Thursday, October 8, 2015

[[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Illustrated Edition]] (Harry Potter, Book 1) - J.K. Rowling (Author), Jim Kay (Illustrator)

Do you know that "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone", book one, is releasing on October 6, 2015?

How does the “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The illustrated edition” look like?

The book is in lavishly illustrated full-color editions

It is with 100 and more stunning illustrations.

The best book, which is designed by Jim Kay into luxury appearance as an ideal gift for kids. Book cover is being presented to the story inside of the book. In addition, it is made for the dedicated true fan of J.K. Rowling’s works.

Who is an illustrator of this J.K. Rowling’s beloved book?

It is Jim Kay, Kate Greenway-award winning artist.

What is the synopsis in the book “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The illustrated edition”?

A protagonist, Harry Potter, lives with his awful aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. Harry has to suffer living in the same house with their damnable son-Dudley, a great guy who is extremely fond to use his strength or power to harm or intimidate who are weaker, that it would be…H a r r y.

For instance, at the Dudley’s birthday which is held at zoo. There was a mysterious incident while everybody is talking and laughing at the event, they all got scared, because the glass that is usually put in front of a boa constrictor-a South American snake with a very long trick body kills animals by wrapping itself around then squeezing them until its unlucky victims is dead, disappears unexpectedly.

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Harry is a scapegoat and later punished for this happening.

A very small room at the foot of the stairs in the house is Harry’s space to live, or as we know, his bedroom- a room that is not enough to swing a cat…

He has never seen any birthday party’s candle, has not heard or sung birthday song-“Happy birthday to you (Harry)…”, in eleven years.

His life is very very sorrow. It is been since he was too young and so far.

However, one day, an owl messenger has bought a dark secret letter to Harry.

How would Harry’s life about to be after the letter arrival? What is the letter about? - find it together with Harry in the new edition book “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The illustrated edition”

Summary
The Dursley run away from their house to somewhere else that nobody knows. Because they worry about the mysterious letters begin coming for Harry.

However, one day at midnight, Hagrid has made a large bang on the door come into a secluded island hut as the place that the Durley stay. He is on his duty as a post man-hands a Hogwarts school’s admissions to Harry.

After that night passed, Hagrid picks Harry to London city and buy some supplies for studying in school.

Before Hagrid and Harry doing somethings else, they decide go to the specified wizard bank, named “Gringotts”. Once Harry contracts to the bank and updates his bank account, he has a big surprise for lots of money that his father and mother have deposited for him. Oh my god! Now Harry can shop whatever that has to use for his class in school without worrying of shortage of money. The Diagon Alley, at the commercial street for wizard’s supply. Harry buys some necessary things such as a magic wand, some elements that are combined to make a particular for potions, and of course textbooks.

One month go by fast, during Harry’s journey to his school, Hogwarts, on the train, which is he catches, the other first-year who are studying at the same school-Ron Weasley-who becomes the best friend of Harry Potter, and Hermione Jean Granger, a young girl with insecurity and fear of failure, they befriend each other since then.

The first-years students have to choose their residential house that they will live, as it is a boarding school. Anyway, to be fair to everyone, very new students have to take turns putting on the “Sorting Hat” to pick their individual house accordingly.

They, Harry, Ron and Hermione end up in the noble “Gryffindor” house. Harry feels comfortable for now not being assigned to the sinister “Slytherin” house that he fears while putting on the “Sorting Hat”

At the time that the school year having started and in progress, Hagrid comes and reassures Harry saying something to remove the doubts and fear of his Potions professor, Snape, as Harry learns that Snape dislike him, - “It has no any reason that Snape have no liking you, Harry.”

Draco Malfoy snatches Neville’s prized toy and flies to the top of a tree while Neville has injured during their first flying lesson on broomsticks. Draco is a bully student from Slytherin residential house. This incedent brings Harry to play Quidditch later on as Professor McGonagall witness Harry tries to fly after Draco Malfoy and make a striking catch once Malfoy throws the balls in the air.

At midnight, there is a wizard’s duel between Harry and Malfoy. This duel is held due to Malfoy challenges Harry. When the time comes to start the contest, Malfoy does not show up himself at the appointed place. Harry is trying to hide too. However, he almost gets in big trouble. Because he accidentally finds guard dog with three-headed that he is a caretaker for a trap door in the forbidden corridor-third-floor.

Inside the building on Halloween, a strange troll is found. All students are rescued into their residential houses. Except Harry and Ron, they sneak off to find Hermione and see her while running away the troll in the girl’s bathroom.

