Saturday, October 31, 2015

October 2015 Recap

Happy Halloween! Hope everyone's having a spook-tacular day! I will be doing my part by eating a ridiculous amount of Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins. XD

I actually read book(S) this month—woohoo! And I went to the library! It's been absolutely lovely having some reading and blogging time again, which I'm enjoying to the max before the holiday rush starts, which will be very, very soon. Happy November reading, everyone! :D

Reviews Posted:

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (105)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Favorite New Bit of Information Since the Series Has Been Over? From Pottermore or JKR Herself.

Maybe it was just me, but did anyone else feel a bit sentimental when JKR wished James Sirius Potter good luck on his first day at Hogwarts on Twitter on September 1? And then came the news that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, carrying on the family tradition. Not exactly a surprise, but it warmed my heart all the same to know for sure. ♥

Monday, October 26, 2015

Review: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Young Elites by Marie Lu
The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1)
By Marie Lu
Publisher:
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library

To Sum It Up: Adelina Amouteru is a malfetto, left physically and permanently marked by the blood fever that devastated the nation of Kenettra. The blood fever also gave Adelina formidable powers, meaning that she’s one of the Young Elites, other survivors who possess superhuman talents. Adelina attracts the attention of the Dagger Society, a secret group of Young Elites that recruits other Elites before the Inquisition Axis, which views them as a threat, hunts them down. Adelina hopes that she has found safety and acceptance among the Daggers until some powerful leverage is used against her and she’s forced to choose where her loyalties lie.

Review: For me, The Young Elites was the type of read that was loaded with potential, but that potential wasn’t always fully realized. The book has some really strong points going for it—a protagonist who thrives on darkness, a secret society whose members wield superhuman gifts, and a setting that evokes late medieval/Renaissance Italy. The world in particular intrigued me, but as with a couple of other aspects of the novel, I couldn’t help feeling that it wasn’t explored deeply enough.

The main character, Adelina, is a malfetto; although she survived the blood fever that claimed many other lives, including her mother’s, she lost an eye and her hair turned silver. Some of the malfettos have also developed strange powers and are known as the Young Elites, Adelina among them. Her ability to create illusions feeds on fear and anger, and the more she uses her newly awakened power, the more she finds herself embracing her dark emotions and even reveling in them. I have to say, I really liked this character arc; Adelina is ostensibly the heroine of the novel, but she heads down a rather unheroic path. What can I say? I go for characters who aren’t 100% good, and often, the lower that percentage is, the more fascinated I am by them.

I do wish, however, that the plot hadn’t been so centered around the big secret that Adelina obviously needs to keep to herself . . . or else. That never turns out well, especially when you definitely can’t breathe a word to the members of the secret society that you hope will accept you as a new member. I think my issue here was that I was looking for more complexity to the conflict beyond Adelina facing serious consequences if she didn’t remain mum.

While most of The Young Elites is written from Adelina’s POV, a few brief chapters are told from the third person perspectives of Enzo, the leader of the covert Dagger Society that searches for other Young Elites, and Teren, head of the Inquisition Axis whose mission is to eliminate the Elites. Enzo is an instantly commanding presence on the page; I seriously couldn’t wait for his next scene. I thought he had a great backstory, too. Teren, fanatical in his belief that the Elites need to be eradicated, also has a lot more going on with his character than appears at first glance. I became really invested in what happened to both him and to Enzo, so much so that I would have loved more chapters focused on them. Like, many more. And I would have absolutely been okay if that meant less Adelina chapters.

Overall, I still have some mixed feelings about this. There were parts that I very much enjoyed reading (i.e. every Enzo scene), but there were also stretches when it seemed like not much was happening other than Adelina worrying about her predicament and remembering the cruelty her father inflicted on her in an attempt to stir any latent power she might have had. I personally think that more is better with fantasy, and in this case, more layers to the plot, more details about the world, and more scenes with the two characters with the strongest presences were what I needed here.

All in All: The Young Elites is more substantial than fantasy lite and has some solid building block elements, but I just didn’t feel that they reached the heights they could have. I don’t know about continuing the series; maybe if multiple first person POVs were added, I’d consider it.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Fandom Mashups (25)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
You've succumbed to the Dark Side (they have cookies!). Who do you want as your mentors of evil?

