Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone

Harry potter a young wizard who lives with non-wizards, has always been known as the boy who lived, reason being, that he was the only person to have ever survived an encounter with Voldemort, a ruthless ugly wizard, who murders all his encounters. The power of Harry’s parents kept him safe, even against Voldemort. Harry lives with the Dursleys. The Dursleys are the “perfect” family ever, and their son Dudley was the most prestige’s boy in the hole of England, and to them Harry was by far the worst in all history. Harry lived in a small closet under the stairs, and spent most of his time doing chores, see Harry’s parents died at the wrath of Lord Voldemort, and so he was forced to live with his mothers sister, Harry’s aunt always knew that his family where to her freaks and so was Harry.

One odd day something very strange happened, something very unordinary, Mrs Dursley always knew that the very extra ordinary, would happen, she just didn’t know when it would occur. Meanwhile Voldemort grew weaker and weaker and after a horrible encounter with the Potters he had no life at all. Harry was a very unhappy, and alone. Dursleys went to their family cabin and there the unforgettable happened. It left all the Dursleys scared for life. This was the day that had changed Harry’s life forever. In the cabin during night, someone had knocked out the door; the person was a friend of the Potters. His name was Hagrid, Hagrid was a giant, and he loved Harry.

Hagrid introduced Harry to Hogwarts; there Harry Was with People just like him. On his way to Hogwarts Harry had bumped into Ronald Wheesly and Herminie Granger. Ron and Herminie were Harry’s best friends, and they face so many crazy adventures together, including finding out about the Philosophers Stone. The Philosophers Stone is a very powerful stone which brings things back to life, Voldemort tried to steal it and harvest its power to save himself and kill Harry. But after a brutal chess match and a three headed dog, he finally found the Philosophers Stone and Suppressed Voldemort’s power.

The book was very dramatic and was very well written. I really liked it and advise you to read it too. There was the right amount of action and scary parts to last a lifetime

9/10 

This book is one of my favorite, it had a balance of action and Ron, to last a life time.
As Harry discovers his ability to irritate the Dursley, with his magic ability. Dudley always tried to overpower Harry, which is physically impossible. The book got a hole lot interesting as Ron and Herminey all me on the train to Hogwarts, harry, Ron and Herminey are all face with different challenges such as have someone screem Potter almost every 5mins


This book had a quite a couple of thrills along the way including meeting his parents murderers. The book was solid gold and a solid 9/10 rating 

Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within By Dennis Palumbo

"It's by knowing who we are, and accepting this with compassion, that we grow as people and as writers."

-Dennis Palumbo 

For some, this makes total sense. For others, it can be one of the most boggling things you can come across. If you are part of the latter group of people; you are a writer. Point blank. And by now, thoughts like these are probably bouncing across your skull;

"Okay, I get the whole 'knowing who I am' bit. But what does that have to do with the fact that, at this current moment, I'm writing about animate gargoyles in a fantasy universe?" 

"How does knowing how I am help my writing exactly? Not all my characters are based on me. I think."

"What if I don't like who I am at the moment? I'm so useless, I'm having one of those blocks again. I'm never going to finish this book."

"Grow as writers? No. People who publish books grow as writers."

"I'm screwed."

I've had a couple of those thoughts and questions circulate my mind at different times. They often weak my ability to do anything. Stop me from moving, sometimes even breathing and, the most vexing of them all, stop me from typing. I would sit there in front of the PC, fingers knotted under my chin and curse the day I ever believed I could be a writer. How could this be so hard? It seemed so easy an idea to execute just a minute ago. How come the words don't just flow? Oh no, I don't know enough words! Let me go and engulf an entire dictionary. 

And you wonder why I'm still alive today? Well, I'll let you in on my worst-kept secret of all time (I say 'worst-kept' because I practically let the entire neighbourhood know), this book helped me A LOT.

Dennis Palumbo is an author and a psychotherapist. And I thank God often and not enough that his life turned out the way it did. Because if it didn't, I would have not been saved by the likes of him and his miracle book,  and most likely would have run headlong into a wall out of sheer frustration. Writing is definitely not an easy task for  writers. The same way making art is not an easy task for artists. It's funny how your 'calling' in life can often look like the road to your demise. I felt like this in many instances. And at intervals, I would leave my projects altogether. Until one day it hit me that I wasn't making any progress at all. 

