(Also, while I am confessing my Harry Potter sins, I am just going to go ahead and admit that I *always* spell "sorcerer's" wrong the first time and then spellcheck goes all squiggly on me until I fix it.)
But here I am, ready to talk about the first part of Chamber of Secrets (which I spell correctly on the first try)! I've always thought of this one as my least favorite of the series (besides the last one, which we will come to in due course), but I rather like it this time around. Maybe it's because it's my so-called least favorite and therefore also my least re-read (again besides the last one).
Anyway, this is where we first meet Dobby, and I seem to be in the minority of readalongers because I actually like the poor guy! Or if I'm being really honest and admitting that I only like him because of later books, I can at least honestly say that I don't dislike him. I feel bad for the poor guy! Shutting his fingers in the oven and ironing his ears and generally self-mutilating and unable to use his awesome magic for himself?
Besides dear ol' Dobby, other thoughts on these chapters:
Why don't wizards have phones and email like Muggles? I get that they can Apparate, and send mail via owls who somehow seem to know where everyone in the wizarding world is at any given moment, but even with all that fancy magic, sometimes a quick call or email would come in hella handy. Like, you know, when Harry is locked in his room and can't unlock Hedwig to send a letter. Couldn't he just call Hermione who also lives in the muggle world?