Cookies, you say . . . ? Nom nom! Well, none of us here can resist those, so you can sign us up with this group:

  1. Darth Vader: Pretty much the personification of the phrase "Dark Side."
  2. Tom Riddle/Voldemort: Who else makes a better mentor than the most evil Dark wizard ever?
  3. Astrid Dane (A Darker Shade of Magic): Along with her twin brother Athos, Astrid wields some insanely powerful magic and is insanely power-mad.
  4. Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender): Azula is absolutely ruthless, and it wouldn't be all that surprising if she tried to take out the rest of this crew in order to be #1.
  5. Loki: As portrayed by Tom Hiddleston, please. XD

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (104)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
The Quibbler Needs a New Headline Story, What Do You Come Up With?

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I'd try and work that theme into this week's topic, so here goes:

NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDY SAYS: EATING TOO MANY PUMPKIN PASTIES MAY TURN YOU INTO A PUMPKIN—PERMANENTLY!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Review: Just One Night by Gayle Forman

* This review contains spoilers for Just One Day and Just One Year.

Just One Night by Gayle Forman
Just One Night (Just One Day #2.5)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher:
Viking
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: After a year apart, Allyson and Willem are reunited at last. They fill each other in on everything that’s happened since they last saw each other in Paris, and to the surprise of both, they narrowly missed meeting again. But they’re together now, and neither plans to say goodbye this time.

Review: I considered skipping writing a review for Just One Night since it’s on the short side, but the completist in me demanded that I see the reviews for this series through to the end. And so here goes a review that’s short and sweet, just like Just One Night.

Although I was okay with the ending of Just One Year, I wasn’t going to complain about the existence of a continuation of Allyson and Willem’s story. Just One Night is like an extended epilogue; we find out what happens immediately after Allyson turns up on Willem’s doorstep in Amsterdam.

And what a lovely reunion it is. These two characters have traveled the world to find each other and to find themselves as individuals, and now here’s their well-deserved happily-ever-after. Just One Night marks a departure from the first person narration of the novels and is instead written in third person omniscient. Not only do we glimpse into the minds of Allyson and Willem, but occasionally we also view them through the eyes of their friends who, in one way or another, have all played a role in bringing them together.

Often I find these eBook-only short stories/novellas give or take, but this one was more than worth 99 pennies. Just One Night provides the perfect amount of closure to Allyson and Willem’s tale, and if you rooted for them all along, you won’t want to pass on this.

All in All: There’s no reason not to check this out, really. I was so thrilled when I found out that there was a bit more to this epic romance, and I was not let down in the least.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Review: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Just One Year by Gayle Forman
Just One Year (Just One Day #2)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher:
Dutton Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Willem only got to spend one day in Paris with Lulu, a girl he met first during a Shakespeare performance and then again on a train headed for London, but that single day has left an indelible mark on him. Lulu is gone, presumably back home to the United States, and Willem has almost no way of tracking her down, even though he does try. He attempts to move on and finally returns home to Amsterdam after two years of nonstop traveling, but Amsterdam doesn’t feel much like home anymore. Everything keeps circling back to Lulu and the day that Willem felt more alive than he had in a long time. Even if he never sees her again, which seems likely, he’ll always feel connected to her and remember the impact she's had on his life.

Review: Sometimes you just need a feel-good read, and the double shot of Just One Day and Just One Year has been exactly that. The journey isn’t all sunshine and smiles for sure, but by the end of both novels, there’s an irrepressible sense that if things are meant to be, they’ll find a way of happening, no matter how high the odds are stacked.

Yet again, Gayle Forman has worked her magic and made me love contemporary. Just One Year is billed as a companion to Just One Day, and that is an apt description. Just One Year is told from Willem’s perspective this time and picks up with explaining why he failed to return to the Parisian art squat—and to a waiting Allyson, whom he only knows as Lulu. Forman employed a similar narrator swap with If I Stay and Where She Went, and once more, it’s put to effective use. But whereas Adam’s story in Where She Went begins a few years after Mia’s in If I Stay, Willem’s arc runs concurrently with Allyson’s in Just One Day. I highly recommend reading these two books back-to-back; as I read Just One Year, I often thought back to where Allyson was at different points on the shared timeline. It was particularly poignant to see how they could be thousands of miles apart, sometimes on opposite ends of the world, yet experiencing the same emotions.

Willem’s backstory gets filled in here, and what emerges is a portrait of a lost young man, still strongly feeling the loss of his father and unable to find comfort from his mother, with whom he’s always had a distant relationship. But, just as that one day in Paris together forever changed Allyson, so too has it altered the course of Willem’s life. Slowly he begins to discover direction, where previously there had been none. I especially loved watching him reconnect with some old friends in Amsterdam; they even help him search for Lulu, despite having so little information at hand. As the novel goes on, Willem’s circle of friends and family widens, and he starts to realize that he’s not so alone.

