Recent Reading

Hi everyone!! Today I'm going to talk about what I've been reading.

 I read a LOT! In fact I read every single day. I have a nightly ritual before bed that consists of classical or ambient music, herbal tea and reading. 

Fan fiction 

I read so much fan fiction, it's rather sad. Sometimes it is needed though to satisfy cravings for more story especially with instances like the Harry Potter series where all of the books have been written and the series has ended. Fanfiction/fanfics/fics are simply fan written stories based upon a certain fandom. 

Attack on Titan Fanfiction 

Since the summer I have been reading tons of fan fiction from this crazed fandom. Of course 99% of it is all totally gay. I read mostly Erwin x Levi fics but I will also read Levi x Eren. There has also been the rare Levi x Petra. A lot of the stories I have read are too embarassing for me to post here for recommend! Hahaha ....oh, the smut! 

Harry Potter Fanfiction 

The Harry Potter fics I read are MUCH tamer compared to the AOT ones. My favorites are ones that pick up from the ending of book 7 (before the epilogue). I also really enjoy "butterfly effect" type ones, where something small in the course of the series is changed in the story and how that affects everything else. 

I am currently reading The Lion's Pride, sequel to The Lion Tamer by James Spookie.

The Lion's Pride - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6554334/1/The-Lion-s-Pride
The Lion Tamer - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6311215/1/The-Lion-Tamer


 It is basically a take on the series where Harry begins dating Daphne Greengrass in his 5th year and how different things are as a result. For those that don't know, Daphne Greengrass is a character the fandom absolutely loves to play with! She is briefly mentioned in The Order of The Phoenix and she is known to be a Slytherin. Her little sister, Astoria Greengrass is married to Draco Malfoy in the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Not much is known about Daphne, so fans have fun tinkering with her character. It is a common head-canon (a fan made canon, not actual canon) that Daphne is one of the neutral or good Slytherin - she isn't a death eater and doesn't support them.

 As a Gritherin/Glytherin I fully appreciate this!! Not all Slytherin are evil or cruel. Ie - Horace Slughorn. I say Gritherin/Glytherin because I have been sorted in both Gryffindor and Slytherin by Potter more. When I first joined the website I was sorted into Gryffindor; when they relaunched the website it was required for members to register again - I was then sorted into Slytherin. I am stuck in between - I feel a part of both houses and I have pride for both. I have the courage and kindness of a Gryffindor - I've dealt with a lot in my life. I also have the determination and cunning of a Slytherin. I refuse to give up on my goals and I keep my aspirations high. I will do whatever I need to achieve these goals and I will plot plans in order to make them happen.

 Some of my favorite Harry Potter fanfictions are: 

Recnac Transfaerso by Celebony 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1399984/1/Recnac-Transfaerso

This fic seems silly to some and it's really angsty/emo...but I absolutely LOVE Harry's characterization in it. He is just the sweetest nugget! In all seriousness this story is about Harry magically extracting cancer from a muggle whom he really cared for and having to take it on himself, with no magical cure. This fanfic really helped me to get over my whole "burst out crying simply at the mention of cancer" type issues. 

Harry Potter and the Battle of Wills by Jocelyn 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2009130/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Battle-of-Wills

It has been a long time since I've read this one. I don't remember much of what happens, I just really know I enjoyed this one immensely. 

Harry Potter and the Summer After The War by Mrs. Granger 

http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewstory.php?psid=245803

I wish Mrs. Granger wrote more than 2 in this series. It is so good! As the title says the first fic focuses on the summer after the war. The series takes it from right after the battle of Hogwarts through Harry's first mission as an official auror.

 Antiquity Link by Semprini 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5238750/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Antiquity-Link

 I totally recommend any of Semprini's works. They have quite a few series, some being different takes on Harry's life and story while in school, others post- Hogwarts. I really enjoyed this one. Basically Harry becomes sick of everyone and everything, on a whim runs away on a plane and goes to stay in Japan for a while. It's really cool how the author envisioned the difference between English and Japanese wizarding society and culture. Plus Fred is a ghost in this one, which results in occasional hilarity. 

