Book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Another good page-turner in the Harry Potter series. To avoid giving away any spoilers, only those who've read the book should highlight and read the following text. For the rest of you, just skip to the bottom.

By far, I enjoyed reading the most about Voldemort's past and seeing how he rose in influence and power, as well as the origins of the antagonistic but guarded relationship between Dumbledore and young Riddle. It makes me think of how this is how Star Wars episodes 1-3 ought to have been like: watching one of the most talented and powerful wizards in history turn to the Dark si..I mean Dark Arts.

I am however still annoyed that Rowling still has not fleshed out any of the magic system yet. How exactly are these wizard battles conducted? What are the rules? (e.g., how does one parry? why doesn't one always use the "stupefy" curse since it's the fastest curse to say? Why bother with the wordier ones when in battle speed is of the essence? What constitutes a powerful wizard? Innate ability, or the spells one knows? The narrative in the books makes it sound like innate ability, and yet Rowling shows that anyone can cast any spell, as long as you know what the words are. In that one scene when Draco and Harry fight, Harry blurts out the SeptumSpectra(sp?) spell without knowing what it does, and it works! and Snape comments 'That's a powerful Dark Arts spell. " So yeah, measurement of magical ability and wizard duels make no sense).

I am also amazed at just how little Harry, Ron, and Hermione have matured. Considering all that's happened to them, all the harrowing near-death moments they have experienced, they are still immature, petty teenagers. And on top of all this, Rowling is trying to play Harry off as someone bent on revenge (which is fine), but the guy still doesn't care a twit about his magic studies, which, after all, are going to be his weapons against Voldemort. (Don't even start with me by telling me that he's going to be banking on the "power of love" bleh). I think Rowling is trying much too hard to make these 17 year olds seem 'typical' to be more relatable to her (non-Asian) grade school kid audience. ('Typical' japanese/chinese 17 year olds would be studying every waking hour for their college admission exams.) It just seems wholly strange to me that everyone loves to do magic, they love the power, but everyone (except Hermione) hates studying it. What the...? bzzzzt...logic circuits malfunction....

I just think I'd find the stories more interesting if the kids grew up a bit more. But looks like hopefully, we'll get that chance next book. Dumbledore is finally dead (you knew it was coming, mentors/guardians have to die, or the hero can never truly grow up). Or did he? I think Dumbledore left enough hints in his final scene, that Rowling could have him make a comeback. Doesn't he tell Malfoy that the Order can make it look like you really died, and then, and only then, will Voldemort stop looking for you? Doesn't he say that the Order can hide you and your mother so that you can't be found? Isn't Snape the one that 'kills' Dumbledore against the explicit orders of Voldemort that Malfoy has to do it? And yet Snape stops the other Death Eaters from torturing Potter saying the Lord explicitly forbid it? Dunno about you guys, but I find it sufficiently suspicious that Snape and Dumbledore staged the whole thing, and that Snape is still working for the Order. Hey, I'm just saying it's possible.

In other news, Harry Potter protects children from physical injuries. In a study published in the BMJ (the most presitigous medical journal in England), researchers found that when the latest installments of the Harry Potter books came out, the number of kids showing up in the ER with broken bones, sprains, scrapes and bruises went down significantly.

They compared the number of admissions on the weekends that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were released with the numbers from surrounding weekends and over the same dates in the previous year.

They found that the mean attendance rate for children ages 7-15 during control weekends was 67.4, but on the weekends that the books were released, the mean attendance rate was 36.5.

So on the weekends a Harry Potter book comes out, all the kids stay home and read. Moral of the story? Harry Potter contributes to childhood obesity. Just kidding, but you know health insurance companies are now BIG Harry Potter fans. Keep 'em coming! (and then our kids will become roly-poly's, ah well...but at least they'll be literate roly-poly's.)