Can we start a new HP thread for those of us late to the game?

[Lisoula]

Ok - I know, I know, Harry Potter has been out forever, but I'm just now getting to read them and am in love!!! 

I refuse to watch any of the movies until I finish the series.  I'm almost done with The Order of the Phoenix right now.  Any mamas out there want to discuss the books with me???  My oldest (who read them when they came out) doesn't want to talk about them with me - I'm not cool enough, I guess ;)

[journeymom]

Ah, to have that delectable, virgin Potter experience!  Never having read the books before, new plot twists and turns revealed slowly. I envy you.  The only thing better was the aching in anticipation of Jo finishing the next book.  Three long years between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix! 

I was thoroughly irritated with Harry by the end of Oder of Phoenix.  What a snot he was!   I got it that he was in the throes of teen angst, fearful for his life and Dumbledore had essentially abandoned him. Doesn't mean I wanted to have to live with it.

It's a big, rich story.  JKRowling says it needed severe editing, that there was too much going on.  Maybe so, but it became my very favorite, mostly because there was soooo much going on! What a detailed world!

[Lisoula]

Due to so much schoolwork, I have STILL yet to finish the Order of the Phoenix...hopefully tonight.  I do at this point want to strangle Umbridge, though ;)

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by Lisoula 

Due to so much schoolwork, I have STILL yet to finish the Order of the Phoenix...hopefully tonight.  I do at this point want to strangle Umbridge, though ;)

Hope you are enjoying it. At dinner last night, our family discussed "favourite book from the series". I was a little surprised that both kids picked Order of the Phoenix. They thought Grimmauld Place and the Ministry were intriguing settings, the DA was cool and loved the Fred and George humour. They didn't mention angsty teen Harry though - that's my difficulty with that book, I think, along with what I thought was an overall flimsy motivation/goal/plot device for Voldemort (can't say too much because I'm not sure where you are in the book).  

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

Hope you are enjoying it. At dinner last night, our family discussed "favourite book from the series". I was a little surprised that both kids picked Order of the Phoenix. They thought Grimmauld Place and the Ministry were intriguing settings, the DA was cool and loved the Fred and George humour. They didn't mention angsty teen Harry though - that's my difficulty with that book, I think, along with what I thought was an overall flimsy motivation/goal/plot device for Voldemort (can't say too much because I'm not sure where you are in the book).  

I'm not quite sure what you're specifically referring to, but I gotta say that the life-threatening danger Harry, Hermione and Ron were in all the time was ridiculous.  I know the action was a huge part of what made the books riveting and fun.  But what the heck, Dumbledore! Snape was right, you needed to keep a better eye on Harry, especially when he was an ickle firsty in Sorcerer's Stone. Even with the information (motivation/goal/plot device) revealed at the end of the story, it's still illogical and over the top from my perspective as a reader. 

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by journeymom 

I'm not quite sure what you're specifically referring to, but I gotta say that the life-threatening danger Harry, Hermione and Ron were in all the time was ridiculous.  I know the action was a huge part of what made the books riveting and fun.  But what the heck, Dumbledore! Snape was right, you needed to keep a better eye on Harry, especially when he was an ickle firsty in Sorcerer's Stone. Even with the information (motivation/goal/plot device) revealed at the end of the story, it's still illogical and over the top from my perspective as a reader. 

Answer, but it's a spoiler....

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Voldemort's rabid need to obtain the prophecy from the Ministry and to learn what had been predicted always seemed to be misplaced to me. He's regaining physical and magical strength, organizing his command structure, seeking out supporters who have been scattered and in hiding, consolidating his power.......he's a busy guy with a lot to do, yk? Yet, he spends vast amounts of time and energy to obtain this prophecy - which in the end was basically a warning of something he already knew - that there was a boy child who could defeat Voldemort. The stuff about "neither can live while the other survives" is important to Harry, since it predicts that he'll have to kill Voldemort, but really, it's not crucial knowledge for Voldermort. It's not like Voldemort would have had any intention of letting Harry live, no matter what else Voldemort planned or needed to do to regain his supreme position in the wizarding world.

