One of the qualities I pride in myself is that I enjoy all forms of entertainment. Whether it be movies, books, music, video games or even art (though to a much lesser extent), I enjoy getting myself engrossed in the amazing worlds they offer. Each one of them is unique in its own right and choosing any one over the other would be nearly impossible for me.

However, very recently I noticed a distinct lack of book-reading from myself (and yes, this is including study books also). I am pretty much sure the new computer has spoiled me. Apart from getting myself immersed in the beautiful islands of Crysis and listening to the indie rock of Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse and, of course, roaming around with friends (a part of every college guy's life), I have been pretty much neglecting books for many months now. You know it's drastic when the last book you read was Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows way back in July.

I did realize that I have about an hour's spare time during the time I take to reach college by bus and all of it is spent sleeping while listening to music. In order to utilize that time more effectively, I decided to get back on track as far as my reading habit was concerned. Last year, at almost the same time, I discovered about the magical world of Hogwarts and the rest as they say is history. This year my infusion into reading is going to begin on a more varied note with the following books:

Split Second - I started reading David Baldacci novels based on reading reviews from fellow blogger, Balaji Balasubramanium. Having read The Camel Club and Collectors from the Camel Club series, I went into the library today with the idea of picking up Stone Cold -- the latest book in that series -- only to find out it had been borrowed by someone. So, I ended up picking up Split Second which is the first book in the Sean King & Michelle Maxwell series and from a quick glance on the back cover, I hope it will be intriguing to say the least.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - I remember reading the title in Balaji's blog and when I saw it at the library, I checked out the synopsis and even though the book does seem to be aimed at children, I think I will find it a very interesting read.

I also have the aforementioned Stone Cold and The Five People You Meet in Heaven (both of which had been borrowed from my local library) lined up after I am done with the above books. I also hope that this time my latest foray into books actually lasts quite some while unlike the last time.

The last time we met our favorite young wizard, he was left all alone after the death of Dumbledore with no one but two other 17-year olds with the impossible task of seeking out Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes, destroying them and then seeking out The Dark Lord himself and finishing him and hopefully making out of it alive. As if that wasn’t enough, Dumbledore was killed by none other than Snape in whom he trusted and Rowling unimaginably made Severus Snape the most important character in the Deathly Hallows after probably the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione and Voldemort. So, Rowling has numerous questions to answer and to finish off the series in a fitting way so as to leave all its fans satisfied. So, does she? In my opinion, The Deathly Hallows is possibly my favorite in the series as a whole and yes, the conclusion is superb and Rowling leaves absolutely no stone unturned.

The book begins before Harry’s 17^th birthday when we know his protection against Voldemort given by his mother breaks and the Order of the Phoenix realizing this are trying to move Harry to a safer place. Saying absolutely what happens anymore in the book would be spoiling it for fans but suffice it to say the story twists and turns until the climax.

Ron and Hermione of course accompany Harry on the journey to secure the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them. There are numerous verbal fights, emotional sequences and then reunions as Rowling spins one heck of a magical yarn. She leads us on a nostalgic trip where everything from the Snitch Harry first caught to Dumbledore’s light-snatcher to Sirius’s mirror make a return and it almost seems as if she does not want to forget many of these amazing characters and sequences herself and in turn we do not want to forget this series that has captivated our hearts for many years.

However, after reading about a third of the book I found myself utterly confused. Here, she was with a plate full of questions to answer yet Rowling seemed to be happy to posing more and more questions and I must accept I was slightly nervous that the ending might not tie up all the loose ends or might be unsatisfying. But all my fears were washed away in the amazing last third of the book in which there are numerous goosebump sequences, sequences and dialogues where you will sit tight in your chair and every hair on your body will be pointing skywards. Rowling yet again has proven that she is truly a mistress of story-telling and while some of these sequences may seem too convenient as things fall firmly into place, there is no doubt about the emotions we feel when we read them.

So, in the end everything about The Deathly Hallows will leave you satisfied from its amazing action set-pieces to the complexity of the emotions underneath all the action and of course a finale that is befitting to the series as a whole. In the opening tribute, Rowling thanks all her fans for sticking with Harry till the end. And that is what exactly every fan has done, their love for Harry and his friends has only grown warmer and stronger with each of his adventures and in this final adventure Rowling makes sure that even as we – along with her – say one final wet-eyed (in my case) and heart-warming goodbye to the series, it will remain etched in our hearts and minds for all eternity and there in lies the true magic of Harry Potter and Rowling’s writing and not in the spells and enchantments that appear inside the book.

PS: Minor spoilers regarding the Harry Potter books. So, stay clear if you haven't read any of the books from the series.

