Mike Allen's blog

Well, when I left off, I was at Prisoner of Azkaban. What have I done in the past two months? Read the whole effing series. With a little help from books on tape (and about 6 hours of driving a day, thanks to Lisa's busted ass car), I was able to read all of the final four books, knocking them out in about a book every two weeks. It got increasingly harder to put down, culminating with me polishing the last book off over the weekend. My favorite of the series? Probably the last one. It was definitely the most emotional one, and the one that took place nearly entirely outside of Hogwarts. It gets docked a few points because all the loose ends were not tied up (you do not find out the fate of some main characters, and some main characters are pulled away with no lead up; they just appear, dead, with no word how).

Favorite overall character (not part of the main three): Actually, strangely enough, Ginny Weasley. Every time she was on the page, she left me with a smile on my face. That girl has some fire.

Favorite Overall Character: Harry Potter. It sounds cheesy, but he really is a great empathetic character, sort of like Frodo in LoTR.

Where to go from here? I am going through the books again. I do not want to leave the Harry Potter world at this point, so I am going to reread them all from the beginning. I should be able to pick up a great amount of stuff I missed in the first go round.

(I am following each reading of the book with a viewing of the movie. This is the first one to severely diverge from its book.)

This series is getting interesting. And dark. I like the path it is taking, but, as with the Chamber of Secrets write up, everyone has read them or watched the movie, so I will not do a full report.

I like the character development, but my favorite character is increasingly Professor Dumbledore. He is more mischievous than you really get in the movies, and it has led to many an interesting moment.

Started Goblet of Fire last night. I hope to read Half-Blood Prince before the movie.

Psych: Good, but only if you are a Psych fan.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Just catching up with everyone else. I have started the series again (read the first book some time ago) and tore through this book in about two days. Really good story, and I can see how this series captured the heart of America. Midway through the third book now and, after a week in Orlando, should pick up the pace soon.

Playing for Pizza
by John Grisham

Synopsis: A never-known third string quarterback is thrust into the spotlight of the NFL to run out the clock and secure the victory and the first Super Bowl trip for the Cleveland Browns. But, fate has a sense of humor, and three picks later, Cleveland has its new goat. So public was this humiliation that Rick Dockery has nowhere to run. His agent finds him a place in Italy, where the players play for the love of the game and the teams import their Americans to play the skill positions. It is a lower form of the sport, but is this just the place for Rick?

Thoughts: On a trip to Italy to research a book, John Grisham runs across an NFL Italy, complete with players who get no pay, just the thrill of playing the game they love. This was truly a good book, easy to read and interesting enough that it had me breaking my bedtime night and again. If you like football and you like foreign cultures, I suggest this book, even if the University of Georgia does have a prominent part in it. Oh well, nothing is perfect.

Favorite Character: This has to be Franco, the lovable, if slow, fullback who, by day, is a judge in the city of Parma.

Great book; read it if you like football.

Next book: Psych (A novelization of the TV show)

Couldn't do it. I gave up Dracula for the same reason. I cannot read that disjointed style of writing, almost interview-like (and in this case, it was interviews). Something in my brain shuts off and I put the book down. Sorry sports fans, but this one was a no go for me.

Next Book: Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

I read. A lot of my friends don't, but I don't judge. I finished a book last night, in fact. I think, as part of the blogosphere, when I do finish a book, I will come over here and tell you about it. Now, just so you know, I read before I go to bed, about a chapter or two a night, so this isn't going to be a blog entry a week kind of deal. i hope to get a book a month in, but we will see. So, without further adieu, here is my latest book conquest.

Dragons of Spring Dawning
by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Synopsis: In the third and last book of the series, we find our adventurers split into two groups, one reeling after the death of a beloved member of the gang, and the other fleeing the clutches of a Dragon Highlord, who also happens to be a close friend and sibling to some, and a lover to another. The Dark Queen is looking for the green gem-encrusted man as the key to her victory as her power grows and grows and the good side is struggling to even find a leader amidst all the turmoil and upheaval caused by the last battle. Problems remain unsolved and relationships seem to hang in the balance.

Thoughts: I read this book long ago, and I wanted to see how it stood up against the test of time. I had read the first books of the series the past few years very casually, and, deciding to test my tolerance for fantasy, which had been waning of late, decided to pick this up. I have to say, it was a completely different book than I read fifteen (or more) years ago.

Not exactly Pink Floyd, but it will have to do. I am learning guitar, for many reasons, really, but I am learning none-the-less. i am going to blog about it here.