As they did in Just One Day, Shakespeare’s works play a significant role here. I’ve always been more of a tragedy aficionado, but reading Just One Day and Just One Year has definitely piqued my interest in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Even without being familiar with the latter, the lines that are quoted here just feel so fitting; that’s how powerfully this story is conveyed on its own. I’d love to reread both books someday after reading As You Like It; I have a very good feeling that I’ll only love the two more than I already do.

All in All: This is an absolute must-read if you read Just One Day, and again, I highly recommend reading the books one after the other if possible. Although Allyson’s story resonated more with me just because we share quite a few personality traits, I still found Willem’s tale compelling and brilliantly told. Gayle Forman has such a knack for writing about love but without making it saccharine, and that is why I keep returning to her novels whenever I need a good dose of contemporary.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Fandom Mashups (24)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
It's your first day at a magical school (WooHoo!) Who do you instantly hope will be there to be friends with?

  1. Harry Potter: Obviously. XD
  2. Tinker Bell: Because she's one of Ally's favorite Disney characters. ❤
  3. Kell (A Darker Shade of Magic): Kell's magic allows him to time travel, meaning that as his friend, you'd go on plenty of adventures.
  4. Magnus Bane (The Mortal Instruments/The Infernal Devices): Magnus's snark would be endlessly entertaining, plus he'd probably organize all kinds of cool social activities.
  5. Aelin Galathynius (Throne of Glass): Not only is Aelin one badass lady, but she also seems like she'd be fun to hang out with, when she's not busy kicking ass, that is.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (103)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Favorite McGonagall Moment

Ah, Minerva McGonagall—you are one AMAZING witch/Animagus/Transfiguration teacher/Head of Gryffindor House, etc. She was nothing but awesome throughout the series, but I really, really, really adored her in Order of the Phoenix. McGonagall didn't let Umbridge intimidate her, and I absolutely LOVED how she stood up for Harry when Umbridge tried to put down the idea of Harry becoming an Auror. And you know that if it had come down to it, McGonagall would have coached Harry nightly to ensure his success.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Book Loot (20)

It's time for the October edition of Book Loot! I find it hard to turn down a really tempting Kindle Daily Deal, so when I saw two of Maggie Stiefvater's books, Lament and Ballad on sale for $1.99 each, I didn't think twice about grabbing them. I also FINALLY had some time to go the library; I know I went there once earlier this year but can't remember exactly when, so it's been a while, lol.

My Avatar: The Last Airbender obsession continues! Although I watched all three seasons on Amazon Prime, when I saw that they were being packaged up in a DVD box set, of course I HAD to have it. I also fell in love with this Little Mermaid jigsaw puzzle that I saw online; I haven't had time to assemble it yet, but I'm hoping to soon. And I've been meaning to try out one of those adult coloring books that are currently very popular but hadn't found one I really liked until now. This one is called Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book, and it has some really pretty scenes in it. They have a lot of fantasy elements to them, which sold me on choosing this coloring book over one with some really cool cityscapes.

Borrowed:

The Young Elites by Marie Lu
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Bought:

Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello

eBooks Bought:

Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
Fated by Sarah Fine

Monday, October 12, 2015

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Just One Day (Just One Day #1)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher:
Dutton Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: While on a European tour the summer before beginning her freshman year of college, Allyson Healey meets Willem, an actor with a roving Shakespearean performance troupe. After a second chance encounter on board a London-bound train, it seems that fate keeps putting the two in each other’s path. And so, on an uncharacteristic whim, Allyson’s journey takes a detour to Paris with Willem. But after spending an unforgettable day together in the city, Willem disappears. Shattered, Allyson returns home and tries to move on and maybe become more of the daring person she was that day in Paris.

Review: Still dealing with a vicious book hangover from Queen of Shadows, I felt the need to totally change gears with my next read. Just One Day called out to me from the shelf, and at long last, I picked it up.

I loved Gayle Forman’s If I Stay and Where She Went, plus the short story she contributed to the holiday-themed anthology My True Love Gave to Me, so I was very excited for Just One Day. Once again, Forman’s characters, storytelling, and this time, international locales, reminded me why she’s my go-to author for contemporary, a genre that I often struggle with.

