Bookish Survey: Cast a Harry Potter Spell - Part 2

This is the second part of a fun-looking survey created by Jasmine at Flip That Page.  This time, instead of casting the spells on books, we're casting them on ourselves.

Here goes!

Stupefy

puts victim in unconscious state

A book with a chapter you couldn’t seem to get over: The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman.  This particular chapter was the reason I needed to cast Expecto Patronum on the book (see first survey).

Confundo

causes befuddlement or forgetfulness

A book that generally confused you: Salt by Maurice Gee.  I found this book confusing because it had such good reviews, and yet it was so awful.

Crucio

inflicts unbearable pain

A book that was a pain to read: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.  I shouldn't have to explain this one.

Episkey

heals relatively minor injuries

A feel good book that you enjoyed: Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff.  Not all of it is "feel-good" stuff, but overall this book gave me the warm-fuzzies.

Expelliarmus

temporarily disarms an opponent

A book with a swoon-worthy character: Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury.  Caedmon!  I might be in the minority with this one, but I quite liked that guy...

Impedimenta

impedes target’s progress

A book that kept you up all night reading: I don't think I've ever stayed up all night to finish a book.  I do remember, however, staying up "late" so I could finish Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary.  I was around 7 or 8 at the time, and "late" was probably still before midnight!

Silencio

immediate silencing

A book that left you speechless after you read it: Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick.  And I was not speechless in a good way.  I didn't even finish this one, I was so traumatized by what I did read.

Legilimens

allows you to delve into someone’s mind

A book with well-developed characters: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.  So many of the books I read today seem to have characters that are like cardboard cutouts.  That was not the case here, and it was so refreshing.

Levicorpus

a spell that turns you upside down

A book that changed your mind about a character from its prequel: Magic Under Stone by Jaclyn Dolamore.  At times, I felt like I wasn't even reading about the same characters.  There were some definite continuity problems, and I did change my mind about some of the characters; after the second book, I really didn't like them anymore!

Obliviate

used to hide memories

A book with a story you can’t remember: The Hollow by Jessica Verday.  Honestly, all I remember about this book is that the main character spent a lot of time baking cookies, making perfume, and taking baths.  What was the plot of this one again?

Peskipiksi Pesternomi

useless spell

A boring book that had absolutely no effect on you: Pivot Point by Kasie West.  I was so bored, I couldn't even finish.  I didn't even care how the story turned out, which shows how little I had invested in it.

Reducto

breaks through solid objects

A book that convinced you to reconsider a certain genre: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.  I thought I hated zombie novels until I read this one.  I'm still not crazy about all the gore in zombie novels, though, and I think Warm Bodies may be uniquely thoughtful for a book in this genre.

Rictusempra

tickling spell

A book that made you laugh: Gump & Co. by Winston Groom.  I don't generally laugh out loud when I read (unless something is really awful).  This book, though, made me laugh in a good way.  I can't remember what was so funny... but I do remember that it made me laugh.  I also found the previous book, Forrest Gump, pretty funny as well.

Sectusempra

offensive spell that violently wounds the target

A book that may have scarred you for life: Barefoot Gen, Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa.  This book was absolutely horrific.  I found it at the university library and it was one of those things that's so awful that you can't seem to look away from it.  Prepare to be traumatized (especially when you realize it's semi-autobiographical).  Now that I think about it, maybe this book is the reason why I've avoided manga like the plague; perhaps there are negative subconscious connotations there.

Tarantallegra

makes you dance uncontrollably

A series finale that made you feel giddy: The Wyrd of Willowmere by Alison Baird.  This is the only series finale I can think of at the moment that I actually liked.  So often, those final books are disappointing.  This one wasn't.  And while it might not have been the strongest book in the series, I thought it wrapped things up in a great way that made me want to smile.