Review: Harry Potter Book 1 - The Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Glad I resisted reading the HP books when they came out and have just read the first 3 for the first time with my 7 year old. We loved them all. Great stories, well written, likeable characters (obvs).

This opening book sets the scene well for more adventures to come but also stands well on its own. The story telling is compelling and the plot is well thought out with a continuous stream of interesting situations for young Harry + his new friends to deal with. The magical v muggle world detail is impeccably thought out, described and tantalisingly believable culminating in the extraordinary game of Quidditch. A joy to read at 7 or 48 years of age!

p.s. We read the super lovely 20th anniversary Bloomsbury house edition - paperback, Gryffindor, non-stripy as seen here.

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god is a shout

My latest poetry reading on Soundcloud is called 'god is a shout'. I was inspired to write it by one of the great #IthacaPrompts offered back in Mar2021 by @Writing.By.SA on Instagram. The poetry community on Insta are a super inspiring + talented bunch. Do check them out if you haven't already.

This piece is a visceral documentation of a day in the life of a creative parent, body bound to the home by low mobility, mind escaping to the stars via the alchemy of ink + paper. Hope you enjoy the words below + the reading here x

I woke in dreamtime

Another poetry recording, this time of a micropoem written in 2019. To create the out-of-this-world, dreamy experience the poem needed, I channeled a mix of Luna Lovegood + Professor Trelawney (both Harry Potter Characters - The Pixie + I have recently finished reading the first 3 books together and she watches the first 3 films on repeat whenever she can. I've just binge watched the remaining 5 films in my generous parental duty to check if films 4-8 are suitable for a seven year old to watch - they are most definitely not suitable but are very good for a 48 year old!).

'I woke in dreamtime' can be found here.

Easter Monday Audio

Here's another recording just posted on Soundcloud of my poem Easter Monday. This one called for a quiet background, unlike the others I've recorded with my own music (perhaps 'audible experience' would be a better description) tucked underneath the words. Would love to know what you think of any of these offerings - words, images, sounds - so do send me a tweet @racheblue with any feedback you may have. Thanks x

Spoken Word Poems

Hello there,

I've not been here much lately due to general busyness. As well as practicing my songwriting and getting to grips with basic recording (a tricky business particularly when I don't really play a musical instrument, just tinkle about with a few learnt way back in school-days), I've been transforming my written work into visual and audible content to complement the words and give them a fresh lease of life. It's all a bit hotch-potch at times as I'm mostly building my wings on the way down (I knew there was something I should have done before jumping off, damn it!). Ah well, c'est la vie. I hope you enjoy them as much as I've had fun recording them.

Susie is the second of my poetry readings aka spoken word tracks posted on Soundcloud. Enjoy x