I don’t think I’ve ever connected with a protagonist in a contemporary novel as much as I did with Allyson. Like her, I find it difficult to step outside of my comfort zone and would rather retreat to its safety than give in to impulse and the unknown. I also completely understand the compulsion to please everyone, even when it comes at the expense of your own goals and desires. Allyson must further deal with a micromanager for a mother; there is no aspect of Allyson’s life that her mother doesn’t involve herself in. All of these factors create the impression of a life that’s at the very least stifled, but Allyson gets her chance to break out and inhabit a different person once she meets Willem.

About the first third of the book centers around Allyson and Willem’s chance meeting in Stratford-upon-Avon followed by their whirlwind day in Paris. Their instant chemistry is astronomical and makes a very convincing case for the existence of soul mates. This is a huge concession coming from a skeptic like me. The beginning of Allyson and Willem’s story is the stuff that swoons are made of—exhilarating and sweet and for Allyson, liberating. With Willem, she’s Lulu, the person she might have dreamed of being but would never dare to in real life. Their connection is forged so strongly that it’s easy to forget that they’ve just met, making Willem’s disappearance once that single day draws to a close all the more devastating.

When the novel resumes, Allyson is at college and having an extremely hard time moving past what happened in Paris. She’s doing poorly in school and keeps to herself. Her climb out of a deep depression is slow and arduous, but progress is steadily made. Along the way, Allyson learns what it means for her to be Allyson and not the Allyson everyone else, especially her mother, wants her to be. Shakespeare’s plays figure prominently in Allyson’s road to figuring out who she is, and I absolutely loved how Forman interweaved them throughout the novel.

I also love when books carry you away to places you’ve never been, in this case, Paris for me. Just One Day paints a vivid tableau of the City of Light that completely immerses you; it’s like you’re right there. I’ve always wanted to visit Paris, but now more than ever after reading this book.

This was such a fantastic, engrossing read—thought-provoking, poignant, and wonderfully developed. It’s always a little extra satisfying whenever a contemporary read works out for me, as this one did. I can’t wait to dive into the companion novel, Just One Year because I must know the rest of Allyson and Willem’s story.

All in All: I identified on so many levels with Allyson’s personality, so Just One Day turned out to be quite a personal read for me. Even if I hadn’t felt drawn to Allyson’s character from the start, though, I think I still would have gotten as much out of the novel because it’s so moving and so beautifully written.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Fandom Mashups (23)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
Aliens are invading! Who's going to help you protect the world?

  1. The Tenth Doctor: But OF COURSE David Tennant's Doctor is #1 on this list. XD
  2. Daemon Black (Lux): Daemon is the good kind of alien, and he knows how to deal with the not-so-friendly ones.
  3. Sarah Connor (Terminator): If Sarah can take down killer robots, aliens will be a breeze.
  4. Ellen Ripley (Alien): Probably the character with the most impressive résumé here, Ripley's got this.
  5. Green Lantern: He's a superhero with lots of experience defending the galaxy—single-fingeredly. XD

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (102)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Rename the Books from Draco's Point of View

Oooh, this was a LOT of fun! For some of the titles, I thought about how Draco would want to make the book all about him. Other re-titles, like for Goblet of Fire, practically wrote themselves thanks to little arrogant Draco getting knocked down a notch or two. XD

  • Draco Malfoy and the Overhyped Kid with a Scar
  • Draco Malfoy and the Great Broomstick Bribe to Get on the Slytherin Quidditch Team
  • Draco Malfoy and the Ill-Advised Decision to Insult a Hippogriff
  • Draco Malfoy and the Most Unfortunate Ferret Transfiguration Incident
  • Draco Malfoy and the Stint on the Inquisitorial Squad
  • Draco Malfoy and the Worst Task to be Given Ever
  • Draco Malfoy and the All-Powerful Wand That Got Away

Monday, October 5, 2015

Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the Throne of Glass series.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)
By Sarah J. Maas
Publisher:
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: At last, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius of Terrasen is ready to say goodbye to her life as Celaena Sardothien and reclaim her kingdom. But her battle for her throne still requires some of Celaena’s unparalleled, deadly skills as an assassin to outmaneuver the King of Adarlan—and to settle some old debts along the way. Every second that passes brings the king one step closer to engulfing the world in unimaginable evil, and only Aelin’s fire stands a chance of stopping him.

Review: I am speechless.

My mind is still reeling from this book, still trying to grasp, futilely, I might add, everything about Queen of Shadows. EVERYTHING. I could have reread the first three Throne of Glass books one hundred times each; that still would not have been adequate preparation for what takes place in Queen of Shadows.