That's when I dug into my father's pockets to seek the much help I needed. I needed some fresh perspective. And so I bought this book on Kindle--with his credit card. The funny thing of it all is that I just happened upon this book out of urgency. I was in a hurry to get help. To see if there was anyone out there with any resemblance to the problems I was having. Truth be told, the title is what got this book sold. It was very to-the-point. And as you might imagine, I was very much in a 'no-bull' mood. I had no time for cryptics and deciphering what titles meant. So I purchased the book with 1-click. Done, but not quite dusted. It was up to the book to be my salvation. Or else. And there was only one way of finding out if it was going to be just that. Or else.

All I can say is that I don't remember how it began and I don't remember how it ended. I just remember being floored. My eyes flooding with tears of understanding. Butterflies of inspiration in my stomach. This book offered me a much needed breath of, well, breath. I could finally inhale and not forget to exhale. Finally, a book that made me realise that I wasn't a giant waste of non-talent about the earth. That I was, in fact, wasting a talent that the world needs to be exposed to by not writing. That my fears and worry's where often misplaced or not even necessary. 

Palumbo offers numerous and humorous anecdotes and accounts of writers struggles with writing. Even some of his own. Whether you are an expert or  an amateur, this book caters to all. Even if you have never written a page in your life, you will still find something worth your while in here. He covers topics from Procrastination and the infamous Writer's Block, the mothers of all evils in my opinion, to reluctantly omitting the pieces you hold dear and worked hard on. I like to think of this book as a sort of a "Trail-Mix", a little bit of sustenance on the lengthy road to your destination--Finishing your book. Like most Trail-Mixes, you will have your favourites and your not-so-favourites, this book is the same. Not in the way that some topics or sections are not helpful, but in the way that the subject material is not exactly desirable. Like the prospect of setting deadlines for yourself and cutting out a piece in your writing that happens to one of your cherished few. Even if you don't like raisins, they are still nutritious. This book teaches and advises you to eat that blasted raisin and wait until the M 'n M's come. And they will come. Trust me. Nothing in this whole world is worth having if there wasn't some sort of struggle behind it. Because otherwise you learn nothing. And as writers, learning is part of our everyday job.

I sound quite the Buddha, don't I? It's the book. Along with teaching how to harness inspiration and teaching me how not to stress, it's afforded me the ability to harness sage wisdom out of absolutely nowhere. I'm quite the moron now. And as long as I am one with my self, compassionate with myself, and am able to write things I'm satisfied with, I'm wholly happy with who I've become. Like the saying I just made up says, "Give me moron, or give me death." I'm no one if I, myself, think I'm worthless. Better to be a moron than to whip myself until there's absolutely nothing left to whip. No whipping into shape. No whipping at all in fact. Just writing and accepting and appreciating.

That's all I ever needed. The opportunity to weave out of difficult situations with finesse instead of giving them up completely.  The opportunity to know and accept who I am and let that incorporate into my books. And if all goes well, all of that will come with a wad of cash as a bonus.

Thank you God for creating Dennis Palumbo.

Vampire Diaries

The Awakening is the first of four novels in L.J. Smith’s popular Vampire Diaries series.  Written for the Young Adult  market.The Vampire Diaries were re-released by HarperTeen in 2007 as a result of the flurry of popularity that YA vampire genre novels have received since Stephenie Meyer’s huge success with the Twilight series. 

Twilight Saga is shares the same, story line as VD. The story line, is ruffly about a teenager who falls in love with two brother vampires
The brothers expose themselves to her. while she process's this the diary does the same thing. 
The book had some really hectic moments, and some really hart felt ones. You can really feel the emotions, who said vampires don't have souls!
  This diary is probably worth more than her life.

The book was amazing, great everything, well done 

L. J. Smith

To writing a very cool book!   

Vampire Diaries

The Awakening is the first of four novels in L.J. Smith’s popular Vampire Diaries series.  Written for the Young Adult  market.The Vampire Diaries were re-released by HarperTeen in 2007 as a result of the flurry of popularity that YA vampire genre novels have received since Stephenie Meyer’s huge success with the Twilight series. 

