I’m going to talk about books today. I have been reading daily now for the past few months. What an achievement! I used to read and I read a lot during my pregnancy – in the 3rd trimester because that was the time I was finally able to read and not get migraine. In fact, I read all 4 Harry Potter books (then) back to back and all over again just before I gave birth.
However, I stopped reading books after I got Sarah. I just didn’t have the time. It was only this year I started to pick it up again – after a friend Aziph lent me his copy of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code a few months ago while we were in Brunei. And since then, it’s been one book after another. I’m always reading 2 books at one time – a new book in the train on my way to work, and another old book which I re-read before bed. My aim is to catch up on reading at least 12 books this year – on average 1 book per month and for someone who just started last April (if I’m not mistaken) I am almost there.
Just like a hidden treasure, a book can delight, stimulate, educate (obviously!), and more importantly touch your heart while some are simply trash that you wonder what stupidity led you to buy the book. Now, at random order, I'm starting with JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. OK, I am a fantasy fan and naturally Harry Potter books have become a compulsory read. I started late actually. Got to know about the boy just before the 3rd installment (I think). I bought the 1st book just to see what the fuss was all about and instantly loved Harry. However, it’s JK Rowling I’m amazed with actually. A penniless single mother writing at cafes to save up on heater during the time when John Major declared that single mothers are a social disease.
Anyway, back on the book – I have mixed feelings about it actually. The book itself is a bumpy ride. The first few chapters are like being stuck in 1st gear, it gets better somewhere in the middle and then drags again. Harry’s journey with Dumbledore was a bit boring. But the death of my favourite headmaster simply broke my heart. I was like – why??? Who else will be there to help Harry that Sirius had also died? I was so very sad. I don’t think Harry was as sad as I am because on the pages after that he took the death quite well.
Fairuza said Dumbledore will be resurrected just like Voldermort. I don’t think so. I think Dumbledore made Snape promise to kill him when the time comes so that Snape will gain the Dark Lord’s ultimate trust and one fine day help Harry to kill the creep. That’s what I think. On a whole, it was a good read. It felt like meeting a long lost friend. But I think Rowling spent too much on telling about the birds and the bees. Yes, yes, they are all teenagers now but why so much focus on Ron’s testosterone rendezvous?
However, I always judge a book by the impact it left me the moment I closed the book. If it stirred something in my mind and heart and left me thinking about it for hours to come, then it is a good book (to me). In this case, I had that heavy feeling in my heart and stomach as if someone dear and close to me had died. That was the effect of Dumbledore’s death. And also the anticipation of what will happen to this boy named Harry Potter now that the end is very near. You want to know the whole story but at the same time you don’t want it to end because it will be like losing your best friend. That’s how I felt. Good book, good read. Bravo JK Rowling.
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