by no other than Hermione Granger and includes Albus Dumbledore's personal notes, written not long before his death and has a scattering of beautiful images throughout the tales. 

My personal favourite tale is The Tale of the Three Brothers (which many will be familiar with from the Deathly Hallows, especially its beautiful animation sequence in the film) as I find it very much reminiscient of the Pardoner's Tale by Chaucer- whom I love- but with a flair of magic and excitement - rather than being about three greedy drunks and still includes many morals, even for us muggles. 

Three brothers traveling together reach an impassable river, they are an exception as they magic a bridge over the river. Halfway across they meet death who is angry at loosing victims, decides to pretend to be impressed and grants each a wish. The eldest brother receives an unbeatable wand, the Middle wishes to bring back the death, the youngest just wants death to stop following him so receive a cloak of invisibility.

The eldest brother is killed in his sleep and the wand stolen after his relentless bragging. The middle brother brought back his beloved, but she is not truly alive so he chooses death himself so he can properly join her. The youngest brother is not found by death, not until he is old and passes the cloak on to his son. He welcomes death and leaves with him as an equal after many years.

The other tales include: 

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

There was once an old man who generously uses his pot to brew cures to help everyone and anyone who needs it. Upon his death he leaves his legacy to is son who is very much the opposite of him and extremely bitter that his father has only left him a pot therefore refusing to help anyone. Each time he refuses to help the pot mimics the symptoms until the son must learn from his ways and help the townspeople.

The Fountain of Fair Fortune 

Once a year someone may bathe in the fountain and have their problems solved, the search for this is how three witches meet. The first suffers a disease, the second is poor and powerless due to robbery and the third is suffering heartache. They resolve to reach the fountain together and on their journey encounter a knight. On the path the group faces many challenges and are relieved of their burdens, unaware of the fountains lack of magic.

The Warlock's Hairy Heart

A handsome young warlock is determined he will never fall in love, so performs dark magic to prevent this. Overhearing gossiping in his household he sets out to find a talented, rich and beautiful bride whom everyone will envy. Upon finding such a woman, he invites her to dinner during which she tells him she needs to know he has a heart. The warlock reveals his hairy heart in a casket in the dungeon and the witch begs him to put it back inside him. His hearts nature however has changed and is animalistic and he finds a need for a truly human heart, taking the witches. The hairy heart however cannot be removed and in attempt to do so he does along with his maiden.

Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump

This tale is about a long who wants to keep all magic to himself. To do so heist capture and imprison all sorcerers and learn magic. Babbity his washer woman finds it hilarious when the king attempts to perform magic with only an ordinary twig. The king demands the charlatan teaching him to perform to the public with him or else be beheaded. Luckily he has seen Babbity to perform magic and enlists her help or else he will expose her. During the performance Babbity hides in the bushes, however the king wants to resurrect the dead, which is beyond her power. Babbity flees into the forest, hiding in the trunk of an old tree. The stump cackles and the charlatan is forced to confess.

Qudditch Through the Ages 

This is probably my least favourite of the three books. Whilst I love Qudditch and many of my favourite moments from the books and films are the Qudditch matches (and in particular the commentaries) in real life I'm not a huge sports fanatic so reading sports theory and history isn't really my kind of thing. Don't get me wrong it's not to say it isn't a good book, it was great to find out about the history of how the game evolved and to find out in more details some of the rules of Qudditch and taking further exploration into the wizarding world, but we must remember this is a Hogwarts library book so it's not as exiciting as the tales of the bard. 

I'll go on to what I've been doing for the rest of my Harry Potter posts and talk about some of my favourite parts:

The introduction and the fearsome Hogwarts librarian Madame Pince's reluctance to give the book up for muggles.

"In 1419 the council issued a famously worded decree that Qudditch should not be played 'anywhere near a place to where there is a slightest chance a muggle might be watching or we'll see how well you can play whilst chained to a dungeon wall" a somewhat hilarious threat.

The loose snitch on the Bodmin Moor after a game went on for 6 months!

