Rowling, J.K.- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4); Informal Buddy Read ; Start Date 25 November 2014--REVISIT-- May 2018

[Jackie]

Through chapter 21.

(view spoiler)[So glad Ron and Harry are on speaking terms again! I hate it when any of the three argue with each other. I guess that's pretty normal behavior though. I'm glad Harry did so well with the first task. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

I finished! Kind of read the whole book today lol Forgot how easy it is to get through. Man, though...(spoilers for this book and the second one is for the series

(view spoiler)[ Those last couple of chapters hit me harder than they did the first couple of times I read this book (this is the only HP book I've ever reread before). Just the thought of death in its purest form is completely frightening to someone older, I think, than to teenagers/young adults who forget they aren't invincible. Poor Cedric, who was taken completely unawares. He had always seemed to be the perfect example of a Hufflepuff- really nice and fair. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[I had forgotten this is the book where we also start to see something flourish up between Hermione and Ron. I cannot explain how pissed I was when JK Rowling came out and said that she should have made Hermione and Harry get together. To me, it was an incredibly cowardly thing to say. I know that sounds harsh but here's my reasoning. You have a series that has been your baby for so long, it has shaped who you are as a writer permanently, and in the case of Rowling, has become very popular and changed lives of children everywhere. Those children grow up and have opinions about what should have happened in your story, and all of the sudden, you are completely swayed by what fans are saying. So you betray that piece of work you have spent a significant part of your life creating and defending, and just throw out a very important part of the ending to say...Well....never mind. I hated it. I never thought Hermione and Harry would have been a good match, but if it had been her original ending, I would have been glad to accept it. If you can't tell, I am still mad lol Even if you hate something you've just written (which I've done with a ton of shit I've written), you don't betray it. You let it take on its own personality and remain content with it. (hide spoiler)]

[Sallie(GeorgiaGirl)]

❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Styxx Anaxkolasiღ♥ღ wrote: "This is actually the first ever Harry Potter book that I ever read, right after the 4th movie came out I decided to give it a try.

Chapter 1 (Don't read if haven't read the whole series) [spoilers..."

(view spoiler)[I agree, Im glad that Harry has someone whom he can talk to...I would be lost in this world sometimes if I didnt have my parents to bounce things off of. And the whole lot of the Dursley's are just a bunch of gits lol ... (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Taryn wrote: "I finished! Kind of read the whole book today lol Forgot how easy it is to get through. Man, though...(spoilers for this book and the second one is for the series"

(view spoiler)[I agree. I've never understood why JK Rowling said what she did about Harry and Hermione. Partly because I never wanted them to get together, I've always preferred Ron and Hermione. But also it feels like either a cop out ('so many readers tell me they wanted H&H to get together so I'll say I made a mistake to please them') or a betrayal to the series as she spent so long crafting it and that's one of my arguments to people who say it's just a children's story.... it's just really annoying to have her say well I made a mistake here or I should have written that differently especially if it's a part you really liked. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Pigletto wrote: "Taryn wrote: "I finished! Kind of read the whole book today lol Forgot how easy it is to get through. Man, though...(spoilers for this book and the second one is for the series"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Exactly! As a writer, it just seems so messed up. You can't take something that is a huge part of the ending of the story and just decide you didn't like it. Ugh, just going to ignore that it ever happened. I take it so personally lol But, even if any other writer did it to a book I liked, I would have been super pissed. You don't just change your characters like that. (hide spoiler)]

[Jackie]

I finished! This was good to reread - I had forgotten so much.

[❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Daryl Dixonღ♥ღ]

Chapters 11 - 14 (Don't read if you haven't read the series before) (view spoiler)[It's funny how Draco got turned into a ferret, it was totally different in the movie, haven't read this book in years that I didn't even remember that he got turned before the tournament even started where as in the movies it right before the first task. I didn't like seeing Neville upset because of Moody performing the cureses for the class, especially when you know the reason is because one of those curses was performed on his parents. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Styxx Anaxkolasiღ♥ღ wrote: "Chapters 11 - 14 (Don't read if you haven't read the series before) [spoilers removed]"

Spoilers for whole series (view spoiler)[That scene in the hospital with Neville and his mother just breaks my heart. (hide spoiler)]

Spoiler for whole book and film (view spoiler)[One of my biggest disappointments for the film versions was the changes they made to Bertie Jnrs storyline. when it was announced that David Tennant would play him and the director said he was cast because he saw him in a play where he played someone being interrogated I was so excited. I really could see him playing that part well being both the frightened young man proclaiming his innocence and then showing that he is actually very, very bad. But they cut most of that out of the film. (hide spoiler)]

[❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Daryl Dixonღ♥ღ]

Pigletto wrote: "❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Styxx Anaxkolasiღ♥ღ wrote: "Chapters 11 - 14 (Don't read if you haven't read the series before) [spoilers removed]"

Spoilers for whole series [spoilers removed]

Spoiler for whol..."

Spoilers for whole series

That happens in book 5 right (view spoiler)[When they go and visit Mr Weasley, they find Neville and his grandmother visiting his parents, and also they find Lockhart. (hide spoiler)]

I actually didn't (view spoiler)[Know who David Tennant was when I first watched the movie, I know it's bad but it wasn't till about 3 years ago that I didn't even knew what Dr. who was about but now I can't wait for them to come out (Matt Smith's my Doctor) and your right, he had way more things he could have done in the movie but they did cut it back a lot, but that's what happens when there is such a lot of content but only have a curtain amount of time to lay with. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelvlehcaR]

I just finished. I will come back here to post my notes.

[RachelvlehcaR]

I love this book. I finished it. Finally. :P

This is one of my favorites in the series. It's wear the series take a turn into the darker and is starting to become more of a YA book.

[RachelvlehcaR]

❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Rehvengeღ♥ღ wrote: "This is actually the first ever Harry Potter book that I ever read, right after the 4th movie came out I decided to give it a try.

Chapter 1 (Don't read if haven't read the whole series) [spoilers..."

(view spoiler)[ lol, oh my gosh, I know. It is so true. His right hand... :P

Chapter 2 - It is nice. I think he relies heavily on Black. I couldn't imagine being a teenage boy that never really had a good supportive upbringing. It doesn't talk much about his way younger years but with my degree in early childhood and human development, I'm just amazed that he is so trusting and such a good kid. I mean if I break down this book Harry wouldn't be Harry as we know.

Chapter 3
LOL the diet. Vernon doesn't like it at all. :P (hide spoiler)]

[RachelvlehcaR]

❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Rehvengeღ♥ღ wrote: "Chapter 4 [spoilers removed]"

I love Chapter 4!

(view spoiler)[ It's so funny the whole situation and the twin just leaving candy out for Dudley. The whole scene is brilliant. It's true, that doesn't help with muggle/wizard relationships. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelvlehcaR]

❤Stephanie ღ♥ღMrs Rehvengeღ♥ღ wrote: "Chapter 8 [spoilers removed]"

I noticed that too. There is actually a lot of difference between the movie and the book.

(view spoiler)[ I also noticed that they left out a lot of parts but something that has really been in my face is how this book really uses the stereotypes. You have the Harry's Aunt and Uncle as simple people, meaning not so smart blue collar. The Weasley's as your typical catholic family with lots and lots of kids and very poor (reminds me of Monty Python of every sperm is sacred in the Meaning of Life). You have the Malfoy family that are the typical rich snobs that are racist. Then Hermione as the nerdy know it all girl. Viktor Krum as the dumb jock. Cedric as the popular boy. It just goes on and on. I was like wow. This touches a lot of stereotypes.
(hide spoiler)]

[RachelvlehcaR]

Jaclyn wrote: "Chapter 20: [spoilers removed]"

I agree. (view spoiler)[ She made a perfect hero and it shows. (hide spoiler)]

[RachelvlehcaR]

Jaclyn wrote: "I finished! [spoilers removed]"

I agree. (view spoiler)[ It did take a twist in the series. It went darker. I think this is why I loved the book so much. My five stars for the series is book 1 and book 4. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Rebooting this thread to start a new buddy read of the series in November 2015

