Let's talk Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery game!

Warner Bros. and Pottermore has been teasing us for months about a Harry Potter moblie game....well on Wednesday it arrived. I quickly downloaded it and created my Character; Nicole Higglebottom.

What I immediately loved about the game was that you are able to customize your characters race, hair color, and facial features. Also, when being sorted you are allowed to have your choice considered. Like myself, Miss. Higglebottom is a Slythern.

Another thing I loved was Snape...Snape showed up in all of his Snapeyness (not a word). Professor McGonagle, Hagrid and Dumbledore also make brief appearances. And I am sure we will see more of them as time goes on.

The two things I don’t like about the game; the graphics seem a little werid. They could be better. And the fact that you run out of lives so quickly. But the game is fun...and if you are a Potterhead I would definitely consider downloading the game and checking it out. I hope that the developers will eventually create more Harry Potter games...someting similar to Pokémon Go.

Harry Potter Book Swap

Back in January a member of Litsy posted a Book Swap in honor of George/Fred Weasley’s birthday (April 1st). As most people know I am a huge Potter fan so of course I jumped at rhe chance to send off a box. My match was a Ravenclaw; and I can not tell you how difficult it is to find Ravenclaw stuff. (And I’m a Slytherin - apparently she ran into the same problem.) So I did what I do best....I knitted a gift ♥️. Using Shawl in a ball by Lion Brand. I am deeply proud of the shawl I knitted. So much so I am planning another Harry Potter inspired project over the summer.

^ This is what I sent her!

^ this is the swag she sent my way ♥️♥️♥️

The new Harry Potter Game is almost here....

You can pre-register here ! http://www.harrypotterhogwartsmystery.com

When It’s Harry Potter Related you buy it!

Hallmark isn’t just killing me with their holiday movies but now with their Ornaments! I work part time at Kohl’s which is the only way I even knew this exsisted. It all happened because a customer came through my line with it. I rarely shop at Kohl’s but I could not pass this up. I will admit that I have no intentions of using this as a decoration on any tree EVER lol. Instead it is sitting on my book shelf. The ornament was 24.95 (just in case anyone else is interested in purchasing one).

What I’ve been doing the past few weeks.

Knitting....Knitting.....Knitting
The past two months have been a time for me to re-evaluate a few things and prepare myself for the future. I’m reading of course...but I am also Knitting (and working a second job). I’ve had my ups and downs these past few months. I have felt stress come from all sides. Work, home, family, etc. Knitting has been a new form of mediation for me. I can’t wait to come home some nights just to pick my needles - turn on some music or an audiobook and just listen ans knit. Knitting has been a fun craft to learn and I have several projects planned. I can’t wait to start a very bookish inspired crafts. And maybe a few of them will be featured as giveaways.

Happy Harry Potter Day!

20 years ago today the magic begin; children and adults in the U.K. were introduced to Harry Potter and in the work of wizarding. A whole generation of children discovered the magic of reading. We all learned that Hogwarts will always be home!

👇🏾 Here is the gear that I wore to work today 🐍💚💛💚💛💚🐍! You know I had to rep my house!

Bookbabe Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

                                    

She was great at Magic; she is even better at mysteries: The Bookbabe Reviews The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA  J.K. Rowling) 

Summer 2016 seems to be the summer of crime and mysteries; at least when it comes to my reading list. It all started with my binge reading of the Mickey Haller series (by Michael Connelly) and then I started the Bill Hodges series (by Stephen King). Then I made the decision to read the Cormoran Strike trilogy written by Robert Galbraith. 

When I first started the book I was not exactly sure how I was going to feel about it. I was really worried that one of my favorite authors was going to fall flat when it came to writing mysteries. After all, J.K. Rowling had spent most of her writing career devoted to the Harry Potter series. And this is most likely why she choose to write the novels under a pen name. She wanted a fresh start, writing within a new fictional genre. However, that did not make this first book any less magical. Rowling proved that she can break out of the mold and redefine herself as a writer that can write about a little more than magic. 

