Kind of like a magic carpet - less genies...

Slowly - very slowly - I am reading the second Harry Potter book. The main thing I'm noticing about wizards and witches at this point, is that they are always finding really cool uses for normal, everyday things. For instance, in the first book, Harry gets his broomstick. No surprise - the broomstick allows Harry to fly. When I was reading yesterday, however, Harry finds a new use for soot (from the fireplace). Unlike a normal person who has to take a car, bike, or airplane somewhere -- Harry just steps into the fireplace, throws up some soot, and calls out the name of the place he wants to go! So, of course, this got me wondering -- if that was all I had to do, where would I go?

Where would YOU go if all you had to do was step into your fireplace? Why would you go there? Would you go alone or bring someone with you? Why?

Too Many Angry Men

I started reading 12 Angry Men before bed on Sunday night. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it - unfortunately I tend to judge books by the cover and this one was NOT the most exciting! After reading about all the characters, settings, and props - I wondered how I would keep everything (and everyone) straight. I began reading Act I, skeptical of how interesting and difficult the play may be. I quickly realized that some characters were more important than others. For instance, Juror 8 is a pretty central character - able to influence those around him and stand up for himself. I also thought the topic of discussion and the thought processes of some of the characters was interesting. Who do you think are the important characters in the play? What makes these characters important?

Mr. Potter

Finished Harry Potter. Unfortunately, I had very high expectations for the book. While I enjoyed the first Harry Potter book, it did take me quite a while to become interested. By about page 200 I was hooked -- but the first 200 pages seemed to be a lot of background information (boring!).

Having seen the first Harry Potter movie many times, I already knew a lot of the story before even opening the book. I think this had quite an impact on my overall experience with the book. Specifically, I was able to anticipate much of the action and dialogue of the book before it occured. In general, I like book-based movies. It's such an awesome experience to see the characters, settings, and events that you have read so much about. I guess my question is this: Which should come first: the book or the movie??