Memories of a Harry Potter Nerd

Me impatiently waiting in the theater for the premier of
  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

I've spent the last few days substitute teaching in a kindergarten classroom. Everyday, we have a scheduled "Rest and Recharge" time where everyone grabs a blanket, we turn off the lights, turn on some nice music, and rest on the floor quietly. Well, I couldn't find the iPod for music during this time, so I instead searched my phone quickly for some instrumental music to help sooth the atmosphere of the room. Basically all the instrumental music I have on my phone is from Harry Potter film scores so that's what we have been listening to! Not only do the kids love it, but man oh man, does it bring back some good memories of my own! Well, the most recent memory is actually of my constant reading and writing while in school since I used the same music to study, so I'm not sure if that's technically defined as a "good" memory--ha! Anyways, it must be due to the fact that I was listening to this wonderful, inspiring, beautiful music in an elementary school, but I had a flood of memories associated with Harry Potter come rushing back.

Today I would like to share some of my recollections from my magical Harry Potter childhood.

When I was in Kindergarten I went with my HP Fan Family to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the theater. And thus began my love story. In my kid's snack pack, at the bottom of my popcorn, I found a Harry Potter scar tattoo. I was ecstatic. I had my mom put it on my forehead because obviously that's where it was supposed to go. The next day at school, my scar got made fun of, but I didn't care. I was like Harry.

In 1st grade, I wanted to be Harry Potter for Halloween. My mom had already sewn a Gryffindor cape for my older brothers that I was all set to use. This time, when my costume idea was made fun of at school (apparently it was weird to want to dress up as a boy), the teasing registered a little too much, and I switched my costume to Snow White at the very last minute. Like, possibly the day of Halloween. I regret this decision to this day.


In 2nd grade, I read the first installment of the series for the first time. It took me months, possibly the entire school year, but I did it and I admit, I liked to brag about it. I convinced two of my friends to try as well, but only one liked it enough to finish it. (She's a Harry Potter nerd now too.)

In third grade, my reading skills grew exponentially. I read the first 4 books, which were all that had been released so far. Let me tell you, I think my proudest elementary moment was when I finished the big fourth book in only 10 days. 10 DAYS PEOPLE! And yet, one of my most vivid memories from 3rd grade is the one day that I didn't read about the Tri-Wizard Tournament. In 3rd grade, my dear Grandma Irene passed away and I missed school. That afternoon my teacher delivered me a large envelope full of cards and letters written by my classmates to console me in my sadness. That day I read those instead of Harry.

In 5th grade the 5th book was published, and at 870 pages, I finished it in 4 days. I'm pretty sure I annoyingly bragged about this any chance I could get. Sorry classmates. I proceeded to reread the paperback book all year long, and had to tape the spine over and over to keep it from falling apart.

In July before 6th grade the final book was released. My fellow Harry Potter addict, Bailey, and I made plans to go to the nearest Barnes and Noble book store for the midnight release. This was a 2 hour drive from our little towns but totally worth it! We crimped our hair and dressed in capes like Hermione(s), and sat in line for a few hours eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans and pretending like we were going to barf every time we got an icky one. OH WHAT JOY!

In 7th grade, my grandpa died and I inherited his collection of Harry Potter books. We had spent day after day together many summers, simply sitting in the same living room and reading the books. We didn't talk about them or comment to each other much, but we always shared a similar love for the wondrous story. I will always cherish those special editions to my collection.

I could go on...but this is already a long post! When something is so central to your everyday life for so many years, it only makes sense that there are some super vivid memories that stick with you for such a long time. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been my best friends for a long time, and that will be the case for the rest of my life.

This was my profile picture for an extremely long time after I
watched HP7 Part 1.
Obviously I hate Belltrix. And Obviously I was still in gymnastics
 because my arm looks great

Maybe next time I'll tell you about all the weird words that I learned from reading Harry Potter, after years of hilariously misreading them!

I'm out; off to reread again.

Harry Potter and My Sisterly Senses

Some weekends are more beautiful than others; this last one was one of those! Why, you may ask? Well, Freeform did this beautiful thing where they only show Harry Potter movies and it sure warmed my cold, muggle heart. Or perhaps since I'm American, my cold No-Maj heart.

Me when I see Harry Potter on TV.