The book shares character names with twilight.

The books about a girl with a Diary, this diary is probably worth more than her life, mainly because she encountered 2 vampire brothers who she fell in love with, the Diary contains all the vampire secrets and it is very important that nobody may ever read it 

The book was amazing, great everything, well done 

L. J. Smith

To writing a very cool book!

Knife Edge By Malorie Blackman

Knife Edge is all about Jude Mcgregor Callum's brother being eaten up with bitterness after his brothers death at the hands of a cross. He decides to blame all the tragedies of his family on Perserphone Hadley "Sephy". He then finds out that Sephy has his brothers child and goes for a little visit, but finds himself in a standoff between him, Sephy and Minerva Sephy's sister another of the Hadleys. While on the other hand Sephy get's kicked out of the house for carrying a nought's child and defiying to have an abortion.She then later moves in Callum's mother, later on to find out that the father of her child didn't love her at all and that the baby was just to get back at her father. She then finds out that Jude is dating a girl named Cara Imega a cross woman who loved Jude until he assaulted her. Jude is then caught for the assaultion of the cross and his life hangs on a knife's edge but will Sephy........

Find out more when you read the book

The Hunger games

Hunger games is, a gladiator tournament for children under 18. A poor girl called Katneis Everdeen, has been chosen along side a boy peter to fight for her district and win, or die!
The reason this hunger games was made, because in the binning there wear 13 Districts, ruled by a ruthless psychopath, who is drunk with power. President Snow called this country Panama. All the Districts rebelled and Snow felt threatene, so he eliminated the whole of District 13, and created the hunger games.
The story ended like expected They won the games.
The book was so epic, and so will the movie.

Well done: StePhany king

The Last Invisible Boy

The last Invisible boy is just like the title. Its about a boy whose father dies and, He feels invisibly, and soon after terns invisible.
The only way to become visible again  is if he commits a bad deed. So he thinks becoming a rebellion is going to fix his problems. But instead it backfires really fast.

The book is intense, it covers allot of ground in-terms of emotions. You can feel the frustration and sadness, coming from most of the characters.
 Well done to:Evan Kuhlman  

Half a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Review by Uli Vuma

To sum this up in a quote..."If we don't end war, war will end us."-H. G. Wells

And that is all there is to it. This book is about a war between people, between nations, between living in silence and loving in silence. It centers around 3 main characters, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene and there struggles during and after the Biafran War. We journey into the book and its setting with Ugwu, a man servant. His inquiring mind and general need to impress his Master, Odenigbo, is heart rending. It just roots the seed of sadness within you and you constantly wonder how he is doing when another character is in play. To please Odenigbo is Ugwu's one and only desire and sometimes Odenigbo is ignorant of this because of his fixation with his new girlfriend, Olanna. Their love is the rebellious kind. This is because her family, excluding her sister, are whole heartily against her relationship with the Professor. They fancy her with a chief, one that can give them high rank and riches beyond their dreams. Olanna is opposed to this, and she explains what she goes through throughout the book.

Kainene, who I believe doesn't sit right in the story line, is the comic relief. She is free spirited and is currently dating a white man. But nobody notices because they are all occupied with Olanna, her bigger and much beloved sister. She puts on a shield, one that hides her anger and sadness that her sister is afforded all the attention. This is probably why she started dating Richard, for the attention. But nothing is said in the book to this effect. For now she is roughing it out behind the scenes and waiting for her time of attention. And it comes.....

Fast forward 4 years and the arrival of babies, I won't say who's, and the abounding dangers of Biafra, has caused some of the characters to escape to a place called Nsukku. They land up impoverished and lodging with some refugees. They eventually run out of food and Kainene, wanting to be the hero, desperate for the love and attention she needed, decided to go look for food. But then she goes missing...

Books like these have to be digested slowly. They are quite intense, long running and enervate. But well worth finishing. This book reveals how harsh war is on the people that live in it. The emotions are out in the open, especially with characters like Ugwu and Kainene. Towards the climax, it can get really suspenseful, giving it a thriller-like feel. Chimamanda's writhing is amazing. How she managed to display those feelings in 540 pages escapes me. She writes as if she was there and that reels you in. This book is emotionally charging and if it wasn't for the lack of moisture in my tear ducts, I probably would've cried.