[Jen]

Yay! I'm finally free! All caught up on notifications! :-)

So I'm going to abandon the computer (I'll clean up my e-mail later) and start reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! :-)

[Jen]

It's lunchtime for me, here, so I need a break. I'm about to start Chapter Twelve, "The Triwizard Tournament." The dark in this book started right off, with (view spoiler)["The Riddle House" and a murder (hide spoiler)] in Chapter One. Happily, a chapter or three later Harry (view spoiler)[joined the Weasleys at the Burrow, and they went to "The Quidditch World Cup" (hide spoiler)] in Chapter Eight for the (view spoiler)[Final match between Bulgaria and Ireland (hide spoiler)]. :-)

Next, more dark. :-(

And then Chapter Eleven: "Aboard the Hogwarts Express." Excepting for (view spoiler)[an unpleasant interlude with Draco Malfory (hide spoiler)], time aboard the train was as exciting as ever. :-)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Ah yes!
I just went back through my comments and I'll repost here my thoughts on the start with the World Cup:

it strikes me how clever JKR is to create this world cup which brings all the adult and kid characters together for more than just a few scenes. Otherwise she may have gotten stuck with always having the setting as Hogwarts or Privett Drive. I love that she does these things to keep the stories fresh, moving, and also introduce parts of the side characters or new magic concepts/things that become important to the story later

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Oh and I also love the fireplace scene to get Harry to the World Cup and how he can use Sirius as a threat to be able to go ;)

[Jen]

Yeah, it is very neat to see more of the adults. Besides just the teachers, I mean.

And I too love the fireplace scene. (view spoiler)[When the Weasleys are trapped in the boarded-up fireplace, and Mr. Weasley's mispronunciations of "electric" ... (hide spoiler)] Great fun!

And I love imagining the look on Uncle Vernon's face whenever Sirius comes up in conversation with Harry. :-)

[Jen]

There's a scene in Chapter Thirteen, "Mad-Eye Moody," (p.207) that had Harry, Hermione AND me laughing:

(view spoiler)[

"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly...
"Why not?" said Hermione in surprise.
"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever," said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret ..."

(hide spoiler)] LOL!!!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lol
Funny; that is one of my favourite lines too!
Great to have humour that is "laugh out loud" even in one of the darker books

[Jen]

Karen wrote: "Lol
Funny; that is one of my favourite lines too!
Great to have humour that is "laugh out loud" even in one of the darker books"

I agree! As I fully expect to cry during at least one later scene, I also fully expect to give this book five stars when it comes time to write my review. I always value highly those stories that inspire both high and low emotions. :-)

[Jen]

Just finished Chapter Twenty, "The First Task." Can you say, "wow!"? I had forgotten that the first task was (view spoiler)[dragons (hide spoiler)]. And even once we knew, I couldn't remember how Harry would survive it. But he did and it was amazing. :-)

I was really bummed that almost everyone (view spoiler)[thought Harry had put his own name in for the tourney, including Ron (hide spoiler)]. And I'm really happy that (view spoiler)[Ron came to his senses after the dragon task. :-) Harry needs both of his best friends. Just knowing he has both of them in his corner will be a huge help to him. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

That is one thing that always bothered me in this book. Both times I've read it I've been super annoyed at Ron (view spoiler)[ for his behaviour and not believing in Harry. It is that part of his personality that we see come out now and again and it is no the nice part! (hide spoiler)] Thankfully Hermoine maintained common sense and knew that it was someone (view spoiler)[ trying to set Harry up (hide spoiler)]

[Jen]

Yeah, I agree. It makes sense with his personality and character, though. Remember how he (view spoiler)[refused to talk to Hermione after the Crookshanks/Scabbers thing (hide spoiler)] in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? And his (view spoiler)[dislike of hand-me-downs (hide spoiler)] fits, too.