I'm one of those people that likes to have the TV on CONSTANTLY. It keeps me company when I'm home alone, and makes cleaning and cooking and painting cabinets and remodeling the kitchen (stay tuned for a blog synopsis of our ridiculous DIY kitchen remodel in the next few weeks) less of a chore. So, on Harry Potter weekends, whichever one is on, I'm watching it--even if I finished the same one the night before prior to going to bed! Oh, they just never get old! In fact, when I hear that beautiful theme music I get lots of emotions welling up in my chest--but the emotional and lifelong impact Harry Potter has had on me can be covered in a different post.

Now, on this Harry Potter weekend, I seemed to consistently turn the TV on to the 6th lovely installment: The Half Blood Prince. At the point in the movie after Harry has successfully acquired Slughorn's memory which reveals that VOLDEMORT HAS CREATED 7 HORCRUXES THAT MUST BE HUNTED DOWN TO DESTROY HIM, he and Dumbledore exit the memory full of distress at this revelation. Watch the video here and pay close attention!

I don't know how I missed it all the other times I watched this movie, but when I watched this scene, I realized that THIS was the exact moment that Dumbledore realizes Harry is indeed a Horcrux himself. Did you notice his reaction after Harry touched the ring and it spun out of control?

"But Magic, especially dark magic,"
*ring spins and visions flash*
*Dumbledore pauses and looks at Harry with masked astonishment*
"...leaves traces." 
BUM-BUM-BUMMMMM

And did you notice Dumbledore notice Harry's weird neck crick after he touches the dark object? If you think back to the previous movie, Harry does that weird neck crick all the time when Voldemort's getting inside his head. This is where Dumbledore knows that Harry indeed has part of Voldemort's soul inside of him. 

I was pretty astonished and pumped up when I noticed this, just because I love it when all the dots connect. But even more amazing is the fact that the next day, when I was once again watching this movie, my sister texted me with the exact same revelation!

The moment our sisterly
senses connected.

The only explanation is magic, because we live 1500 miles away and had never made this connection before. And we've watched this movie multiple times together, sitting on the same couch.

WHAAAAAAAT? Sister senses for the win!

Anyways, maybe it's not that cool to you, but any time two of my favorite people--Harry Potter and My Sissy Poo!--mesh together so beautifully, I just have to shout it to the world!

Now, if you wish to get the FULL effect of this revelation, you'll need to watch all 8 movies, then watch the 6th one 3 times back to back, and then you'll understand. Better get started. 

How To Survive Without Electricity

Well friends, I'm preparing for an apparently apocalyptic storm here in Olympia. Everyone is so excited about the weather that's about to unfold! And when I say excited, I don't mean people are necessarily looking forward to the oncoming torrents of rain and gusts of wind that will rip out evergreens and throw them at houses. But there is indeed excitement and hype. I was in a middle school science class today, and all the kids were upset because if the power goes out tonight, school will likely be cancelled Friday. Turns out that they already had Friday off for predetermined reasons, so this is a big disappointment. They were hoping for the power to go out last night. It's much more fun to be able to get out of obligations like school or work than for your long weekend to be ruined. I feel ya, kids.

Anyways, I've created a short list of essentials to make sure you have just in case you're out of power for an extended period of time.

1. A Headlamp
I suggest getting a few of the cheap, $1 headlamps at Walmart. Don't use flash lights. Head lamps are best because when you go to search for your books to read when the TV doesn't work, you can use both hands to rifle through them. Also, when you go to read you book(s), holding a flashlight in one hand is THE WORST. Your pages flutter around and don't stay in place and just erg. Get the head lamp. Luckily I already have a  few of these because I use them to read in bed at night like a cyclops.
*It's also super fun to use head lamps because every time you look at someone you blind them--yahoo!

An actual picture of me
heading to bed to read.

2. Cookies
Let's be honest. You never keep a batch of cookies long enough for them to go bad anyways, but this is your excuse to buy a bunch or make a million batches before your oven is out of commission. It's all about surviving the storm, guys. Cookies don't go bad, but milk does. And you can't just drink milk without cookies. It's all to make use of the milk that will spoil in your warm fridge.

3. Dog Potty Pads
You know your dog(s) aren't going to go out in the rain storm to do their business. Just prepare.

Or you can try to prepare your pets this way, too.

4. A Wall
Pick a wall. This will be your entertainment wall. You get to look at it when you run out of books to read and your phone is dead with no way to recharge. You could draw on it if you wish, but that is not advised. Refrain from banging your head on the wall out of boredom.