8 out of 10.

Beloved by Toni Morrison, Review By Uli Vuma

WARNING: SPOILERS BE HERE:

This book centers around a woman who murdered her own child. It is quite depressing and offers a lot of emotional grief. Basically, it is set in the bleak wake of the American Civil War. Sethe was a mother of four, had just killed her eldest daughter, was in the process of recovering from the loss of her mother in law, Baby Suggs, and was coming to grips with the fact that her old master, Mr. Garner, was fast on her heels, ready to X her out. Its really some edgy stuff. Anyway, on top of this already brimming list of dilemmas, her friend/lover, Paul D (Not Pauly), has come back in search for her love. And his arrival is what sets the book in motion.

It starts off ambiguously and ends off on the same note. The beginning starts somewhere after the War and you have absolutely no idea that lives have been lost the way they have. This monotonous mood simmers a little until we see flashbacks from Sethe. Then fireworks and quick and devastating jabs coming from the past. We see images of tombstones, old, dying ladies and lovers lost. These build up tension until Paul D comes and the entire story manages to fold out towards the end.

There is not much to tell without revealing key factors in the book so I will just mention how it made me feel. I had all sorts of knots in my stomach, not because I was disgusted but I was in utter stupefaction of this character. Her methods where something to be worried about, but her intentions where understandable. She genuinely wanted the happiness for her children that she battled to find in her whole lifetime. And that resonates with me. Sure, in the end, there was a tumultuous conclusion, but her mentality and what she wanted to achieve still sits there, even if it wasn't as naked as I'd wanted it to be.

Overall, I would say this book certainly exposed me to a lot. Some good, some bad, some heartbreaking. Mostly heartbreaking. I hope that I won't have to go to the lengths that Sethe went through for her children's well being. But by that same token, if push comes to shove, I hope to have the same courage that Sethe had and have the boldness to fall on my knees with grace like she did.

This book reveals desperate times and the characters within them that persevered. It also offers the opportunity for self introspection. You'll find yourself asking many questions, wondering if you would have thought the same things, done the same things, and felt the same. And then you will finally close that book, sit and ponder on whether you could ever live in a time like that and still love the way that Sethe loved.

Good Read. Pick it up.

Alex Rider: Storm Breaker

This book is all about a boy named Alex Rider who 's uncle dies during a secret mission. Alex then takes it upon himself to avenge his uncle by joining the Army and looking for his fathers killer. Alex finds out about why his uncle was killed. He meets up with the head of the association that his uncle worked for. His sister then becomes worried about how Alex was going to take being a spy and learning more about the death.

Find out more about the book by reading the book.

This book was quite heart breaking in the beginning. But in the end it became very exciting as they folded out a plan on how to protect the president from being ambushed.

Great for action fans.

Mao's Last Dancer

This is about a poor Chinese family that lives in one of the poorest cities in China. The family had lived there for years. They had about seven children, four boys and three girls. The children where taken care of by the aunt who's name was Niang and the Grand mother. The uncle and grand father helped with the cutting down of trees and fixing things around in the house. A few years later one of the boys wanted to dance as a ballet dancer. in the end it turned out that the same boy competed in a city competition. All the other dancers had failed to compete due to injuries. So the boy was about to step up to compete until .....

This book got me addicted to reading.
I would have to say that the book affected me because it showed me how others are way less fortunate.

Dragon Lance

TAKE CAUTION. THIS BOOK IS KILLER FUNNY

The book was just way more than I expected, 

every page had me on the floor with stitches.

This book is brilliant if you need to lift your spirits.

The end defies the laws of physics.

Anyone who doesn't see that as cool, is majorly crazy.

THE BOOK WAS ABOUT:

dwarfs and humans, they can see each other but they can't be seen together. 

So a dwarf and human decide to break rules and go on a quest for a book, yes a book.

Now what you have to understand is that they didn't have Amazon, eBay, or Walmart. So everything was turned into a giant quest. So if you wanted to eat Ribs, you would essentially go on a hunt for pork. You probably had to "quest" for margarine as well. I'm glad I live in this day and age. In the end though, beside their alliance for the book quest, the human double-crosses the dwarf. And someone ends up with a knife stuck up their chest, yes, up their chest. I won't say who did what. 

