The only Harry Potter book I've read is HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE.
I enjoyed it and especially thought that first chapter was something to strive for in my own writing. (I mean, The Boy Who Lived ?? How awesome is that??)
But. It felt too complicated to me, with too many characters and plot lines. (I like a simple story.) So I did not continue on with the series.
I did, however, buy the books for my children.
Unfortunately, like mother, like sons. None of them read past the first book.
For the third boy (who hates to read ANY book), I bought an audio version. The British accent and language had him boucing around like he'd been bee-stung before we finished chapter one.
So I donated the audio version to the school library and sold off the rest of the books on ebay.
I declined and confessed to being horribly behind on books AND movies -- having only seen the first one. And then I thought, hmmm, no better time to remedy the situation than with the final installment due in just weeks.
So my husband and I decided to do a Harry Potter movie marathon (which for us means a movie a night, because, we have this tendency to, shhh, FALL ASLEEP), and Lori oh so thoughtfully and generously offered to allow us to borrow her copies of the films.
And now I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE HOW THIS THING WRAPS UP! I feel completely invested in these characters and am confident I've got the plot lines straight in my head and certainly have my own hopes/suspicions about what's to come.
Plus the trailer makes me teary-eyed.
And to think I've only really known these characters for a week. I can only imagine how all those uber-fans are feeling as this series comes to a close. Sadness and happiness all entertwined.
Here's the trailer in case you've missed it:
I won't be at the midnight opening-night showing, but we WILL get to it this weekend. Can't wait. And I'd love to hear about YOUR relationship with Harry, if you're willing to spill!
I had my husband read passages from Sorcerer's Stone to me while I was in labor. :) I picked it up again after I learned to function with sleep deprivation. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed books 2 and 3 as well. Then the heft of the books scared me. Plus, rumors had it that after III, the editing got less tight. My 10 year old daughter loves it, has read all of them twice, while the hubby and I cheated by watching all the movies. Like you, my family is having a HP catch-up sessions, really just an excuse to watch the movies together, before the Finale. This is the first time my 8-year old son is watching with us. Until he read the books (he's finished 1 and 2 and is in the middle of 3), he thought the movies would be too scary. Now he loves them. Maybe the two of us will finish reading the series together.
Now that you feel this way, you definitely need to read the books because there's so much more awesome than what the movies show!
ReplyDeleteI first read the HP series back in 2008 and my friend who had been trying to get me to read them for years, made me promise to read at least through the 3rd book.
I'm glad I did because the first 2 weren't really my cup of tea but by the end of the 3rd I was loving it and NEEDED to know more.
Now I'm such a HP nerd and I love it!
JKR is just a master. If you end up reading the books, you'll want to re-read almost immediately because there are so many little things you'll pick up that you may not have paid attention to.
If you need a HP:DH2 viewing partner, feel free to let me know. :-)
I was with you until the movie part. I've only read the first, and my sons have either not been interested or have not yet been interested.
ReplyDeleteYat-Yee: it's a great family thing to do, and I love it that your family has kind of grown into it! Crystal: I might just take you up on that offer. And you make a great argument for reading the books. Thank you! Caroline: keep me posted. I'm interested to see if younger kids are as crazy for HP as the older ones were.
ReplyDeleteJK Rowling is without a doubt one of my favorite writers. She is brilliant at naming characters in a way where the name sounds like the character's personality. Also she is a wiz at inventing new fantasy elements and giving those creatures or spells or locales perfect names. She is as much a wordsmith as our finest poets. JKR is equally brilliant at characterization, plotting, and dialogue. Yes, the books are an investment and require sustained attention to the plot lines and keeping track of the characters. But since they are so vivid it's a pleasure to do that work. I am rereading all the books and watching each movie afterward. I know I won't get done before the final movie hits the screens, but that's okay. I'm a quarter way through the 4th book and will go ahead and watch the final one next week. Later I'll swing back through and finish reliving the entire series.
ReplyDeleteI've read all the books... twice and you know how werid that is for me to say that... okay I confess, I read the books once and listened to all of them on tape once. I know how it ends... want me to tell you HA!
ReplyDeleteThe books are much much much better. Oh yea, I've seen all the movies too many, many, many times. I have three granddaughters.
You know how to reach me!
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