Harry Potter: The Memories!

Good Morning! Happy Harry Potter 7.2 Day! I'm assuming some of you are sleepy today after braving the midnight showing! If so, I'm a little bit jealous. But, I'm also excited because I'm seeing it this weekend with my husband. This is one of the things that we always do together, so I have to wait for him. And I'm okay with that because it's fun that he actually gets into Harry Potter with me.

Since this is The End *sob*, we thought it would be fun to share our favorite Harry Potter memories. And this includes you all as well! We definitely want to hear yours.

I know I've already shared my favorite here - reading the 7th book on the way to meet my son in Ethiopia. And then holding his tiny, sleeping hand while I finished the book. But, I now have a second favorite Harry Potter memory to go with that! Just in the past two weeks, I have allowed that baby, now 4 years old, to start watching the movies. Just the first two, mind you, but it has been such fun. I got all misty-eyed seeing him engrossed by the magic of Harry Potter. He and his owl Hedwig (yes, I helped him with the owl-naming :) sat and watched the whole thing. And since then, there have been chopsticks turned into wands and bats turned into broomsticks around my house. I cannot wait to share the books with him! Thank you, JK Rowling, for giving us Harry Potter to discover magic ourselves, and again through our children.

This is where I got misty-eyed. He loved it.

I have a confession to make: I'm not upset about this being the last Harry Potter movie. Not because I'm a heartless wench (well, okay, probably a little bit because of that) but because I went through my stages of grief after the last book. The movie is more like reminiscing about how much you loved that crazy uncle who died in the rock climbing incident. It's been long enough that you can enjoy the stories of his life without tearing up.

To increase my heart-of-stone reputation, I have another confession: unlike Stacie, and probably a lot of you, I don't have any specific warm-fuzzy-moments from Harry Potter. This probably has something to do with the fact that as each book would come out I would grab it, ignore everything else, and devour it as quickly as possible. It's hard to pick out particular moments when your day went "feed those responsible for you, read, dress, read, more food, read, say goodnight, stay up and read." That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the books through my kids eyes. Reading them together will force me to slow down and savor them. But I can't promise special moments. I may not be a special moments kinda girl.

And that, my friends, is why I love Leigh. And why we balance each other out. I'm getting all teary writing this post, and she's all, "Whatever, last movie, what?"

Okay, your turn to share with us! Whether you're a raging sentimentalist like me, or a cold-hearted-bitch like Leigh (she likes it when I call her that), we want to hear your thoughts on The End. Your favorite memories of reading or seeing Harry Potter, or even your favorite moments from the books, we want to hear them!

Waiting on Wednesday: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Okay, so this post is actually a cross between a Waiting-on-Wednesday and a Reading Rainbow. Why? Because I was lucky enough to win an early copy of Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer so I have already read it! (Thank you Andrea and Editor Jill!) And, I have to admit, I was super excited to be receiving a copy with the original cover.

That's me being super excited.
Okay, maybe this was taken just now and not when I received the book, but multiply this by 1000 and that's how excited I was.

Anyway, here is the actual cover of the book...

From Goodreads:

This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended-Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer-one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack-and the man-she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

One thing I really love about this sequel is how much detail we are given. The book is not just about Calla and her own personal struggles (I'll get to that...), but also delves more deeply into the history of the Guardians and how they came to be. It's certainly not easy-reading and that is why I really got into it. I want to hand this book to anyone who claims that YA is easy, or "fluff," because Andrea Cremer really makes you think.

And Calla. Oh, Calla. She faces many important decisions in this book, as well as much heartache, but she stays true to herself, which I liked. I have to be honest and say that I was somewhat annoyed by Shay and am now totally leaning towards #TeamRen, but that was something I liked about the book. Sometimes people, even seemingly-perfect-boyfriend-types, turn annoying and insecure. It rang true, even if I was frustrated with his character.

If you were like me and loved Nightshade, but wanted more of the history, you are going to love Wolfsbane. It's a worthy sequel in a great series so be sure to get your copy on July 26th! And I'll be honest, it does end with a slight cliff-hanger, but nowhere near as high as the cliff from Nightshade. That much I can promise you.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Happy Book Birthday and Informal LBC: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Today is the day! There have been so many great releases this summer (with more to come!) and today is the day that Forever by Maggie Stiefvater was released. I have it downloaded on the nook, but to be honest, I'm a little afraid to start. I am scared of what Maggie will do to my emotions! She revels in our pain, I tell you! (Kidding, sort of. But really, don't all the great YA writers like to mess with us just a little? It was makes their books worth reading.)

Anyway, since we did a formal (hah) Lazy Book Club on both Shiver and Linger last summer (that Maggie herself commented on!!), I thought we'd have an information LBC for Forever right here. So, after you've read, feel free to come back and post your thoughts in the comments - and feel free to post spoilers! (That being said, DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS until you've finished the book!) Since I haven't started yet, obviously I won't be posting yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing what you all thought of Forever!