Apologies in advance for all of the vagueness that’s about to follow, but it’s almost impossible to go too far in depth discussing this book without running into spoilers. Every page, every paragraph, every sentence, every word is so deliberate, so carefully plotted. There is not a single ounce of throwaway in this 600-plus page tome. Every move that Aelin Galathynius, formerly known as Celaena Sardothien, makes is a piece of her intricately constructed master plan to take down the King of Adarlan and reclaim her rightful place on the throne of Terrasen. It’s one hell of a journey home for our queen, whom I bow before because of her infinite strength and bravery and resolve. All hail Queen Aelin!

I’m a rip-off-the-band-aid type of person, so I’ll cut straight to admitting that although foreshadowing in Heir of Fire led me to expect a certain turn of events in Queen of Shadows, I struggled with how they played out. I’m fine with the outcome, really, but the path that the story took to get there—it was tough to watch. I’ll also say, though, that a pivotal scene toward the end of the book helped me to view what happened before in a different light and as a prime illustration of one of the novel’s dominant themes: irrevocable change.

Aelin more than makes good on her vow to rattle the stars; her sheer force of will alone is enough to cause the stars, the earth, and the entire universe to quake. Add some characters with formidable powers of their own (I’m looking at you, Rowan), some characters with suspect motives and loyalties, and some utterly reprehensible characters, and there’s no way that the world, as is, escapes unaltered. Story arcs that have been simmering in the previous books converge and combust here. The action and the confrontations are explosive. I actually put the book down a few times because I couldn’t handle the tension and needed a moment to collect myself before reading further. By the time that I reached the book’s final sentence, I was completely dazed by the magnitude of it all.

I absolutely loved all of the nuances of gray to a lot of the characters in Queen of Shadows. Clear-cut heroes/villains aren’t nearly as intriguing to me as characters who walk a fine line between being both. I love their unpredictability and how they can upend the story in an instant. Much love and adoration go to Sarah J. Maas for also writing some of the toughest, most badass female characters in fantasy, and I’m not just talking about Aelin here.

I’ve read some truly brilliant books this year, but only this one has thus far stirred such a spectrum of emotions. I burst out laughing at Aelin’s smartass remarks. I almost burst into tears over one of my beloved characters. I became seriously scared quite a few times because the novel ventures into some very dark places. This series has matured so much since Throne of Glass, and just when I think that it can’t possibly impress me any more, the newest installment blows me away into oblivion. I’m still picking up the shards of my heart in the aftermath of the relentless hammering that this book delivered. But of course I’m ready to endure the pain all over again when the next novel arrives.

All in All: Make sure that you eat, drink, sleep, use the bathroom, whatever—before sitting down to read Queen of Shadows because you will NOT want to be parted from it for long. You will want to keep reading and reading without pausing. EVER. And then you’ll need some additional time once you’re finished reading to recover from the trauma that you’ve just experienced. My advice: seek out a post-QoS support group beforehand because you will need it.

Bloggy Friends' Reviews of Queen of Shadows:

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Fandom Mashups (22)

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:
You discover an injured animal but to help it, you have to be able to communicate with it. Who do you ask for help?

  1. Hagrid (Harry Potter): Hagrid loves ALL creatures, even the scary ones, and he'd be more than happy to jump in and help.
  2. Jem Carstairs (The Infernal Devices): No one but Jem was ever able to gain the affection of Church the cat, so if Church trusts him, there's a good chance that Jem would provide a calming presence here. Will Herondale, however, is out because he can't even get along with ducks. XD
  3. Yelena (Poison Study): Yelena can communicate telepathically with her horse, Kiki, so it's not a stretch to think that she might be able to connect with other animals as well, especially since she wields some powerful magic.
  4. Bran Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones): Bran can probably offer lots of advice on communicating with animals, since he often wargs into the mind of his direwolf, Summer.
  5. Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender): If you've ever seen the show, then you know that Aang and his sky bison, Appa, are bestest buddies forever, and he seems like the type of character who'd be willing to go to the aid of any animal in need.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (101)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows. The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/films/J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! A list of upcoming topics can be found here.

This week's topic is:
Favorite Quote from Philosopher's Stone?

I know I've mentioned this Dumbledore quote before, and probably multiple times, but it's one of my favorites from the entire series. Practically EVERY Dumbledore line is filled with so much wisdom, but this one in particular resonates strongly with me, from the scene with Harry in front of the Mirror of Erised:

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.