Lisa's Library: Where The Dancing Bookworms Live

Monday, December 8, 2014

Book Review: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1), by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1), by J.K. Rowling
★★★★★ and a ♥

Synopsis: Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him…if Harry can survive the encounter.
In A Sentence: A huge favorite of mine!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday folks!

Well, it's the first week of the Bibliophile Reading Group's Winter Reading Challenge, and I'm off to a decent start! 4 books in one week! Here's the list and the points tally thus far:

Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede

Magic Tag= 2pts

Searching For Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede

Magic Tag+Comfort Read= 4pts

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Magic Tag+Comfort Read= 4pts

Calling On Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede

Magic Tag= 2pts

I'm kinda bummed that only one book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles is on the comfort reads list (weird), but oh well, I've got other ways to rack up points!

I still got a lot of reading to do, so here's the reading list so far:

Currently Reading:
Harry Potter And the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
Magic Tag+Comfort Read= 4pts

White Fang, by Jack London
Snow on the Cover= 4pts

Upcoming Reads:
The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
BOTM+Comfort Read=7 pts

A Redbird Christmas, by Fannie Flagg
Monthly Theme+Snow on the cover+Comfort Read=16pts

Talking To Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede
Magic Tag+= 2pts

The Fellowship Of The Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Magic Tag+Comfort Read= 4pts

Wish me luck!
Lisa the Dancing Bookworm

Book Review: Calling On Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #3), by Patricia C. Wrede

Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Calling On Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #3), by Patricia C. Wrede
★★★★

Synopsis: Those wicked wizards are back--and they've become very smart. (Sort of.) They intend to take over the Enchanted Forest once and for all . . . unless Cimorene finds a way to stop them. And some people think being queen is easy.
In A Sentence: A pleasant, humorous third installment in a fun children’s series.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
★★★★★ and ♥

Synopsis: (J.R.R. Tolkien’s own description for the original edition) “If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did)—if you do not already know all about these things—much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period.
“For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise.”
In A Sentence: A wonderful classic!

Feature Follow Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! It's time for the weekly meme by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!

This is a blog hop where you try to follow as many as you can, and be followed in return. Answer the question, post it on your blog, follow the hosts and featured blog, and then follow however many participating blogs as you want!

Random Post: An Alphabetized List Of Goodreads' Comfort Reads List

Okay, this post is a little random, but this is for the Winter Reading Challenge I'm participating in. One qualification to earn points is to read books from Goodreads' Comfort Reading Shelf, but the books are listed by popularity, and you can't sort them in any way that would make it easier to find a book. So I copied the list and used Word to alphabetize them by title. If you're a fellow Winter Challenge participant, keep in mind that it's organized by the first letter in the title, so it includes words like "A" or "The". Hope this helps!

Book Review: Searching For Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #2), by Patrica C. Wrede

Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #2)

Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Searching For Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #2), by Patricia C. Wrede
★★★★

Synopsis: The cast: an un-ordinary king and an extraordinary princess, a couple of kooky giants, an overzealous magician, a loyal and helpful witch, and a host of evil and dangerous wizards.
The instruments: a broken-down magic carpet, a leaking magical sword, and a few buckets of soapy lemon water.
The problem: dragon-napping and magic-stealing.
And so the story begins, one fine day while King Mendanbar is taking a casual stroll through the Enchanted Forest....
In A Sentence: A fun sequel in a great children’s series

Tuesday's Opinion: Which "Problems Of A Book Nerd" Reflects Me?

Happy Tuesday everyone!

As always, I try to say a little something on Tuesdays, but this week, I'm going to do something a little different. Some weeks back, I looked up the blog called Problems Of A Book Nerd, and wow, I love the problems she posts! I spent a couple of hours clicking through the phrases (some are really funny), and then submitted my own problem. And guess what?! She posted it a week ago!!!

This one's mine!!

I guess there's not much to be excited about, but I think it's kinda cool how we can share something over the web, and a person whom you never met before acknowledges what you say and shares it with others. So long as it's safe and benign, it's pretty nifty.

If you look in my "Book Stuff" page, you'll notice I put a bunch of these Problems there. These are the problems I can relate to. I figured this week I take these problems and show you

My Top 25 "Problems Of A Book Nerd" Problems

Book Review: Dealing With Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1), by Patricia C. Wrede

Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dealing With Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1), by Patricia C. Wrede
★★★★ (rounding up to 4.5)

Synopsis: Cimorene is a princess, but she is definitely not what you would call an ordinary princess. Cimorene is nothing that a princess is supposed to be. She is very tall, very tomboyish, and VERY independent. The rule is that she must marry a prince. A prince that she decides she doesn't like from the very first. Prince Therandill. Cimorene decides to run away and find the life she has always wanted. She ends up living with dragons and having wonderful adventures. Be sure not to miss this wonderful, fun, and exciting book!
In A Sentence: A very fun read for kids and adults alike!