French Women Don't Get Fat - or Instructions in Life

I wish I could tell you that this is simply another fad launched by somebody interested in marketing the profits of a diet that would last a year or two- their fiteen minutes so to speak.

I would be lying though.

I forget where initially I heard of this book, it might have been online or in a magazine most likely as I don't have access to a TV.

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano isn't here to make fun of American women. Nor to provide spreadsheets and color-coded methods of breaking down the chemical and biology of what is put in one's mouth. And it is put explicatively- this is not a diet book, and it will take months to start to see the true benefits of it. This is a book promoting long-term lifestyle, and it is the most enriching book I have read in a very very long time.

I feel very lucky to been a part of the wisdom of Guiliano and that she had taken the onerous task of putting together this book which is by no means what most of us would take as a flattering facet of our lives. The time where we get to some degree, fat. Even if it never happens to you, I would still recommend this book to every woman, and advise for you to do the same. The values of savoring life, loving, and doing it with grace are paramount.

I wish I had bought this book instead of picking it up at the library. It has been an absolute joy to read, I have finished poring over it in less than three days. I also feel ashamed that I originally checked out the book with the intent of gloating over its useless claims at weight loss and prejudice. I couldn't be happier to say that I can't wait for a paperback at which juncture I can wear the corners and break the spine. Because this book will age with you. It will entertain, inspire, and instruct.

I hate to be an enigma, but this book is so unique, I cannot pick a single section out as being more important than the rest- it can only be taken as a whole. I will leave with the closing sentence: "Bon courage, bonne chance, and bon appetit". Which I loosely translate to say, have courage, good luck, and enjoy. Which is the main message of the book.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Firstly, I was already warned before I began reading of the two grand spoilers in this book. Who the half-blood prince was and who dies. With that in mind without giving away plot- it was quite lame how the half-blood prince is named so, and whom he is. Its for no exotic reason, I'll leave it at that.

The big idea behind Half Blood is to build character, the readers have finally seen all the new people they can possibly be introduced to. The end is at hand and there must be depth to the characters for the finale to be meaningful and exciting. It is hard to feel emotion for characters that have few defining characteristics that readers can identify with. There are still many loose ends to tie up before this series is done, and I don't envy J.K.'s monumental task in this.

I enjoyed Harry growing past the whiney stage that he so greatly indulged in the Order of the Phoenix. It was really annoying, and I enjoyed Phoenix a lot less as a result. Ron Weasley's sudden promiscuity was startling, and Hermione's obviously jealous reactions and rebellion were extreme. It was good to see Ron break out of the I'm-not-sure-if-girlfriends-are-cool stage. He made up for lost time to say the least.

My greatest surprise was the fleshing out of Draco Malfoy's character. Most of the series he has been the blind antagonist to Harry without much provocation. His primary drive seem to be rivalry and jealousy, so it was refreshing to see him given depth and story. Draco has been a player in the books since Socerer's Stone, and it should be safe to assume he has a big role ahead in the the last book. I certainly don't envy J.K.'s task in the next two years.

Tom Riddle/Voldemort was the main focus for Harry as always, but not his present- his past. Harry and Dumbledore together piece together the mysetery of the most nefarious wizard in the century. I'm hoping to see that he is no longer a flat dimensionless character that he has been for the first four books. Pheonix gave hints of there being more than blind hatered to motivate Tom down his path to darkness.

A story in which the reader is asked to have a dislike for someone by deed only is easily a short story. Giving depth to the antagonist is a brave step into epic for a writer. Sorcerer's Stone Voldemort was barely in at all, mostly mentioned in whisper and at the end is possessing a teacher. Chamber of Secrets had slightly more presence, but it was still a fairly glossed over charcater despite the dread and hype. Evil, but evil for the sake of being evil- mostly a face and name tenuously connected to the unfolding events. Azkaban had hardly anything to do with Voldemort at all, it mostly focused on the Dementors and Sirius. The Goblet is my favorite, but yet again- Voldemort isn't personally connected to the chaos and loosely at that through agents. It isn't until the end when he is reborn in the full flesh that Voldemort finally begins to have a physical presence in the series. Conseqentially, hs also begins to be fleshed out with motive, weaknesses, and measures of personality beyond destruction. Give a character history and it puts strength into the story. Good thing too since the end is nearly at hand for the Harry Potter books.

I was a little dissapointed after all the development that was put into Neville (spoiler link and bio) Pheonix that he hardly has any presence in Half Blood at all. I was happy to see J.K. address the odd prophecy that links Harry and Neville by freak chance of birth. I also fully expected Fleur and Ms. Weasly to have an all-out cat fight without coming to terms about Bill. Nor for Fleur to be so loyal to Bill despite the sickening lovey-dovey between them. I make mention of this, because Fleur appears to be very shallow, but when Bill's face is ruined she stands stalwart at his side. Thus she and Ms. Weasley reconcile. Surprising.

I was also pleased that the death of the influential Sirius was not put down lightly by Harry. Practically the only family he had, and became yet another of Voldemort's victims. I was greatly surprised by the Remus/Tonks thing, it caught me by surprise. I had no idea the J.K. would be so brave to take Harry, Ron, and Hermione off Hogwarts for the next book. I fully expected for the school to be the sight of the final apocalypse so to speak. She has put so much effort into making the castle a character itself in the books since the beginning, so much focus that I never thought she would lead us away from in the last book. That Hermione would jump with Ron and Harry to not go back to school next year so they could hunt down the last Horcruxes was the bigger shock for me.

All in all, there is always something occuring that readers can identify with, some character that they feel more strongly about. And J.K. provides all the 'feel good' candy in Half Blood, but I can only guess at the conclusion coming our way at the last year of Hogwarts.