Saturday, July 24, 2010

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

It is time.

After the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in July 2007, I have not re-read the world re-knowned books by J.K. Rowling.  Since I finished that last page of Deathly Hallows, I knew that I would one day pick up the series again and re-read the books from the beginning.  I knew that I would appreciate some of those small details that wound up being so important, especially when I knew just how important they were in the end.

The time has now come!

I am currently in the midst of re-reading my favorite series of all time!  I cannot stress how much I love these stories, about how easily I can get lost in the world of wizards and the wizarding school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  There are so many different thoughts and opinions out there on these books, from positive to negative.  There are many who are in the same boat as me who have re-read the books multiple times.  And, there are those who have not (and may never) choose to pick up the books.  Whatever the case, the majority know the story line and I do not find it necessary to repeat any of that here.

As I review my re-reads of these books, I will be taking a bit of a different approach.  I will share a few thoughts, maybe some of my favorite quotes from the book, and then wrap it up with a fun little Harry Potter recipe!  For the release of the final Harry Potter book, I threw a wizarding bash complete with magical treats. I've decided to share a few of those treats in my reviews so you can bring the wonderful world of wizardry into your own home!  I hope you enjoy!

---------------------------------------

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the book that kicked off the series and got many people hooked on the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  I was introduced to Harry via a friend and got to discover him on my own during my honeymoon.  I loved the characters from the beginning and have never looked back since!  Not a bad reaction considering I feel that this is one of the weakest of the seven books!  Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book . . .

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore.  "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair.  People will insist on giving me books." (p. 214)

"If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love.  He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark.  Not a scar, no visible sign . . . to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.  It is in your very skin. . . . It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."  (p. 299)

"They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home.  I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer . . ."  (p. 309)

For the first of the fun Harry Potter recipes, I am going to go with a couple of simple ideas that your imagination can magically turn into something more.

  • Butterbeer:  You can go with something as simple as A&W Root Beer (or any brand that suits your fancy).  You can spice it up with a little scoop of ice cream to make it a bit more frothy or just leave it plain.  This can also be a great treat for the younger crowd as you can choose the non-caffeinated option.
  • Wandsicles:  I simply use the inexpensive Pop Ice Popsicles.  Imagine the wizarding duals with the flying colors of these cool treats on a warm day.  You will just want to eat them fast before they break and cause a disaster like dear Ron Weasley knows all too well!

The remainder of the upcoming recipes will get progressively more creative and complex (with some pictures included of my own creations!), so stay tuned.  In the meantime, you can find me with my nose in the middle of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!

9 comments:

  1. You make recipes from Harry Potter? How creative and cool! Can I live at your house? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are so creative! Can you believe I've never read this series? I wait for the movies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. heidenkind . . . Yes, I do . . . among other things! I like to experiment, but they don't always come out the way I would like! :)

    J. Kaye . . . Oh, the books are so much better!! I'm re-watching all the movies as I re-read them and they leave so much out . . . so much that is important!! I highly recommend the books!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always imagined butterbeer to taste like those Butter Rum Lifesavers. I used to eat TONS of those. Do they even still make them? Mmm. Anyway, I guess we could all just head to Florida and try butterbeer now.

    Cool idea for a re-read post!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kristen M . . . I've always imagined the same thing! I love Butter Rum Livesavers!! And, I can't wait for Florida . . . some day!!

    Hope to post the next review shortly with another very fun and easy recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What do you think of the fact that they changed the title of the first book in the USA, from Philosopher's Stone, which classically/alchemically actually means something, to Sorcerer's Stone, which is meaningless?

    Good luck with the re-read!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tracy . . . That's a great question! I have to wonder if maybe we have a different meaning of "Philosopher" here in the States . . . or that it brings forth a different connotation (not sure if this is the word I'm really wanting to use, but can't think of anything better at this time!). For those of us who are aware of the original Philosopher's Stone (I actually recently featured it during my Fairy Tale Fridays), it makes more sense to us. Hmmm . . . I really don't know. Let me do some thinking on this one and I will let you know. I'm feeling a whole post coming on with this one!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I haven't read HP since the final one came out in 2007 (Read the first five to my son, then he read the final two on his own and I read them once he'd finished with them), and I'd totally forgotten about the name change of the first book in the USA until I saw your post.

    But I look forward to reading your thoughts in a whole post!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tracy . . . I will definitely be working on it! I've got a bunch of stuff scheduled or planned, so it will give me some time to do a bit of research before I start running with it! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you in advance for your comments! I love to hear reader's thoughts and respond to each one within the comment section. Please feel free to subscribe to the comment feed to ensure you can fully participate in the conversations.

Comments on posts older than 14 days are first approved through comment moderation. Word verification should not be turned on, so please notify me if it randomly appears.