Book 1: The Sorcerer's Stone

I know, I know. Choosing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as the first book on my list is the epitome of cliche, but it was sitting there on the shelf all gawking at me and it was bound to happen sometime, so why not get it over with up front?

I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I've read the first three books in the series before, when they first came out, but I just didn't love them enough to keep throwing myself into the misadventures of the wizarding world. I must say, though, that I appreciated Rowling's writing much more as an adult than I did several years back. The book made sense, though it was completely made up. I found myself questioning the characters' motives, the plausibility of the whole story, how the author could live in another dimension and never once mention a person or celebrity or famous happening from the muggle world.

And there's absolutely something to be said about audiobooks. Brilliant! Sure, there are some pretty terrible ones out there, but when you pick the right one with the right narrator and the right British accent, it makes all the difference in the world. Plus, you can listen to them while doing all sorts of other stuff: driving (but stay focused on the road!), dishes, cleaning the bathroom, folding laundry, crocheting, walking, falling asleep. I got through The Sorcerer's Stone in about eight hours of audio when it would normally take me more than a month to get through a single novel. I'm terrible about making time to read, hence the challenge.

I'm happy to report I'm a good seven chapters into The Chamber of Secrets and that I'm almost done with a John Green novel. I've always been bad about overlapping books. One to listen to, one to read. Perhaps it's not the best habit. All this time off school is making it easy to get through the first books ahead of schedule. I'm curious what kind of turn this will take come the start of next semester. 

"Never tickle a sleeping dragon."