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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 23 of 23. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TexasChic on July 9, 2007, at 19:55:47
{{{Spoilers!}}}
I know I am! I'm excited about the 5th movie too, it looks pretty good. But the book is what I'm most excited about!!! Is Snape evil or is he just misunderstood? Will Harry and Jenny breaking up really keep you-know-who from knowing she's important to him? What will it be like without Dumbledore? Will Hermione and Ron finally get together?
-T
Posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 17:37:15
In reply to Anybody excited about the final Harry Potter book?, posted by TexasChic on July 9, 2007, at 19:55:47
and my son.
(Spoiler for Book 6)
Although I loved Dumbledore best of anyone in the book, so it seems kind of downhill from here.
Posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 17:39:51
In reply to Anybody excited about the final Harry Potter book?, posted by TexasChic on July 9, 2007, at 19:55:47
I really hope Ginny and Harry end up together. I've been using that book as a relationship example for my son, reinforcing the idea that it's really nice to date people you like a lot as friends, and how much better it was working out with Ginny than with Cho.
He asked me the other day if hating someone meant you liked them, and I screeched NOOOOOO, that's a Hollywood myth. If you hate someone for good reason, you just hate them. And you should try to find someone as a romantic companion that you actually like as a companion. :)
Posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 18:17:12
In reply to Oh, and...., posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 17:39:51
you may be annoyed by someone you secretly like - like Ron and Hermione!!!!
-T
Posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 18:30:54
In reply to But.... » Dinah, posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 18:17:12
Yeah, but they like each other too. So that doesn't count as a Sam and Diane type thing.
I kind of wonder if Ron and Hermione would make it as a long term couple. I think it would take some style adjustments on each of their parts. I can see Hermione as a strong single witch for some time before she settles down.
On the other hand, who could be better for Harry than someone with that many older brothers? :) Ginny can hold her own with anyone - and give Harry a permanent place in the family he's grown to see as his own. I wonder if she's going to be involved in the powerful magic of love that Dumbledore said was Harry's greatest strength.
I'm still trying to figure out what "Neither can live while the other survives" means.
Posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 19:11:18
In reply to Re: But.... » TexasChic, posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 18:30:54
>I wonder if she's going to be involved in the powerful magic of love that Dumbledore said was Harry's greatest strength.
Oooh, good point. But I hope that doesn't mean that Harry will benefit from her love like he did his Mom's! (There is the rumor that a major character will die in the last book!!!)
I love the way Harry kept noticing that flowery smell he associated with the Weasley's house and it turned out to be Ginny.
I think Ron and Hermione are destined to be together. Its been leading up to it for too long.
> I'm still trying to figure out what "Neither can live while the other survives" means.
I think it just means neither will tolerate the other one living, they will continue to fight until one or the other is dead.
So what about Snape and Malfoy? Do you think either could possibly be good?
-T
Posted by Phillipa on July 10, 2007, at 19:31:31
In reply to Re: But...., posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 19:11:18
You mean adults read Harry Potter thought it was strictly for kids. Shows you how much I know. Love Phillipa
Posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 19:45:26
In reply to Re: But...., posted by Phillipa on July 10, 2007, at 19:31:31
The main characters are kids, and it does have a child-like-charm, but it's intelligently written and very suspenseful. I also loved the "Narnia Chronicles" which was also written for children.
-T
Posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 20:21:43
In reply to Re: But...., posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 19:11:18
I think she's said redemption is possible for anyone but Voldemort.
I have my own theories about Snape, which are probably quite wrong.
And Draco Malfoy might not end up being a deatheater, but as that awful Professor Umbridge quite clearly demonstrated, not every awful person is a deatheater. :) I think I liked Voldemort better than I liked Dolores Umbridge.
Posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 20:41:07
In reply to Re: But.... » TexasChic, posted by Dinah on July 10, 2007, at 20:21:43
At least Voldemort makes no pretention about being good, Umbridge thinks she's perfection! She was really and truly awful. I love the whole 'Dumbledore's Army' that results from her presence. Especially Neville and Luna becoming such an integral part of it.
So what are your theories on Snape???? I'd love to hear. I mean, how can he be good and have killed Dumbledore? But then, Dumbledore trusted him whole heartedly, so how could he have been so wrong? On the other hand, he's not infallible since he himself admitted bad judgment in not telling Harry everything when he was younger.
