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Wed 20 Jun, 2007 01:25 pm
I don't consider the Harry Potter saga Immortal Literature, but I don't begrudge Ms. Rowling one bit of the hoopla and ballyhoo that is being used to market her work.
Volumes I through VI were highly enjoyable and I'm confident that Volume VII will be a pleasant summer read.
Volume VI, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was published two years ago. I've read thousands of pages since then and my memory is increasingly fallible when it comes to delightful (and not so delightful) trivia.
In the next month I'm going to amble through the earlier installments. Often I finish a book a half an hour before my bed time and don't want to start a new book which might keep me up past my bed time and leave me cranky the next day.
Will you be re-reading Harry Potter before the final installment arrives? Have you pre-ordered a copy from Amazon? From a local bookstore?
Will you have your own copy--or will you have to share?
Noddy,
I used the Harry Potter books to get my 2 sons to start reading more. I will be forever grateful to Rowling for that reason.
Both boys feel that those who only watch the Harry Potter movies are missing a lot. The books are much richer and therefore more satisfying than the movies.
Wandeljw--
I think Harry Potter has done a good bit for joyous literacy in the English speaking world--and probably in translation, also.
Movies may be "easier" but they lack the nuances of a good novel--and there is nothing wrong with accomplished readers feeling just a little snobbish on that subject.
Some snobs simply have good taste.
I've already reread Books 5 and 6 last year, so I think I should be set. I will try to read through some of the earlier books, though, because I suspect there's still lots of hidden clues and general foreshadowing scattered throughout them. That's what impressed me most about Book 6, I think--more than any other in the series, that was the book that made me realize just how well thought-out this whole thing is and how much attention Rowling has been paying to the tiniest of details this whole time.
I will not re-read any of these books, simply because I may not be able to leave my house for the next couple weeks if i do. I don't think that they are the greatest pieces of literature in the modern world, but they are addictive because they give me a nostalgic feeling about the imaginative kid I used to be, and for this, I am grateful to Mrs. Rowling. I always say that the best possible writers in the world would be children if they knew the grammar and language they would need to write a book. But then again, maybe if they did they wouldn't be so imaginative after all.
I may not, for the simple reason that I grew frustrated at the characters making the same mistakes over and over again....
Not that I haven't made the same mistakes over and over again, but I don't have someone hunting me down year after year....
No to re-reading. Yes to pre-ordering the last book. (Don't think I've anticipated this eagerly a book since 'junior school' (kg-6 in India), waiting to swap the next Famous Five (Enid Blyton) or the next Nancy Drew.) I have no doubt I will spend a couple nights up devouring this last Harry Potter instalment. Exactly one more month to go...
Shapeless--
I share your admiration for Rowling's thoroughness.
Twigs--
Children--especially creative children--need much fodder of all sorts before they become Real Authors.
DrewDad--
Characters making the same mistakes over and over? Better than Real Life people in a bootless Time Loop.
Heatwave--
I'm glad to meet another woman who anticipates joyfully.
Noddy, I meant that in terms of imagination only. I know it's a long-shot for a child to actually write something worth reading , but I always look back at my childhood with a feeling of inferiority in terms of the wild scenarios I would daydream about.
I think what I really like about the Potter books is how they bring together the generations. I see a lot of interaction between kids and adults debating the details and plots. I can't think of any other series of books that have done this in my lifetime (anyone know of any?).
I too gave in and pre-ordered the final installment. I've read the series twice, once by myself and once outloud with some children. I don't feel the need to re-read. I don't like the films. I prefer to create my own images when I read and movies imprint you with visuals you can never delete.
Pre-ordered long ago from the local Borders Bookstore, and I'll be there at midnight when it goes on sale. I must know if Dumbledore is really dead!!!!
The real question is whether I'm going to read Book 7 slowly in order to savor it, or just gobble the thing up. I did the savoring thing with Book 6 and rather enjoyed the experience, but I don't think I can afford to do that with Book 7.
Green Witch--
Good point about Harry Potter being common ground for many generations.
Brandon--
I'm sure you'll be waiting on the sidewalk outside Borders with a congenial group of addicted readers.
Shapeless--
Savor or gobble? Or gobble, then savor? I save excellent books for re-reading because gobbling hasn't done them justice.
Hmm...gobble, then savor here. Definitely.
Seriously, I'm actually afraid to browse in the 'Books' section here and elsewhere online these days. I keep thinking that some idiot killjoy will spill the final beans. I'd rather find out for myself, thank you very much!
Heatwave--
No spoilers here.
DrewDad--
I'm still contemplating your view of re-reading: that you subject yourself to watching the characters make the same mistakes over and over.
An alien point of view, but interesting to explore. Thank you.
M is currently on Book III as she quickly rereads them in preparation for the release of VII.
Mr B stopped reading them after number IV. He lost interest, I guess.
JPB--
Your post reminded me of a Horrid Occasion when I was forced to destroy a book in public.
Back in the '70's the first Mr. Noddy and I were stranded at an airport for six hours and the first Mr. Noddy hadn't brought a trashy paperback, let alone a back up trashy paperback.
He hated to admit that I was a faster reader than he was, but facts are facts. I'd read a page, tear it out and pass it over. A complete stranger came third in line--I suspect that she could also read more quickly than the Man in the Middle, but after all she was benefitting from the charity of strangers.
Some Harry Potter puffery:
www.time.com/harrypotter
According to
Time 12,000,000 copies of
Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows will be printed. This will be the largest first press run for any book in history.
More Harry Potter background:
http://www.theleakycauldron.com/
http://www.hpana.com/
http://www.mugglenet.com/
http://www.beyondhogwarts.com/
Really, my Harry Potter enthusiasm is rather pallid compared to that of True Believers.
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