Also true to character, I thought, was (view spoiler)[him coming to his senses (hide spoiler)] after the first task. Just as it was true to Hermione's character to (view spoiler)[believe in Harry and never entertain a doubt (hide spoiler)]. :-)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Yes that is all true. It is one thing JKR does very well ; character writing and development.
Rob is just typical for that age in many ways whereas Hermoine has always been more mature!

[Jen]

Girls are always more mature than boys of the same age. ;-)

[Jen]

(view spoiler)["'I've been promoted,' Percy said before Harry could even ask, and from his tone, he might been announcing his election as supreme ruler of the universe." (hide spoiler)] LOL!!! (Chapter Twenty-Three, "The Yule Ball," p.415)

[Jen]

You know, ever since I started on this series reread, I've been reminiscing about the first time I read the books and how I only learned after reading a few how to properly pronounce Hermione's name. Viktor calls her "Hermy-own." I empathize, Viktor, I really do. ;-)
(p.418, Chapter Twenty-Three, "The Yule Ball")

[Jen]

This is my last update about Chapter Twenty-Three, "The Yule Ball," I promise. (I just finished it, lol.) I really love this chapter: Mystery! Intrigue! Humor! Laughs! :-) Anyway, that's enough for now. I'm past the halfway point and feeling sleepy. Sleepytime for me! More reading for tomorrow! (Errr, later today. It's 1a here.)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Jen wrote: "You know, ever since I started on this series reread, I've been reminiscing about the first time I read the books and how I only learned after reading a few how to properly pronounce Hermione's nam..."

haha
yes I'm with you there. I had no idea when I started the books either

[Jen]

Well... Hmm. I'm on page 638, in Chapter Thirty-Two, "Flesh, Blood, and Bone," and (view spoiler)[Cedric just died. I hadn't realized it was so, well, dull. Harry and Cedric are transported after touching the Triwizard Cup-Portkey together. Harry falls when his scar erupts in pain. "Kill the spare." --Avada Kedavra!. And Cedric's dead. (hide spoiler)] I didn't remember it being that cut and dried. Oh well, though. There's more to come.

And the since-my-last post events were very exciting. Harry (view spoiler)[finally decided to give Cedric's advice a try and, with Moaning Myrtle's help, figured out the clue in his egg. (hide spoiler)] :-)

We were also witness to the very curious discovery that (view spoiler)[Barty Crouch was searching Snape's office. But Mad-Eye Moody "borrowed" the Marauder's Map from Harry. (hide spoiler)] Nothing good will come from that, I just know it. (Though I'm frustrated because my memory is very splotchy on details, lol.)

Task #2 was great fun, both the lead-up and the execution. :-)

Then we have 100 or so pages of very important happenings that made for exciting reading. (view spoiler)[Sirius is hiding out in Hogsmeade. Mr. Crouch is found - very ill and confused - and then lost. Harry sees Dumbledore's memories of Death-Eater trials in the Pensieve. The day of the third task arrives and, in the maze, Harry hears a scream (must have been Fleur) and finds Cedric being attacked by Krum. (hide spoiler)] Intrigue! I love it! :-)

I also really loved that in Chapter Thirty-One, "The Third Task," the (view spoiler)[champions' families were invited to watch and Mrs. Weasley and Bill came for Harry. :-) (I'm so jealous that Harry has been "adopted" by the Weasleys. I want to be adopted, too!) (hide spoiler)] :-)

Well, that's enough chit-chat. Not many are commenting, so my Notifications have been mostly just one or four things all day. Works for me! Back to reading I go! :-)

[Jen]

Finished. I lost count of the number of times tears filled my eyes in the final chapters. This story is sooo good!

I'll provide details after I've written my review, which I'm off to do now (or rather, in a few minutes, after I've checked notifications here and elsewhere).

[Jen]

Okay, it's been nearly two hours. I am FINALLY ready to start writing my review now. ;-)

[Jen]

It's finished! lol I finally finished my review a few minutes ago. :-) I ended up using much of what I said in this thread in it, just copied and pasted over, but I think that's okay. ;-)

I plan to start book five, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, shortly, but I won't visit the thread for it until it's been "rebooted," so I hope you get online soon, Karen! I've missed you today. It has been sooo quiet for me on Goodreads today. Hardly anyone has been commenting. Between all of the discussion threads I'm following from among my 5+ groups, I've only seen maybe 10 (and possibly fewer) notifications all day.