They help each other battle the troll, - Harry rides on and grabs the troll’s neck from behind and stabs his stick into the ugly strange animal’s nose.

While the troll catches Harry’s legs up with and one hand and attempts to beat Harry’s by the club with the other hand. Harry’s head is upside down. He tells Ron to do something helping him. Ron swishes and flicks his wand and speaks the magic spell words. Finally, they defeat the troll.

Once school’s professors learn and question what happening. To protect Harry and Ron from being penalized, Hermione has to tell a lie for all that matter occurrence in the bathroom. At the Harry’s first Quidditch competition, He cannot control his broom smoothly as it should be. It moves like under someone else order it. Hermione observes Snape looking fixedly at Harry and say somethings in a low vice and undertone. She comes up with thought Snape muttering a curse and making Harry’s broom jerk out of control. Therefore, she decides to light a fire on Snape’s clothes. Finally, Harry’s broom becomes under his control again and he does a spectacular play to be the winner of the match-Quidditch.

Late at night, Harry explores the school, which is hidden by his father’s invisibility cloak sending him for Christmas. Harry finds the Mirror of Erised. This mirror will show the deepest whish of any person who looks in it. Harry does and sees his parents still alive through it-the Magic Mirror, Mirror of Erised that displays the user his or her heart’s deepest desire.

Afterward the Christmas, Harry, Hermione and Ron plan to find out what it is the relationship between a break-in at Gringotts and The Three-headed guard dog are linked each other. So they kick-off to puzzle out the mystery and learn that the dog is watching over to protect the Sorcerer’s stone, - the stone that having the ability of contributing eternal life and unlimited riches to a person who owns it. Who is the stone’s owner? It belongs to Nicolas Flamel, Dumbledore’s old partner.

Hagrid is a half-giant-human who is the gamekeeper and a Keeper of keys and Grounds of Hogwarts School. In 1940, he was in the Gryffindor house when attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was framed by Tom Riddle for the crime of opening the Chamber of Secrets and using his pet Acromantula( a species of giant spider are believed to be wizard-breed species native to the rainforest of Southeast Asia) to attack and kill of several Muggle-born students. Though he was expelled, his wand was snapped.

However, as the request of Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid was educated and trained as gamekeeper of Hogwarts and permitted him to have the school grounds as the place where he could live. Hagrid wins a dragon egg in a poker game. Dragon egg is a very large egg as around 12 x 8 inches and need a lot heat from their parents, particularly mothers to hatch, dragon eggs are very protective by their mothers.

To help Hagrid from trouble of illegal having Dragon, the trio, Harry, Ron and Hermione try to reach Ron’s older brother-Charlie Weasley. Charlie learns and works dragons in Romania and knows how to treat dragons very well, in order to plan to take the dragon away from their place as to be free of troublesome because it is illegal to own dragons in the school.

Nevertheless, they are all unfortunate and are caught. Finally, they are very seriously penalized, and Gryffindor is docked 150 points-House points usually are awarded to students at Hogwarts school, the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry where sorted of divided into four houses - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slyntherin, that correctly answer a question, do somethings good deeds, or win Quidditch Match. But the points can also be taken away for rule breaking such as the happening case-having a dragon.

On top of that, part of their penalty is to go into the enchanted forest with Hagrid to search out who has been killing unicorn not long time ago. In the dark forest, Harry encounters a mysterious hooded man drinking a dead unicorn blood. That hooded figure makes an attempt to kill Harry but Harry is rescued by a friendly centaur, Firenze, who explains him that the assailant figure who was trying to attack Harry is actually Lord Voldemort.

Future more, Harry reveals now that is Voldemort who has been trying hard for a long time to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone and he wants immortality, to be an eternal life, then he drinks unicorn blood.

Harry makes a decision he has to search for the Sorcerer’s Stone earlier than Voldemort does. At that night, they, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneak off to the mysterious corridor-the forbidden third-floor, the place that Harry accidentally find it before. They get past the guard dog by put him to fall asleep with playing music tune on whistle that Harry got it from Hagrid for Christmas.

While they feat many dangerous guarding and get closer to their destination where the stone is, Harry finally finds himself immediate facing with Quirrell in front of him. Quirrell wants to kill Harry then he announces that Harry must die by his attack.