I don't know, the end-goal seemed kind of anti-climactic to me. I get how it set up the ultimate conflict and Harry's sacrifice, but as a plot device to drive all the action for almost 900 pages, it seemed weak.   

[journeymom]

Ohh, got it! And I agree.  That was the big reveal? Kind of a let-down. 

Lisoula, you need to tell us where you are in the book! 

[Lisoula]

I just finished the part where Harry used Umbridge's fireplace to visit Sirius & ask why James was so cruel to Snape at his age, and Harry & Hermonie just found out Hagrid brought his giant half-brother back from the mountains & has him in the Forbidden Forest.

[SweetSilver]

My girls are getting read the Potter series.  I read them years ago and am enjoying rereading the series, this time out loud.  (The girls are 7 and 5.)

I totally agree with ollyoxenfree about the weak motivation for Voldemort, which was a big complaint in both the book and the movie-- especially in the movie!  The best I can ascertain is that Voldemort is overly obsessed with Harry Potter as his character flaw (not on Rowlings' part.  Throughout the books Voldemort is brought down by his own obsession with Harry.)

In the end, as much fun as it was to read Phoenix, it is my least favorite book.  I felt cheated in the end.  I read it ravenously even though Rowling needed the editor to whack her upside the head, and the ending left me underwhelmed.  It was, however, merely the dimmest of an incredibly rich series.  Half-Blood Prince was fantastic, in my opinion, and Deathly Hallows held its own right to the very end (I won't say any more!)  Rowling managed to finish the series with the entire world breathing down her back, and she did it superbly. 

So, if you are enjoying Phoenix, then you are in for a treat for the rest of the series.

My dh and I finished watching the movies.  I've always been just a hair disappointed in the movies as wonderful as they are.  I think mainly because the way the stories are pared down doesn't always meet with my approval.  However, we as a family are having a blast with both the books and the movies.  We just finished my favorite (book and movie) Prisoner of Azkaban.  

Edited by SweetSilver - 2/4/12 at 9:02pm

[journeymom]

I'm a bit literal-minded, and the movies simply never satisfied. By my standards the movies were never going to satisfy. Example, poor Emma Watson was too pretty, not plain enough. Hair wasn't frazzled enough. 

I still enjoyed them, went to several midnight showings, helped my kids dress up.  Followed along with the celebrity news.  Analyzed them endlessly. 

I'm changing my statement, Half-Blood Prince is my favorite book, too. 

I just finished the part where Harry used Umbridge's fireplace to visit Sirius & ask why James was so cruel to Snape at his age

Oooooh, that was a good one! Harry's world was being rocked.  To my mind Snape was already firmly in that moral grey area, a sympathetic baddy.  Time for Harry to get a new perspective. 

[amcal]

DD has been begging me to read these!  I did allow her to read the books and watch the first 3 movies but, the 4th movie is rated PG13 (she just turned 10) so, I haven't let her watch the movies past three.

She asked me if I would please read the books and then watch the movies before I give a final decision and that she will respect any decision I make.  I thought that was pretty mature of her.  So, I've watched the first movie and am reading the first book.  Only, what, 6 more to go?

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by amcal 

DD has been begging me to read these!  I did allow her to read the books and watch the first 3 movies but, the 4th movie is rated PG13 (she just turned 10) so, I haven't let her watch the movies past three.

She asked me if I would please read the books and then watch the movies before I give a final decision and that she will respect any decision I make.  I thought that was pretty mature of her.  So, I've watched the first movie and am reading the first book.  Only, what, 6 more to go?

