Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling

I finally read this a second time. I thought I'd read it more times than that, but apparently not. Ah, good book. This time I read it very very soon after I'd watched the movie, with the result that the movie didn't seem nearly as boring (since I hadn't read the book as recently beforehand this time), and as I read it was extremely easy to see all the changes they made in the movie, generally for dramatic effect or to shorten or simplify the story. I've got to say, the book has a lot more of the witty and amusing details. One of my favorites was:

"'Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare ... What did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp --'
'So light a fire!' Harry choked.
'Yes -- of course -- but there's no wood!' Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
'HAVE YOU GONE MAD?' Ron bellowed. 'ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?'...

...'Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione,' said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.
'Yeah,' said Ron, 'and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis -- "there's no wood," honestly.'"

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