Miss Peregrine Series by Ransom Riggs

 I started reading Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children a year or two ago but it didn't hold my interest, so I moved on. When I saw the trailers for the movie - done by my favorite director, Tim Burton my interest was once again piqued. This summer I gave this book another shot and was pleasantly surprised. Once I got past the dragging and monotonous parts I could not put the book down. Without giving much away it is about a teenage boy named Jacob Portman. He was incredibly close to his paternal grandfather, Abe Portman. Growing up his grandfather would show him pictures of "peculiar" children and tell him all of the stories to accompany them by. Abe was a paranoid man convinced monsters were out to kill him. Upon his death under mysterious circumstances Jacob thinks he saw a monster kill him and he finds a last message from his grandfather. So he travels to the island that his grandfather grew up on in order to piece together the fragments of the past. 

I am now starting book 2, Hollow City. I have literally read 1 page so I cannot report back on it quite yet. 

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Original Screenplay by J. K Rowling 

I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan, I will read anything my goddess and savior J.K Rowling writes in the wizarding world. I was going to wait to read this until I could see the movie, but I do not anticipate that happening any time soon so I dug in. I'm not far into this book yet, but the format is similar to The Cursed Child. I am really enjoying the story so far! Niffler is precious and I'm awaiting to see more than a glimpse of the Bowtruckle. I really like Newt so far too. Fun fact - even as a die hard fan that has read every book over 20 times a piece, until recently I was misreading Newt's last name as SCHMANDER, not Scamander as it actually is. Anyone else have moments like that with literature? 

I remember as a child reading the first two books before the movies ever came out I misread quite a few words! Severus Snape was Serverus Snape, Diagon Alley was Dragon Alley, Privet Drive was Private Drive, Prefect was Perfect, Karkaroff was Karakoff. What was wrong with my brain back then?? Bonus, I would pronounce Hermione as Her-Me-Own until the movies came out and Sirius as Sir-Eye-Us. LOL 

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

 This is a series that Vicky and myself discovered while browsing the library; we were hoping to find a good fantasy series that we could both read and discuss. Honestly, we couldn't have made a better choice. It is like Game of Thrones mixed with The Hunger Games. The story follows Celaena Sardothien (Sell-Aye-Nah Sar-Doth-Ee-En Yay for me pronouncing it correctly in my mind while reading!), she is a famous assassin imprisoned in a work mine. Miraculously she has lived longer than any other prisoner there. One day the crowned prince of Adarlan, Dorian Havilliard pulls her from the mines - he announces that she is to be his champion in a tournament to become the king's assassin. If she competes and wins then she will earn her freedom after 7 years of service. Of course, this isn't an offer she can refuse. Despite her contempt for the kingdom and its corrupt king she goes along and vows to win so that she may finally be free. But all is not easy! All of her competitors are men and brutal assassins at that, plus something is mysteriously killing the other competitors. 

I am currently on book 3, Heir of Fire.

 I LOVE this series. Celaena is such a badass; not just that but she's tough and intelligent too. She can get down and dirty but she is also very feminine and adores beautiful clothing. There is magic in the series from sort-of unexpected places; the series is filled with so many twists and turns. There is romance and I admit a rather silly love triangle - but the love triangle isn't the focus of the story; Celaena is. I totally recommend reading this. Don't let the YA categorization fool you! 

Attack on Titan Manga

 If you follow me then you most likely know about the incredibly popular anime; possibly the most popular anime in the world with the most cracked out fanbase. I have such an intense love for Levi as well as a huge craving to find out what happens after season 1 leaves off. I am currently on volume 14 (roughly chapter 55/56). The manga is really good and I am so enthralled my the story and the shitstorm the characters find themselves in.

 Astrology

 I am always researching something. I love to research topics of interest; I love enriching my mind. As of late Astrology has been particularly interesting to me, so I have read a few books on it as well as some online research. 

Poe Short Stories 

In October I was in my usual spooky mood so I read some of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories in the scariest place - the laundromat. All kidding aside, the bathroom at my local laundromat is fucking terrifying. I had to venture in there to get paper towels once.....never again O_____O. I have a dislike for public restrooms to begin with, I would literally weep if I were forced to use that particular facility. I love the master of macabre; I find that no one quite write such hauntingly beautiful pieces of literature quite like him. My favorite story of his is The Masque of Red Death. 

