Forgotten!!

I realised I'd forgotten to blog the following two Potter books.....

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter & the Half blood Prince by JK Rowling

Harry's battle against Voldemort continues throughout years five and six of his education at Hogwarts. Both books are full of familiar characters and themes but the stakes are getting higher and things are definitely getting deeper and darker. Harry and his friends are growing stronger and more confident but unfortunately so are their enemies.

Aside from the main plot the author subtly deals with many other themes such as; Government spin doctoring, lying newspapers, racism, young love and teenage angst. These are definitely not children's books! Events that occurred in previous books, that may have seemed insignificant at the time, are expanded upon. Whether JK Rowling planned all this from the start or cleverly picked themes to enlarge in retrospect, it doesn't matter. It all works brilliantly.

As the action hots up and the stories move on towards their climaxes it is difficult to put these books down. There are surprises and unexpected twists, Rowling really is a master story teller. It's now life or death for the protagonists and not even the best loved characters are safe. Now I understand the hype that used to surround a 'Potter' book launch! When one book finishes I could not wait to pick up the next, so I didn't. When I finished reading the “..Prince” I started another, totally different novel by another author. I found myself missing Hogwarts....

These books just keep getting better!!

Anything ever written by Ben Elton

Over the years I've read lots of books by Ben Elton, from memory; Stark, Gridlock, This Other Eden, Inconceivable, Dead Famous, High Society, Past Mortem, The First Casualty

It would probably be unfair to say that they are all the same but they definitely all have things in common. They are all very easy to read. They have a plot that makes some kind of grand statement about the world we live in. They all are cracking stories that keep the reader interested right till the end. They are forgotten almost instantly.

Ben Elton's 'motor mouth' public persona makes him a very difficult person to like. His books are enjoyable yet ultimately unsatisfying. Like fast food, you feel good for a bit but soon want something more substantial, they are however very moorish. There's always a moral to the stories but I'm not sure the reader can ever take it seriously, which is a bit of a shame.

Guilty pleasure? Don't like Elton, shouldn't like his books but honestly I do!