Dangerous skins

Pulling on the skin of a new book, a new author -- I adore that feeling, but right now, with the pile of things I have on my desk and life, I am relying on the safety of familiar books instead. Sometimes it's better to know how the story ends, especially when you have a ton of dangling threads in real life. (Why do I sound defensive?? I reread books. Why else would one own them?)

So a few, in no particular order -- heh, speaking of no particular order, I picked up Harry Potter 5, in anticipation of the movie coming out, to lead up to 6. I got about a chapter in and grabbed the wrong volume when dashing out to do some chauffeuring and car waiting. So I read 7 instead. Of course, then I was at the "beginning" of reading the series backwards and decided to go ahead with that.

What a different look at a well-known (to me) series. For one thing, the flaws JUMP out at me. Especially the time-turner. Mainly the time-turner. Ugh, the time-turner. Little detail things like calling the dementors guards until partway through volume 3 and then not really again. For another, it doesn't matter. They are familiar to me because I have read them multiple times, and this is because I enjoy them. But I do recommend sometime reading a series backwards for a different take on the author's plotting. It's very instructive. I am going to do this with GRRM's next, in anticipation of the upcoming release, whenever the heck that will be.

The current top of the stack in the bathroom is Bisson's Bears Discover Fire. I can't remember which story I brought along to Odyssey as my "favorite", but this story (the title story) would be really high on my list, and there are several in this collection that are recommendable, as well. I feel, dimly, that old stirring of inspiration. Those bears can do that for me. So can Atwood and Oates. They make me want to add to the world, something, something new and different and dangerous, something that someone will want to call familiar.