The Ballycastle Bats mascots butterbeer advert - he's just batty about butterbeer

The Chudley Canons change of motto to 'Lets all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best' - there's nothing like a bit of optimism

This method of keeper defence:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 

I was very excited about reading this book again as just before I started it was announced that Eddie Redmayne would play Newt Scamander in the upcoming movie adaptation of this beloved Hogwarts textbook. This reproduction of the book is very special indeed as it is Harry Potter's (and Ron Weasley's as we discover inside) personal copy. 

Whilst this is once again a Hogwarts text book this one for me was more exciting as it speaks of many of the different magical creatures we encounter throughout the Harry Potter series and many others to. 

Harry and Rons notes really make the book as they either defunct some of the facts in the book (those about giant spiders and basilisk in particular squashing rumours of the beasts) as well as their many references to Hagrid every time something dangerous comes up and the renaming of the Norwegian Ridgeback to Baby Norbert.

Books || Harry Potter || Harry Potter Tag

So to round up my Harry Potter re-read I decided to do a 'Harry Potter tag' I assumed there would be on Youtube, but there were only a few questions so after searching the web a little I found more on tumblr and across the web, combined the questions I liked and put them together.  

Favourite book?

The Prisoner of Azakaban

Favourite movie?

The Goblet of Fire

Least favourite book?

The Half Blood Prince

Least favourite movie?

The Half Blood Prince

Favourite 'text book' (Qudditch Through the Ages, Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Beedle and the Bard' ?

The Beedle and the Bard

Is there a movie you preferred to the books?

No. Books are ALWAYS better.

Favourite Quote? 

'Do not pity the dead, pity the living and most of all pity those who live without love'

Parts of the books/movies that made you cry?

Dobby's death. When I was 13 and thought Harry Potter was dead. 

If you could hook up with any HP character who would it be?

One of the Weasley twins... I can't pick! 

Favourite Weasley?

Gred or Forge. 

Favourite female character?

Luna Lovegood

Favourite male character?

Sirius Black

Favourite villain?

Snape? Does he count as villain, because he was never actually bad... maybe this is cheating a little. 

Favourite Professor?

Hagrid. 

What would you patronus be? 

A Westie or a Penguin -although I feel a penguin wouldn't be as effective 

If you could have the Resurrection Stone,  Invisibility Cloak or the Elder Wand which one would you choose?

Invisibility Cloak, it would be so fun

What house would you be in?

Ravenclaw or Gryffindor (Not Slytherine, not Slytherine...)

What house are you on Pottermore? 

Gryffindor!

What's your favourite Hogwarts lesson?

Defence against the Dark Arts

Least favourite Hogwarts lesson?

Herbology – isn't it just wizard gardening?

Favourite spell?

Accio or Wingardium Levi-O-sa. I would never have to get up and get stuff again. It has a practical use in the muggle world. 

IF you could meet any member of the cast who would it be?

Gary Oldman. 

Have you played any of the video games? 

Yes. One on Playstation, one on Gameboy and the one on the Wii was so infuriating. The Lego one on the Wii however I give a thumbs up to.

Favourite Potter Puppet Pals video?

Wizard Swears. “Your mother is a ********-***-******...”

IF you were on the Quidditch team which position would you play?

Keeper... because I am one ;)

Create your own flavour of Bertie Botts Beans, one good one bad (I know they say every flavour but still)?

Salted Caramel and 

Favourite Harry Potter chat-up line?

I have to admit a lot of them are pretty gross so I picked one that was a little cringey rather then just sexual

'Are you using the Confundus charm or are you just naturally mind blowing? ;)'

Were you happy with the ending?

Not 19 years later. I felt it ruined the series by basically saying and they all lived happily ever after and Albus Severus... REALLY! I know Snape was a good guy and loved your mother but you didn't need to name your kid after him did you?! I think the film just reinforced my hatred for this when all the characters had aged by having combovers.

Books || Harry Potter || The Deathly Hallows

'After all this time?' 'Always.'

Books || Harry Potter || The Half Blood Prince

Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies

Books || Harry Potter || The Order of the Phoenix

Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure