Originally Posted By sherrytodd Mmmmmmm, pudding. xD I was good. I didn't read the last page. (Or if I did I won't admit it now and suffer the wrath of Rowling).
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb When I was in line a woman at the register was telling the clerk she was going to sit down and read the last chapter and then go home and read the book. I was just thinking "well what is the point?". With books like these the journey matters as much (if not more) as the destination. Otherwise, why (other than increased revinue) have 7 books, 4 of them quite long, instead of 2 or 3 short books?
Originally Posted By quincytoo I am the one who always reads the last chapter first...always... This is the first book I read it front to back ...no peeking... out of respect to the series and the author...It was hard but I did it!!!
Originally Posted By smedley I wouldn't even look at the back page to let my dad know how many pages it was lol!! I am a firm believer in reading from front to back. That said I also didn't switch on a tv or read a newspaper till I had completed the book (which was on the Saturday I received it). DH is reading it now, I need to wait for him to finish it (in about 5 weeks lol) and then reread it to see what else i absorb second time around... I am considering starting with the first book again and reading them all through in order though.... Hmmm...
Originally Posted By dsnykid Smedley - since I finished the seventh book, I've been going back to the others, I read books 1-3 in the weeks before book 7 and just finished book 5.. I think I'll put books 4 - 7 on the palm pilot while we travel next week. I've really enjoyed rereading the books, because now i know what to look for as specific to the final story and what was just filler or red herrings.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Okay, I just finished the book today, and don't want to read all the posts in this long thread (too much reading after the looooooooooooooong book!!!). In the first few threads, they are talking about a non-magical creature who uses magic. Who was that? I read the book and don't remember that one. Unless it was a spider or giant? I still don't remember.
Originally Posted By Mr X **That said I also didn't switch on a tv or read a newspaper till I had completed the book** Me too! Isn't that sad, though? You have to be so worried about "spoilers" that you have to rush through the book before someone ruins it. At least, that's how I felt. I sort of wish I could have taken more time and savored reading it more. Next time, I guess.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo <---just figured out yesterday what's going on on the picture on the cover. Please somebody, tell me they didn't get it at first either! (The American cover with Harry with his hand in the air).
Originally Posted By Mr X Harry catching the Elder Wand? Of course we got it, isn't it obvious? (that's okay...on MY cover I saw a "creature" holding the sword of Griffindor and my first thought was "that must be Kretcher!, or Dobby!")
Originally Posted By EdisYoda More information on what happens after the Battle for Hogwarts can be found here <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/" target="_blank">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19 959323/</a> in an interview with JK Rowling.
Originally Posted By HyperTyper Realizing that there was no way Rowling could have answered all questions short of writing another book, I felt that another chapter was desperately needed. We've been living with these characters for seven magical years (over a decade in "muggle years," and after closing the cover on the final page, I feel like we hardly got to say goodbye ... like we were yanked away from the world just when things were looking up, simply because the book was getting too thick! After the Battle of Hogwarts, we got to see and hear people cheering, and crying, but little else. How, in the end, how do the Weasleys deal with the loss of Fred? Was there really a change of heart for the Malfoys, and how did those loyal to Harry and goodness respond to them? Were they scolded? Forgiven? How was Snape's good name restored? (I thought Snapes confession to Dumbledore that he had, indeed, become attached to Harry was perhaps the most poignant bit in the book.) I think one more chapter with the "cast" remembering, cleaning-up, re-building and saying a final goodbye (at least to the readers, if not to each other) would have meant a lot to the readers ... more than the final epilogue at the train station. (I thought the final scene was quite cheesy, and the book could have done without it altogether.) I also felt that way too much time was spent exploring and re-exploring Dumbledore's past, when far fewer pages on this would have sufficed. I also thought the book went to some unnecessary extremes, and was disappointed with Rowling's preoccupation with coarse language. At the beginning of the book, she alludes to Ron and Harry using some pretty foul vocabulary. By book's end, we've even heard both B-words used by even the likes of Mrs. Weasley. Realistic? Maybe. Necessary? In a book destined for children's bookshelves around the world? Certainly not. Such dabbling in rowdy language doesn't quite ruin the book or its message, but it does take away some of the charm and innocence. The book, however, was tied for my favorite, next to the first. I thought this one was the most sincere and thoughtful. I love how everything led to Hogwarts in the end, and it was such a thrill to read of the return of characters from throughout the series for the final battle. (Our friends from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, however, were oddly missing. Why did they not come to the aid of Hogwarts????) I loved the theme of friendship. Luna's ceiling painting was a nice touch. And yet the friendship thing was somehow incomplete, because of Harry's most loyal friends: Neville, Luna, and Colin Creevey. Colin! Oh, what a good kid ... a pure, innocent and trusting heart, who believed in Harry Potter when even Ron and Hermione had abandoned him back in "Goblet of Fire." It's odd, though. This book speaks of Colin almost as if he was the same little kid with the camera we met years ago. And yet he was only a year younger than Harry and, in this book, age 16 or 17. Did he not grow? I always felt Colin was not given the attention I would have liked, either by the author or Harry himself. I think Rowling may have meant it to be that way. She always made it clear in her writing and interviews that Harry could, at times and like his father, be a bit of a jerk. All the praise lavished on Harry at the end ... 'you good, brave boy ...' it would have been nice for someone (Harry???) to say that to Colin, even after he was gone. Colin's death was the toughest, saddest part of the book for me to read, even more than Dobby's death. I hadn't expected it, and I was surprised at how hard it was to read of the end of a fictional character! And yet, in a way, it was suitable. How many people live their lives, give their lives, and die in unselfish loyalty, and never get recognized for it, even by our more celebrated heroes? Truly, Harry Potter did not willingly sacrifice anything little Colin Creevey hadn't bravely and willingly given himself, and Colin did it without the promise of becoming a legend or martyr. To me, Colin is the true hero of Rowling's story. There was a bitter sliver of truth to Voldemort's accusation that Harry was allowing others to do his fighting. I never got the impression that Harry truly appreciated the loyalty , efforts and sacrifices of ALL his friends, Colin in particular. He would not, could not have succeeded without the efforts of all who were good. I'm sure he knew it, but didn't seem to give it much thought. And yet, despite Neville's and Colin's absolute loyalty and Luna's pure joy in finding friendship, in the end, Harry had a tight circle of friendship (with Ron and Hermione) that even Colin, Luna and Neville could never truly enter. I think it says a lot about us, and how selectively we choose, keep and treat our friends ... even the best of us. Somehow, I think Rowling probably meant it to be that way in her book. She never offered a perfected portrait of Harry ... just a human one. What a read, what a trip. I can't really believe it's over. Rowling is a dedicated and gifted storyteller, and my one hope as this all comes to an end is that there are other storytellers now writing, or yet to write, who can take us on more wonderous journeys like this one.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Well said, Hyper Typer. I totally agree about needing more in the ending, and the epilogue being unecessary -- unless she was setting up for a sequal! I didn't agree about Colin though. He didn't play that big of a part, at least not big enough to be considered the hero of the book. I even think Neville was more heroic than Colin. Also, the whole friends thing. I think most everyone has a group of real, close friend, then a second group of friends that will never be quite as close. It's just how things are. It's probably all about personalities clicking with eachother.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Still, no one has told me who the non-magical creature who used magic was. And MR. X, who was on the cover of your book??
Originally Posted By sherrytodd <<<Still, no one has told me who the non-magical creature who used magic was. And MR. X, who was on the cover of your book??>>> Well, you could go with the cop out that I've seen on the internet elsewhere... "It was Dudley, he learned the magic of love," but my theory is that between the time JK Rowling made this statement and the final book came out, either a. she changed her mind, or b. it was cut from the book in the edit.
Originally Posted By dsnykid O looked all over the Harry potter fan sites and no one there can figure out who the non magical person was... and keeping in mind that these people are as fanatical about Harry Potter as we are about Disney, I think it's safe to say Rowling changed her mind or edited it out
Originally Posted By sherrytodd I was thinking, there's still another oppertunity to answer some of people's questions on things left out of the book. There's still a movie that will be coming. By then they'll know what are the things that are really important to fans to know. Maybe they'll use that opportunity to address some of the missing information. From the interviews I've read from JK Rowling, she really doesn't sound all that eager to write another Harry Potter book. <a href="http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pub&dt=070726&cat=news&st=newsd8qkb5900&src=ap" target="_blank">http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-b in/news?e=pub&dt=070726&cat=news&st=newsd8qkb5900&src=ap</a> "She acknowledged that the final Potter installment leaves some loose ends. "It would have been humanly impossible to answer every single question that comes up," she told NBC. "Because, I'm dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry's great, great grandparents." Rowling, whose seven Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide, said she plans to take time off to be with her family and will continue writing. She told USA Today she has two writing projects _ one for children and one for adults. But whether she will write about her young wizard again, she said: "I think I've kind of done the wizarding world. ... I have done my Harry Potter.""
Originally Posted By smedley <<**That said I also didn't switch on a tv or read a newspaper till I had completed the book** Me too! Isn't that sad, though? You have to be so worried about "spoilers" that you have to rush through the book before someone ruins it. At least, that's how I felt. I sort of wish I could have taken more time and savored reading it more. Next time, I guess.>> That's exactly how I felt Mr X, much as I probably would have read it in that amount of time anyway (I couldn't put it down) I absolutely felt obliged to have read it as soon as I possibly could to stop anyone from spoiling it for me (I hate spoilers!)
Originally Posted By DyGDisney If she's done with books about the wizard world, then why the epilogue? It would have made much more sense to have the final chapter be, as HyperTyper said, what happened after the big battle. The clean up and getting things back to normal. How did George and the other Weasley's deal with Fred's death, etc...
Originally Posted By Mr X **And MR. X, who was on the cover of your book??** That goblin who stole the sword (forgot the name at the moment). It's the same cover as the English children's version, I think (from the gringott's vault).