The Goblet of Fire marked a change in tone for the series as a whole, one which has not changed since. The opening sequences really set it up, a very tired Voldemort instantly killing an eavesdropper or a number of death-eaters casually tossing muggles up and down and we instantly realized that much of the humor from the previous books may never show up again; this was most evident when Dumbledore who had been shown as having a benign smile and caring face was first shown in all his fury as he attacks the fake Alastor Moody and then casually turns his face with his feet to check whether he is knocked out. It also marked Voldemort’s return to complete power and Harry’s first face-to-face meeting with a full strength Voldemort which he faced with all the bravery that was expected of him. When Dumbledore spoke the words “Any time you have a choice between good and evil, remember what happened to Cedric Diggory”, we were one of the many people mourning the loss of this fictional character and we realized that even though the tone had changed from humor to darkness, much of the love and underlying warmth were still intact.

Then The Order of the Phoenix came about and Harry was shown as being left fully alone by his friends and we got the first glimpse of Harry’s anger at being The Chosen One. We also realized that no matter what happens Ron and Hermione would be firmly by his sides. And the story fully opened up with the Prophecy being revealed and Harry being shown as the person to overthrow Voldemort and his evil. Of course, Harry’s burden was further increased with the death of his only remaining family of sorts in Sirius Black. OOTP also featured the best duel to so far grace Harry Potter with the amazing confrontation between Dumbledore and Voldemort during the climax. And we realized that the true weapon Harry has over Voldemort in spite of clearly being the lesser in terms of wizardry is his heart; the only question remaining being how it plays a part in book 7.

I have personally said to myself many times that instead of being called Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, it should have been called HP and Severus Snape because that is what the book exactly is. THBP firmly establishes Snape as the most important character in book 7 after Voldemort and Harry himself. A large part of book 7 is dependant on whether Snape is double agent working for the good side or evil side. And of course all THBP does is set up for the conclusion. We get to know more about Voldemort’s past, his true inherent cruelty in the way he kills his father’s family and of course his Horcruxes which are the source of his immortality. The whole story finally falls into place with Harry and Ginny (and in a way Ron and Hermione) unmasking their feelings for each other and with Dumbledore’s death which meant Harry’s last protector was gone and he was left all alone (Again!). It also featured some of my favorite lines from all the books like when Dumbledore says, “I am not worried Harry! I am with you” and when Ron and Hermione firmly say they will accompany Harry wherever he goes.

Phew! It has been quite a ride even though it took me less than a month to finish all 6 books and in reality I have been waiting only for about 5 months now whereas some of you have been drooling for years together for book 7. But it feels like I have been part of this world for a longer time than I really have. I know I have forgotten many important characters/events in the above tribute. Hagrid is a wonderful character as is Draco as are most of the people in the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s army like Luna, Neville, The Weasleys and more and to start mentioning everyone is something I don’t intend to do.

I don’t want to start speculating about The Deathly Hallows but am definitely going to say that it is going to be the best book of the lot. Of course, the humor will not be there and the book will be all dark as Harry first goes after the remaining horcruxes and then after Voldemort himself. It is still unclear whether Ron and Hermione will accompany Harry which I hope they will. And of course unfinished plot points like the life debt owed by Wormtail, Ron, Ginny and Mr. Weasley will definitely rear their head. And Rowling must give a strong explanation as to why she killed Sirius and Dumbledore and also round off Snape’s character.

I am completely going to shut myself away for the next few days from anything related to Harry Potter – news, forum topics etc. – no leaked press news is going to spoil it for me and I am sure The Deathly Hallows will be the finale everyone expects it to be and hopefully it will be just that.

PS: Minor spoilers regarding the Harry Potter books. So, stay clear if you haven't read any of the books from the series.

On July 21^st, the magical world of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling comes to an end. And while I am glad that it is finally getting over and we can get to read what happens to our favorite boy wizard and his friends, I am depressed that we will not be getting to read any more about Harry’s adventures as he attempts to conquer Voldemort. Here, I am going to share how Harry Potter has engulfed me right from the moment I started reading The Sorcerer’s Stone.

A long time ago, I was completely adamant I will not fall into the Harry Potter hype. I had taken a silent vow that I will not read any of the books or watch any of the movies no matter how hyped to death they were. But on Jan 19^th, 2007, Harry Potter joined another great world (namely, Star Wars) to have captured my imagination after I had loathed it at some point of time. I was well informed about Harry Potter around the time of the release of The Half-Blood Prince but even then I never got on the bandwagon, something just kept me away from it. But with all the hype The Deathly Hallows (which I knew was going to be a fitting finale), I decided to give it a go to see what there is and boy am I glad I decided to do it.

