I gave up on the books/movies when she killed off Sirius Black and then Dumbledorf. It’s not like she’s Shakespeare writing Hamlet for crying out loud. It seems like she just doesn’t know what to do next and kills someone off. I enjoy watching the early movies just to see the sets and watch how cute these kids were before they turned into international super stars. I probably won’t see the new movie or read the new book.
One of the things I respect about Rowling is that, while she could (as the saying goes) publish her laundry list, she has clearly worked hard to improve her craft. Book one was pretty dismal writing; my wife and I groaned and chuckled. By book five, she’s still repeating herself too much (how many times are we told that Umbridge is “toadlike”?), but she has greatly improved.
Book six was gripping, and some really deft, moving storytelling.
I for one am looking forward to book 7.
There are some interesting points in this article, but I think it’s erroneous to generalize from the experience of the publishing industry to the actions of the reading public. The fact that, for example, fewer young children’s picture books are being published in recent years doesn’t mean that the libraries aren’t full of children’s picture books.
New books are nice and all - especially for authors and publishers! - but if there were never another new book for children published, there’s enough extant fiction and nonfiction to keep every literate person in books until the end of the world.
Experts fear today’s empty playgrounds
Stockton Record | July 09, 2007 | Jennifer Torres
Posted on 07/09/2007 3:08:15 PM EDT by fgoodwin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1863150/posts