Archive for Harry Potter
yet another list of 100 “best novels”
Posted in Books, Statistics with tags authors, best novels, book list, English literature, French literature, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowlings, Kazuo Ishiguro, NYT, Russian literature, Susanna Clarke, The Guardian, The Lord of The Ring, The New York Times, The North, Ursula Le Guin, Victor Hugo on June 15, 2026 by xi'an
a journal of the invasion year
Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel, University life, Wines with tags BD, Becky Chambers, Black Plague, book reviews, comic fantasy, comics, COVID-19, cuisine, Daniel Defoe, Gaza war, Greenland, Harry Potter, horror story, Hugo Awards, Journal of the Plague Year, Kalaallit Nunaat, kingfisher, Korea TV series, mystery novel, restaurant, Russian invasion, South Korea, Stand Up To Trump, Tokyo, Trump administration, Ukraine, Venezuela, whodunnit, yakuza on January 17, 2026 by xi'an
Read The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett, which I enjoyed tremendously. Admittedly, and paradoxically, it belongs to a highly specialised niche, namely the one of murder mysteries in fantasy settings. Paradoxically, because in a fantasy universe, anything can prove true (and the opposite), which makes uncovering the murderer(s) an impossible task (for the readers). But the author manages to make the story into a page turner, while unfolding the specifics of the local universe without massive infodump. And creating fully-fleshed characters, esp. the main investigator and her rookie assistant. I am definitely looking forward the continuation of the sleuthing adventures of the pair and comforted that the book won the 2025 Hugo [Best Novel] Award! (And this made me reminiscing of other
great fantasy mysteries, like Gideon the Ninth, A Master of Djinn, the Bobby Dollar trilogy, as well as several Kingfisher‘s books.) I also read the BD Petites coupures à Shioguni (Small denominations in Shioguni) by Florent Chavouet, a Japanese gangster story with a truly original style and a relatively convincing scenario.
Prepared several kilos of local (sea) scallops during our Norman vacations, which is easier than preparing oysters but messier since the shells may be full of sand. Also failed my first chocolate mousse of the year, mostly due to eggs being too cold and solidifying the barely melted chocolate as a result.
Watched Beyond the Bar, (yet another) Korean TV series on a major legal company and the rise of a young recruit. Repeating a lot of tropes found in other series on the same topic, with weak resolutions of the legal issues but enjoyable at low doses nonetheless. Also found myself watching The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third instalment of the Harry Potter franchise, Fantastic Beasts, which is frankly appalling, cheesy, and lacking a true background story.
the best books of the NYT readers
Posted in Books, Kids, Travel with tags 1984, book list, book reviews, Catch, censorship, Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, George Orwell, Harper Lee, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowlings, J.R. Tolkien, James Joyce, John Steinbeck, Le Monde, list, Margaret Atwood, Nabokov, novel, The Lord of the Rings, The New York Times, To Kill a Mockingbird, Toni Morisson on February 9, 2022 by xi'an
Two years after Le Monde reported on the list of the 101 favourite novels of [some of] its readers, which I found most fascinating as a sociological entry on said readers, rather than a meaningful ordering of literary monuments (!), even though it led me to read Damasio’s La Horde du Contrevent, as well as Jean-Philippe Jaworski’s Gagner la Guerre [To the victors go the spoils], The New York Times did something similar to celebrate the Book Review’s 125th anniversary. If on a lesser scale, as it only produces
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- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
- 1984 by George Orwell
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
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as the top five books of the last 125th years, Lee’s, Tolkien’s, and Garcia Márquez’s appearing in both lists, if with a different ranking. (The nomination rules were not exactly the same, though, with only novels for Le Monde and only “recent” books and only one per author for the New York Times.) Here is a longer list of the 25 top contenders, from which NYT readers voted [an opportunity I missed!]:
Shades of magic [book review]
Posted in Books, Kids with tags book reviews, Harry Potter, London, Neil Gaiman, Oxford, Philip Pullman, young adult books on February 20, 2021 by xi'an
