Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

This was the last and long awaited book in the Harry Potter series. It was good, but not the best of the seven books. It had a lot of action and tied up a lot of loose ends. She definitely did not leave it open to more books.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

In this book, love abounds. The hint of a possible romance between Ron and Hermione starts to form, but Ron can be seen making out with Lavender just to make her jealous. Also Harry and Ginny hook up, but he pulls the spider man at the end and says that he can't be with her because he won't get hurt. Harry also discovers a potion book that helps him leap to the head of the class in potions class which turns out to belong to Snape. He also starts having lessons with Dumbledore which delves into Voldemort's past. Draco Malfoy has bee summoned by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore and Snape promises his mother he will help him. Which side is Snape on??? Dumbledore and Harry go in search of Voldemort's horcrux (part of his soul) When they come back Malfoy confronts Dumbledore, but can't kill him. Instead Snape finishes him off. Now they are talking about closing Hogwarts. What will happen in the next book! I can't wait!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling

The fifth book of the series starts to get really exciting. I found it dragging a little bit, but it my be because I just saw the movie. The three wizards are growing up and becoming teenages. The book introduces Loony Luna Lovegood who turns out to be a big help. Harry realizes that he and Voldemort have a connection and can see into his mind. He rescues Arthur Weasley this way. Profesor Snape is supposed to help Harry block Voldemort from entering Harry's brain. Voldemort figures out this connection and lures Harry to him through Sirius. He is trying to get the prophecy which states that only one of them may live. Harry and his friends fight Voldemort and the death eaters, but Sirius is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. I felt that the movie did not do this book justice.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

This is my favorite Harry Potter book. In this book, Harry learns more about his parents and Voldamort. He also becomes one of the champions in the triwizord tournament. Here, Harry is faced with all sorts of challenges and proves himself to be a good person. Although, in tis book Harry starts to become some what of a jerk. It is also here that Harry gets his first taste of romance with Cho Chang. The death of Cedric Diggory in the tournament becomes a tragic part of Harry's life. Harry also fights Vodlemort again and wins.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

This is the book where things start to turn darker and more grown up for
Harry Potter. This book is more of a leading book, setting things up for the rest of the series. It introduces Harry's godfather Sirius Black, who is an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, the prison. It is also where Voldamort really begins to gain power.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second installment of the Harry Potter Series. Harry is in his second year and Voldemort is becoming stronger. In this book, he is trying to open the Chamber of Secrets which is used to get rid of all wizards of "muggle" descent. Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister makes an appearance and Voldemort shows his original self as Tom Riddle when he was at Hogwarts through his diary.

Harry Potter and the Sorcere's Stone by J.K. Rowling

The marathon has begun. I have started rereading the Harry Potter series in preparation for the new movie and book. I'm not going to say much about these books in general.

The first book introduces Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and ROne Weasley along with Hogwarts and the wizarding world. Harry has been living with his mean Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin for 10 years after his parents were killed by the evil Lord Voldemort. He finds out that he is really a wizard and is sent off to Hogwarts school. At Hogwarts he is met with a lot of fame and attention. He learns how to play the sport Quidditch and has to outwith Voldmort to save him from finding the Sorcere's Stone..the key to long life.

The Other Woman by Jane Green

audio book

This was a nice listen for my car ride down to NC. It was a funny novel about a woman's dealings with her mother-in-law. However, I felt that no matter how pushy Linda, the mother in law was, Ellie didn't giver her a chance about a lot of things. When Ellie first met her husband Dan's family, she instantly fell in love with them. However, when Linda began taking over their wedding, things started taking a turn for the worse. Then, Ellie and Dan have a baby boy, Tom. Linda does everything against Ellie's wishes and again pushes herself in. I think, though if Ellie had let go, just a little bit things wouldn't have been so bad. For Example, when Linda gives Ellie gifts for the baby, although it was before she was ready to start decorating and stuff, Ellie gets mad. I am taking whatever gifts I get, whenever I get them. One day, things turn from bad to worse. Linda drops Tom while vacationing in France and Ellie finds out that her best friend Lisa is having an affair with her father-in-law and her and Dan decide to separate.

All in all, I found this to be an enjoyable listen. It was something nice and relaxing for the summer.

Trace by Patricia Cornwell

audio book

I enjoyed this audiobook. It was nice and entertaining for the car ride down. It seems like Cornwell alternates between Scarpetta talking in first person and third person. One thing that has bothered me about Cornwell is that she introduces the killer in the beginning of the book which does tend to take away some of the suspense.

Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan

I usually love Amy Tan's books, but this one just didn't do it for me. It was Ok, but not as good as her others. Usually her books are more about the Chinese culture and family relationships. In the book, the main character was chinese, but it was only important because the group of Americans took a trip to China and Burma. Bibi, plans a trip with 11 of her friends, but she dies right before the trip. The friends decide to go anyway and Bibi goes in spirit and narrates the story. The friends have one disaster after another and then disappear. I felt that they were generally stupid, ignorant Americans and much of the problems could have been avoided with some common sense. I guess there would have been no book then. IT turned out that the group was captured by a Burmese trip because they thought one of the boys was their saviour. In the end, they were all rescued and everyone lived happily ever after. A little bit too tidy of an ending for me.

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

audio book

as usual, you can never go wrong with Stephanie Plum. Even the
reader, Debi Mazur, is starting to grow on me. In this book, Stephanie's romance with Morelli grows. Ranger is on the loose, so that romance is on hold. Her grandmother moves in and she gets a dog left with her. Normal Stephanie antics.