Once Quirrell learns that Harry and his friends come to seek the Sorcerer’s Stone, he forces Harry to be in front of the Mirror of Erised and asks Harry telling about what he can see in the Mirror. Harry sees the stone in his pocket, and he actually senses it in his pocket too. However, Harry does not want to tell Quirrell the truth what it is in the Mirror of Erised. He tells a lie that he sees something else. But Quirrell can smell the rat that Harry is lying him, so he puts off his turban and reveals Voldemort’s face on the back of his head.

Quirrell is under Voldemort’s control. Voldemort is inhabiting Quirrell’s body. Voldemort uses Quirrell body to do things as his assignment. He tells Quirrell to kill Harry. With unknown, when Quirrell attacks and touches the boy, his body is immediately burned-out.

As a result of fight afterword, it makes Harry black out-undergo a sudden and temporary loss of his consciousness at the forbidden place.

When Harry gets back consciousness, he finds himself in the hospital with Dumbledore. Harry makes a request Dumbledore to explain him what happen during he pass out. Dumbledore tells Harry that he comes in time while seeing Lord Voldemort uses his Legilimency on Harry to seek out what is in Harry’s mind and discovers the Stone in Harry’s pocket. Voldemort instructs Quirrell to grasp the Sorcerer's Stone from Harry. But when Quirrell come so close and contact Harry’s body, his skin is burned. Then he saves Harry from the struggle just in time. Dumbledore adds that he and Nicolas Flamel have made a decision together to destroy the Stone.

Harry comes to join the end-of-year banquet. In this school event, Slyntherin celebrates its Seventh consecutive win of the school Hogwarts House championship cup. As well, Dumbledore awards many last-minute points to Gryffindor for the feats of Harry and his friends, winning the house cup for Gryffindor, the residential house, where Harry Potter, Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley, and Hermione Granger live.

Summer comes up, Harry goes back to London to visit his uncle family, the Dursley, and spends Summer time there.

Title: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The illustrated edition”
Reviewed by: Michael Leng on English as second language.
At: October 8, 2015

Book Details:

Book author: J.K. Rowling (Author), Jim Kay (Illustrator)
ISBN-13: 978-0545790352
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; Illustrated edition
Published date: October 6, 2015

Language: English

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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

[[The Martian]] Book - The At Stake of The Solely Astronaut Written by Andy Weir | Book-Hub Review

Someone else might be dead if he was in this unforgiving environment. However, it is not for Mark Watney. 

Now you can enjoy your reading and fell you are now not at on earth, but Mars...

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"Martian" book is about the adventure of the solely man on

As an astronaut, Mark Watney, the first one who is walking on Mars for just around SIX Days ago.

No one expected, while he and his crew on Mars, the dust storm had attracted them severely. Then, after that, he finds himself stayed alone COMPLETELY. All of his crew had evacuated to earth during being forced by the giant storm. The crew thought him, Mark, already dead.

In the mid of darkness where it is far from earth around 225 million km. average between Mars and Earth. What can he eat? Where is he going to sleep? Is there any drinking water for ending his thirsty? No, all these questions are unanswered.



Unbelievable, he thinks in positive way, - Why can’t he come back to his home (Earth) since it has the way that he comes to the Mars. There is the will there is the way.

As an engineer background, Mark should handle this tough situation in the tough time. Will his resourcefulness be enough to deal the one apparently unconquerable difficulty against him? On the other hand, he is much likely to be killed by his thought as one of the two frog’s story as almost everyone has heard!

The worst case of human life adventures are on the Earth; sea, junks and mountains, but in the book “Martian”, it talks about at stake in the fourth planet which taking around 9 months to get there-Mars.

Andy Weir, an author, thinks wildly unlimited- he thinks and tells us about the astronaut to help himself without waiting for hands from god to rescue him.

It is not much to see a ten thousand customer reviews on every books on shelf, but the “Martian” does.

If you are one who is fond reading book. Never miss the story that happen outside Earth but you can see it as real as you were there- Mars while you sit on Earth, at your place.


Title: The Martian
Reviewed by: Michael Leng on English as second language.
At: 7 Oct. 2015

Book Details:

Book author: Andy Weir
ISBN-13: 978-0553418026
Publisher: Broadway Books; Reprint edition
Published date: 28 Oct. 2014
Language: English



Michael Leng is Thai, has a BA in Hotel management from Ramkhamhaeng University. He had worked for some hotels. Currently he works in logistics field, Bangkok, Thailand. Because of loving in English,  he has written some his own blogs in English-he really wants any feedback about his English he has posted.


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