Hello and good day to you. The inspiration for this post came from the booktuber Merphy Napier (if you love fantasy you should really check her out), who made two videos recently called “Books I rated too high” and “Books I rated too low”. She really is one of my favorite booktubers but those videos made me realize how I don’t rate books the same way as she does. And I think there’s an important discussion there. Do we rate a book based on how much we enjoyed it or do we evaluate the actual quality of the book?
I found myself in a conundrum because what makes a book objectively good? My opinion is that if there was actually an answer to this question, wouldn’t there be books that EVERYBODY loved? As far as I’m aware, that’s not the case and far from it. Doesn’t that mean that it comes down to the individual reader and what they enjoy? What a reader enjoy can vary so much and not everyone is even aware of what they like and dislike in books. Many people love books that aren’t close to winning any awards and therefore might be considered “bad books”.
Let’s just
briefly consider what could label a book “bad” or “not worth reading”.
Poor
writing – the general idea is that repetitive writing is bad writing because it
lacks creativity and the reader will get bored easily.
Flat
characters – characters that are very one-dimensional can seem unrealistic and
maybe shows the laziness of the author.
Plot
holes – a sign that the author haven’t thought everything through and tied it
all together.
I’m not an
expert on writing books but this was just to give you an idea about what I’m
referring to when I say that not every reader care about all of this. So, what
is the point of rating books based on these parameters?
To use myself as an example, I rate books based on my enjoyment of them and sometimes my enjoyment is reduced due to poor writing, plot holes etc. But only sometimes. Other times, I will completely ignore these faults because something else about the book has made me love it dearly. And then I will rate it 5 stars. In my review of the book, I will explain what was great about the book so other people can make the decision whether they would enjoy the same things or not. That’s why I think it makes more sense to rate a book based on my enjoyment of it. Should I rate it lower because I imagine someone else is not going to like it? That just seems absurd to me.
You can of course also have the discussion on the significance of assigning a number to a book. I like seeing the number in a review because it helps me understand the reviewer. We use words like ‘enjoy’, ‘like’ and ‘love’ a lot in reviews and the rating just tells me how much they enjoyed, liked or loved it. The biggest problem with rating books is when you get an average rating like on Goodreads. It’s easy to judge the book based on that little number but there can be so many 5- and 1-star ratings in there. I think it’s always necessary to research a book further before dismissing it or adding it to your TBR.
To round this off, I don’t believe one can be completely objective when rating books. We all like different things. There isn’t a book that everyone loves just as there isn’t a book that everyone hates. Assumed objective quality just makes us feel bad for liking a “bad book”, and we feel forced to like a “good book”. That’s really not necessary.
What do you think of this distinction? What do you consider when rating books if you even rate them? I’d love to know if you consider the book’s quality more than I do.
“It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting along in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind “
First line in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
I’m back with the third post in this series of Hogwarts House Recommendations. This one is about Ravenclaw. I’ve previously done posts about Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
In case
you’ve never read Harry Potter and don’t know anything about those houses with
weird names, here are a few characteristics of a typical Ravenclaw:
Intelligent
Creative
Learning
Wit
Self-sufficient
Arrogant
I’ve picked
out 5 books in which the main characters exhibit some of those traits. In that
sense, this is a list of recommendations if you want to read books about Ravenclaws.
You don’t need to be a Ravenclaw yourself. As I see it, one’s personality and
one’s reading tastes don’t necessarily match in that way. But let’s get onto
the books.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
A
contemporary romance novel might not seem like the most obvious choice for a
Ravenclaw recommendation. However, I believe Ravenclaw will appreciate Don
Tillman’s rational and logical way of solving problems. Everything in his life
is categorized and researched to give him the ideal living conditions. This
means that he of course has come up with the most efficient way to find the
perfect woman: The Wife Project. That is a such a Ravenclaw thing to do.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
This is a
retelling of The Jungle Book with a horror twist. Bod grows up in a graveyard
after his entire family is murdered. He miraculously escapes, and is brought up
by the ghosts of the graveyard. Bod is curious about a lot of things and
actively seeks out answers to his many questions. He’s not someone who will
settle for half-truths, and this craving for knowledge makes him a Ravenclaw to
me. Later in the book, he also uses creativity and quick thinking to get
himself out of sticky situations.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
An urban
fantasy novel in which a good part of the story takes place at a school. Yes,
they are learning magic, and it’s highlighted how difficult this magic is. It’s
not just saying a spell and waving a wand. The magic in The Magicians is more
intellectual and complicated than that, and I think a Ravenclaw would
appreciate this unique twist to a magic system. Several of the characters also
exhibit a definite need to learn.