Just read the book.

Jane Eyre

Besides all the weird parts, this book, just like a sunrise becomes hotter and hotter towards the end. There was a whole lot of stuff going on there.
For me there were too little comical events, the romance was way too deep. It was great how Charlotte made Jane's story so emotional! I also was fascinated that Mr. Rochester locked up his wife. In the movie, we are rewarded with Mrs. Rochester spitting out flies. That was cool.

Over and above, Jane had a hard life. And besides the love drama, her pain touched me.
The romance made me tear up (because of my boredom).

Since the movie is out I'll do a double review.
The movie had too much hair! And tents. ( I think those were dresses though)

To Charlotte,
Well done, on keeping me awake!

Much Ado About Nothing: By William Shakespeare, Review by Uli Vuma

This is Shakespeare's Midnight's Dream without Tinker Bell.

It's body-on-the-floor funny and "scandal" is not even a word in this thing. The names are larney and outdated, yet the characters can be seen in your everyday teenager.

Here's the jist of the story in Glee format:
Finn=Benedick
Rachel=Beatrice
Puck=Claudio
Quinn=Hero
Santana=Don John

Warning: this can only be understood from the views of a Finchel fan. The only explanation  for Finchel fans is the cast of characters above. Right?
For the rest of you,
Benedick and Beatrice are meant to be together. The only problem they have is their lack of communication skills. Classic Finn and Rachel, until Season 2 of course. On the flip side, Claudio and Hero are madly in love with each other and they don't mind the occasional PDA. Classic Puck and Quinn. The large standing problem between the couples and their engagement is the evil and Hero-(Claudio and Benedick in Santana's case)Loving Don John. Killer name. A chronic idiot though. Santana at her best.

In the end of all this Glee drama, when Don John is on to the next one, the happy couples marry and they sing and dance their way out until the curtain is prompted to close. Singing and Dancing. See why I used Glee as an example?

Brilliant Funny. I'm pretty sure Ryan Murphy wrote this.

The Help: By Katheryn Stokett, Review by Uli Vuma

I don't concern myself with things I believe to be boring. But usually when I'm confronted with these things at some point, a deep and dangerous love affair evolves. This happened with Golf, Reading and Liqourice(I thought it looked ugly. I also don't concern myself with things I believe to look ugly).

So, when the words "Civil" and "Rights" are brought up, I tend to prepare to build long and secure walls. Just before this "Civil Rights" wall is about to peak over my head, I am accosted with this golden & shiny (Me like Shiny) beacon in the name of The Help. And the only reason that the wall broke down is not my love for shiny things but my love for rave-reviews. And the air was a-tweeting with rave-reviews for The Help. All I could hear was how "deliciously good" the novel was. Or that it was the author's, Katheryn Stoketts's, "wonderful debut". And I latch onto rave-reviews like a vice. So the book had to be read. And it was.

This is my verdict before The Almighty God:
W.O.W

Never have I loved something I thought to be boring-beyond-tears like this before. Ever. The characters are the people that I confront in my head and heart everyday. And it is rare to find a book that has characters that sit so close to home.
I love all the characters. Even the hare-brained Minny. This is the the first book I've read without even knowing anything about the movie. And that is saying something. This book is amazing. Probably the best previously-boring thing that I have fallen in love with. I am totally in love. The impact that this book has left me with is irrevocable and will forever remain in my heart.

The Final Word on this Book?

Best Book I Have Ever Read.

Carte Blanche: By Jeffery Deaver, Review by Uli Vuma

The name's Bond. James Bond.

I have mixed feelings about this latest James Bond installment. Probably because I didn't understand most of it.
Basically the story is set in the 9/11 era in Afghanistan. Bond is "on it" as always. This time, the mission at the offset of the story is to stop the derailment of a freight train impregnated with deadly chemicals. The usual.
Anyway, as all Bond missions go, it is carried out with success. No. In fact, it wasn't a success more than that the train was derailed in an underpopulated area and the man who orchestrated the entire mess escaped. So no, we don't get the feel of an actual Mi6 black-site in the first few chapters. The man who escaped (who's name escapes my memory. Wow, he's good) works for the Mother of Psycho-Villains. Forget Mr. Doofensmirtz, this guy is the real deal. I mean, this guy spends his 'zen-time' fantasizing about exhuming dead people(one of them including his mother, I'm sure) and using them in your everyday canned product. Pretty gruesome stuff. Not for the faint at heart. Not for people on full stomachs either.