In The Cuckoo's Calling we meet private Detective Cormoran Strike; he is rough around the edges, a hard man. He is a also broke. Strike can not afford the assistant that is currently working for him and so he ends up taking a case that he thinks will only lead to dead ends. Especially since it seems that the death he is investigating was ruled a suicide shortly before he got  involved. The death/suicide he is investigating is that on Lula Landry. Landry was a model, and a media darling. Everyone in England seems to know everything about her. The only people that seem to be out of the loop is her family. Months before her death she seemed to be distancing herself from her beloved brother. Who is the person that contacted Strike to investigate the death. Of course, Strike uncovers that Landry's death was definitely a murder. And there are a lot of suspects, with a lot of reasons to kill her.

I really thought I had the killer pegged; but boy was I wrong. Rowling really got me. I was shocked. I have read a few mysteries this year and this one was definitely one of my favorites. Strike is nothing like Michael Connelly's characters (Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller); and ya'll know I love Connelly's stuff. I really can not wait to finish The Silkworm; which I am currently reading. 

My favorite scene of the novel happens when Strike confronts the killer. He outlines for the killer how things happen; and how he did it and why he did it. And also confronts him with another crime that he has committed that only someone else close to Landry and the family could have known about. I gave The Cuckoo's Calling 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Quotes I loved:

"Looking like a rake with two plastic tangerines tied to it"

"..Have you meant his girlfriend? Talk about a beard...I think she's got one"

"Its that wounded-poet crap, that soul-pain shit, that too-much-of-a-tortured-genuis-to-wash bollocks. Brush your teeth, you little bastard. You're not fucking Byron."

   

Loving the Bookish Life.....

So Booklover's Day has come about again this year and as always it reminds me that everyday is Booklover's day. 

After blogging, discussing and loving books all these years I can say there is nothing like be bookish. When I was younger I was made fun of for loving to read, even now some of my family seriously does not understand my obession with books. I have to stop at every bookstore; have to spend time organizing my reading materials. I even make lists of what I plan to read by season. (Speaking of which my fall list will be up this week!) While they may not understand my love of words; I can not really understand their dislike of reading. Reading, I believe, just makes us better human beings. It makes us smarter, makes us better problem solvers etc. Not that non-readers can not be these things. However, there is just something so magical about us bookish folks. I wish you all a wonderful and tea filled Book Lover's Day evening! 

Pottermore.....

Anyone that knows me well knows I am a huge Harry Potter fan. What's hilarious is that for years I have thought I was a Hufflepuff. And the first version of Pottermore actually sorted me into that house. However, last summer while in California I was sorted into Slytherin (by the sorting hat, while visiting Warner Brothers Studios). Tonight, I decided to log into Pottermore to be sorted into Ilvermony (the American Wizarding school)....however I had to register and decided to be re-sorted and have my wand chosen! Well, I am a Slytherin! Who knew! 

Also..I now rock an Ash Wood Wand!

Ash

The ash wand cleaves to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. This tendency is extreme if the core is of unicorn. Old superstitions regarding wands rarely bear close examination, but I find that the old rhyme regarding rowan, chestnut, ash and hazel wands (rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans) contains a small nugget of truth. Those witches and wizards best suited to ash wands are not, in my experience, lightly swayed from their beliefs or purposes. However, the brash or over-confident witch or wizard, who often insists on trying wands of this prestigious wood, will be disappointed by its effects. The ideal owner may be stubborn, and will certainly be courageous, but never crass or arrogant.

And Check out the common room!

Oh...Hermonie's...Black! Yes...and it's amazing!

Look at these beautiful people! The Weasley Family....Ron, Hermonie and Rose!

Did your mom make that sweater Ron!

The Brave, Intelligent, well read, Hermonie! 

Hello there Rose! 