Fun fact - in high school for an English final we had to do a presentation with a certain chosen medium and pretend that we were the main character from a story we read that year. Me being the eccentric person I am, not even thinking chose The Cask of Amontillado and I had to present songs that could fit the story as Montresor. That paired with a multitude of metal music was in poor choice, I'm pretty sure everyone thought I was nuts. My teacher was giving me the strangest looks and some of my fellow students looked scared. It probably didn't help that when I was done I walked up to a kid that was laughing at me through my presentation and screamed in his face. 

If you want to see what I've read or keep up with my reading, follow me on Goodreads. Seriously, guys pleaaseee join me. I would love to have more friends to follow on there! 

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/47607256-heather-zombie 

Xoxo Heather Zombie

The Gigantic Harry Potter Post

I talk about so many different things on this blog: movies, shows, fashion. But there is one major thing that I don't really discuss: books!! So I am starting with my favorite ones of all time: Harry Potter. This post literally took me weeks to write so I hope you all enjoy it. 

The Harry Potter series consists of 7 books and is written by J.K Rowling. They are about a boy named Harry Potter. He lives a perfectly boring and ordinary life with his horrible and abusive aunt and uncle.  On his 11th birthday he discovers that he is a wizard, that his parents were as well and that they murdered by the evil Lord Voldemort. He goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he meets his best friends Ron and Hermione. Together they always stumble upon mysteries which in the end result in having to save their world or their school. When Voldemort returns, Harry must defeat him and save the future of the entire wizarding world. 

I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have been for most of my life. When I was in kindergarten, the books started becoming popular. I would go home on the school bus each day and see all of the older children holding the books and discussing them.  I remember the back cover of the Chamber of Secrets used to freak me out a bit for some reason. At the time there were only two books released. I remember them being very controversial when I was that age. Mostly because of the super Christian people being against anything to do with witchcraft and holding book buntings. Book burnings make me sad :(. Oh those poor, misguided, ignorant people. 

For Christmas when I was in first grade  my parents gave me the first two books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (called the Philosopher's Stone in the UK) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. At the time, I detested reading. It just bored me so much! I started reading Sorcerer's Stone and for some reason was bored (BLASPHEMY!). But then I decided to pick up Chamber of Secrets. As I read if, I became hooked. It completely changed my life and soon I became an avid reader. I will forever thank my parents and JK Rowling for giving me the gift of the love of reading. It is one of the best gifts I have ever received. After I went back and read the first book, my obsession started. 

The books became a huge sensation with the release of the first four books and soon, the Sorcerer's Stone was released as a movie. I was ecstatic and extremely obsessed. My grandmother brought my cousin and myself to see the movie and I was in awe. There was my beloved Hogwarts and characters that I spent so much of my time with, right there on the screen in front of me. 

I owned a lot of memorabilia from the series, most of it from book illustrations rather than the movie because at the time there wasn't a crazy amount of movie memorabilia. I  had pretty much anything you could imagine: Harry Potter bed set, pillow, a stuffed Hedwig, a cloth poster with an illustration of Harry, dolls (anyone remember the Hermione dolls they came out with back then? They were like Harry Potter barbies.) I'm pretty sure I had action figures, as well as many different play sets like the potion making game set (where you made various candy "potions"). I even had (and still do) these tins designed to look like the books (opened like a book too). I still have a large number of Harry Potter Christmas ornaments that I still proudly display at Christmas time. 

At school during recess in elementary school I would run around the playground with a group of boys, pretending we were flying broomsticks. I remember I used to lecture one kid for saying Voldemort instead of You-Know-Who. I would then come home from school and play with one of my cousins. Though it was freezing cold November/December we would run around outside carrying sticks "dueling" each other. I would pretend to be a Hogwarts student and he pretended he was from Durmstrang. I would often dance around my grandmother's kitchen to the CD of the Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack. I think that everyone in that house became sick of my playing it xD. 

For Halloween at least three times I was Harry Potter. My parents threw together a costume for me which included a horrible black wig,  these super thick plastic black glasses with tape over the bridge (based on some book illustrations) and a black cape. 

As I became older, my love for the books just increased. I often would sit at the kitchen table at my grandparents house with an old typewriter that my grandfather gave me, pretending to be a writer for the Daily Prophet. I would make up many stories that could have happened in the wizarding world. I would interview various family members about nonsensical events for my version of The Daily Prophet. I guess now I see why I nearly became a journalist! 

