Posted on 08/01/2007 6:59:32 AM PDT by ParsifalCA
I am warning those who have not finished the series . . . and there must be still a few of them by now. . . that there are spoilers ahead. I have just finished the last book . . . having spent an enjoyable evening with it thanks to Sam’s Club and an indulgent wife.
I am done with Harry Potter and enjoying the literary aftertaste the way one enjoys a fine meal almost as much after it is done as when it is being consumed . . . though it is a bit sad that the series is finished.
And it is really finished . . .
Will one be able to re-read the books with pleasure?
I think the answer is only a tentative “yes.” If one knows the “puzzles” and “the secrets” of the book, it will not take away the charm of the characters or the fun of a good Quidditch match, but the first read will always be the best.
The strength of these books is in the plot and the second read, when everything is known, will be satisfying for finding all the clues to what happens . . . but I am hard pressed to know if I will want to re-read them a third or fourth time.
A really great book is as good on the fourth read . . . and some children’s books (Little White Horse) are better.
I deeply enjoyed the last book and thought the ending satisfying. For those who found them quite Christian, they will find much in this last book to give strength to their idea.
(Excerpt) Read more at exilestreet.com ...
You’ve not mentioned on this thread, and I think it is a valid question, how many of the HP books have you read? You have strongly held convictions about the books, so I have to assume that you are speaking from your personal experience after having read one or more of the series in its entirety.
You certainly wouldn’t be talking about the details of books based solely on what you’ve heard from others, would you?
“Well here you are spewing forth about the “evils” of Harry Potter and you keep mentioning teenage male prostitutes. Looks pretty obsessive to me”
You keep trying to make this about me. Why don’t you stop it and stick to the topic.
“Facts are facts and the fact is you’re wrong.”
You forgot to present these “facts”.
“You’ve not mentioned on this thread, and I think it is a valid question, how many of the HP books have you read? “
I’ve seen all the movies.
I listen to audio books a lot. I’ve heard a lot of readers, but the narrator who reads the Harry Potter books is bar none the best I’ve ever heard. He’s just so dead on with the voices of the characters.
If I had one fantasy wish, it would be to hear him read “The Great Divorce” by CS Lewis. That has a lot of British characters (the Big Man, etc) -It would be awesome to hear that.
John Cleese does a fantastic job with “Screwtape Letters”.
A lot of public libraries carry audiobooks. I usually listen to audiobooks only n the car — at home, I prefer to read.
Before a long road trip, I go to the library, check out a few, and rip them to my MP3 player. Audiobooks are great for road trips — they help me fight off boredom and keep me alert and focused much better than music does. And since audiobooks don’t require the sound quality of music, you can fit days’ worth of audiobooks even on a modest little 512MB or 1 or 2 GB MP3 player.
I’ve had a few conversations with a few different folks about the ethics of doing this. Arguably, what I’m doing is illegal copying. But the while point of a public library is to make information available to the public for free, and by acting as I do rather than taking the CDs with me, I get the discs back to the library and into another patron’s hands sooner, and with less risk that I’ll damage the discs.
I need to find out if my university library — where I have alumni privileges — has audiobooks. If so, I can just take the CDs into a study carrel and rip to MP3 without even checking the discs out.
No, the Wizard of Oz glorifies socialism.
Lord of the Rings. - A muddled message.
Chronicles of Narnia. - Better but still weak.
Hans Christian Anderson. - Useful, in that children are taught that there are real dangers in the world and that evil is evil but they tend to be overly moralistic - in a simplistic way.
OMG...don’t help him obfuscate the issue!
Shirley, you can't be series.
Yeah, kids were much smarter when their literature was about hard-nosed, serious subjects like a lion who rules over a magical kingdom in a closet. Or a young girl, a small dog, a talking lion, a tin man and a scarecrow dodging witches to find a wizard. Or princesses, pirates, knights of the round table, giants, orcs, hobbits, and teenaged detectives.
Don’t call him Shirley. (dumbass yes...Shirley no)
“Shirley, you can’t be series.”
I am - with regards to chldren’s literature.
I have not read any of the Harry Potter books or seen the movies, so I can't speak to what they contain. However, I do think that we need to be very careful, especially in children's books, in dealing with the occult.
But the fact remains that the Wizard of Oz is straightforward populist socialism.
I don’t have much of an opinion about WOZ, but in reality there is no such thing as a “good witch”. Just as there’s not such thing as a “kindly abortionist”.
Well that’s a good non-answer answer.
You should be a Democrat.
The movies take out a lot of the Christian emphasis of the books.
Every book has a moral lesson strongly rooted in Christianity, which I find interesting. I was so disappointed to see the lesson cutfrom movie 5, which for me was the crux of the book.
Harry spends pages in despair after his godfather, Sirius (the star that leads) is killed dueling an evil wizard. He finds himself at the end of the year talking to a slightly strange girl everyone ignores. She looks at him while he is grieving, and she says, We will always see them again. You know that.
I can’t say much without being a spoiler for the last book for a lot of people, but I will tell you, after reading all the books, one of the major themes is life is a journey with choices, and we choose which side we will fight on - life is spiritual warfare between good and evil, even though most don’t see it.
At the end - well, there is no end. We go on, and oh geez, I can’t say it without being a spoiler. Let’s just say she borrows heavily from the New Testament.
The only thing “witchy” about the books is the setting. The backround themes are strongly Christian.
I find that I agree with Dennis Prager. Those who have no interests beyond politics are boring.
If on every national “guitar day” you found, at the B&N, a table of guitar interspersed with porn magazines, what conclusion would you draw?
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