E. Read's Annotation Library

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria. 

A utopia of comedic gold.  

(1)

“ ‘Just put them on, Archie, there’s a good chap. You can’t walk around like that, the Muggle at the gate’s already getting suspicious -’

  ‘I bought this in a Muggle shop,’  said the old wizard stubbornly. ‘Muggles wear them.’ 

 ‘Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they were these,” said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers.

  ‘I’m not putting them on,’ said old Archie in indignation.  ‘I like a healthy breeze ‘round my privates, thanks.’ “ (page 83-84, US  edition)

(2)

“ ‘...hardly a hiccough in the arrangements...not much for me to do!’  Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air.” (page 87, US edition)

(3)

“ ‘Yes - thank you, Weatherby.’ ” (page 90, US edition)

(4)

“ ‘Oh shut up, Weatherby,’ ” (page 92, US edition)

(5)

“ ‘No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn’t get tickets,’ ” (page 73, US edition)

Luna sighting! Luna sighting! Luna sighting!! 

I actually really enjoy this chapter, it is surprisingly full of pocket details.  Little asides that aren’t overwhelming important, but help reveal more about the characters overall.  For example:

During the long morning hike, it takes Hermione the longest to finish climbing the hill.  Hermione is canonically described as “an indoor” girl. She didn’t excel at flying in their first year, she’s only passively interested in sports, she’s later shown as watching snowball fights rather than participating in them, etc...  There is nothing wrong with this- those types of activities aren’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  But I mention the mention of her being last over the hill here, because I think it’s nice character continuity. 

Other examples: 

* Charlie failed his first Apparition Test

*  Though obviously proud of his accomplishment Cedric made a point of telling his parents (regardless of if they remembered/care) that his win over Harry at Quidditch was the result of an accident

Bill was - there was no other word for it - cool.  He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail.  He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill’s clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognized his boots to be make, not of leather, but of dragon hide.” (page 52 | US edition)

Mr. Weasley works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic.  Presumably he took Muggle Studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for three years and earned an O.W.L.  Given his enthusiasm for the subject he likely continued his studies for an additional two years and earned an N.E.W.T....and yet...

“ ‘They run of eckeltricity do they?’ he said knowledgeably. ” (page 46 | US edition)

Molly is adorable and thoughtful and kind and one badass mama. Vernon is a twat.

None of this "the Dursley's were living with a Horcrux in the house" nonsense. They're just shitty people.

“What he really wanted (and it felt almost shameful to admit it to himself) was someone like - someone like a parent: an adult wizard whose advice he could ask without feeling stupid, someone who cared about him, who had had experience with Dark Magic...” (page 22, US paperback)

Right. In. The. Feels. 

I like this moment.  It’s one of the few times we see Harry openly longing for parents. He frequently thinks about them, he misses them, but he doesn’t often focus on the “what might have been” part of them.  That’s typically kept more abstract. 

As far back as ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’, Harry is cautioned by Dumbledore not to desire that which it is impossible to have.  

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that” (PS Chapter Twelve: The Mirror of Erised | page 228, UK paperback).  

This is advice Harry takes to heart and heeds. In fact this advice follows him into ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, when he learns to fight the  Dementors.  

“ ‘They’re dead,’ he told himself sternly. ‘They’re dead, and listening to echoes of them won’t bring them back. You’d better get a grip on yourself...’ ” (PoA Chapter Twelve: The Patronus | page 258, UK paperback)

It’s interesting how his ability to compartmentalize starts to weaken after Sirius enters the picture and becomes a viable alternative to his parents.  I would say it goes back to the idea of “you can’t miss what you never had”. Harry never really knew what his life lacked, so not thinking about it was easy.  Now that he does have Sirius, he allows himself to really want for parental guidance for the first time. More to follow...

Frank Bryce deserved better. RIP. 

Chapter One:The Riddle House sets up for one of the best laid abduction plans I’ve read.  It gives the reader enough information to keep them on their guard for dangers and additional clues, while Harry spends most of the book(s) in blissful ignorance of the larger threat that’s looming.

Chapter One is a good combination of spooky camp fire story (the legend of the Riddle family’s murder) and prologue. That said, the question that has always lingered for me is this part of Voldemort + Wormtail’s scheming.

“ ‘One more murder...my faithful servant at Hogwarts...Harry Potter is as good as mine’ ” (page 12, USA paperback)

Has it ever been made clear who that intended victim was supposed to be?  

Having read this before, we know from the end of the book (Chapter Thirty Four: Priori Incantatem) that there are no other Voldemort victims between Frank’s murder and Cedric’s.  We know that Crouch Sr. was killed by Crouch Jr (Chapter Twenty Eight: The Madness of Mr. Crouch), but that was out of necessity and never seemed to be part of the original plan.

We know it could not have been Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody, because keeping Moody alive was essential to keeping Crouch Jr undercover at Hogwarts (Chapter Thirty-Five: Veritaserum). 

Sooo...who else was supposed to die to clear Voldemort’s path to Harry? More to follow...

“Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup, They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe “ 

 - John Lennon

Welcome! 

I am starting a new project and all are welcome to come along.  The concept for this blog is simple: I don’t enjoy physically annotating my books, but I wanted a place to store my thoughts flash thoughts/feelings/opinions/conspiracy theories/head cannons as they occur to me.  Enter tumblr. 

I don’t pretend to have concrete ideas for what this blog will, but I imagine it will be closer to live tweeting than reviewing.  My goal is to annotate one book a week, this may prove to be a tad ambitious, but we shall see. I will alternate between re-reads and fist reads.  This week kicks off with a (iconic) re-read: ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ by J.K. Rowling.  More to follow...