Fantasy Aficionados discussion
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J.K. Rowling
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J.K. Rowling
I loved the last few movies. The earlier ones are just too juvenile. As for the books I tried to read The Order of the Phoenix but could not get through it. I really liked it at first but it got bogged down halfway through.I do love Luna. Wish she had more than one line in the last movie.
Not really a fan. I stopped at book 2 or 3. No plans to pick up the rest.
I saw the first one and then I saw most of 2 I think. I usually don't watch movies if I know there's a book until I've read the book first.
I read Potter just because my niece was into them...and it wasn't until book 5 that I thought they were interesting on their own. I dont think they are really any kind of literature, to me they are still a light read. When I have a particularly high drama day I like to read Potter to break the depression, but I never gain anything new from them.They are just fine YA.
Here is how I hear about the books. When the first one first came out, I was in grade school, and someone is my class loved the first book as she found it as a hidden gem. This is all she talked about all that year, rereading the book, others than read the book and fell in love with them. I guess she was ahead everyone.
Big Potter fan! Read the first one when I was 11 so it was nice growing up with the books as they got darker.Favourite character is Albus Dumbledore no question. Love that guy. Snape of course is a legend.
Hated the epilogue with a PASSION, most of it probably stems from the fact that I hate and despise Ginny and can't help but feel that J.K. was forcing us to like her. I mean how did she got so popular all of a sudden?? lol I probably should get over it, but I can't so I have unfortunately resorted to fanfictions to take away the pain. I lie to myself constantly that Harry didn't end up with Ginny. *sigh*.
I'm not anti-Potter anymore. I respect the fact that Rowling raised kids interest in the genre. I couldn't suffer through the writing but I do respect that her early works were written with children in mind and that the writing was on their level. I just had a hard time, from an adult perspective, dumbing my reading level down enough to enjoy it. As others have mentioned, I've heard the novels take a turn towards the adult after the third novel but I sadly never could make it past the first book.
Loved all the books in this series...my kids are all grown up, and they enjoyed them all. I am impressed that this woman had this all in her head, and was able to make her life a success. Also that this series had made reading fun again for a great number of kids.
lol, Tracey!I'm a mediochre fan (fan-lite?). Loved the idea, liked the first, second through fourth even better, fifth good, sixth and seventh a struggle. Seriously needed editing; her sentence structure with endless "--" dashes made me a crazy person. Yes, I know I do it on GR, but I'm typing in a forum. :P
I'm a Potter fan and while yeah some of the early books were written lighter the later books are far more serious and involved. I actually cried at the end of the seventh book.
They're not my favorite books, but they're fun. I got the first book from my cousin when I was... seven or eight, I think? He went to a Montessori school and even got to interview her, heh. I thought it was boring at first, but it grew on me.Luna's one of my absolute favorite characters. I could relate to her and Hermione a lot. I think the second and sixth books are my favorites.
I'm a Potter fan. I've read all the books and seen all the movies except for Deathly Hallows part 1. I liked the first three books and Half-Blood Prince the best, and liked Order of the Phoenix least (except for the end). I thought Deathly Hallows seemed too rushed and would have liked to have seen it as two books with more material than the one. The movies have all been enjoyable though I miss the parts left out and haven't been too fond of some of the changes made. Jason
Tracey wrote: "*despairs over Grant and MrsJ*"But we love you :)
Book three was my favorite but I enjoyed the entire story and how it progressed and loved the ending of book six, it left me on tip toes lol... I always liked Snape no matter what was going on so book seven was especially interesting.I think Pottermore might just be a big Harry Potter website, maybe it has more stuff that didn't fit into books and movies.
I am a Potter fan, started reading them when i was 13, and have pretty much grown up with this series. My least favorite book is the first one and my favorite is the 4th, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have seen all the movies except the last two, and i have disliked all of them, none of them were even close to as good as the books.
I love Harry Potter. And nobody can take it away from me.LOL
I love Harry Potter. But not necessarily because of Harry himself (though he does present a very good figure for a teenager struggling with authorities that don't seem to see his capability). I'd have to say my favorite subplot would have to be Snape.Rowling was able to make it so complicated that you truly can't tell which side he's on, and you just give trying to tell what his motivations are.