I am so happy to see that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will have a diverse and talented cast. I am most excited to see a Hermonie that looks like me! And I am sure more Black and Brown Potrer fans will feel the same. However, over the past few months (since Hermonie's

Casting was announced) there has been a bit of a back lash about it. Mainly because the character has always been thought of as White. Which, may not be the case. Hermonie at one point in the series is described as being "very brown", with bushy hair and large teeth. Hermonie could easily have been biracial. As a fan of the books I don't care if she is played by a Causasian, Asian, Latino or Black woman - as long as Hermonie is a part of the story I am happy. Hermonie is a heroine for all girls, an example that being witty, bookish and intelligent equals being a bad ass! It's sad that I feel the need to comment on something so trivial. The world has a enough going on that something as small as a characters race in a play should be even be something to fight over. So to all those that are hating on the casting really needs to expand your minds and be happy that there is any new In the Potterhead universe for us to experience! So I raise my wand in support of Noma Dumezweni....our beautiful Hermonie! 

Thoughts on the passing of Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman is best known for his role as Snape in the Harry Potter movies; however, he was first introduced to me in the film adaptation of Sense and Sensiblity (by Jane Austen). I loved him as Colonel Brandon and as I read through Austen's book this past summer I pictured Rickman sitting next to Kate Winslet reading to her. Him coming to the recuse of Brandon's lady love once she fell ill. Of course, his portrayal of Snape is one of my favorites. Mainly because Snape is my favorite Hogwarts Professor; in the books. Alan played him so beautifully and completely. So in honor of Mr. Rickman...I raise my wand and say with a heavy heart .... "ALWAYS" ⚡️ 

Harry Potter Tim Burton Style

I happened upon these last night on Pinterest and I just had to share them. 

The Awesome August Book Photo Challenge Day 16: Favorite Fandoms

#BooksNotBullets....Happy 18th Malala!

#BooksNotBullets 

I Support books not bullets because reading and education opens the mind to all the infinite possibilities of the universe. When we choose books we are choosing a life that allows us to become better communicators and problem solvers. Through reading we become more empathic and diverse. By reading; no matter the topic, we are actively learning. Our imaginations are working and we are evolving into better people. Bullets simply can not make us better people...in honor of Malala Yousafzai's 18th birthday I am choosing to highlight some of my all time favorite books and explaining why these books are not only inspiring, entertaining but so much better than bullets.

The Books I choose:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker; because Celie is a young woman who does not let diversity stop her. Though she is beaten, and raped by her stepfather and then married off at a young age, and separated from her sister she still strives to better herself. She wants the best for not only herself but the ones she loves as well. Celie embodies well all that it means to fight back and regain your power.

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling; Whats not to love about this series. The trio; Harry, Ron and Hermonie best reflect what true and lasting friendship looks like. Though they have their rough patches they stand up together to battle Lord Voldermort. 

Night by Elie Wiesel; this book is a favorite of mine because like Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl it is about a young person that is forced to face one of the darkest hours of world history. In this short volume we witness the horrors of the concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald as seen through the eyes of a young Elie Wiesel. At the heart of this book is the simple truth that sometimes even at the darkest times you will still be able to survive. 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; this book has stayed with me since reading it my senior year of college. This book is all about a world so close to our own today. People use drugs to keep themselves happy and "even", and they are obsessed with watching "screens". All knowledge and learning is suppressed and instead of fireman putting out fires they are lighting them; to burn books. Bradbury was ahead of his time when he wrote this book; its almost like he knew where our world might be heading and he wanted to warn us ahead of time.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan; which is a book about mothers and daughters and how they battle to overcome the obstacles that keep them from understanding one another. This book is sad, funny, haunting and beautiful. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas; Celaena is an unlikely any other female character I have seen written in sometime. She is an orphan who was taken in by an assassin and taught to kill. She has a lot to prove if she wants to keep her freedom. What I love about Celaena is that she is a book lover. She reads to escape just like we do. I also love that  she fights to overcome her past and to regain her freedom. 

