All Harry, all the time
Jul. 23rd, 2007 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grrgoylFinished! This is the first of the books I read in only one day. I'll talk about it later, naturally under a cut cuz that's how I roll.
First though, I've got some pretty strong feelings on this subject. I'll cut this too since it ain't gonna be pretty or short. ...and a thinly-veiled message to one person in particular.
Obsessions. We all have them, to one degree or another. Frankly if I met someone who didn't feel passionately about something in life, I'd be a bit suspicious of them.
And obviously we don't all share the same obsessions. What a boring world THAT would be. Though it's also quite nice to have SOME people who share your level of fangirl/boyness.
People are already bitching because they're sick of reading about Harry Potter on their F-list. So sorry. Did anyone honestly NOT expect this much hoopla to surround the final book? Even the hatahs can't pretend to be surprised. Like Tery, you can clap your hands over your ears singing "La la la la la" as much as you want, but that's not going to make the legions of Harry fans disappear. Can we be permitted one last supernova of excitement before it's over forever?
I tried to think of a parallel cultural phenomenon to compare it to. Something that made the rest of the world lose their minds, that I would have been happier never hearing about again. "American Idol" might be one, Pirates of the Caribbean might be better. As millions of fangirls squeed themselves to death every time Johnny stumbled drunkenly across the screen, I was yawning. I watched Dead Man's Chest under duress from my sister, and haven't seen At World's End at all. *gasp!* I know! But it seems to make them fangirls happy and isn't really hurting anyone, so I go on with my quiet, Pirates-free existence. I'm not cursing the franchise and spewing insults every time a new movie is put out.
Sure, JKR isn't Will Shakespeare. Maybe the writing is only on a par with children's books. Maybe the Harry craze is excessive and inexplicable to the hatahs. But Harry is our drug of choice, our escape from an increasingly ugly world. We're a little wacked, but mostly harmless. And it's almost over so just relax and tolerate us a little while longer. Anyway, what right do you have to spit on my happiness? I'll tell you: None.
P.S.: You have every right to hate a book. But you also have to realize that words you write have consequences. Something written in all flippancy today could deeply upset someone tomorrow. Are they not entitled to get upset? And is it really necessary to add more negativity to the world?
There. Now that we have that unpleasantness out of the way,
Some people probably don't care that I reserved my copy at Borders a few months ago. I clearly remember being told by the exuberant salesman that they would Fed-Ex the book to my doorstep the day of release. So imagine my feelings when I received an email Friday afternoon from Borders, informing me my copy had shipped and would arrive within 10 days?
I'll be honest with you, readers, tears were shed.
I called the store, who suggested that I buy another copy and return the mailed one later. Tery told me sympathetically that I could leave the hospital after midnight if I wanted for this purpose. Implying that she could stop me!
So at midnight as I tended to a chihuahua that was near death, I thought of all the release parties reaching their climax around me. I tried to stay busy until 1:30 or so, then headed to the nearest King Soopers (Denver-based grocery store, two on every corner, most open 24 hours). There was a table set up with 50 or so copies and no one else in sight, which is how I prefer to do my shopping. As I proceeded to the register, I passed a group of three people, one of them wearing a cape. I was going to jokingly claim to have bought the last copy, but then thought that would be mighty presumptuous of me to assume I knew what they were there for, except, you know, one of them was wearing a CAPE.
I turned immediately to the last page, not to see how it ended but to see if the last word was, in fact, "scar" as Jo has always said it would be (she lied).
All day Saturday I could do little but admire the artwork on the cover. I was dying to blow off work and dig in, but I need my job more than I need Harry (shhhh). Tery wasn't helping matters:
Tery decides, seven books later, to see what the fuss is about
I'm not sure if it would make this a better or worse story to mention that my reserved copy arrived in the mail Saturday afternoon. But it did, to my extreme irritation.
Then Saturday night I was too shagged out from my excessively busy Friday to even think of reading. Sunday was when I finally got to crack it open, and I didn't put it down for about 12 hours. I finished it at 12:50 a.m. Monday morning, the first Harry Potter book I read in only one day. I returned the extraneous copy this morning and the cashier was completely sympathetic, agreeing she would also freak out if she thought she had to wait a minute longer, never mind 10 more days.
Wow. I'm not sure if it was my eagerness to get back to the internet without fear of spoilers or actually the pace of the book, but I couldn't put it down. When Hedwig died in the first three chapters I thought, "My god. She really isn't pulling any punches." It was strange, but Hedwig and Dobby's were the only deaths that really affected me deeply. Fred might be second, and Snape not really at all.
Snape. I was once again disappointed in the amount of "screen time" he got (or more accurately, didn't get). I thought sure this book would be thick with him, but no. As someone else on LJ pointed out, Borders built their entire marketing campaign around him, and he gets barely 50 pages. When I read the first chapter, where he appears every inch Voldemort's man and coldly indifferent to the prisoner's pleas for help, I knew a moment of fear. What if I was wrong? Could I face the possibility of an evil, unredeemable Snape? But I decided to trust in Jo.