Did anyone else cry during "The Prince's Tale" chapter in Deathly Hallows?
Yeah, I may have teared up a bit.
Didn't cry but definitely touched by it all. Snape is a legend. Although Dumbledore is my favourite character.
Love, love, love Rowling's work. Potterhead, yea, that's me :) I borrowed the first 3 from a friend while I was in high school, and I was in love from the start. I didn't have a problem with them being written towards a younger audience, because it was fast reading, and easy to get into. While I didn't exactly grow up with Harry like some people did, the books have been a big part of my thoughts. I can't wait til the last movie is out, I'm totally dragging my guy to see it, even though when we went to see 6 and 7 part 1 he said they weren't as good as the first 5 movies. Whatever, I thought it was great! I hope Rowling writes something else sometime in the near future, though with all the money she's made off Harry, she doesn't have to write anything else for the rest of her or her kids' lives most likely.
I suppose I'd have to call myself a Harry Potter fan. I started them with the first (as my kids were reading them) and noted the the books sort of "aged" with the first generation who read them. So, the older perspective of the later books grew up along with the first readers. (Of course now kids get the books all together so parents need to judge if kids are mature enough for the later books).I think I like the books more now than I did at first and find I like the characters and find the books draw me in. I care about the characters in the books. I get angry at their frustrating actions, I mourn with them over their tragedies. While they're not perfect, I think Rowling is an exceptional writer.
I suppose I can't get away without addressing the movies. I'm just the opposite of at least one person as I like the first 2 movies but have liked the later ones much less. It seemed to me they lost a lot of the "magic" (and I'm not referring to the spells in he story here) that was present in the earlier movies. The change in the fat lady in the painting who "guards" the Griffondor common room, the change in the movies over all look... the selection of an actor to replace Richard Harris (who I think pegged Dumbledore) were only part of what disappointed me. Things were dropped from the stories (reportedly for "time), yet other things that weren't in the books were added (like musical numbers???? Strange I don't recall any of that in Goblet of Fire???)... On and on. I don't hate the later movies as I do some movies that are supposed to be from novels... but not thrilled either.
Random sorry, but I'm feeling nostalgic with the last movie out soon, so I'm actually planning to wear my HP t-shirt and maybe a gryffindor scarf to the cinema! Kinda lame but I'm actually so proud of it all! *sigh* I wish I lived in a huge city like New York, there'd have to be a Harry Potter party going on there. I'd really be into that.
I grew up with them, so obviously the nostalgia goggles cloud any judgement I have. Objectively, I can look at it and say that it's nothing special in terms of literature, particularly the later books once they started heading towards YA instead of children's, but for me, they are amazing. I don't know if I can ever look past that initial passion. Harry Potter was the first series of books I wanted to read; I'd read a ton before, but that was all my dad's doing, I didn't care. Harry Potter changed that, and even if I can say now that there are some pretty bad scenes or characters or bits of writing, it just... doesn't matter.
And yeah, I have my midnight release tickets and have put my email on the waiting list for Pottermore.
And yeah, I have my midnight release tickets and have put my email on the waiting list for Pottermore.
Alexandra wrote: "And yeah, I have my midnight release tickets and have put my email..."Cool! :D
I don't know Alexandra, I'm 59 and actually I think they may be something at least "a bit" special. I believe Ms. Rowling has shown herself to be an exceptional writer, throughout the series. I was introduced to these as my own kids were young enough to start them when they came out. I suspect these will join books like The Wizard of Oz as "special" youth books. I can see people who read them first as children still re-reading them when they hit 70 or 80 and continuing to enjoy them, passing that enjoyment on to later generations.
I really believe Ms. Rowling achieved something special. I mean look at how much people want her to write more, to fill in the gaps, to tell them what happened to all the characters. The characters in these books are very "real" to the ones who read these books. People aren't satisfied to imagine what else happened, they think of them as people and want to "know what happened".
Not a lot of novels do what these did...
