Finished: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, plus Hatchet by Gary Paulson. In Hatchet, 13-year-old Brian Robeson is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his dad, who has recently divorced from his mother. The pilot has a heart attack midflight and Brian doesn’t know how to fly the plane. The plane ultimately crashes, and Brian is stranded alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his back and the hatchet, given to him by his mom just before he left, attached to his belt. It’s fascinating to watch Brian learn to build his own shelter and hunt for food while contending with wild animals and the elements.
Abandoned: Flush by Carl Hiaasen. I wasn’t enjoying this book about a boy whose father is in jail for sinking a casino boat suspected of dumping raw sewing into the ocean. Florida life, at least as presented in this particular novel, is too seedy for my tastes.
Currently Reading: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. I’m getting the oddest sense of deja vu from the Ware book. I’m certain I did not read the book previously, and I have no idea what is triggering the sense of familiarity. Technically I haven’t started Order of the Phoenix yet. That’s because of Livia. She started reading the Harry Potter series after I did. She caught up with me at the The Goblet of Fire, so I broke from Goblet for a couple of days and let her have the book. She has now moved on to Order of the Phoenix. I’ll have to wait until she’s done with it, but I doubt I’ll have to wait long.
P.S. After many, many readings, my copies of the HP books are starting to break down. The third book is in terrible shape, with multiple spine breaks and pages soon to fall out. The fourth book is also broken along the spine, no wonder given its size. I will have to look into buying replacement copies of these two books, and possibly the whole set.
Like many readers, I’m not sure I want to give Rowling any more money. Her books are, for the most part, great. And I can’t thank her enough for what she’s done for children’s literature. However, her personal opinions on certain subjects are hurtful, and she does, alas, insist on sharing them in a very public space. I’m not sure what duty an author owes to their readers. Are they obligated to keep their opinions to themselves, however hurtful those opinions may be? Surely not. And yet, her megaphone is huge, and given that it’s pointed directly toward children, she ought to be particularly careful how she uses it. The world might be a slightly better, more inclusive place, had she simply chosen not to use it as she has. In any event, I think it’s fair to say that she has enough money. So, I will probably look for used copies rather than new.
Finding used copies is probably easier right now than ever before, so at least there’s that. And some of them are very pretty, including the box set that Brian Selznick illustrated.