 With the release of the fifth book The Order of the Phoenix, I began going out at midnight to get the newly released books. My parents were wonderful for doing that for me, I never even asked. My dad decided it would be fun for me, knowing my obsession. So at 11:30 or so at night, we would venture out to get the book. Every year my local bookstore would open at midnight just for the sale of that book. We would drive by and see the longest line of people, many in costume winding around down town. Seriously, it would wrap around the Main Street! Wisely, my dad decided to go to the local Stop N Shop which was across town and had a decent sized book section. They indeed were open late for the release and the line was short. We went there to buy the remaining books each year, getting in and out within 10 minutes. As we drove home we would laugh when we saw the still huge line of people still waiting downtown for the book. 

When the last movie was released, I was excited yet devastated. It was released the summer after I graduated from high school. Of course, the ending of Harry Potter felt like more of an ending to my childhood than my actual graduation did. I luckily had a few movie passes, so I brought some of my close friends with me to see it opening night. We were all dressed up in our favorite Harry Potter gear (I owned a few shirts that I wore quite a bit throughout high school). 

We all also made our own wands to bring with us. This was before Pinterest and its "hot glue over a stick/chopsticks" tutorial. I made mine by carving a stick from my yard, coloring it with a brown crayon, covering in cheap clear nail polish and adding some duct tape on the bottom to make a handle. At the end of the movie, we all stood up with our wands in the air and yelled "Mischief managed!". Surprisingly, quite a few others did the same thing. I remember crying so hard at the ending. Partly because of how beautiful the movie turned out and partly because I was sad that it was all over! The very last scene killed me because it played the same song that was played at the end of the first movie. 

When Pottermore came out (I don't remember exactly when that was), I signed up right away. I was so excited about all of the extra information we would be learning from it. But I was mostly excited that I finally would be able to be sorted into my Hogwarts house. I proudly am a Gryffindor! I thought for sure I would end up a Hufflepuff. 

If you want to add me, my username is: FeatherJinx4398 . I don't go on there so much anymore, since Pottermore doesn't have an app. 

I have always dreamed of going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Sadly I have never been so lucky. My mom has mentioned for a few years that she wants to save up for us to go, she knows that it would be a dream come true to go there and see Hogwarts. I would probably cry too! One of my relatives (my mom's cousin's husband) actually worked on building some of the rides in the theme park. 

I have read every single book probably about 20 times. I still cry whenever I read about Dumbledore, Dobby and Sirius dying.  I have even read them in reverse order, which actually in doing so you pick up on some additional things like foreshadowing. I have had to repurchase certain volumes and I have them all on my kindle. I can't bear to be without my beloved books!

They aren't just books to me. They're like a friend. I have spent so much of my life with these books. They have always been there for me when I needed someone. Every single time I needed an escape or I was having a difficult time I always had them to turn to. They are the absolute best books I have ever read and I am still in awe at their greatness  whenever I read them. I constantly have new questions whenever I read the books. 

These books have taught me a lot of things growing up like how important friendship is. Do what is right over what is easy, stand up for yourself and never give up. I love the important bonds that these books create. They allow families to bond as well as new friendships to form. 

I could always count on Albus Dumbledore to instill some sort of wisdom. Sometimes the things he says in the books are things that I have needed to hear. During my recent reread of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone, Dumbledore had me in tears. When he is having a conversation with Harry at the end of the book, he says (referring to Voldemort):

"He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever."

So here are some pretty inspiring quotes by the very wise wizard:

• "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" - Sorcerer's Stone 

• "It's our choices that show us who we truly  are, far more than our abilities" - Chamber of Secrets

• "Of course it is happening inside your head Harry, but why  on earth should that mean it is not real" - Deathly Hallows 

• "Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right" - Goblet of Fire 

• "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light" - Prisoner of Azkaban. 

I love the movies nearly as much as I love the books. I say nearly because the books are SO much better. There are many things left out and changed in the movies. The first movie is the most accurate and I feel like they gave up when they got to the fifth movie. 

It does make me sad about some of the things that were changed. It makes me sad that they left Peeves the Poltergeist out. In the books he was always pranking people and being a hilarious nuisance.  They left out the ghosts for the most part after Chamber of Secrets.