I can't agree with you more, Mike! Well said!
I agree with Mike too. I read them all about 4 years ago at 62 and found them special. It was fascinating to watch the book mature as the kids matured and the author too. I'm also getting an itch to reread them. I think they will be classics like Narnia and LOTR. I find them complementary to those.
If you are going to reread them, you could try the audio books (if you like audio books) on youtube. Stephen fry is quite amazing and brings it alive in a different way.
Second the audiobooks. I started one on a trip and kept listening to it around the house as I'd clean and such. Great reader!
I have access to all the audio books (technically they belong to my daughter, but since I bought them for her over a series of Christmases and birthdays I usually get to borrow them freely). Jim Dale is a fantastic reader/narrator. I started the first again today as I was "washing up" the dishes and then preparing diner (for myself and said daughter) (semi-burritos). I'll probably listen to them all again over the next few weeks whenever I have to do things that occupy my hands but not my mind.
Luckily for me, I didn't get into the HP craze until all the books were already out. Never had to experience the anguish of waiting for the next one, nor did I understand the fans who were dressed in robes and other garb at midnight waiting to see the movie--until I read the books.I just love a good story and these books were great stories. There were also some extremely touching moments that occurred in those novels. I'll never forget how I felt when I read the words "Albus Severus" in the epilogue. I think there are also great examples of sacrifice, courage, what a family is or can be, and friendship in these novels. Also, I think that even though these are fantasy novels, there was a very realistic portrayal of life and life lessons. She didn't sugarcoat death, bullying, or poverty.
I had lots of fun poking around on her website so I am excited about Pottermore. I'm wondering what "more" she could give that fans don't already have access to besides more of the characters' stories.
I listened to another YA book lately read by him (don't remember which off the top of my head). BUT I've listened to all the Harry Potter books read by him multiple times so as I listened to this book and he did voices I kept thinking..."there's Snape" or "that's Madam Rosmerta"... sad.
I did not realise Jim Dale read the audio books in the USA. Everything's so different over there! :P
Ahhh, it was Emerald Atlas he read... I've also heard him read The Christmas Carol, by Dickens.
I noted that also. He did that in the first 2 or 3 books (not sure how many). But in the later books he pronounced the "t". Not sure why he did that.
Actually, it's Rowling who says the correct pronunciation is "Voldemore". Can't remember exactly where I heard her say that, though. It was in an interview. But the pronunciation without the T is correct and authoritative.My feeling about the series is ... loved book one, fun and witty. Books 2 and 3 also I found very enjoyable. Book 4 was a long long slog, and when I was finished I donated it to the library because it was painful to look at it sitting there, taking up the space of 2 or 3 good books. Book 5 I checked out from the library and soon quit reading, and I haven't looked at the rest. I thought the series had turned into a near-endless and extremely tedious soap opera. But I thought there could have been good stories there if Rowling had only not boxed herself into the pattern of every novel taking up a whole school year.
Donna
Dona
Never heard that either. I assumed the "mort" was a reference to "death" (of course it still could be even if the "t" is silent).Of course you know from what I've already said Donna I don't agree. I like all the books. I do think it's obvious that the books become intended for an older audience as they go, getting a bit heavier and somewhat darker as they go. I say somewhat darker as hope always predominates. Still they are more and more intended for more mature readers.
My daughter is going to the midnight showing of the last movie tonight with her friends from work. She along with my son (a couple of years younger than her) grew up with the books. She scheduled one of her vacation days for tomorrow so she can sleep in. LOL
I like them all too. They grew up with Harry, and with some of the readers - and with Rowling's ability.From Wikipedia: 'According to an interview with Rowling, "Voldemort" is pronounced with a silent 't' at the end, as is common in French. This was the pronunciation used by Jim Dale in the first four U.S. audiobooks; however, after the release of the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in which the characters who dared refer to him by name pronounced it with the "t", Dale altered his pronunciation to that in the films. The pronunciation has since been used in the other films as well.'