After seeing the books in a Denver bookstore (in the summer of 2019), I eventually came to try one, then the others. Even though the setting is somewhat simplistic, or may intended for young adults, with ideas also found in earlier novels, it makes for a pleasant read. The underlying concept is having several Londons set in different universes and connected by magic for the happy few able to travel between them. One of them is “our” Victorian London. Labelled as Grey London. Then there are White, Red, and Black Londons… With some pivotal pubs existing in all (?) of them. This reminded me very much of Neverwhere, one of the few Gaimans I deeply appreciated. Or of Pullman’s Oxfords. The first volume sets the scene, with two main characters, (Grey) Lila and (Red) Kell, whose paths will come to cross, some villains in the least privileged London, and some sudden existential threat on Red London. The latest being the least convincing part of the plot as lacking subtlety. The second volume mostly takes place in Red London and the first part sounds a wee bit like the female part of Red seas under red skys. That is, a smart thief at sea. And a smarter captain. With on top of it a magic competition where all main characters cross path. Again a poor part of the plot as the competition feels like
a journal of the plague year [almost gone]
Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags Akira Kurosawa, amazon associates, book reviews, Brave New World, Caen, COVID-19, Daniel Defoe, film review, films, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, homecooking, Journal of the Plague Year, Jules Verne, Kagemucha, Lapsang Souchong, mutant, Neufchâtel, NYT, Order of the Phoenix, pandemic, Philip Pullman, risotto, science fiction, shadow warrior, Stéphane Carbone, superstition, truffles, University of Oxford on January 23, 2021 by xi'an
Read The stars are legion, by Kameron Hurley, which I brought back from Gainesville last year. Although I cannot remember why I bought the book, it must have been a “recommendation” on 
Amazon… The story is part unusual, part classical, with a constant switch between the two major characters [viewpoint]. And between different times. The style is complex, maybe too complex, as the universe is slowly revealing itself, through the perception biases of the characters. Including (spoiler!) one with multiple memory erasures and two attempts at recycling. Stars are actually (spoiler!) space-ships with some possibly organic elements that are decomposing (and showing the steel skeletons), with also apparently organic smaller vessels to travel between ships or fight between clans. Some of the ship inhabitants are mutants, possibly for being unprotected from space or ship radiations (although the control and propulsion of these ships is never mentioned), possibly because they are perceived as such by different groups in the ships, à la Huxley’s Brave New World? And there seem to be only females on-board, with all of them getting (mysteriously) pregnant at one time or another, rarely giving birth to children (associated with driving the ships? creating new ships?) but rather to other organic entities, apparently contributing to keeping the ship alive. All this is quite creative, with a powerful theme of power versus motherhood, but the story-telling is just too messy for me to have enjoyed it. The more because the type of subterranean universe where characters wander from one level to the next and discover supremely different ecosystems at each level never appealed to me. Since I read Verne’s Voyage au Centre de la Terre. (And I suddenly remembered dropping out of an earlier Hurley’s book.)
Cooked (the last remaining) pumpkin risotto with (legal) Lapsang tea, which worked out rather nicely, albeit loosing most of the Lapsang flavour. Had a week of (pleasant) cookie flavour home fragrance while my wife was preparing cookies for the entire family. Cooked a brunch with my son on the last Sunday of 2020, once again with Lapsang as drink. And had a Michelin take-away with my mom in Caen, since all restaurants remain closed till an unknown date. Which proved a great choice as it was surprisingly good, once out of the (potato starch) package.
Watched Season 2 of the BBC His Dark Materials series. Still impressed by the high level of the show (and enjoying it even more as I had forgotten basically everything about The Subtle Knife!) Except for the dark matter physicist turning to I Ching to understand her empirical experiment… But it remains a great series (esp. when mostly avoiding bears.) Also rewatched a Harry Potter film with my daughter, The Order of the Phoenix, which I found rather poor on the whole, despite a few great scenes (like the Wesley twins’ departure) and the fabulous rendering of the petty bureaucratic evil of Mrs. Umbridge throughout the film. And a part of The Half Blood Prince. Which sounded much better by comparison.
“It slowly dawned on me that it’s possible for the wise men who run your life for you to see disaster coming and not have a plan for dealing with it”
Read another K.J. Parker’s book, “How to rule an empire and get away with it“, sequel to “Sixteen ways &tc.” Light (mind-candy) but enjoyable bedside reading. Somewhat of a classical trick where a double becomes the real thing, if not in a Kagemusha tragic style.