There is no excuse for them not to do perfect magic and let’s just say that
lesser magicians are beneath them. They might sound horrible when described
like that, but it’s really just confidence in the best way.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
In Radio
Silence, we follow Frances whose entire life revolves around academic
achievement. She’s doing everything in her power to get into the best
university because that is the ultimate goal in life, right? Frances is very
smart but she is also so many other things (like Ravenclaws). In this book we
see her struggle with the pressure from society to “do well in school” and what
that has actually done to her life.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
A fantasy
story with a Ravenclaw protagonist in Kvothe. In the book, Kvothe is telling
his life story to a chronicler because apparently, Kvothe is a very famous and
interesting person. We just don’t know why. Throughout his life, Kvothe is
shown to have an immense craving for
knowledge. There’s even a university involved which he is willing to fight
himself into. He also has a bit of an arrogant streak to him but he’s still
very capable and able to fend for himself.
Those were the 5 recommendations for Ravenclaw. The last one missing is Slytherin so look forward to that.
First line in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday where the topic is books on my TBR that I’m avoiding. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish but is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This list
is not going to be very long for me. I tend to keep my TBR fairly short
(currently on 60 books) and only add books to it that I’m positive I want to
read. There aren’t a lot of maybe-books on there but I did find a couple that
was added a long time ago so enjoy.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
This was
added after I watched a musical of it which was incredibly amazing (really, go
see it if you ever have the chance!). So, I know the story and how different it
is from the Disney movie (that was an unpleasant surprise). Maybe that is what’s
holding me back from reading it. I’d rather pick up a book that I don’t know
how ends, you know. If anyone has read it, I would love to know what you
thought.
Any Book By Rick Riordan
I have a
complicated relationship with Riordan’s books. I so wish that I could be 12
years old, so that I could actually love those books because I want to read
them. They are just a bit on the younger side but my mind is set on reading
them so I’m going to. It’s just taking me a while.
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin
Alire Sáenz
Both this one and the next book was added to my TBR right around the time I started watching booktube. Both recommendations came from Hannah at A Clockwork Reader, because she was one of the first ones, I watched every video from. She’s very sweet but I’ve come to realize that we don’t really share reading taste. I still watch her videos though. I wasn’t overly excited about this book when I added it, but I love Sáenz other book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, so I’ve kept this one on my TBR. It’s not really calling to me though.
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
Another
Hannah recommendation. I believe she compared it to The Night Circus, which I
really liked so I didn’t need much else to add it to my TBR. I’ve later realized
that I’m not a fan of magical realism which this one is. I also know very
little about it, so it’s not something I’m dying to pick up.
A very short list for me today, but I really want to know if you’ve read any of these. Maybe you can push me to finally read them (or push them off my TBR).
“The king stood in a pool of blue light, unmoored.”
First line in Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Synopsis: Set in the days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.
Review
Hello,
people. Hope you’re having a great day. I debated with myself whether I should
write this review or not, because it’s not a book I have that many feelings
about. I finished it a week ago and I only now feel like I have my thoughts in
some kind of order.
I gave
Station Eleven 3 stars which means it was alright. Nothing more, nothing less.
To give you more of an idea of what is behind those 3 stars, I’ll tell you what
I liked and disliked about the book. We’re starting with the negative.
Dislikes
Missing Plot
It is a very character-driven story. Not a whole lot of plot in there,
which I was waiting for, because it’s a dystopian. The genre just implies that
there has to be a maniac who wants to kill or control everyone. Station Eleven
is not that kind of dystopian. There was a hint of a plot at some point which
got me really excited but it was resolved too quickly and rather effortlessly.
Jumps In Time
This is a personal preference but I don’t enjoy stories that jump around
in time. It breaks up the story too much for me. I’ll always prefer to stay in
the present and just be told about things of the past. In Station Eleven, we go
back and forth a lot so we follow characters both before and after the collapse
of civilization. I’d rather just have followed the characters after.