These are some other things that purely movie only people will miss:

• Dudley's last words to Harry before he left Privet Drive
• Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day party
• Hermione's SPEW obsession 
• The entire story of Voldemort's mother
• Harry becoming Teddy Lupin (Remus and Tonks' son)'s god father
• Animaguses 
• Who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are
• Veelas
• Weasley is our king 
• Neville's parents in St. Mungos
• Harry is a huge sarcastic smart ass in the books compared to the movies

There are SO many more things left out, but I'll just leave it at that.

There were also scenes where characters were changed. For example, in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Neville gives Harry the gillyweed for the 2nd task in the Triwizard Tournament. In the book, Dobby gives it to him. 

Another such scene happened in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. In the book after Malfoy beat Harry and threw the invisibility cloak on him, Tonks found him. In the movie it was Luna. I know these things don't seem to really matter, but they matter to those of us that love the books. 

When Richard Harris (RIP) died it was extremely devastating. Not only because of his loss but he was the perfect Dumbledore! I feel like if he could have lived longer, the movies would have been so much better. Although he did a good job for the most part as Dumbledore, for me Michael Gambon is not the true Dumbledore. He lacked the demeanor of Dumbledore that Richard Harris had and he played a harsher, colder version. I recall in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore CALMLY asked Harry if he put his name into the goblet. Sir Gambon took a much angrier approach to this scene. 

One giant knit pick I have with the movies is Harry's eye color. It is a HUGE detail in the books that his eyes are green...Daniel Radcliffe's are blue. They did try contacts in the first movie, but he had a bad reaction to them. They could have digitally altered his eyes instead! It is a big deal because Harry's mom Lily had green eyes. J.K Rowling did say that  it would be alright as long as Harry and Lily had the same eye color. So what do they do? Give little girl Lily in the last movie brown eyes. UGHHHH! 

Alright, I'm done ranting! But seriously, you movie only people miss out! 

Since they are doing a "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" movie (starring the gorgeous Eddie Redmayne. He was also Marius in Les Mis), I really hope they can make a "Quidditch Through The Ages" movie. I would LOVE to watch some more quidditch. I feel like they left a good chunk of it out of the movies. "Hogwarts, A History" would also be a pretty awesome movie. 

J.K Rowling is my hero. She is a huge inspiration and a wonderful woman. Her twitter account and responses to people are the best, especially when responding to people that hate on Dumbledore being gay. Yes, for those that don't know, Dumbledore is gay which makes SO much sense when reading the last book. 

J.K Rowling has gone through so much. She lost her mother at a young age to Multiple Sclerosis. She survived an abusive marriage. She overcame poverty while being a single mother. 

One day, she was on a train and had the miraculous idea of Harry Potter. From there she wrote the books and planned everything. By the time the first book was finished, she had already had the very last chapter of the seventh book written. 

She would write Harry Potter in cafes with her infant daughter, Jessica. She didn't have a job and couldn't afford child care. She was rejected by many publishers, I think 12. Seriously...people rejected Harry Potter!! She kept going and never gave up, eventually her books became published and she became richer than even the Queen of England. 

She has also donated a huge chunk if not most of her fortune to charities. J.K Rowling gives me so much hope and when I'm feeling down about my own career goals, I remember her story. 

J.K Rowling stands  for Joanne Kathleen Rowling. She was told that boys will not read a novel written by a woman so she had to abbreviate her name and create a pen name  a la R.L Stine style. Ms. Rowling wasn't born with a middle name, so she took her grandmother's name, Kathleen as her middle initial. 

I just admire the woman so much. Even with all of the books written she still has so much knowledge of her world, it's truly amazing. If I didn't have such problems with writers block, she would inspire me to write my own novel. 

I find a lot of the parallels, symbols and metaphors in the book pretty clever (though some took me a while to understand).  Voldemort is basically wizard Hitler. There is a huge parallel between the holocaust and Voldemort's take over and his wanting to round up/kill the muggle borns. 

The dementors also are a metaphor for depression. They over come you, sucking away all of your life and happiness making it feel as if you'll never be cheerful again. 

Anyway, it is time to wrap up this huge post (I did promise a gigantic one after all). I hope you all enjoyed reading about my Potter love and my rambling thoughts. If you're a fellow Harry Potter fan, which book or movie is your favorite? Comment and let me know! 

Until next time (whenever that will be) 

Xoxo

Mischief Managed