The first impression I got when I read The Sorcerer’s Stone was the world created by Rowling is possibly the best fictional world ever invented with the possible exception of Star Wars. And while there are many parallels that can be draw between both Harry Potter and Star Wars – like a young boy relatively inexperienced in their worlds being forced to take on people who have mastered the arts (namely, Luke and Harry forced to take on Vader and Voldemort) and the eternal battle of good vs evil – both worlds are the results of wonderful imagination on the part of their respective authors. I realized Hogwarts was a fun place filled with lots of magic, booby traps and wonderful monsters that were captured beautifully by Rowling’s bewitching writing and funny dialogues. The Sorcerer’s Stone really set the base for all of the main characters – like portraying Dumbledore’s warmth for Harry, the beautiful friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione and Snape’s hatred for Harry and Harry’s rivalry with Draco – as well as proving that Rowling can come up with some amazing twists in the plot.

The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban really had more of the same funny dialogues, character building, Hogwarts’ exploration and more twists to satisfy fans. Chamber of Secrets was also an important book to the series as a whole because it was in that book that we first got a glimpse of Voldemort’s past and the genius he was capable of at a young age as well as showing similarities shared by Voldemort and Harry. The Prisoner of Azkaban was the book in which we got to know more about Harry’s past, his father’s school life as well as his friends and getting warmth from the fact that Harry had a family of sorts in the form of his Godfather, Sirius Black. But the first 3 books never really opened up the story in any real form. The writing was at its best in the first 3 books to tell the truth, it combined all emotions into one, fun, sorrow, happiness and when Harry rode the Firebolt or when he realized the Firebolt had been given by Sirius, it was not only he who felt the warmth and happiness, rather as readers we shared every emotion he perceived.

In the next part, I look at the next 3 books in the series and also somewhat into The Deathly Hallows.

The announcement of a TinTin trilogy in the works has left me drooling with anticipation. The announcement came a few months back from head of Herge Studios head, Nick Rodwell but the news that filtered in yesterday that two of the best directors in Hollywood in Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson will be co-producing the trilogy and will be at the helm for two of the three has left me elated and to be honest, a bit confused (for lack of a better word).

The first time I heard the announcement, I was worried really because the faces of TinTin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and especially the Simpson brothers are so well etched my mind that it will be difficult for me (and most TinTin fans) to digest any actor, however good he may be, performing these roles. But those fears were washed away with news that TinTin will be a computer animated movie and one of the best at that. And Spielberg rightly said that shooting the movie in live-action format would not honour the look of the characters that Herge created. And Jackson has gone one better and said that the characters will look photo-realistic rather than cartoonish which makes it all the more better as had they made it cartoonish it would have been like watching a cartoon rather than an animated movie.

The news about animation is what left me a bit confused, though I am sure it will go away once a few trailers and videos start to come about. The confusion arises from the fact that even though both Jackson and Spielberg are the best at what they do and have given us classics like LOTR, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and so on, neither of them to my knowledge has ever directed an animated movie and I don't want that fact to stick out like a sore thumb once the movie eventually does hit the screens.

I remember seeing a bunch of TinTin cartoons on Cartoon Network a long time back and though they were just moving images from the book, they worked really well for me. And the major reason for that was the selection of the voice actors. I don’t remember – nor do I know – any of the actors from those roles but I do remember appreciating how much they fit the roles of the main characters, especially TinTin and Captain Haddock. I have no idea who they are going to call for the trilogy but I feel it would be great if they could rope in the actors from these cartoons.

I cannot wait for these movies to hit the theaters although the initial work has not even begun. The truth is I began my foray into the world of reading with TinTin. I had read a few Enid Blyton books but TinTin (thanks to my mom who introduced me to him) is what captured my imagination when I was about 8 to 10. I read the whole series and re-read and read them again and again and it never got boring. Even today, sometimes I find myself going to the library, picking one of my favourites and sifting through them bringing back some old memories. It was one of my favourite comic books and still remains to this day. The writing is wonderfully witty and the book tends to be funny even in some real tension scenes. Captain Haddock who is one of my favourite characters has all the best lines as his wonderfully written character is brought to life through some witty dialogue and swearing that not only show his aggressive nature but also his kind and caring heart. Some of my personal favourites include Destination Moon and its sequel Explorers of the Moon (a book which led me to take up the career path of an astronaut which I need not say died out quickly) and The Seven Crystal Balls and its sequel Prisoners of the Sun, though the whole lot of them are still some of the best comics out there.

So is anybody else excited at this announcement and when the movie does hit the theaters it is going to be “Blistering Barnacles” and “Thundering Typhoons”.

NOTE: I am guessing by now most of you would've read The Sorcerer's Stone but if you haven't, this post does contain spoilers for the first Potter book.

I once said to myself I will never understand what all this craze of Harry Potter is about. But, today, I realize how wrong I was and have joined all these people in their craze. As you would remember, a few days ago I posted "Is Potter really good?" but now I have found out the answer myself. Harry Potter is really good and Hogwarts is a fun place to be in.