The Contemporary Feel
This might sound odd, but this book felt like a contemporary to me. We
spend a great deal of time with the characters before the collapse and isolated,
those parts feel like an ordinary contemporary. Not that I hate contemporaries
but that’s not what I came for, if you know what I mean.
Likes
The Writing Style
Mandel has a very pleasant writing style. Even when I wasn’t very
interested in the story, she kept me reading because it just felt nice to read.
It wasn’t too flowery and had a good flow to it.
World Development
I really liked how we were told about the collapse of civilization. It
was probably my favorite part of the book because it was sprinkled throughout
the entire story. I liked how Mandel really tied it to individual characters so
we see it from their point of view instead of it becoming an overarching thing.
The Characters
We follow a large group of characters and they are all very well
written. None of them are two-dimensional and I liked how Mandel made it clear
how flawed they are. Each in their own way. I will say, however, that yes, I
liked them, but I didn’t completely love any of them. Some of them, I was even
kind of indifferent about but I still enjoyed reading about them.
Overall
I think I
went into this book with the wrong expectations and that effected my experience
of it. It’s by no means a bad book. I just wanted it to be more than it
actually was. It’s a different dystopian than what I’m used to, and to some
extent that was actually kind of refreshing. It was nice to see that there are
other types of books within the genre than just the Hunger Games kind.
I think a lot of other people would give Station Eleven 5 stars. I would recommend it to those who prefer reading character-driven contemporaries or literary fiction, but don’t mind it when there’s a little twist of something from another genre. It would also be a good book if you’re trying to branch out and want to begin reading some dystopian or science fiction.
“As Katie wound her way among the tables, a breeze from the Atlantic rippled through her hair.”
First line in Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
It’s Tuesday and I decided that I wanted to try out Top Ten Tuesday which was created by The Broke and the Bookish, but is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The topic for this week is books that are out of my comfort zone but I enjoyed anyway, which is such a cool topic. We all have our go-to genre and a book from that genre doesn’t require much convincing for us to pick it up. The topic/subject matter of books can also make us instantly interested while we steer clear of others. However, sometimes we end up taking a chance on these should-not-be-for-me-books and find they’re actually awesome and maybe expand our future preferences.
I managed
to find 9 of these books. They’re not all books I consider to be my favorites
but I really enjoyed reading them and they taught me something new about my
reading tastes.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
An adult
contemporary romance and that is so rare for me to pick up. It was recommended
to me as the funniest book that person had ever read so that won me over. It’s
is very funny, and I literally laughed out loud several times while reading it.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
This is
still my favorite book of the year. It was out of my comfort zone, firstly
because it’s not fantasy. It’s fiction which I do read but not very often.
Secondly, it takes place over several decades which I never like to read. I
don’t like time jumps in general which is necessary for a book that spans so
many years. A Little Life is the only exception. My love for these characters
made me turn a blind eye to everything else.
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
When I read
the synopsis for The Raven Boys, I was sure the book wasn’t for me. It sounded
like teenage relationship angst with a paranormal twist and that just made me
think of Twilight (which I’m very much done with). People kept recommending it
and I learned some more about it which made me believe it wasn’t another
Twilight. Now, I’m so happy to have read it because that friendship group is
perfect.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My favorite
book. I feel weird when I tell people that my favorite genre is fantasy but my
favorite book is a contemporary. I do read contemporaries, so it’s not that far
out of my comfort zone but I’m still very picky with the contemporaries.
Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
I don’t
read nonfiction at all. A friend of mine added this to her TBR on Goodreads and
I thought why not. It must be funny. It was hilarious and interesting at the
same time so I’ve actually been wanting to read more of her books.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
I forced
myself to read at least one classic a year and last year, I picked Jane Eyre
because that seemed quite popular. I thoroughly liked Jane as a main character
whereas I often feel disconnected from the main characters in classics because
of the writing style.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Yes, I know
this is a fantasy book and therefore shouldn’t be outside of my comfort zone.
It still is though because of the way it’s told. Our main character Kvothe is
telling his life story to a chronicler and to me that’s just one big flashback.