As for Draco, do you think his failure to kill Dumbledore will convince him that he's not as evil as he would like to believe, or push him to prove himself once and for all?
So many questions! And above all I love Harry and Ginny together the most. I loved the way Rowling just glossed over their brief time together like it was a dream.
-T
Posted by Phillipa on July 10, 2007, at 20:41:32
In reply to Re: But.... » Phillipa, posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 19:45:26
T next time in the library will pick one up. Love Phillipa
Posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 20:55:30
In reply to Re: But.... » TexasChic, posted by Phillipa on July 10, 2007, at 20:41:32
I've found most people agree that the first one starts a bit slowly, so keep with it, I promise it gets better. And with each book, the characters get older and the story evolves for an older audience. So don't be thrown by the first one being about such young characters and their corresponding emotions. You kind of grow up with them. If you enjoy fantasy/scifi novels, you will love it. It takes alot of inspiration from "Lord of the Rings" in my opinion (which I've also read the entire series of).
-T
Posted by caraher on July 11, 2007, at 0:17:05
In reply to Re: But.... » Phillipa, posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 20:55:30
I would bet against any developments that leave anyone, apart from Voldemort, in the "totally evil" camp. Rowling has pretty steadily brought the kids who have been reading the series from the start from a black/white view of people to recognition of shades of grey. I guess that's why it's so much more interesting to speculate about what drives Snape and Draco Malfoy than the "heroes" of the story. And of course, over time Dumbledore descended from all-knowing and wise to the realm of mortals.
I'm kind of amazed at the level of interest in the romantic networking. I guess that my amazement says more about me than anything else. I've been informed more than once that I'm clueless about such things...
I'm much more interested in whether these characters get together in which pairings than in which of them might not survive! I wonder how tempted Rowling was to kill off Harry if only to stave off inevitable fan demand for an additional book or books...
Posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 0:48:39
In reply to Serious Spoilers for unread existing books!!!!, posted by TexasChic on July 10, 2007, at 20:41:07
It's hard to think of Draco's failure to kill Dumbledore as being a sign that he's not evil. He almost killed Katy Bell, without even intending her any harm. Maybe what he really lacked was courage. He always was a cowardly little weasel.
Hmmm... My Snape theories are a bit unformed. They center around the fact that Dumbledore changed beyond reason the last book, and particularly as the book progressed. It was not like Dumbledore to be so childlike with Harry. Especially since Harry didn't really do anything to earn Dumbledore's reliance. He couldn't even remember how to repel the infiori (sp?). And around the fact that Dumbledore seemed to be pleading with Snape at the end. I just get the feeling that there was more going on than meets the eye. I realize he's really dead. She's been clear about that. But I can't help wondering if that small part of the tale couldn't have been part of some plan. Clearly letting the deatheaters and a werewolf in the school was no part of the plan.
And I also can't help but think that the Phoenix will play another role. Fawkes has been a key player in almost every book.
I have to confess that I've been wanting to learn more about Lily. I've always felt like there was something hinted at but not told about Lily. But perhaps some mysteries are meant to stay that way.
My only prediction, such as it is, is that Neville will end up teaching Herbology someday at Hogwarts. :)
I have a feeling that I might not like Book 7, just as I didn't like Book 5 (because it was so unrelentingly grim) and Book 6 (because Dumbledore ceased somewhere in there to be the Dumbledore I loved). But I'll still devour it over and over again just as I did those two books. Because I may not have liked them too much, but I did love them.
Besides, the books really get better after you've read the later books. You go back and read the earlier ones and catch all the little tidbits of significant information that you didn't realize was significant.
Posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 0:50:24
In reply to Re: But.... » TexasChic, posted by Phillipa on July 10, 2007, at 20:41:32
Phillipa, likely all the books on tape for Harry Potter have been checked out, but I'd really suggest listening to it on tape. The narrator adds a lot to the experience. He's pretty good.
Posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 1:01:00
In reply to Re: who is evil?, posted by caraher on July 11, 2007, at 0:17:05
I'm not as interested in the romantic pairings so much as the character insights they reveal. Particularly Harry and Ginny. That pairing works on so many levels. I've always been struck by how out of place Harry had felt in his entire life, with Hogwarts and Ron's house as the only true homes he'd known. Ginny has to be so much more than a smart, pretty capable young lady to Harry. She probably embodies the Burrow, and love and warmth to Harry. And I suppose the spirit of Gryffindor and Hogwarts too.
I do like the shadings of moral ambiguity in the story. It's not quite as obvious as in A Series of Unfortunate Events. But it is there. Although I'm a bit confunded by the insistence on the power of love as the greatest of the mysteries. And the absence of any darker side to that particular mystery.
Posted by Sigismund on July 11, 2007, at 2:42:07
In reply to Re: who is evil? » caraher, posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 1:01:00
Dinah
Do you wanna go on about that?
I think it's an interesting subject.
Yours sincerely,
Disappointed Romantic.
Posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 9:28:59
In reply to The darker side of love, posted by Sigismund on July 11, 2007, at 2:42:07
I don't think I've formulated anything terribly profound. Just that there seems to be a naive importance attached to the power of love in the books, to my less optimistic eyes.
It just seems to me that even the purest most self sacrificing true love in one of those Greek definitions of the word is not a universal force for good. Sometimes great wrongs can be done in the spirit of love. And I suppose I wonder at the lack of balance on the topic when in general the books are fairly balanced in describing the potential for good and evil in any great power.
Posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 9:30:05
In reply to The darker side of love, posted by Sigismund on July 11, 2007, at 2:42:07
But then, I think my views need to be evaluated in light of the fact that I am a great champion of moderation.
Posted by Sigismund on July 11, 2007, at 16:14:40
In reply to Re: The darker side of love » Sigismund, posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 9:30:05
The eastern religions are divided, I think, about what dwells inside divine emptiness.
There are those who think it is love, and there are those who think that love is another of these human impurities(?) to be transcended.
Posted by Honore on July 11, 2007, at 17:50:13
In reply to Yoga 101 » Dinah, posted by Sigismund on July 11, 2007, at 16:14:40
Posted by Phillipa on July 11, 2007, at 19:32:52
In reply to Re: Gosh, I am seriously out of the loop (nm), posted by Honore on July 11, 2007, at 17:50:13
Yup me too. Glad not the only one. Love Phillipa
Posted by TexasChic on July 11, 2007, at 19:35:26
In reply to Re: Serious Spoilers for unread existing books!!!! » TexasChic, posted by Dinah on July 11, 2007, at 0:48:39
I didn't expect much of a response to this! You guys rock! Funny how we all seem to focus on different aspects of the book. Here I am mooning about the romances while others are getting all philosophical! I think it just goes to show the genius of J.K. Rowling. She created stories that appeal to all different kinds of people.
> I have to confess that I've been wanting to learn more about Lily. I've always felt like there was something hinted at but not told about Lily. But perhaps some mysteries are meant to stay that way.
Funny, the thing I've been thinking about is a series of prequels. There's plenty of material:
- how Lily got her letter and went to Hogwarts (and Petunia hating it)
- meeting James and how maybe he was sort of a jerk at first (ie: Snape's memory in the pensive)
-how Lily was described as always seeing the best in everyone (maybe she changed James)
- how James and Sirius helped Lupin once he became a werewolf
- how Peter betrayed them all
- Voldermort coming to power the first time
- young Hagrid
- and so much more!
It would just be so awesome IMHO!> I have a feeling that I might not like Book 7, just as I didn't like Book 5 (because it was so unrelentingly grim) and Book 6 (because Dumbledore ceased somewhere in there to be the Dumbledore I loved).
I loved book 5 because it was so grim, but then that's just me. Funny, I'm the one who was all into to the romance part - I'm just such a complex person!;-) Book 6 had me crying through the entire last half of the book. Even when I re-read it I just cry and cry and cry! I didn't really think of Dumbledore not being the same, I just felt he was hiding something.
>But I'll still devour it over and over again just as I did those two books. Because I may not have liked them too much, but I did love them.
I totally understand, me too!
> Besides, the books really get better after you've read the later books. You go back and read the earlier ones and catch all the little tidbits of significant information that you didn't realize was significant.
I agree completely! I've had people think its strange that I re-read books, but I do it all the time.
Thanks everyone for contributing! I'm glad to see other fans out there!
-T
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