He vanishes for the duration of the rest of the book, popping up only to die, but then we get the yummy, yummy chapter "The Prince's Tale," and that made it all better (Snily fans everywhere agreed with me, I'm sure). I won't say I told you so (much). (Won't have much opportunity: Rebecca's sister-in-law was the only person I ever met who didn't see reason.) Reading his conversation with Dumbledore where it's all explained, I had a surreal moment where it felt like I was just reading more fanfiction, it was copied so verbatim. Cue the huge, shit-eating grin on my face.
Another surreal fanfic moment was the epilogue, talking all about Harry and Ginny's kids (one of them given the middle name of "Severus": This is the point I cried the hardest in the whole book) felt like reading a Snarry mpreg, except I had to remind myself Harry was with Ginny. Bleah.
It was also a struggle when she described Nagini floating around in a protective bubble to keep the image of the snake in Disney's Robin Hood out of my mind.
The biggest surprise for me was without a doubt when we learn that Snape's Patronus is a doe. But speaking of Patronuses (Patroni?), I felt they were massively overused in this book. It seems like every other freaking page has one. As Rebecca said, "I never realized they could be used to send messages. Why is this smelly owl leaving a mess all over my table? Just send me a Patronus next time kthxbye."
We were both a little disillusioned about how Dumbledore isn't as shining white as we thought he was. From this I took the lesson that no one is 100% good or evil, but all shades of gray.
I thought there were inescapable parallels with another popular fantasy series: three people on a quest, forced to wear a piece of jewelry that alters their mood for the worse; The Elder Wand, which might as well have been inscribed "One wand to rule them all"; two of the three ending up romantically involved (wait. Sam and Frodo only got together in fanfic. Never mind).
All in all though, I'd have to call this a satisfying and worthy ending to the series. After reading the last page, I did cry a little to see it end. Jo did say one thing in an interview with the ring of truth: someone like Harry only comes along once in a lifetime. I'm very thankful he came along in mine.
First though, I've got some pretty strong feelings on this subject. I'll cut this too since it ain't gonna be pretty or short. ...and a thinly-veiled message to one person in particular.
Obsessions. We all have them, to one degree or another. Frankly if I met someone who didn't feel passionately about something in life, I'd be a bit suspicious of them.
And obviously we don't all share the same obsessions. What a boring world THAT would be. Though it's also quite nice to have SOME people who share your level of fangirl/boyness.
People are already bitching because they're sick of reading about Harry Potter on their F-list. So sorry. Did anyone honestly NOT expect this much hoopla to surround the final book? Even the hatahs can't pretend to be surprised. Like Tery, you can clap your hands over your ears singing "La la la la la" as much as you want, but that's not going to make the legions of Harry fans disappear. Can we be permitted one last supernova of excitement before it's over forever?
I tried to think of a parallel cultural phenomenon to compare it to. Something that made the rest of the world lose their minds, that I would have been happier never hearing about again. "American Idol" might be one, Pirates of the Caribbean might be better. As millions of fangirls squeed themselves to death every time Johnny stumbled drunkenly across the screen, I was yawning. I watched Dead Man's Chest under duress from my sister, and haven't seen At World's End at all. *gasp!* I know! But it seems to make them fangirls happy and isn't really hurting anyone, so I go on with my quiet, Pirates-free existence. I'm not cursing the franchise and spewing insults every time a new movie is put out.
Sure, JKR isn't Will Shakespeare. Maybe the writing is only on a par with children's books. Maybe the Harry craze is excessive and inexplicable to the hatahs. But Harry is our drug of choice, our escape from an increasingly ugly world. We're a little wacked, but mostly harmless. And it's almost over so just relax and tolerate us a little while longer. Anyway, what right do you have to spit on my happiness? I'll tell you: None.
P.S.: You have every right to hate a book. But you also have to realize that words you write have consequences. Something written in all flippancy today could deeply upset someone tomorrow. Are they not entitled to get upset? And is it really necessary to add more negativity to the world?
There. Now that we have that unpleasantness out of the way,
Some people probably don't care that I reserved my copy at Borders a few months ago. I clearly remember being told by the exuberant salesman that they would Fed-Ex the book to my doorstep the day of release. So imagine my feelings when I received an email Friday afternoon from Borders, informing me my copy had shipped and would arrive within 10 days?
I'll be honest with you, readers, tears were shed.
I called the store, who suggested that I buy another copy and return the mailed one later. Tery told me sympathetically that I could leave the hospital after midnight if I wanted for this purpose. Implying that she could stop me!
So at midnight as I tended to a chihuahua that was near death, I thought of all the release parties reaching their climax around me. I tried to stay busy until 1:30 or so, then headed to the nearest King Soopers (Denver-based grocery store, two on every corner, most open 24 hours). There was a table set up with 50 or so copies and no one else in sight, which is how I prefer to do my shopping. As I proceeded to the register, I passed a group of three people, one of them wearing a cape. I was going to jokingly claim to have bought the last copy, but then thought that would be mighty presumptuous of me to assume I knew what they were there for, except, you know, one of them was wearing a CAPE.