Well folks, that's it. Get ready for a weekend of pioneer living with no electricity or technology. But also, calm the heck down because I'm pretty sure you'll survive without the internet.

Do It; Judge the Book By Its Cover

If you like books, especially pretty books, then please keep reading, because this post is all about a pretty book titled The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee! Here you'll find my wonderful review of the experience I had with this novel--spoiler alert: it was great, you need to buy this book, but please keep reading to find out why.

First, let me admit that I bought this book simply because it was gorgeous. Yeah, yeah, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" blah blah blah. I always judge books by their covers, and so should you! Good books have intriguing covers. It's a fact. Now, I don't recommend extending this beyond literature into the metaphorical region of the world. Only judge literal books by their covers.

I mean, look at this book cover!

I want to shake the hand of this graphic designer. Because I literally saw an add for this a few months ago, was drawn to the title and this cover, and immediately preordered it on Amazon. Well done, marketing team. Well done. 

Now, after you buy this book for it's cover, (and because you read this exclamatory review) you'll open it up to find that the inside is even better than the outside. You'll read Katharine McGee's super engaging story about futuristic New York City inside the GIANT, 1000 STORY TOWER WITH A CAPITAL T. Please imagine 1000 stories right now, and realize how extremely vast this is. The Tower is a city in itself, with city blocks, shopping districts, streets, churches, schools, simulated environments and weather, and of course, thousands and thousands of people's homes. And you guessed it, the higher in the Tower you live, the richer you are. 

The story is told through the different points of view of teenagers living in the Tower. We have Avery, who lives in the only apartment on the thousandth floor and was genetically designed to be "perfect"; Leda, Avery's best friend recently returned from rehab for drug addiction; Eris, an upper floor girl whose entire world is turned upside down after a DNA test reveals a daunting secret; Rylin, an orphan from the 32nd floor who struggles to make ends meet for her and her younger sister; and Watt, a tech smart boy with an illegal quantum computer imbedded in his head that gives him information on virtually anything he desires. 

The secrets and lies of all these characters and their mutual acquaintances soon catch up to them, with everyone finally converging on the top of the Tower. Jealousy, deception, secrets, drugs, alcohol, and assumptions create a confusing web that everyone gets tangled in--but the web isn't strong enough to catch the unfortunate person who is pushed to their death from the top of the tower when things get out of control.  

Who falls? And who pushes?! OH MY GOSH YOU HAVE TO READ IT TO FIND OUT! 

Please, read this book. I need someone to talk about it with. If you liked The Luxe, or Gossip Girl, I think you'll be like me and agree that this has the same kind of vibe! If you didn't like either of those, pretend you didn't just read that sentence and read The Thousandth Floor anyways because I told you to. 

Come on, aren't you curious? These kid's don't have phones--they have contacts that scroll their social media feeds and messages in front of their eyeballs! There are super fast jet trains that take you under the Atlantic to Paris in a few hours! Someone falls off of a two and a half mile high tower! 

Katharine McGee will transport you straight to the Tower in all its futuristic glory if only you read The Thousandth Floor. I read it simply because its cover was appealing, so you have no excuses because you've seen the cover and read this raving and curiosity inducing review!

Book Woman OUT. 

P.S. Please try to fathom the vastness of the Tower: 

And here is yet another gorgeous cover screaming "READ ME IM PRETTY!" 

In Case I Never Write My Books: A Dedication

As is common knowledge to most people who know me, I am an aspiring writer (see my previous blog post about the first story I ever wrote!). However, I suffer from severe procrastination and writer's block. I'll get an outline done, or a few chapters, and then get stuck and give up for a day or a few years.

Despite my problem with finishing my books, I don't have any problem planning my future book dedications. Yes, I get a little ahead of myself. So just in case, here's a few from my list of the multiple book dedications I have planned out for the future.

To my third grade sack lunch table: You guys were not only fabulous lunch buddies of all ages, but you were the first people I ever shared my writing with. The first short story I ever began was called "The Fat Prince" and it was about a young prince who ate too many Cheetos and turned into a ball. It was a real problem for the kingdom, because then he just rolled and bounced around the kingdom, toppling structures and injuring people.

I pitched this story to you all at lunch one day, and we all laughed until we cried. I always loved to read, but that day, I realized I was a pretty dang good writer too. As we got in trouble for laughing too hard in the lunch room, I knew I wanted to continue to write and make people react to my words and stories. Thanks for the laughs and inspiration lunch buddies!

