This book was primarily upsetting, quite frankly. It was very well written and engaging, and I loved (in some ways) the fact that it was as historically accurate as a "novel" could be, drawn from Patsy Jefferson's correspondences and those letters she curated of her father's. But my big takeaway was ...
read more »

Ah! So very satisfying!!! I'd forgotten quite a bit of this one, even though I've seen the films several times. I remembered all the major plot points, but there were a good many nuances and crucial explanations I got to rediscover, which made this read-through feel fresher to me than any of the ...
read more »

This is in many ways just as fabulous as the last two, but I think I did like "Order of the Phoenix" a bit better. Mostly this is because 1) this one wasn't nearly as funny, as the plot is decidedly dark and serious by this point, and 2) the ending is just devastating. Unavoidable, I get that -- it ...
read more »

Ah! They just keep getting better and better! I seemed to recall liking "The Goblet of Fire" the best, but on this read-through, I had to say that "Order of the Phoenix" was better. My first impression of this one had been that Harry was a moody teenager, but in this read-through I felt I ...
read more »

As a naturopathic doctor, this book fascinates me. While it pretends to be a children's story, it's really more of a morality tale on the power of the mind (and nature, laughter, and good spirits) to heal the body. The story follows Mary, a sullen and disagreeable little girl who was orphaned and ...
read more »

My favorite of the Harry Potter books so far! (I've read them all many times but it's been years -- I remember that the first time around this was probably my favorite, but I'm not sure if I'll still feel that way now.) First of all (and this is true of every book in the series) I love feeling ...
read more »