I turned immediately to the last page, not to see how it ended but to see if the last word was, in fact, "scar" as Jo has always said it would be (she lied).
All day Saturday I could do little but admire the artwork on the cover. I was dying to blow off work and dig in, but I need my job more than I need Harry (shhhh). Tery wasn't helping matters:
Tery decides, seven books later, to see what the fuss is about
I'm not sure if it would make this a better or worse story to mention that my reserved copy arrived in the mail Saturday afternoon. But it did, to my extreme irritation.
Then Saturday night I was too shagged out from my excessively busy Friday to even think of reading. Sunday was when I finally got to crack it open, and I didn't put it down for about 12 hours. I finished it at 12:50 a.m. Monday morning, the first Harry Potter book I read in only one day. I returned the extraneous copy this morning and the cashier was completely sympathetic, agreeing she would also freak out if she thought she had to wait a minute longer, never mind 10 more days.
Wow. I'm not sure if it was my eagerness to get back to the internet without fear of spoilers or actually the pace of the book, but I couldn't put it down. When Hedwig died in the first three chapters I thought, "My god. She really isn't pulling any punches." It was strange, but Hedwig and Dobby's were the only deaths that really affected me deeply. Fred might be second, and Snape not really at all.
Snape. I was once again disappointed in the amount of "screen time" he got (or more accurately, didn't get). I thought sure this book would be thick with him, but no. As someone else on LJ pointed out, Borders built their entire marketing campaign around him, and he gets barely 50 pages. When I read the first chapter, where he appears every inch Voldemort's man and coldly indifferent to the prisoner's pleas for help, I knew a moment of fear. What if I was wrong? Could I face the possibility of an evil, unredeemable Snape? But I decided to trust in Jo.
He vanishes for the duration of the rest of the book, popping up only to die, but then we get the yummy, yummy chapter "The Prince's Tale," and that made it all better (Snily fans everywhere agreed with me, I'm sure). I won't say I told you so (much). (Won't have much opportunity: Rebecca's sister-in-law was the only person I ever met who didn't see reason.) Reading his conversation with Dumbledore where it's all explained, I had a surreal moment where it felt like I was just reading more fanfiction, it was copied so verbatim. Cue the huge, shit-eating grin on my face.
Another surreal fanfic moment was the epilogue, talking all about Harry and Ginny's kids (one of them given the middle name of "Severus": This is the point I cried the hardest in the whole book) felt like reading a Snarry mpreg, except I had to remind myself Harry was with Ginny. Bleah.
It was also a struggle when she described Nagini floating around in a protective bubble to keep the image of the snake in Disney's Robin Hood out of my mind.
The biggest surprise for me was without a doubt when we learn that Snape's Patronus is a doe. But speaking of Patronuses (Patroni?), I felt they were massively overused in this book. It seems like every other freaking page has one. As Rebecca said, "I never realized they could be used to send messages. Why is this smelly owl leaving a mess all over my table? Just send me a Patronus next time kthxbye."
We were both a little disillusioned about how Dumbledore isn't as shining white as we thought he was. From this I took the lesson that no one is 100% good or evil, but all shades of gray.
I thought there were inescapable parallels with another popular fantasy series: three people on a quest, forced to wear a piece of jewelry that alters their mood for the worse; The Elder Wand, which might as well have been inscribed "One wand to rule them all"; two of the three ending up romantically involved (wait. Sam and Frodo only got together in fanfic. Never mind).
All in all though, I'd have to call this a satisfying and worthy ending to the series. After reading the last page, I did cry a little to see it end. Jo did say one thing in an interview with the ring of truth: someone like Harry only comes along once in a lifetime. I'm very thankful he came along in mine.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 12:59 am (UTC)http://community.livejournal.com/debate/4179388.html?mode=reply&style=mine
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 04:44 am (UTC)Interesting post. I don't bother debating the quality of the writing, since that's a matter of personal taste. Crime and Punishment was a masterwork of the 20th century. Will I be re-reading it the rest of my life? No.
I'm not trying to force Harry down anyone's throats. I just don't like people who find their joy elsewhere raining on my parade. I get so few of them, you see.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:43 pm (UTC)Has the renowned Snarry artist become the Snarry author?
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:49 pm (UTC)Renowed?
Really? I'm famous?
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 03:24 am (UTC)I didn't want to go to any midnight parties either. No energy for it. I didn't even pre-order it...just woke up around noon and picked up a copy at Barnes and Noble. It seems strange considering all the midnight Potter events my friends have talked about going to, but I only did that once. Every other time I just waited until later on opening day. Except for when I went to England, that is (OotP came out the day I left! I got a copy at the airport).
Long live Harry Potter.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 04:49 am (UTC)Yeah, I imagine a release party would be a mini-version of Hell for me (hate crowds, not that fond of kids, etc.) But I sure wasn't going to wait 10 more days beyond the release date, yo.
When I go to England next month I hope I can convince my friend to take me on the Harry Potter tour, which obviously wasn't there back in 1995. As a native, he's remarkably blase about the books, but is tolerant of my obsession.