I decided to sign up for a Harry Potter reading (and watching) challenge in 2012, which caused a slight problem for me — at least in regards to my “Reading Has Its Rewards” Reading Challenge: no re-reads.

Well, since it’s MY challenge, they’re my rules — I can make exceptions. The Harry Potter series has inspired children to read, children who rarely (if ever) read for pleasure. It’s only fitting that I count the books in a challenge where my goal is to donate to a children’s reading program.

With that in mind, I sat down and looked at page totals and how each book would count (points wise). I have all seven in hardback and in paperback. I bought the first three hardbacks in late 1999/early 2000 (I became a fan Christmas 1999). After that, each was added to my collection on its original hardback release date. That means all seven were added to my TBR prior to 2008. All, except Deathly Hallows, has an original copyright date of 2005 or earlier and will count for double points. I will be reading the paperbacks, so I checked the page totals for each book to make sure that I used the right points — not that it matter much with the last four books (I knew those were 500+ pages).

And here’s what I’ve come up with:

The Harry Rule:

• Books will count toward books read goals (except series catch-up)
• Books will count toward pages read goals (that’s 4,100 pages!)
• Dollar amount I will give to First Book for each read: $5.00

However. . .

Points will count if, and only if, I read all 7 books and watch all 8 movies. Just how many points am I talking about? 9,900 points. Below is the breakdown:

• Sorcerer’s Stone (1997 UK/1998 US) (309 pgs) added Dec 1999: 300 (TBR) + 100 (pages) + 25 (series) = 425 x 2= 850 points
• Chamber of Secrets (1998 UK/1999 US) (341 pgs) added Jan 2000: 300 (TBR) + 100 (pages) + 50 (series) = 450 x 2= 900 points
• Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) (435 pgs) added Jan 2000: 300 (TBR) + 300 (pages) + 75 (series) = 675 x 2= 1,350 points
• Goblet of Fire (2000) (734 pgs) added 2000: 300 (TBR) + 500 (pages) + 100 (series) = 900 x 2= 1,800 points
• Order of the Phoenix (2003) (870 pgs) added 2003: 300 (TBR) + 500 (pages) + 200 (series) = 1000 x 2= 2,000 points
• Half-Blood Prince (2005) (652 pgs) added 2005: 300 (TBR) + 500 (pages) + 200 (series) = 1000 x 2= 2,000 points
• Deathly Hallows (2007) (759 pgs) added 2007: 300 (TBR) + 500 (pages) + 200 (series) = 1,000 points

My reasoning behind this is thus: In order to reach my goals, I will have to read 7 books a month that are at least 375 pages long and be “worth” at least 250 points each. Reading these books and watching the movies will take away from reading all the other books I could be reading in their stead. Two of my reward milestones — 25 books by April 30th and Series Catch-Up — might not be reached if I spend too much time reading/watching Harry Potter. For that reason, I still want them to count toward my goal of 80 books and 30,000 pages. This way, I still feel “rewarded” for reading the books, even if I fail to read all 7 (and watch the movies). The donation increase for the books is an encouragement to read them and make up for possibility of falling short of the 80 book goal. However, I also wanted a “penalty” for failing, since I was making an exception to the re-read rule: their points don’t count until all the books are read and all movies watched. Since the total is nearly half my stated goal, it’s a powerful incentive to complete the challenge!

So, there you have it.  The rules for Quidditch are easier to understand.

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus,

Note: Due to the excessive amount of spam, I’ve added a password plugin. Please don’t let that discourage you from commenting.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

~~ & ~~

I really want to do this! I may have to make a Special Rule for it in the “Reading Has Its Rewards” challenge. With the first three books, I can get away with reading them at lunch and it wouldn’t interfere with my reading other books — but once I get to Goblet of Fire, I will have to devote more time to them if I want to finish all seven by the end of the year. And watch the movies. One of the items listed under “Extra Credit” is watching the corresponding movie after each book. Maybe I’ll award myself some “house points” if I complete the reading/movie watching by 31 July (Harry’s birthday). And I am DEFINITELY counting page totals for the last four books — it would be insane if I didn’t. Besides, it’s been YEARS since I’ve read any of the books from cover to cover, though I attempted a Harry Potter challenge in 2009/2010 — in the middle of a move. I didn’t finish a single book, and though my mother had the book CDs on continual rotation the whole time, I never heard any of them all the way through.

I will track my progress here.

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The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.

The rules are very simple: spotlight a book written by an author whose first or last name begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.

This week’s letter is: R

This week pick: Rowling, J. K. — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling)

From the Fantastic Fiction: What did Harry Potter know about magic? He was stuck with the decidedly un-magical Dursleys, who hated him. He slept in a closet and ate their leftovers. But an owl messenger changes all that, with an invitation to attend the Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches, where it turns out Harry is already famous . . .

Why this book: Christmas, 1999, is when I first discovered Harry Potter. I was attending a holiday party at the home of one of my mother’s co-workers. The son of another co-worker was reading, aloud, the scene where the letters come down the Dursley’s chimney. From that moment, I was a fan. I went on to convert both parents and brothers. I own all seven books in hardback and paperback. I also had the books on CD, but I gave them to my mother. She’s since had to replace the set.

