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Children's books

Am I alone in Harry Potter addiction?

48 replies

bambipie · 22/04/2009 16:26

I just keep reading them all the time. I haven't got the first two books but I read the whole lot, in order, and when I get to the end I just start again. Pretty much know them off by heart now. I read other books too, but always have an HP on the go.
Is anyone else a addict?

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tiredemma · 22/04/2009 16:27

Do you go to the book launches dressed as Hagrid?

Dumbledoresgirl · 22/04/2009 16:28

Do you look like you are alone? I don't read them continuously but when I am down, I sit down with one of them and read Dumbledore's words of wisdom.

Flibbertyjibbet · 22/04/2009 16:30

Not any more but I was when I first discovered it.

Each time a new one came out I had to start at 1 and read through all the others - it got quite obssessive trying to time finishing the last one for the day before the new one came out.

no new ones now [sob]

My next door neighbour took his daughter to the midnight launch of the last one at I think it was the museum of natural history or the british museum. His daughter had won a competition on the radio. The party started midnight and they drove home by 10am the next day (north west). He told me about it and said he'd shaken hands with JK rowling, DP said 'oh god don't tell her that' and there I was grabbing my neighbours hand to get a touch of where jk had touched him

Flibbertyjibbet · 22/04/2009 16:31

There was someone at a previous job that we nicknamed the dementor...

Every time she came in the room she spread doom and gloom and made every one stressed and depressed!

Sunshinemummy · 22/04/2009 16:42

Nope - I don't have them on the go all the time but I do reread them (in order) regularly.

You should have been here before the last one came out - there was a group of us obsessing madly over them.

sarah293 · 22/04/2009 16:46

This reply has been deleted

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Bucharest · 22/04/2009 16:53

Another one here.
(although came to my addiction very late...and have only reread all 7 once, so far.....)
I'm still not totally happy with JK's characterisation of either Dumbledore or Snape last off.
I need to write to her about it.....

sarah293 · 22/04/2009 16:56

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Bucharest · 22/04/2009 17:14

lol- I just felt she lost the plot a bit with Dumbledore..I didn't like him in the last 2 books, and that felt wrong. And then I felt she rushed out Snape's goodness...we needed another book to develop that bit of him further....
I'd still shag him though. (only if he is still Alan Rickman though)

MarmadukeScarlet · 22/04/2009 17:26

I've read them all several times too. Like FJ, I reread each in the series before new one came out.

Anytime I feel I need a little escapism I start from #1.

I no l;onger enjoy the sort of 'improving/important/challenging' books that one is supposed to stretch one's mind with and only read children's books nowadays - life is challenging enough.

Dumbledoresgirl · 22/04/2009 17:27

Yes, I am not totally convinced by Dumbledore in the last book either - all that homosexual stuff with Grindelwald was thrown at us a bit. I have nothing against D being gay, but I was not convinced by the way his youth was presented to us. Of course, he had to have a "past" to explain his future, but there needed more signposting towards his past in the earlier books. (As she did with Snape - surely everyone knew by book 5 that Snape had been in love with Lily and could extrapolate from that that he was truly on the "good" side and not double crossing D.) But then I thought Book 7 was the weakest of the lot really. She had left too many things to pack into that book imo.

MitchyInge · 22/04/2009 17:32

I will NEVER forgive her for killing Hedwig. How could she?

pointydog · 22/04/2009 17:34

dd2 is an addict. But I think she's over it now as she's on to LoTR

Bucharest · 23/04/2009 07:47

Oh, Pointydog- poor you. Are you having to do pages and pages of mad elvish poetry?

DGirl- agree about book 7, it was as if she had a very rigid contract, to write 600 pages and deal with a/b/c as quickly as possible....I finished rereading it last week, and felt a good 400 pages were waffley irrelevance.

The whole Dumbledore thing left me feeling grubby, like my favourite grandad had suddenly felt up my skirt or something.

Hedwig and Dobby. Dobby was the only thing that made me cry in 7 books.