I don’t like flashbacks. As I see it, I’ve been spoiled for the ending and now
I’m just being told how we got there. Just, no. The Name of the Wind had so
many other things going for it, especially the world and the writing, that I
really enjoyed it anyway.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
The only
horror book I’ve ever read and I’m still wondering why I thought it was a good
idea to read it. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it for what it was because I was
both fascinated and horrified while reading it. However, I read this in 2015
and there are still images in my head I wish wasn’t there.
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
To end the
list, we have another contemporary romance and yes, that was a surprise to me
too. I’ve read a couple of Sparks’ books but this is the only one I really
liked. The romance was alright but I mostly enjoyed the other themes of the
book which I’d never read about before. I think the way Sparks portrayed the
issues was the main reason why I was hooked the entire way through.
The end. I hope you enjoyed my first post for Top Ten Tuesday. I’d love to know if you’ve read any of them and maybe had the same experience as I did. What books do you consider to be out of your comfort zone? Chat with me in the comments.
“The king of Attolia was passing through his city, on his way to the port to great ambassadors newly arrived from distant parts of the world.”
First line in A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
August is over so here is my reading wrap up for the month. I finished 5 books which is pretty much my average. Besides these 5 books, I also started The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, and I’m about 300 pages into that. I probably won’t be able to finish it before I have to return it to the library, so it will be a while before it shows up in a wrap up as finished. I’m really enjoying it though! But enough of that, let’s get onto the books I managed to complete. The first one is another Sanderson novel because why not.
The Alloy of Law (Book 1 in Mistborn: The Alloy
Era)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
My rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis:Three
hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the
verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting
in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed
skyscrapers racing for the clouds.
Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or
religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old
magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world.
Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the
brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.
One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his
Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.
After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to
return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns
and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or
so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant
tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains
of the Roughs.
I don’t think I like westerns. At first, I found this book super interesting because of how the world had evolved since we left it in Hero of Ages. It’s a fantasy world where they actually managed to invent stuff like electricity and guns. It showed how the world is progressing instead of just showing a finished product. I found the plot somewhat underwhelming for a Sanderson novel which is why my rating is a little low. If you want more of my thoughts on The Alloy of Law, I have a full review right here.
A Conspiracy of Kings (Book 4 in The Queen’s
Thief)
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Genre: YA fantasy
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:After an
attempted assassination and kidnapping, Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis,
disappears. Those who care for him—including the thief Eugenides and the Queen
of Eddis—are left to wonder if he is alive and if they will ever see him again.
It felt so
good to be back in this world. And we get to see Sophos again after he’s been
gone since book 1. I really enjoyed reading from his perspective, so I didn’t
mind an absent Eugenides for most of the book. The first half the book was
definitely my favorite because that’s really where we got to know Sophos a bit
better. The more political plotline took over in the latter half and I wasn’t
as impressed with it as I’ve been in the previous books.
I’ll Give You the Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Genre: YA contemporary
My rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:Jude and
her twin Noah are close until a tragedy drives them apart. Now they are barely
speaking – and both are falling for boys they can’t have. Love’s complicated.
A very sweet story that I imagine many people can somewhat relate to if they have a sibling. Jude and Noah are so different and yet so similar that it was really heartwarming to see them grow. It’s very much a story about grief and different ways of dealing with it. And not dealing with it. I don’t have any experiences of my own that could relate to what Jude and Noah went through and I think that made my experience of this book a little different that others. I felt detached from the story when I think I was supposed to cry. Odd feeling really but that is why this is not a 5-star book. I think it will be just that to others.
The Eye of the World (Book 1 in The Wheel of
Time)
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: Fantasy
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Synopsis: Yeah, that’s not really possible without
spoiling stuff. Even the Goodreads page doesn’t tell you much.
My thoughts
I’m a bit
conflicted. I loved the beginning of this book and the potential it presented.
I imagined so many possible plot lines that just didn’t end up happening. That
meant that the first 200-300 pages had me hooked and I couldn’t put the book
down. Then it became very, very dull. I might go insane if I read another
page-long description of an insignificant inn. That leads me to my main problem
with the book: the writing style. It’s so not me. I don’t mind when books are
slow paced as long as the time is spent depicting character emotions and
thought processes. Jordan spends more time on buildings, clothes and general
surroundings which I just don’t care about.