To Sarah, one of my fellow readers: I shared "The Fat Prince" with you too, but not at lunch. Instead of laughing at it, you told me it was good, and proceeded to edit the grammar throughout. I remember being a little peeved because it was OBVIOUSLY a rough draft, but then later realizing I needed to be a more careful, intentional writer and avoid mistakes. Thanks, friend. You've always been my fellow bookish nerd and it's wonderful.

Also, I've told you multiple times that someday I would dedicate a book to you, so here ya go. This might just be as good as it gets!

To Brandon, who doesn't like to read but reads what I write anyways. This is a testament to your love for me, and you motivate me to be a better writer. Why? Because someday I'll write a book that even you will like to read. :)

Well, there you have it. Don't worry if you're reading this and I've promised you a dedication or you feel you deserve one. I've got plenty more. My goal in life is to indeed write many books and truly place these dedications right smack in the front for the world to see, but if that giant earthquake that's supposed to wipe out the pacific northwest comes tomorrow, at least a few got out into the world.

Here are some funny book dedications for your Friday.

Young Book Woman Writes: The First Story I Ever Completed!

As Book Woman, I love love love to read. But my bookishness extends beyond just reading the written word; I equally love to write! I have notes in my phone, a Word doc on my computer, and random slips of paper in my bags with ideas for stories, books, and novels I plan to write! Some of these stories have outlines, a few beginning chapters, killer titles, or catchy first sentences written out, but I've only ever finished one story, which I titled, "The Camera."  Please read on to encounter the perfection that was my 10-year-old literary imagination.

Ross, the amazing cameraman.

This story was about a 12 year old girl who finds a fancy studio video camera and decides to pretend she's running for President with her two friends. I believe the names I gave to my characters were as follows: Riley is the main character, the one who is "running." Ross is the camera guy, who is naturally super nerdy and tech smart. And Lily is Riley's publicist, speech writer, and fashion expert. They are a fierce trio to contend with, and write politically moving speeches.
Ross flawlessly photoshops Riley's interviews and debates into real videos of Presidential candidates speaking. Riley's speaking skills are on par with the greatest of all time, and Lily's marketing skills produce pristine commercials on the issues without going negative on the other candidates.

The amazingly mature Riley,
thanks to Lily.

Unbeknownst to the politically savvy preteens, the camera they found was left behind from a presidential rally in their city, and as they recorded their campaign, it was broadcasting their interviews and debates on to live television!
Lily's makeup and fashion skills are so great that not even Riley's parent's notice that it's their daughter making the news as the nation searches to find this amazing independent candidate so they can all write in her name on their ballots. Riley is winning in all the polls, but Riley, Ross, and Lily innocently continue their campaign as a fun game, never watching the news to find out they are changing the race. (Note: this was before the time of Facebook!)

About the same time that their teacher shows a clip in class about the Presidential race uproar occurring, the CIA shows up at Riley's house. They finally tracked her down, and it's all revealed that this girl is NOT 35 or older and has no political experience, and there is a national uproar over the event! She obviously cannot be president because she has schoolwork to do, but she, Lily, and Ross are offered special summer experiences at the Whitehouse, and American politics are changed forever.

The lesson of the story was that "anyone can be president" and that children will be the ones to finally bridge the political gap between parties. I was 10ish when I came up with this genius, totally plausible concept, and as I grew a bit older I realized how crazy such a plot was. It's stuffed in a folder somewhere in my parent's house now. Or maybe I got bitter enough about what I perceived as a stupid childhood story and tossed my hard work in the trash. If so, no worries, I've still got it all in my noggin!

Now that I remember this story, I'm realizing that my 10 year old self was perhaps a genius indeed. Compared to the election we're in the middle of right now, my 10 year old ideas don't seem so crazy anymore. RILEY FOR PRESIDENT!

Maybe I'll go ahead and officially write this story now, or maybe I should start writing one of the billion other ideas I've got. I will, I promise. And when I do, I'll dedicate that first book to Riley, Lily, and Ross.
In the mean time, I'll be stressing about who to vote for, wishing that I had Riley to write in on my ballot.

P.S. I now remember two other very short stories I wrote and technically finished when I was in elementary school: "The Fat Prince" and "A Message in the Clouds." Those are great and interesting looks into my young mind that I can analyze in another blog post. Until then, adieu!