Harry Potter re-read: The Sorcerer’s Stone!

Anna: I finished my re-read of The Sorcerer’s Stone, rather The Philosopher’s Stone, and it felt so good! I got the 20th anniversary Hufflepuff edition at Blackstone’s when I studied in Oxford. 

This was such a nostalgic read. I’d forgotten the little differences between the book and the movie. There’s something equally heartwarming and heartbreaking about innocent little Harry who is just learning about the Wizarding World, and I loved re-living the beginning of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship. I’m also amazed by the foundation JK builds in this book,  as there is so much foreshadowing to events and characters in the later books. 

On to book two!

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Review: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Anna: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls is the best memoir I’ve read since Educated. If you haven’t read it yet, you should stop everything you’re doing and read it right now.

Jeanette grows up in extreme poverty in Appalachia with an alcoholic father and neglectful mother. Jeanette and her siblings were horribly abused, but the book also details glimpses of beauty and love throughout her life. The book shows how her past and her family continually follow her even when she leaves West Virginia for New York. Most astonishing is Walls’s power of forgiveness. 

I also watched the movie, which I’m happy to report is just as good as the book!

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How Many Books is Too Many Books?

Anna: How many books do you read at once? I’m always going between two or three–one audiobook and one or two physical books!

Though I prefer physical books, audiobooks are an easy and enjoyable way for me to read while I’m at work, working out, or doing chores. I often listen to crime fiction, nonfiction, and long books that I find difficult to read in their physical form. I’m actually listening to a fiction book now, though, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray.

At home I’m currently switching between a memoir, My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul, and Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, which I’ve almost finished and I’m loving!

Check out what I’m currently reading:
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Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org