Mission HP

If anyone recalls, last summer during my immensely boring unemployment, I went through a self-proposed challenge of reading every Jane Austen novel successively, which I did successfully [see the word pun there? Har har har!] within a fairly reasonable amount of time. That is why in preparation of the newest and last installment of Harry Potter movies, I have started rereading the books.

Currently I am about half way through the fourth book and I can tell you I am definately not regretting this challenge as much as I did when I was halfway through Mansfield Park [to clarify, I only regret having to reread Mansfield Park - it's a terribly tedious book and all of the characters really annoy me. Although I can appreciate Austen's attempt].

I think the Harry Potter [does Harry Potter really need to be italicized? Who knows] books and movies are perfect examples where they show how much movies actually cut out details and sub-plots from the original books. As I write this, I am simultaneously watching The Philosopher's Stone and I'm amazed at how many big and little things they've changed to make the movie "better" [it's not actually better, p.s.]. I mean, they've changed a good quarter of the book, which is possibly the smallest book of the series which makes it quite sad that all the brilliant details and sub-plots of the bigger books will go to waste on a cutting room floor somewhere.

I actually cheated a little bit last week when I was really excited to finally gotten all the Harry Potter movies [for some reason, I only owned 1 and 3. Thank yoooou HMV for having the rest on 2 for 20! {And Deathly Hallows part 1 is currently en route from Amazon!}] and was in great need to watch one. So instead of starting with the obvious first one [having already finished the first book] I decided to watch Goblet of Fire, which I am reading right now.

That might have been a bad decision. Starting reading it, I dreaded reading it as I had already been reminded of the major happenings, thanks to the movie. However, now I am more focused and interested in all the little details, characters and sub-plots the movie people have deemed unworthy. Is sad, no? And this is why books will always, always win.

Although I do thoroughly enjoy the movies. Except the fact that Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes instead of green. The fact that they did not attempt to force his 11 year old self to wear coloured contacts or do ANYTHING seems like blasphemy. BLASPHEMY.

Anyways.

HP rules, Twilight drools.