I still gave the book a bit of a high rating because I’m really intrigued about the world and I want to learn more about the magic. The characters are also very good and realistic with much room for development in the next 13 books (!).
Station Eleven
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction/Fiction (I don’t know what to call this!)
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Synopsis: Set in the days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.
This a case of a hyped book not living up the hype for me. It’s a fine book and I enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t make me feel anything spectacular. I liked the way the collapse of civilization was described. It was done in a way that was connected to characters and I thought that was very inspiring. We follow a lot of characters and I liked pretty much everyone but I didn’t love them, so that kept me a bit detached. I plan to have a review up for this very soon and I hope my thoughts will be a little more clear and constructed by then.
That’s it for my reading in August. It was very much a 4 star month for me. Pretty much all the books were around that rating. It’s been a while since I’ve read a 5 star and I’m feeling the desperation creeping up. Next month, I’m participating in Sequel September which was created by Kathy from Books and Munches and hopefully that will give me a 5 star book. If you’re interested in knowing what I’m reading, my TBR is right here.
“The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it ‘the Riddle House,’ even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there.”
First line in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Last week I posted my recommendations for Gryffindor and as I’m doing this alphabetically, we’ve made it to Hufflepuff. I identify as a Hufflepuff myself so I was naturally very excited for this one. In case you’ve never read Harry Potter and don’t know anything about those houses with weird names, here are a few characteristics of a typical Hufflepuff:
Hard working
Patient
Loyal
Humble
Benevolent
Not competitive
Too trusting
I’ve picked
out 5 books in which the main characters exhibit some of those traits. In that
sense, this is a list of recommendations if you want to read books about Hufflepuffs.
You don’t need to be a Hufflepuff yourself. As I see it, one’s personality and
one’s reading tastes don’t necessarily match in that way. But let’s get onto
the books.
The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
If you ask
me to name the series with the most loyal friendships, I will forever mention
The Queen’s Thief. There are so many good friendships in this one and so many
of the scenes makes me want to cry from the softness. They go to great lengths
to help and support each other and that is the definition of a Hufflepuff to
me. Not every character is a Hufflepuff but I still think that the feeling of
these books will appeal to Hufflepuffs.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen
Chbosky
I think
many Hufflepuffs are wallflowers (and I mean that in a very positive way). They
are observants and don’t need to be at the center of attention, which is a
trait you often see at the other houses. I also think The Perks of Being a
Wallflower is a Hufflepuff book because it’s a very slow character-driven story
about Charlie who’s not exactly the best at anything. He doesn’t strive to be
but instead focuses on his relationship with his friends.
Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe is probably
the biggest Hufflepuff I’ve ever read about and I love her. She wasn’t born to
be the heroine of any story. She’s not powerful. She’s not beautiful so she is
shunned because what is she actually good for? She’s the character that wasn’t
born for greatness but had to work hard to get what she wants. Throughout the
book she displays a great deal of other Hufflepuff characteristics but I really
think you should read it and see for yourself.
The Binding by Bridget Collins
In this
case, I wouldn’t say that the main characters are Hufflepuffs, but the
atmosphere of the book just gives me Hufflepuff vibes. It’s about finding
yourself (and Hufflepuffs are great finders lol) and accepting who you are. And
it has a fantasy element relating to books! I won’t spoil it for you but it
creates a very cool setting for the characters to maneuver in. I also believe
that Hufflepuffs will find the relationships between these characters very endearing.
I know I did at least.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Carry On is the rewritten Harry Potter that you didn’t know you needed. I’ll almost say you have to have read Harry Potter before reading this although it’s not a requirement of course. You just won’t get all the hilarious references. I’ve included it on this list because I often see people describing this as “if Harry Potter was a Hufflepuff” and that is just too accurate. Simon Snow is the Chosen One but he’s very bad at it. His wand doesn’t work and he’s all kinds of unlucky, but he’s still expected to beat the bad guy. As a true Hufflepuff, Simon isn’t the best at anything, but he cares deeply for his friends (and also someone who’s not his friend yet).
I hope you found this interesting and maybe added something to your TBR. Let me know if you did or if you’ve already read some of them. The next house will be Ravenclaw so look forward to that.