I think that the fourth movie is fine for a 10yo.  But maybe I'm a little lax (not as lax as my mother who let us rent Texas Chainsaw Massacre when I was 11!) but I think that if you sat with her through it to maybe explain what is happening then you will find that it's really OK, though it does bring up some more subjects that might be a bit more mature than what the last three touched on.  If anything, I would say that a 10yo might be bored with the stories and movies before the themes get too controversial.  They don't get that far, I don't think..  Death, for sure (I won't spoil anything), sacrifice, cruelty, the slow, tragic creation of an evil being.... grey areas between good and evil, too.  That's what you'll be touching on, for starters.  In between all that will be Rowling's magical, often hilarious world which is so wonderful and fun.  So good.  I hope you let her read them!

I plan on slowly reading Harry Potter to my younger girls.  We are ready to read the fourth one, and I do plan to let them watch the movie with me.  After all, they've seen the Lord of the Rings.  

Well, maybe I do have a touch of my mother in me........

[beanma]

I make my kids read the books before they can see the movies. My 10 (almost 11) yr old has stalled out on 4. Just because it's so durn big in comparison to the others I think. She really liked the first 3 and got about halfway thru 4 before getting distracted with other books. I did tell her the ending (heresy I know, but she's _very_ sensitive/anxious and her friends had already told her many spoilers) and maybe she'll pick it back up sometime. I did read them all when she got into them because I wanted to know what she was getting into since she's pretty sensitive. 

Amcal, I haven't seen the movie for 4 (see above, DD1 needs to finish the book first), but it's the first of the books where someone other than a bad guy dies. There is a death of a character (not someone we're attached to, but not a bad guy) right at the beginning of the book. There are other non-bad guy deaths, too, but I won't say more for fear of a spoiler. That's what sets this one apart from the first three for me (plus the fact that it's three times as thick). SO, if dd1 would finish the book I probably would let her see the movie, but she's been working on it for 6-9 months now and I don't see her finishing any time soon. DD2 (8) says she wants to read it now that she's finished 3 and I'm not going to stop her, but I'm not going to encourage it either. She's reading other stuff right now, too. 

[amcal]

My DD has read all the books but has only been allowed to watch the first 3 movies because they're PG.  I think using you imagination when reading the books is different than having violence spoon-fed to you in a movie. Whtch is why I'm going to read them and then watch them before I let her watch the 4th one.  

[beanma]

The movies I've watched, 1, 2, 3, and both parts of 7 (grabbed my chance while it was in the theater) were not overly graphic in their depiction of violence. I actually thought the books were more graphic. 

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by beanma 

The movies I've watched, 1, 2, 3, and both parts of 7 (grabbed my chance while it was in the theater) were not overly graphic in their depiction of violence. I actually thought the books were more graphic. 

Agreed.  Like I said before, I think younger kids would be bored by the movies if anything.  Not that they are free of violence, but if they have already read the books there are no surprises.

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 

Agreed.  Like I said before, I think younger kids would be bored by the movies if anything.  Not that they are free of violence, but if they have already read the books there are no surprises.

Good point.  Reading the book Chamber of Secrets, I thought the portion where Harry hears a voice in the wall saying, Kill! Kill! was truly chilling.  The scene in the movie just couldn't compare.

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by journeymom 

Good point.  Reading the book Chamber of Secrets, I thought the portion where Harry hears a voice in the wall saying, Kill! Kill! was truly chilling.  The scene in the movie just couldn't compare.

And the Half Blood Prince's book and the effect on Harry was positively chilling in the book.  The movie dropped most of that, focussing instead on the development of other characters.  I was profoundly disappointed in HBP as a movie because the book was one of my favorites.  

I'm having a hard time writing without spoiling too much.
 

[MadiMamacita]

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 


In the end, as much fun as it was to read Phoenix, it is my least favorite book.  I felt cheated in the end.  I read it ravenously even though Rowling needed the editor to whack her upside the head, and the ending left me underwhelmed.  It was, however, merely the dimmest of an incredibly rich series.

worse than the goblet of fire??? my least favorite of the books AND the movies.. maybe I need to re-read it and find something redeeming about it.

[journeymom]

Goblet of Fire had Ludo Bagman, who was a disappointing waist of time.  Similar to the Hagrid and the Giants story in Order of the Phoenix.  A whole lot of build up for not much.