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Series) by Cassandra Clare; what is not to love about  a story such a this. In the Mortal Instruments series we come upon a world that stands parallel into with our own and the only way to stop the war that is going on within the Shadow world from spilling into ours is for Shadowhunters to protect us. 

Mockingjay (Hunger Games Book 3) by Suzanne Collins. I choose Mockinjay because it is a book about a revolution. In this book we have a reluctant heroine in Katniss; a young woman that just wants to live out her life in piece and like a puppet she is pulled along by strings until she changes the game. Katniss represents what a true hero really should be; unpredictable, ballsy, and thoughtful. 

If you need anymore information on any of these books it can be found on thereadingroom.com or goodreads.com. They are also available for purchase on amazon.com as well as other fine retailers. Feel free to follow me at www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com for more reviews and book related editorials and news.   

Have Books Will Travel.....

So back in February my family started planning our summer vacation. We went back and forth on where we wanted to go, some choose Flordia...maybe a cruise and finally (and rather quickly) we all settled on California. This was my first trip to California and their second. I, of course, was interested in the California weather and the laid back lifestyle. Not to mention there is a lot of history here in California; especially with the studios etc. So during our trip we visited several hot spots that I will highlight here. Chief among them, Universal Studios (and their tour) and Warner Brothers Studios. We also went to Madame Tussards (wax museum) in Hollywood. What I loved about the places that we visited is that some very "bookish" things come about during these tours. Also, I think it is important to mention that it is very difficult for me to decide on what books to take during vacation. Especially since I knew that I would need to be active and could not do my usual "antisocial" bookish behavior and just escape to a corner with my book. So I downloaded an audio copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I also physically brought along A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (which I finished), Grey by E.L. James and an annoted copy of Pride and Prejudice. We will not even get into the books that I have downloaded to my Scribd account and that are stored to my iPad. I know that fellow bookworms will feel my pain in the dilema of what books to pack. I digress, but I really really just needed to put that little tid bit in there. So here comes the photos...

Day one of our trip: Warner Brothers Studios; which seemed to be unlikely to have anything bookish until I remembered that the Harry Potter films were produced by Warner. During the tour the WB has a small museum that features some of the artifacts from the movies and original illustrations from the books. 

 

 

As soon as I walked into the exhibit this was the first thing I saw. I gasped and instantly wanted to snatch one of the letters so that I could take it home with me.

This is me with the Privet Drive sign. I also got re-sorted into Slytherin...which I was very happy with. In fact, I purchased a Slytherin wool scarf (mind you it was 90 degrees on the day we went to the WB).

I was so happy to see these costumes. When I saw the HP exhibit in NYC at Discovery Times Square the final movie had not be released. These three costumes where featured in part two of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Also, Daniel is damn short lol.

Costumes worn by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's

And they had Quidditch gear

Also the costume for the Dark Lord was present. I really wish that something of Bellatrix would have been featured. 

 Harry and Ron's wizard chest set

I must say that I really love Luna's Style

Remember when Hermonie was petrified in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets? Well here is the dummy/wax figure that was used in the movie. I will admit that this thing is freaky and creepy looking, and it looks as creepy as it did in the movie.

 My favorite little Elf, Dobby. 

 

Why so Sirius? Ok, I had to do it. Especially since the other exhibit in the building involved Batman.

 

Every Robert Pattinson Fan should recongize this? Its the costume he wore in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.

So we all know that as soon as I saw this I could think was "Umbridge...a vial toad of a woman"

Day Four: Madame Tussards of Hollywood; most folks have been to one of these.

The most bookish thing was a figure of Katniss Everdeen as played by Jennifer Lawrence. I was very shocked to see this. But, it just goes to show how popular the books/movies are. Can I also mention that I have been looking for her scarf for months. (I have found them on Etsy, but they are so expensive).

And finally here is another photo of me being positively dorky. So everyone go forth and be geekishly prosperous. If I happen upon any fanastic book shops I will be sure to share photos ;)