Harry Potter

[perky]

I just finished The Deathly Hallows last night. I read it rather fast, I couldn't stop myself! So I start rereading it again in a few days, this time slowly so as to savor everything. I think it's a fitting finale to an amazing literary series. I won't get into specific plot points (NO SPOILERS), however I have to say, Voldemort flying without a broom seriously creeped me out!! It just seemed so him, unnatural and spooky as hell. My mouth also opened during the final battle when Molly Weasley called Bellatrix a b......! and then proceeded to fight a mother of duel with her. It seemed appropriate that is was Molly who brought such an evil demented witch down. The part of the book that moved me the most was the walk Harry took into the forest to meet his fate during the battle at Hogwarts. Being surrounded by the spirits of those he loved most as they provided support and love in the most difficult time of life had me in tears. Finally the final battle between Harry and Voldemort was everything and more I could have hoped. To be able to experience the journey of the unloved and neglected Harry we meet in the first pages of the first book to the wise, brave and pure of heart Harry he becomes by the time of the final battle was a pleasure and an honor.

[Old Fashioned]

I haven't read any of these, nor seen the movies. I tend to buck pop culture tidal waves. But in all the media hoopla, and along the lines of Mel's observation, "the story has progressed in very nearly real time, which appealed to a series readership " local news broadcast a sharp observation from a girl, about age 16, as she stood on line for the midnight sales to start. She said she'd started reading the books with the first one, when she was a new reader, that each was a landmark along her road to maturity, and this final installment signals the end of her childhood.

It's one of those rare instances when a trend actually deserves its widespread popularity. I have no qualms about telling people to jump on this bandwagon! In the latest film release, Imelda Staunton's performance as the deliciously evil Professor Umbridge was worth the price of admission.

As I completed Book 7, I felt as though my childhood has also come to an end, even though I haven't technically been a child for a couple of years now. I think anyone who has been following the series with avid fascination would feel the same way, whether that person is 16 or 61. Following the Potter phenomena has brought me closest to the feeling of excitement I used to experience as a child; it's like going trick-or-treating or throwing a slumber party all over again. Yet I never experience the feeling that the writing in the books is below my intelligence, nor do I feel childish reading them.

[dirac]

It's one of those rare instances when a trend actually deserves its widespread popularity. I have no qualms about telling people to jump on this bandwagon!

I have not read any of the books, but people whose judgment I trust have, and there does seem to be something more going on than the usual media flavor-of-the-month. Only time will tell, of course.

[leibling]

I also just finished Deathly Hallows last night- I felt as if I hab been bewitched as I COULD NOT put the book down. What a terrifc storyteller JK Rowling is- the way the plot kept twisting through every page of the very long book. Yet none of it seemed irrelevant to the story- everything fit into place at the end. What interested me even more were (what I felt to be) the occassional allusions to today's real world problems (a ministry of magic that people don't trust to tell the truth, government conspiracies). I don't know that it was subtle, but I had to chuckle a bit to find myself relating to her characters through these situations.