Now I am not going to bore you over plot points or a reviews of this book because I am sure you would've read many of them. I am just going to point out some of my best moments (in no particular order) from the book.

Quirrell is evil, not Snape - I have to tell this must be one of the best twists I have read because I definitely didn't see it coming. When Harry opened the door, I expected either Snape or Voldemort to be in there but it was Quirrell. One of the best moments in the book for me. I also have to say that I was more shocked at Snape helping Potter than at Squirrell being evil.

Gryffindor wins the House Cup - This, for me, was the best moment in the book. I was sure Slytherin had won it but when Dumbledore started awarding points I almost jumped out my bed in joy. I, however, expected a tie but did not expect Neville to be awarded points and win it for Gryffindor.

Hagrid's entry - Right from the moment Hagrid comes to meet Harry to them leaving on the boat, this was one of the best sequences in the book. The way Hagrid tells Harry he always had the "Wizard" in him and Harry thinking over the events that happened when he had been angry was splendid.

Those moments are just off the top of my head. It is hard to sum up a book which is full of great sequences. The whole sequence leading up to Harry's showdown with Voldemort is superb - Ron using his ability to win the chess game, Hermione using her ability to get past the puzzle and Harry using his flying ability to get the key. Just for the record I read the last 160 and odd pages straight for about 3 hours.

This post should give you an idea of how worked up I am of Harry Potter. My next goal is to finish the next five books as quickly as possible. I want to join the other fans in their wait for The Deathly Hallows. The reason being if I finish The Half Blood Prince with just a few days to go for the last book then I wouldn't be able to feel the excitement or join the others in the speculation and rumors surrounding it. I will definitely be going to the library tomorrow to rent The Chamber of Secrets as excited as I ever was before reading any book and hoping to finish it sooner than ever.

My reading habit has been slowly deteriorating lately due to various commitments (especially to studies). So, when my last semester exams finished on December 13th, I decided I would get back on track as far as books were concerned and start reading books regularly. One of my friends said that John Grisham books were really good, posed several law-related problems and then used the law in ways we would never imagine to solve them. I decided that John Grisham it will be and went to the local library and picked up the first book I laid my eyes upon, The Last Juror. It took me a whole month to finish the book (again disturbed because of various commitments) but I can definitely say that this will not be my last John Grisham book.

The Last Juror follows the story of William Traynor (and is a first-person narrative from his perspetive), a dropout from Syracuse after having studied Journalism for 5 years. He joins The Ford County Times, a weekly newspaper in Ford County, Mississippi as an intern to pursue his interest in journalism. After the paper goes bankrupt in 1970, he takes money from his grandmother and buys the paper and becomes its Owner and Editor-in-Chief. He soon befriends a local, well-educated, married and God-fearing black woman named Callie Ruffin and even runs a humanity article about her in his paper.

The book takes place from 1969 to nearly 1980 and Grisham has done a good job in capturing many important things that happened in America during these years. Many things like the integration of black and white schools, the entry of shopping malls in local towns have all been given due attention. But these portions do not have anything to do with the main story and had they not been there, the main story would still remain unchanged.

The main story is itself very satisfying and has law as its focus (as is usual in Grisham books or so I am told). A young widow and mother to two (Rhoda Kassellaw) has been murdered by Danny Padgitt. Danny, however, comes from the Padgitt family, local drug dealers and mafia gang, who have connections going up till the town mayor. Punishment is out of the question but The Ford County times publishes all the grim details of the murder that makes the whole town believe Danny is the accused. Danny is sentenced to life by a special jury selected from all citizens who have the right to vote (of which, one is Callie Ruffin). However, Danny is paroled in 1978 and his revenge begins.

The best thing John Grisham has done is not to heavily fictionalize any of the characters in the book. The bond that forms between William and Callie is portrayed beautifully and so is the townsfolk change of attitude towards William as his paper grows in reputation. Even though some sequences in the middle don't do a whole lot in terms of the story, they still help in moving the story forward and helps us identify with the main characters better. Even William getting bored of living in a small town has been portrayed naturally.

There is a small twist in the end though anybody who pays enough attention will immediately guess it. The conclusion, while not satisfying, is good in the context of the story and ties everything up neatly together though it unfolds only in the last 100 or so pages.

Overall, I can safely say that this is definitely not Grisham's best work but it is definitely is worth a read for anyone who is a Grisham fan and will also offer a nice experience for those who are not.

On the topic of books, "Is Potter really good?". I have not read a single book and was never really interested in Potter, wizards in school never caught my eye but still, because of all the hype The Deathly Hallows is getting, I went out and rented The Sorcerer's Stone but have not yet started reading it. Now, I can take that swearing you just gave me and the mouse you threw at me, but please tell me, is it worth reading the six books in order before the seventh is released this July.