Harry Potter!

It is time to revive this blog. I've made the last 3 posts, and there's a total of just one post from nuclear family readers Noah, Will, Lauren, & Eileen.

So I'm turning to the most popular reading topic of all: Harry Potter.

I just finished Tales of Beetle the Bard. It is very short, but quite fun. Dumbledore's "commentary" is full of his witty asides. And since profits from the book go to charity, it doesn't feel like JKR is just mining old material. Strong rec to read.

Here's the prompt for blog participation:

How do you rank the Harry Potter books?

My ranking:
Azkaban (3)
Half-Blood Prince (6)
Deathly Hallows (7)
Goblet of Fire (4)
Order of the Phoenix (5)
Sorcerer's Stone (1)
Chamber of Secrets (2)

Let the debate begin.

Working backwards (II)

More mini-reviews, of books I read March - July 2008:

Middlesex - A rare homerun from the college book club. The immigrant experience of the American century. I prefer Philip Roth - perhaps because this is Greek instead of Jewish - but I'm splitting hairs. Read it.

A Black Englishman - More typical of the college book club: mediocre. The scent and feel of India lingers appealingly, though.

Day of Battle - Volume 2 of a as-yet-unfinished 3-volume history of America's involvement in WWII in Europe. This covers the invasion of Sicily and Italy, an intriguing contrast. Sicily is Patton, Monty, and a rip-roaring success. Italy, rarely the focus of pop historys of WWII, is a winter slog.

Winter's Tale - Grand and grandiose. A time-leaping paean to NYC.

Expectant Father - A useful alternative perspective, though less needed than its author thinks.

The Nine - A pop biography of the justices of the US Supreme Court. A very fast, fun, insightful read. But, damn, it makes you realize that the Conservatives have already won this battle.

Razor's Edge - The college book club goes for a classic, but still I'm not won over. First half of the book feels like Fitzgerald (yay!) but the second half feels like a very tentative inquiry into bohemianism (boo!).

Baby Whisperer - Another perspective on raising babies. Seems good - the compromise position between kids-first and Ferber - but the compromise is ambiguous and hard to execute on. Not recommended.