August 13, 2017: Read this for the second time -- 10 years later exactly! -- this time via audio. This was my favorite book of the series when I first read it, but I got distracted in the middle of listening this summer, and had to work to get back in. I'm glad I did. 
 These books continue to amaze me with their intricate plotting, largely made possible by the gap between kid knowledge and adult knowledge (between generations of characters dealing with the same issues). Hermione is incredibly deft at getting a lot MORE knowledge than her peers, but even she never sees the whole picture. In this book, Dumbledore gives Harry a large dose of knowledge concerning the actions of the adults, after the first major death of the series. To me, this begins Harry's true coming of age, and adds a sort of "we're not in Kansas any more" feeling to the future of the series. (I was also so satisfied to see some of Dumbledore's power in action, as it's been discussed reverently so far, but until now, we haven't gotten to see him, say, battle Voldemort as he does here.) 
 Some favorite quotes: 
 "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." 
 "Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike." 
 "Some wounds run too deep for the healing." 
 "Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young." 
 "According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scars than almost anything else." (re: Ron's wounds from being attacked by a brain) 
 * * * * * 
 July 1, 2007: I'm catching up! Book 5 took over an entire weekend, in which I only closed it to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom! (Too much information?) My admiration for J.K. Rowling is growing, for this book does an amazing job of keeping the plot speeding for almost 900 pages, navigating darker waters as threats grow more serious and main characters grow older, and reminding me that every detail will become important at some point in the story. Things that seem innocent -- just poetic license, just a writer adding details to make her world more real -- find surprising ways to become integral to the plot, sometimes hundreds of pages later. Everything is there for a reason, so read carefully! The amount of pre-writing notes done for this book must have been astounding. 
 Also [spoiler alert!!!], I think Fred and George's last stand at Hogwarts is one of my favorite book scenes of all time!