Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by J.K. Rowling
Rating: 9 out of 10

I was afraid that this would happen. I’m now completely caught up with the Harry Potter series and I’m mad. I’m mad that I have to wait until next summer to find out what happens.

I was very close to giving this book yet another 10 out of 10 rating. It is so awesome on so many amazing levels that it is hard to explain without spoiling it. I couldn’t help but be amazed once again at JK Rowling and her incredible writing talent.

I feel so incredibly late to the game here, but at the same time, I’m so glad that I finally wised up and realized what I was missing by NOT reading the books. Special thanks go out to my friend Jason who lent me this book. I was able to come up with the first 5 thanks to my sister-in-law Ashley, but I was short the last one. I found out my buddy had read them all and owned them so I gladly took up his offer to borrow it.

I don’t know what to say about this book without giving anything away. Harry’s life experienced greater loss in Book 5 than anything he had had to face so far, but that PALES in comparison to what he has to deal with though the pages of Book 6. It is funny what you start expecting because you want things to all work out for the best, but you realize that this is closer to the real world than we want to think. Things don’t always work out like you imagine in your mind. After finishing this book, that’s what I took. Despite its fantastical nature, Harry Potter’s world is a great representation of ours. Good and evil take sides and unfortunately, as is often the case in real life, good doesn’t always triumph. Sure, you wish for it. I found myself wishing for things in this book that I didn’t imagine I could, but there I was, wishing all the same for things out of my own control to be different.

Unfortunately, much as in life, we cannot control everything. It doesn’t all happen according to our plan. But as long as we remained focused on the things that matter, we still find success, happiness, and even love.

I realize that this probably sounds corny coming from a 29-year-old guy who just read Book 6 in the Harry Potter series, but it’s true. It’s the reason that these books have resonated so well with kids as well as adults. Sure, they are entertaining and exciting. But they also do not sugar-coat the world in which we live. It’s a world that is both difficult and beautiful. And oftentimes it is the struggle that makes us realize just how beautiful the world is.

So I am halfway done with my book project. 13 books down. I’m on track to finish my 25, even if I don’t keep up this pace. For my next book (in addition to finally finishing The Power of a Praying Husband, I’m going to read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the book that caused so much controversy for Dan Brown prior to the release of The Da Vinci Code movie. I am pumped to see what all the fuss was about. It’s a non-fiction book, so it will probably take me some time, but I want to try and get it done before I see the movie. We’ll see how successful I am with that.

In addition, to Harry Potter fans out there…can you think of anything else that would be good reading like that?