While you're thinking about how grotesque the above must look, Bond is busy befriending this deranged person. He meets him in Cape Town, South Africa (Shout out), and that is where this sinister bromance begins.
Bond becomes incredibly "close" to this guy and for a moment, he also becomes his right hand man. And just when he is about to fulfill his mission and turn the Psycho in,
[Enter Current Lover]
his beautiful, South African lover sabotages the whole project. I know; the guy should ditch the mysterious ladies and stick to Moneypenny. This girl imparts everything Bond has told her in confidence and we discover that she works for the Psycho. Bummer for Bond. But being Bond, nothing will end if not brutal and vengeful. And bonus, all those steroids that he induces had come to great use. It turned out to be peachy in the end.
[Enter signature theme]
Thrilling at times and astonishing at others.

This one is only for the fearless of Bond Fans.
 

Artemis Fowl and Atlantic Complex Review by WakhumziMhlanga

This book is the last book in the Artemis Fowl Series and the emotional Artemis Fowl full of drama, confusion and war. Making it all a mystery about what happens in the end. I was quite intrigued about the fact that Artemis actually wanted to destroy fairies until I found out the truth of the lie of that Artemis wanted to kill the fairies and side with the demons and the story got more complex with everyone losing trust in you and respect. Until towards the end everyone discovers it was all a lie.

I would like to thank Eoin Colfer for a wonderful series and thank you for the inspiration.

Journey's End, By R.C Sherriff. Review by Uli Vuma.

Well, this wasn't a novel as such. It was a play written by some English barney name R. C Sherriff. (He wasn't an actual police officer. I just thought, with the name and all, it was only fitting to call him that.) Unlike the modern day script, this 1920's classic lacks the descriptions of emotions and thoughts of a character and rather, relies on the character's words to tell the story. Okay, I know that the dude lived when "The Toaster" wasn't fully mechanized yet, but that doesn't give him an excuse to make the rest of us grumpy. Granted, the story had it's highlights and it was precariously funny on occasion, but I wasn't excited about the product as a whole. Don't get me wrong, towards the end, the story line turned out to be pretty profound, but the build up was just arid. Or maybe I'm just being picky and I should try to walk a mile in the shoes of a person who lived when there was no such thing as Satellite TV. Maybe it's because I'm arrogant and I've written 2 other book reviews, and now I feel like a full blown critic. Maybe. But I still think the whole thing was mediocre if not slightly edging the line between "OK" and "GOOD."

Now, instead of being a joy kill, let me at least state the things I liked about it. It had an underlying dankness to it. Not overdone, but it definitely kept me on my toes. And a Uli on her tippy-toes, makes for a good Uli. Raleigh was my favorite character, hands down. Everybody else was either, drunk, old or lying bloodless on No Man's Land. I loved Raleigh's desperation to be perfect in Stanhope's eyes. And I don't understand why Stanhope was perfect in Raleigh's eyes. I mean, I understand why Stanhope was the gaunt, merciless leader that he was, but he also struck me as this good-for-nothing-except-being-drunk-and-mean person. Even if he was shell shocked.

Overall, this was a little boring but it is a necessary read if you want more insight about how the soldiers who fought in WWI felt. Makes you glad that you were born much later.

3 and a half stars.

Artemis Fowl and the lost colony

This book was bad. Period.
it had bad:

1. grammar
2. spelling
3. the worst story ever it was just like the other

If I where Artemis I would kill myself just to keep sales up.
His fairy powers can do anthing except for keeping us enthralled.
While biting my nails, pretending read and crying of boredom I realized that I should just read it and tell you how much I hate it. In fact Buler should have a story of his own. The only interesting thing was the ring that sent him to the future, even though it was green and plastic it still flavoured it up a little bit.
The book was bad, enough said.