I'm beginning to wonder if I've finally chatted so much that I've scared everyone away.

lol ;-)

Oh! And I know I said in an earlier comment that I would "provide details" after I'd written my review, but I think it'd be easier if you just visit my review if you want to find out which scenes were my favorites in this book. I laid them all out over there. :-)

Again, you can find my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

It is quiet around here - I think that happens on the weekends!
I'm having internet troubles today and two lots of visitors so I'll read your thoughts a bit later :)

In the meantime, here is the link for the next book!
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Jen]

Karen wrote: "It is quiet around here - I think that happens on the weekends!
I'm having internet troubles today and two lots of visitors so I'll read your thoughts a bit later :)

In the meantime, here is the l..."

Oh, is it the weekend? lol Every day is the same for me since I can't work, so sometimes it's hard to tell.

And now that you've got me thinking about it, today is Halloween. So I would imagine that that might be why not as many people are commenting. lol

Thank you for the book five discussion link! :-)

And I'm sorry about your internet troubles. :'( I go mad whenever ours is down, which thankfully hasn't happened in a while (knock on wood).

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

re: Cedric
Yes, it is pretty sudden and does come as a shock when first reading.

The pensieve is one of my favourite concepts in these books. I love the idea of storing away memories as I have such a bad one! Also, imagine if down the generations you could go back and look at your gtrandparents memories. That would be pretty awesome.

I'm glad you enjoyed the re-read! See you over at book 5 :)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

P.S I just checked my old comments. Here is what I said about Cedric:

(view spoiler)[
With the re-read I felt sadder about Cedric, but also Moody being locked away for 10 months! how awful. (hide spoiler)]This is also the first one of the series that doesn't have a saccharine ending. A glimpse of what is to come....

[Jen]

Karen wrote: "re: Cedric
Yes, it is pretty sudden and does come as a shock when first reading.

The pensieve is one of my favourite concepts in these books. I love the idea of storing away memories as I have suc..."

I would LOVE to have a Pensieve of my own, too! My memory is pretty awful, though I do remember odd bits of random trivia from my life and the fictional ones I read about.

The Cedric thing bothers me on rereads. (I don't remember being "un-wowed" on my first read-through, which I think is why it always comes as somewhat of a surprise on rereads.) I get that the (view spoiler)[Avada Kedavra curse is super-quick, but he didn't even get a chance to try to defend himself. I think I'd have not been so dissatisfied with it if he had tried a spell/jinx/hex. Or even if Harry had time to try a spell/jinx/hex. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

True, the curse is fast. I was thinking some kind of preamble about being a "spare" rather than just that one line..., but then it becomes stereotypical so I guess JKR did the right thing... Lol

[Jen]

Karen wrote: "True, the curse is fast. I was thinking some kind of preamble about being a "spare" rather than just that one line..., but then it becomes stereotypical so I guess JKR did the right thing... Lol"

I don't really see how more of a preamble would have worked (unless the preamble involved defense). Like I said, I just wish Cedric or Harry had had a chance to try something first. But I can see how it could happen that way if this were real life, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. ;-)

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

We're revisiting this buddy read for Tower Teams VI.
Join us anytime from May 12th to July 31st.
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Participating in a Harry Potter buddy read with a member from a different team, or with a member of NBRC who isn't on a Tower Team = 40 points
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[Abbey]

I'm in for #4 for Tower Teams once we reach it!

[Melindam]

Reporting from Team Cedric Diggory for the buddy-read. :)
(view spoiler)[Though of course, those fellow-readers for whom this is a re-read, you know what an emotional trauma this means for our team.
Would you consider giving us extra points for it? ;P (just kiddiing) (hide spoiler)]

[Diane ~Firefly~]

Team Sprout. Let me know when we are ready to start.

[Samantha]

Team Bellatrix here. I'm ready to start whenever you guys are!