Ender's Shadow

Ender's Game is my favorite book, which is why I need to read this book, Ender's Shadow.  Let me quote a part of his forward:

"This book is, strictly speaking not a sequel, because it begins about where Ender's Game begins, and also ends, very nearly, at the same place.  In fact, it is another telling of the same tale, with many of the same characters and settings, only from he perspective of another character.  It's hard to know what to call it.  A companion novel?  A parallel novel?  Perhaps  "parallax,' if I can move that scientific term into literature."

Ive only heard great things about this novel and considering my love for Ender's Game, I've put aside my Picture of Dorian Gray and The Looking Glass Wars.

[Update] Just finished this novel.  It was really nostalgic being back in this setting and revisiting the story with a different assessment--Bean's perspective.  But I still think that Ender's Game will remain my favorite.  I noticed that I enjoyed it more when Ender came back into the picture.  The beginning was an interesting read, discovering Bean and his background (an amazing character), but after Ender showed up as one of the main characters again, I read the rest (about half of the book I'd say) in less than a day.

Harry Potter fans

LOL...so I came upon this Harry Potter follow up from a website...thought you'd be interested.  Rowling revealed the fates of the secondary characters of the Harry Potter series.  Some are really random and..yeah hahah take a look.

1. Harry becomes an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, & is later appointed head of the department. He keeps Sirius’s motorcycle, which Arthur Weasley repaired for him, but he can no longer speak Parseltongue after the destruction of Voldemort’s soul fragment within him.

2. Ginny Weasley plays for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team for a time, leaves to establish a family with Harry & later becomes the lead Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

3. Ron Weasley works at George’s store for a time, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, then joins Harry as an Auror.

4. Hermione finds her parents in Australia & removes the memory modification charm she had put on them for safety. She initially works for the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, greatly improving life for house elves & their ilk. She later moves to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement & assists in eradicating oppressive, pro-pureblood laws. She was also the only member of the trio to go back & complete her seventh year at Hogwarts.

5. Dumbledore’s relationship with Gellert Grindelwald extended beyond mere friendship; indeed, Rowling has revealed that “Dumbledore is gay, actually”, & harboured romantic feelings for Grindelwald.

6. After his death, Voldemort is forced to exist in the stunted form Harry witnessed in the King’s Cross limbo; his crimes were too severe for him to become a ghost.

    Rowling also explained the fates of several secondary characters:

1. George Weasley continues his successful joke shop. George married Angelina Johnson & has two children: a son named Fred, in memory of his late twin brother, & a daughter, Roxanne.

2. Luna Lovegood searches the world for odd & unique creatures. She eventually marries Rolf, a grandson of the famed naturalist Newt Scamander. They have twins called Lorcan & Lysander. Her father’s publication, The Quibbler, has returned to its usual condition of “advanced lunacy” & is appreciated for its unintentional humour.

3. Percy Weasley married a woman named Audrey & had two daughters, named Molly & Lucy.

4. Firenze is welcomed back into his herd, who finally acknowledge the virtue of his pro-human leanings.

5. Dolores Umbridge is arrested, interrogated, & imprisoned for crimes against Muggle-borns.

6. Cho Chang went on to marry a Muggle.

7. Neville Longbottom becomes professor of Herbology at Hogwarts & marries Hannah Abbott.

8. Besides Victoire Weasley, Bill & Fleur Weasley have a younger son & a younger daughter, named Dominique & Louis.

9. On her website, Rowling posted a Weasley family tree, showing that Harry’s children’s full names are James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, & Lily Luna Potter.

    There have been transformations in the wider wizarding world:

1. Kingsley Shacklebolt is the permanent Minister for Magic, with Percy Weasley working under him as a high official. Among the reforms introduced by Shacklebolt, Azkaban no longer uses Dementors. Consequently, the world is now a “much sunnier place”. Harry, Ron, & Hermione have also been instrumental in reforming the Ministry.

2. At Hogwarts, Slytherin House has become more diluted & is no longer the pure-blood bastion it once was, although its dark reputation lingers.

3. Voldemort’s jinx on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position is broken with his death. There is now a permanent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry comes to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class to lecture several times a year.

4. A portrait of Snape, who briefly served as Hogwarts Headmaster, does not appear in the headmaster’s office as he abandoned his post. Harry ensures the addition of Snape’s portrait, and publicly reveals Snape’s steadfastness.

The Looking Glass Wars

BOOK TO READ

This is based on Alice in Wonderland with a different twist and I was recomended to read it before I watch the highly anticipated movie with JOHNNY DEPP!  Incredibly excited to go buy this book.  I dont really have much info on this, not having read it yet, but all I know is that its a trilogy based on Alice in Wonderland with a sci-fi twist?!!! I am ssooo there!!

Crime and Punishment

Continuing high school reads that I loved--Crime and Punishment.  Great piece of work.

Crime and Punishment --Fyodor Dostoevsky
This novel explores the human conscience and the sub-conscience that deals with moral dilemmas of the protagonist Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov after murder.  His punishment stems from his guilt and the subsequent effects on his soul and person to find in the end that justice of physical imprisonment initiates his relief through atonement.

While I read this book, there was one part that really gave me the nervous butterflies.  It wasn't the descriptive anxiety of the murder that gave me the chills, but the description of Raskolnikov stealing the axe and gripping it under the inside of his jacket, walking with unsure intent to perform his deed--this got me.  It gave me the uneasy tingle of fluttering interest to keep reading on, so sure of what would happen but with disbelief.  Great novel.  Its really dense on the descriptions and the names take a while to get used to, so just make sure you have someone to discuss this with after you finish.  Or post discussions on here if you'd like. =D

Ender's Game

As you all know, I love to read.  But only novels of my choice, which effectively exclude school reads for the most part.  But I suppose we could start there...school reads that I actually liked.


Ender's Game-Orson Scott Card

This was a summer read in 10th grade.  I absolutely love this book.  The setting is an Earth in total unity under the threat of alien invasion.  70 years ago, the buggers brutally attacked the humans, but retreated after a decisive battle, never to be heard from again.  Ender'sGame is about an interwar period with mobilization and preparation for the threat of a future attack.



Ok..I know, sounds super sci-fi, but I would say its along the same line as District Nine (which I loved. GREAT MOVIE.) in that there's a different twist in the old alien invasion story that all of us know to be cliche and dull.  You delve into the mind of a brilliant 6 year old, monitored by the government in a new environment called Battle School in space--a school with selective children, trained to become potential military leaders.  Its a really fast read and honestly, I'm a sucker for novels with children that trump odds and show up adults.  I don't know.  It always make me feel good to read about people who more than exceed the expectations of others, especially when it seems like the whole world is against them.  This is one of my very very favorites.