For the last two weeks I've neglected hearth and home. I've ignored the pleas of hungry children. I've passed by piles of laundry. I've shut the door on dirty bathrooms. I settled myself in the kitchen and have been reading Harry Potter - all seven books. About 3 weeks ago I asked Emma what she thought would happen in the 7th book -- who would be killed Harry or Voldemort, who would fall in love with whom, is Snape really evil? She continually would say, "Read the books yourself, Mom!" So I took up her challenge and become a HP addict.
The first book was okay, clever but after the Sorcerer's Stone...I was sucked in like Mrs. Weasley traveling through the Floo network. I couldn't put these things down or read them fast enough. I HAD to know what would happen next. And is J.K. Rowling a master page-turner or what? A chapter would end and I would say, "No I must read one more!"
I finished the sixth book Wednesday night and read one chapter of book seven before laying my head on the pillow at midnight.
The next day, Thursday, all I did was read. I was consumed. It was the final foray into Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forrest... I had to know the ending. At 2:00am I finished.
There were tears. Too many perished in the final battle, too many characters with potential. Overall, the seventh was not my favorite. Characters introduced in book 6 or 7 were not fully explored (Knightley, Tonks, Luna). And I was getting annoyed with Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger.
My favorite characters will remain the Weasleys. I loved their homelife. There was such warmth, hospitality, and memories made when Arthur, Molly, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were around. Percy was a bit of a snob but he came around in the end and I wish their was more attention given to Bill and Charlie.
My last criticism concerns the Dursleys (Harry's Aunt and Uncle). I was hoping there would be a reconciliation between the entire family and Harry, especially Aunt Petunia. There was a bit of relational redemption between Harry and Dudley but I did want to know what happened to them in the end. I was hoping Petunia and Dudley were Squibs!
5 comments:
That's a lot of reading!
Ah, the Weasleys... my sister wrote me while reading book 4 that she had a crush on Bill.
Would you like to have Molly's clock, and know when anyone in your family was in deadly peril?
I'm leaving on a trip to the Balkans this week and carrying in about 70 pounds of stuff for folks there, and while trying to figure out how to make it work I've been wishing I had the Hermione's beaded bag!
just finished book 7! I really enjoyed reading them all, just pure fun! The ending of book 7 did not disapoint me, had me wondering through the end. Glad you got to read them all!
Did you find the Harry Potter books to be disturbing? I think she does have fantastic writing skills but I was bothered alot by the use of spells and magic. I started to read one just to see what the rage was about but it was disturbing to me there was witchcraft in it. Obviously you loved them but I couldnt get past that.
Traci -
the use of magic/witchcraft in fiction isn't bothersome to me. I know it's just fantasy, just as my 13 yo daughter does too. What comes through Rowling's books louder than the fact that she utilizes magic is love is stronger than magic. That's the point. Harry's mother's love is what protected him from death. His love for his friends, their love for him is the strongest bond. Also, as Dumbledore repeatedly exhorts Harry, doing what is right versus what is easy is a strong message.
The first book wasn't the best. I began reading it years ago and put it aside out of boredom. But they (the books) get better.
Came across this blogger and this particular blog-posting and thought it would make you smile:
http://gingerclan.blogspot.com/2007/08/good-book.html#links
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