TitsalinaBumsquash · 23/04/2009 07:53

I love everything about the world of Harry Potter, i can't wait for the last few films to come out. I reread my books loads but i have 2 copies of Chamber of Secrets as one of them is a very valuable first, same with prisioner of Askinan but i am not parting with them, i didn't want to wreck them with all my thumbing through so i had to get 2 copies of each!

TitsalinaBumsquash · 23/04/2009 07:54

Do excuse my spelling i have really bad carpal yunnel syndromw so i don't have a lot of feeling left in my fingers today!

Bumperlicioso · 23/04/2009 08:07

I'm the same, but with the audio books, when I have to go on a long drive, or spend time in the kitchen cooking or cleaning I stick HP on the iPod. Stephen Fry is great and so soothing!

My criticism is the Harry/Ginny relationship. I think it came out of no-where and I just didn't feel it.

4andnotout · 23/04/2009 08:09

At last fellow HP readers

Im currently reading the deathly hallows for the 1st time, i only recently bought tdh and mudblood prince and so had to start at number 1 and work my way through!

It's nice to just read something simple and get lost in the adventure!

differentID · 23/04/2009 08:13

I still re-read frequently.

bambipie · 23/04/2009 08:42

Yay, there are others!
Know what you mean about Dumbledore and Snape. I totally missed out on the gay thing with Dumbledore?? I do think though that all the characters become more complex as we go along. Dumbledore starts as a distant but kindly figure and we see him through HPs young eyes. As HP grows up he learns and understands more - Dumbledore become more of a 'real' person (or wizard).
Is Snape really 'good' or has he just done good because of his love for Lilly? I do think all of that had to be kept till the last book.
I have often wondered several things though -who does Hermione share a dorm with? (Maybe in the first two books that I don't have).
And what happened to Harry's Grandparents - unlucky to have lost all four by the age of one!

OP posts:

themildmanneredjanitor · 23/04/2009 08:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bucharest · 23/04/2009 08:57

I think that's another thing- the ambiguity about Snape's goodness...I think it is only because he loved Lily, because he still admitted to hating Harry, because Harry was James's son.....and he should just have been good because Voldemort was bad, shouldn't he? and apart from the bit right at the very end when Harry tells his own son that Snape was one of the bravest people he knew....we don't hear anything about how Harry feels when he sees Snape's last thoughts in the pensieve....

Sirius was a tosser and very unlikeable as well....ditto James, and Lily- well who was she? Petunia had more go than Lily seemed to have.....Draco isn't properly finished off as a person either....

Also agree re Gambon. I haven't seen a Gambon film yet, and just imagine DD to stay as RH or Gandalf, really.

I don't think Harry's grandparents get a mention do they?

I s'pose Hermione shares a dorm with those Patil twins, and lavender wotsit?

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Dumbledoresgirl · 23/04/2009 09:12

LOL the more faults people point out here, the more I find myself thinking "yeah, I agree, that was poorly done..." You will have me hating the books at the end of this thread!

One thing I have to agree out loud with though is the representation of Dumbledore by Michael Gambon in the films. I could rip the man's head off, he plays my beloved Dumbledore so wrong! I heard Ian McKellen turned it down after he had played Gandalf and I have been wracking my brains who should play Dumbledore instead and I think I have come up with the answer: Derek Jacobi.

I agree that Snape's goodness is not clear. OK he was doing it all for the love of Lily, but then, would he really have hated Harry so much? I understand Harry is similar in looks to James whom Snape had reason to hate (but only similar in looks, clearly has a different personality to his father). So does Snape base all his feelings on appearances? I hate Harry because he is the spitting image of James but I will risk my life to save Harry because he has Lily's eyes. ??? Come on JK, we need more than that. I know he was acting out of guilt for causing Lily's death too, but what I mean is, is it really possible that Snape could find none of Lily's redeeming features in Harry and therefore like him just a little bit?

Sunshinemummy · 23/04/2009 09:15

Agree re. Michael Gambon - he is wrong wrong wrong. That scene in GOF where he shouts at Harry after his name comes out of the goblet is so awful that I can't watch it.

Bucharest · 23/04/2009 09:19

I clung onto the end to the hope that Snape would be Harry's Dad.

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