Thursday, August 14, 2014

Re-Reading Harry Potter: The Sorcerer's Stone

I'm so glad I decided to re-read this series! This is at least the fourth time I have read the first book -- there was the first time, the time I re-read it for a college class, and the time I re-read it right before my wedding (comfort reading to escape the wedding-planning-craziness? Yes, I do think so.) There may have been an extra time or two I don't specifically recall though, it's gotten hard to keep track!

I've read a lot more widely since I first discovered these books, so I'm always a bit afraid they won't live up to my memory of them. But I'm happy to report those fears were completely unfounded. The first book was just as magical and wonderful as I remember even as more years have passed and I've gotten older. For me, when a story stands up to so many re-reads, that is the mark of a great book and a true favorite. There's not too much else I can say that hasn't been said before, so I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes.

* * * * *

The line that started it all...
“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” 

The wisdom of Albus Dumbledore...
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
“The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”
“As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.” 
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” 

And a couple of bookish quotes from my girl Hermione...
“Oh, HONESTLY, don't you two read?”
She was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms. “I never thought to look in here!” she whispered excitedly. “I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading.” “Light?” said Ron.”
 

18 comments:

  1. I still have two books to read from my first reading of the series and to be honest I am very much looking forward to reading them. Probably in autumn - which seems somewhat approproate :) Glad you are enjoying your re-read!

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    1. Oooo #6 is probably my favorite of the series (though picking a true favorite really is hard for me!) I hope you get a chance to finish the series :)

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  2. Ah, I love re-reading these. I usually do it over the summer or when I need a pick-me-up. They're amazing no matter how often you read them! Dumbledore is such a wonderful character.

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    1. I LOVE Dumbledore! I do feel like I've lost a little of my original momentum from the excitement of starting a re-read, but this series is easy to pick up with if I take breaks or squeeze in other things in between -- Harry has not failed me yet!

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  3. Four times?! I'm not the kind of person that re reads books and I'm not really sure why. I guess maybe because there's so much left to read! This is definitely THE series I'd reread though. What I want to know is which class required you to read them? Because I'd totally take that class! Thanks for sharing :)

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds

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    1. It was *research* for a paper I had to write for a theology class -- if I recall correctly, the topic I chose was a little bit of a stretch for the assignment given, but I think I was discussing religious objections to the book and pointing out all the good moral lessons there are if one does not take passages out of context. It was definitely a fun excuse to have a re-read!

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  4. Aw HERMIONE. I love her more and more every time I reread this series. (Actually that is true of all the characters I love.)

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  5. Great quote choices! I'm glad you enjoyed this as much as ever :)

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    1. Thanks! This was fun to put together -- and to re-read!

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  6. I am thrilled that this book continued to impress you after all this time - I have to admit that I've read the entire series 7 times and it has always remained my all-time favorite series. I haven't re-read them in a while though now and seeing your reread reviews makes me think it might be *that* time again xD

    LOVE the quotes you chose to highlight too, especially from Dumbledore and Hermione ♥ Awesome review ^^

    Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews

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    1. I haven't reached 7 re-reads yet (though my husband might have!), but I imagine I will continue to love them no matter how many times I read them. For me, the first book is particularly magical because it is the beginning of it all and I have definitely read it more times than I have read the whole series. I hope you get the chance to start your own next re-read!

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  7. Love this! I'm glad you are doing a re-read. I really want to do that some time with these magical books.

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    1. There are so many books and series I want to re-read, but it is hard to commit the time to it sometimes with so many different books calling our names! It is worth it once you get started though :)

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  8. I loved this when I read this. I love the first book out of all of them the most.

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    1. Me too! There is just something special about that book that started it all :)

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  9. I figured 95% of the readers of this blog have read them, so I did want to mix things up! I'm not sure if I will continue with posts for every book, but this first one was fun :) And, no, you can't beat a good Dumbledore quote!

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  10. I love all of the books (probably the 5th the best), and I've read the whole series twice. I am the ultimate Harry Potter fan... I even read the Cursed Child the day it came out!

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I'd love to hear what you think :)