On wizard duelling, stupid Hufflepuffs, and a customer with the book bug

Today's books

My day

11:00am
Another portion-of-a-chapter of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets read over coffee and a choc chip muffin this morning, bringing me nicely to one of my favourite moments - the duelling 'tutorial' with Professors Lockhart and Snape.  The difference between the two teachers is so stark, and Lockhart is so ridiculous, I love it!  And this -

"Snape's upper lip was curling.  Harry wondered why Lockhart was still smiling; if Snape had been looking at him like that he'd have been running as fast as he could in the opposite direction."

- nearly made me spray my coffee everywhere...  This really is the scene that just keeps on giving!  The moment when Snape blasts Lockhart right off the stage is probably the only moment in the entire series when I'm mentally cheering right along with the Slytherins, and shamelessly delighting in a teacher being knocked on his ass. 

Of course, this is also the Parseltongue scene, which is brilliant - especially because in the book, it's much more natural.  In the film Harry almost seems to go into a trance as he speaks, whereas in the book it's just normal speech that happens to come out in another language.  You get the feeling this is what also happened in the zoo in Book the First; the link is much stronger.  And THEN, just when you think this chapter couldn't get any more awesome, there's this line from Lockhart:

"Whoops - my wand is a little over-excited."

I can just imagine JKR sniggering into her tea as she wrote THAT one.


12:45pm
This morning I met a book-loving girl who has just moved here after uni and is In Search Of Her People.  She buys too many books, can't stay out of bookshops even when she has no money, keeps a reading journal and arranges her books in alphabetical order on her bookshelves at home.  She said whenever she talks to new people who maybe like to read, she is always waiting for them to look at her sideways and say, "Er, I don't like reading that much..."  Sound familiar?!

Let's just say she was surprised and very happy when instead of bemused-laughing and raising an eyebrow, I happy-laughed and said "Me too!"  Next step - introducing her to the magical world that is the book blogosphere.  ;)


9:30pm
More Pottery reading over sandwiches and coffee.  I tell ya, I am on a total 'reading over sandwiches and coffee' kick this week - I think it's the finger food effect - and today I've done it TWICE with different sandwiches.  *pauses*  Yes, I have just realised how tragic it is that my sandwich consumption constitutes interesting news in my world.  But hey!  Everyone likes sandwiches, right?  Go with it.

So, Potter.  Okay, so, what I'm wondering is, HOW did I not realise that Ginny had something to do with the monstery attacks at Hogwarts the first time I read it?  I mean, in Book the First, there is not an INKLING that Quirrell is The Bad Guy because he's a part of the story anyway and all the suspicion is diverted cleverly away via Snape.  Draco just doesn't cut it as a red herring in this book, and Ginny - who is barely MENTIONED otherwise - keeps popping up being distraught every time someone gets Petrified. 

What else?  Oh yeah, Hufflepuffs are stupid.  I felt so gutted for Harry, hearing Ernie 'Daily Mail' Macmillan gossiping about him - like a great Dark Wizard would just wander up to his next victim and go "OH HAI, I know we're being watched with great interest by the entire school and two teachers including one who hates me, but I'm just gonna stand over here and make this snake bite you a bit, k?"  And just one more tiny thing - I am VERY disappointed that Christmas dinner in Year Two is not described with great deliciousness like it was in Year 1.  Third helpings of Christmas pudding does not a Hogwarts Christmas make...

Okay, well, I'm at work again in the morning, so I'll sign off there and go make more tea or something.  Maybe just go to bed, even?  *yawns extravagantly and wanders off looking dazed*


I bought a book!

I posted the trailer for this movie on Wednesday after my sister pointed it out and said it reminded her of my review of Dearly, Departed.  It looks fantastic, and we want to go and see it at the cinema... and then I noticed that it's based on a book.  So I have totally broken my buying ban and acquired a copy.

 

The bad news?  Laura and Bex now have a totally legitimate reason to kill me for being the first to crack like a dragon egg in a gamekeeper's fireplace (see what I did there?).  Also, I have only actually FINISHED one book this year, and that ain't goin' nowhere, so the ratio of books in/out is still THE WRONG WAY even though it's only one book.

 

The good news?  Well, it IS only one book, and we all know that I would probably have acquired way more than that already had the book ban not been in place.  It's also only 256 pages long, or something tiny like that, and I'm going to have to read it sharpish if I want to see it on the big screen, so it'll not have time to join Mount TBR as yet another long-unread title on my shelves.  *sighs deeply*  Yes, I'm very ashamed of myself.  But at least it was a considered title and not a random buy that I'm never going to read, right?  RIGHT?  *looks very guilty and slopes off to the naughty corner until further notice*