I think I'll let all the hoopla die down a bit before I go - I don't want to be all sniffly in the middle of a crowd of strangers. :D
While this shows my abysmal knowledge of language, I never know it was French. I always assumed that it was some form of mangled Latin, like most of the spells. :>I can see what you mean by them being soap-operaish but, in many ways, that's what I liked about them. Now, granted, I find most actual soap-operas terribly melodramatic and just generally awful, but if we go by Wiki's definition, then I can dig it:
'The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations".[3] Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, or focus on a large extended family. '
As much as I love the series, I will say that the plots are fairly standard and I've never thought Rowling really wrote action scenes very well.
But what I think she excelled at was the characters and their interactions and relationships.
For me the magic of the stories is less in the magic, and less in the big battle of good vs. evil which, in several ways, is not really the strongest aspect of the book.
But it's the coming-of-age aspect of the stories that I really like. Watching these kids grow up, and finding them really believable people faced with extraordinary circumstances. It was the "personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts" which I thought Rowling handled rather well, and which, for me, really makes the stories.
It's actually the thing that bugs me most about the movies. I understand why it is the way it is - movies and books and just different media and their focus will be on different things. But the movies focus on the overall plots of the stories the most, and extend the action sequences a lot - because it's a big production movie and that's what people go to see.
But what the movies lose is a lot of that character development and interaction and relationships - the little quirks and moments that just 'spark', for lack of a better word.
I see Harry Potter not so much as an "Epic Fantasy set in a Magical Boarding School" but rather as a "Boarding School Drama set in a Magical World".
I can totally dig why that not be to everyone's liking but, for me, I think it's what helped elevate it above a lot of the other fantasy I've read.
Then again, I think I'm just a sucker for a good coming-of-age story, too. (FWIW, I consider American Gods to be a sort of coming-of-age story, too - though it's not really coming-of-age as much as coming-into-self. I'm not sure if there's a proper term for that, though.)
Colleen ~blackrose~ wrote: "While this shows my abysmal knowledge of language, I never know it was French. I always assumed that it was some form of mangled Latin, like most of the spells. :>"Well, French is a Romance language, so you're not wrong! And there's the whole "-mort" "death" thing.
I just did a quick search, and heaven help us "Voldemort" is on babynamewizard.com. Not names for baby wizards - a wizard to help select a baby name. *facepalm*
"Created by author J.K. Rowling for the arch-villain of the Harry Potter series. Rowling has indicated that she simply created the name for effect, but observers have linked the name to:
- Edgar Allen Poe's story "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," in which a mesmerist suspends a dying man in a state neither alive nor dead
- The French vol + de + mort "flight of death" (note that the author says that the final t in Voldemort is silent)
- Sketchy reports of a medieval legend of an evil wizard Voldemortist who fought Merlin in the days before Arthur"
I concur with your *facepalm* and raise you a *shakes head*.
My wife and I are going to see the new Harry Potter tomorrow night at the drive-in. They're playing both parts 1 and 2 of the Deathly Hollows.
Ahh, a surviving drive-in.Memories....
They have a couple drive-ins in and around Toronto, though one or two have also closed down in the last ten years. The closest one to me, though, is a 30 minute drive away. We go all the time. I hope they never close.
Scott wrote: "It does sound better without the "t"."Opinions may vary... ;)
I don't know if any drive-ins remain in the U.S. When I was in high-school I went almost every weekend, sometimes we even watched the movie.A stunning admission for a Christian I know.
They were their own experience, saw a lot of new and well known movies there. My wife and I went to a drive-in to see Star Wars.
I do think the books pick up with books 3 & 4 (though 6, I think, while interesting, is my second least favorite) - but I really loved them from book one.
As for Pottermore - Scholastic has said it's not a new book, so that dashed my hopes of a Marauder's Prequel story.
I was thinking it might be the long awaited Encyclopedia, but I'm not sure if that would be considered a "new book" or not. It would, of course, technically be 'a book', but they might mean "not a new book" in the sense of not a new story. Just don't know.
Some speculation thinks it might either be an announcement that the books will finally be available as e-books (though this seems like an awful big build up just for that), or that there might be a complete and immersive Harry Potter website being built, which could be cool.