Note: The link below is to Fantastic Fiction, which has a variety of purchase options (including on-line secondary markets) for the US and UK.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (J. K. Rowling) at Fantastic Fiction.

Packing. Moving. Unpacking. And more unpacking. And even more unpacking.

Reading?

Officially . . . no.

However . . .

As I unpack the books, I’ve been known to stop and sometimes read a few pages (or more) of a book that’s caught my eye. I read the first two chapters of Georgette Heyer’s, Why Shoot a Butler?, and decided to take it to work and read it during lunch.

With all this non-reading going on, a couple of incomplete challenges ended this month. Instead of individual wrap-up posts, I’ll take care of that here:

What: Harry Potter Reading Challenge
When: 1 August 2009 – 31 July 2010
Who: Galleysmith
Rules: Read, or listen to, the seven books by the end of July 2010 (Harry’s Birthday!!). She’s giving away box sets of the books, plus other HP related stuff to be determined. Stop by her site and sign up using Mr. Linky.

I really did want to do this one. I could say that I “kinda-sorta” completed this challenge. My mother LOVES listening to these books on CD while she crochets or does needle work. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Deathly Hollows in the last twelve months. Now that I’ve moved, I might have to invest in the set on CDs, just because I’ve lived with Jim Dale talking about Harry nearly ever night for the last two years. Thankfully, he has a nice voice.

~&~

What: Random Reading Challenge
When: 1 August 2009 – 31 July 2010
Who: Caribousmom
Rules: Randomly select books from TBR and assign a number. Using Random.org, pick a book to read. Visit her site for more precise instructions.

I’ll be doing LEVEL III – 12 Books

1. Duel of Hearts (Diane Farr) — Announced // Reviewed
2. Storm Born (Richelle Mead) — Announced //DNF
3. Secretive Stranger (Jennifer Greene)  — Reviewed

I thought this one would be any easy one to complete. Oh well.

~&~

Now, for some pictures of the progress I’m making with unpacking and setting up my library:

Stuff to the gills

The picture above: the hutch on the right is stuff with Harlequins (Nocturnes, Superromances, Bombshell, Historicals, etc.). All unread. I had my keepers in there initially, but I saw at once that I was running out of room. The all-purpose media rack (center) is the temporary holding area for keepers (less Star Wars novels) and Georgette Heyer trade paperbacks.

Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Jane Austen

Above: Taller of the two cases house my read and un-read Star Wars novels. No attempt was made to put anything in order (other than the keepers stacked on the top). On the top of the shorter shelf is my Harry Potter books (minus the Deathly Hallows). I have two sets: hardcover and the young adult trade paperback. At the time, I hadn’t found either edition of Deathly Hallows. I also have two sets of Jane Austen’s six novels (the red books and the stack under them). When I took this picture, there were still too many unpacked boxes in the middle of the room, so I couldn’t get a decent shot of the shelf in the extreme left hand side of the picture. The case has four shelves, each crammed with three rows of 15 books each, plus what ever else could fit on the end. I have another bookcase (similar in size to the one the SW books are in) plus a small book shelf made by one of my brothers. Once I’ve done more unpacking, I’ll be able to place them with the ones pictured.

View from Across the Room

Above: After I took the middle picture, I turned and took the above picture (I may have had to step a little to the side to get past the boxes).

Since taking these pictures, I have emptied more boxes and moved stuff around. Once I’ve charged my camera, I’ll take some updated photos.

What: Harry Potter Reading Challenge
When: 1 August 2009 – 31 July 2010
Who: Galleysmith
Rules: Read, or listen to, the seven books by the end of July 2010 (Harry’s Birthday!!). She’s giving away box sets of the books, plus other HP related stuff to be determined. Stop by her site and sign up using Mr. Linky.

I’m not going to join too many of these because of the impending move — my books will be in transit at some point, and then storage. But I’ll put this series aside and make sure it goes with me by car if I haven’t finished the books by then.

I haven’t re-read Harry since before Deathly Hallows came out, so this might be a good time to start.

Now, as to when I pick up the first book, that’s a different matter.

I first discovered Harry on Christmas Eve, 1999. A family friend’s son was reading it aloud during a Christmas Eve dinner/get together (I looked up the date I ordered it from Amazon.com — December 26th). The part where the post owls are trying to deliver Harry’s Hogwarts letter — that’s when I was hooked. A month later, I ordered the next two.

I’m seriously thinking of commemorating the 10th anniversary of discovering Harry by reading the first book around the holidays.  Funny thing, I was in the process of moving when I read The Chamber of Secrets for the first time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a re-post, due to data loss. Below are comments I was able to salvage from Google Reader. (Oct 09)

26 Jul - Beth F – “I joined this too — I’m going to revisit the series on audio.”
26 Jul – Me – “Yep. I commented on your blog — your post was the first time I had seen anything about the challenge. ”

The Leaky Cauldron is inviting fans of Harry Potter to make their predictions about events in the seventh book. The 8-part exam is a series of “yes or no” questions covering everything from “Will Harry live?” to “Are Pince and Filch a couple?” To see my results, click on the button above.

If it takes forever for the page to load, be patient. The staff at Leaky is aware of the problem and they are working on fixing it.

They plan to put a new quiz up every 20 days until the book is released.