rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2007-07-03 05:31 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2007-07-03 05:31 pm
Entry tags:
musings on the Harry Potter series
I am such a wimp. It was raining again earlier so instead of going for a walk/jog I went to the gym. Out of curiosity I used a couple of weight-lifting machines. Oh, my arms! Er, maybe I should do arm exercises more often.
Sometimes there are drawbacks to being a fast reader. For one, I tend to miss tiny details. Right now I regret it because I already finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and we still have 18 days until book seven is released. Rats. I meant to finish much closer to the release date.
Okay, here's something I realized finally that most others probably figured out ages ago. The note in the locket (the fake horcrux) was signed R.A.B. That has to be Sirius Black's brother, Regulus (Reggie). He was killed 'offscreen' a long time ago. I can't remember all of the references to him but he was definitely a Death-Eater and I think the fifth book has a reference to him turning against Voldemort (and then being killed). Anyway, I feel very silly but considering that I don't dabble in HP fandom at least I figured it out on my own before the seventh book comes out. Heh.
I'm still reasonably sure that Snape is still working for the Order of the Phoenix and not against them. The re-read seems to confirm that--we know that Snape is a skilled occlumens and he can block others who attempt to read him with ease. He seems to push for the opportunity to make the Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa in behalf of Draco Malfoy--this would make sense if he's already made a promise to Dumbledore, who would probably rather die at Snape's hands than let one of his students cross that line. The only other theory I find believable is that Snape's making his own bid for power. I don't think that he's Voldemort's devoted slave.
Book Five (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) is probably my least-favorite of the series so far. It takes the personality defects each character has and moves them to extremes, so that even though Harry is believably short-tempered, my sympathy isn't as great. Also Dolores Umbridge is given no redeeming qualities; Rowling's stories are already very black-and-white without making another character (besides Voldemort) completely unlikeable. (Actually even Voldemort has pieces of his past that make me feel some compassion for him, although none of those things excuse who he became.)
I'm certain I'll see the movie in the theatre, though, and I'll enjoy it to a certain degree. For one thing I really like Helena Bonham Carter's work--she'll be playing the role of Bellatrix Lestrange. Plus I'll be glad to see Neville come into his own; I'm so pleased Rowling chose to give his character some depth and the opportunity to shine. Same with Luna Lovegood. (Am hoping that both have some things to do in book seven.)
I'm interested enough in HP fandom that I might hunt down some fic. Gah, I just realized, I don't know any author names or websites or anything to keep me from wading through a ton of badfic to find the good stuff. I just peeked at The Pit and it says that there are 301,719 stories listed for HP fandom--that's a lot of potentially awful stuff. Okay, maybe I'm not so interested in reading HP fanfic!
Sometimes there are drawbacks to being a fast reader. For one, I tend to miss tiny details. Right now I regret it because I already finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and we still have 18 days until book seven is released. Rats. I meant to finish much closer to the release date.
Okay, here's something I realized finally that most others probably figured out ages ago. The note in the locket (the fake horcrux) was signed R.A.B. That has to be Sirius Black's brother, Regulus (Reggie). He was killed 'offscreen' a long time ago. I can't remember all of the references to him but he was definitely a Death-Eater and I think the fifth book has a reference to him turning against Voldemort (and then being killed). Anyway, I feel very silly but considering that I don't dabble in HP fandom at least I figured it out on my own before the seventh book comes out. Heh.
I'm still reasonably sure that Snape is still working for the Order of the Phoenix and not against them. The re-read seems to confirm that--we know that Snape is a skilled occlumens and he can block others who attempt to read him with ease. He seems to push for the opportunity to make the Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa in behalf of Draco Malfoy--this would make sense if he's already made a promise to Dumbledore, who would probably rather die at Snape's hands than let one of his students cross that line. The only other theory I find believable is that Snape's making his own bid for power. I don't think that he's Voldemort's devoted slave.
Book Five (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) is probably my least-favorite of the series so far. It takes the personality defects each character has and moves them to extremes, so that even though Harry is believably short-tempered, my sympathy isn't as great. Also Dolores Umbridge is given no redeeming qualities; Rowling's stories are already very black-and-white without making another character (besides Voldemort) completely unlikeable. (Actually even Voldemort has pieces of his past that make me feel some compassion for him, although none of those things excuse who he became.)
I'm certain I'll see the movie in the theatre, though, and I'll enjoy it to a certain degree. For one thing I really like Helena Bonham Carter's work--she'll be playing the role of Bellatrix Lestrange. Plus I'll be glad to see Neville come into his own; I'm so pleased Rowling chose to give his character some depth and the opportunity to shine. Same with Luna Lovegood. (Am hoping that both have some things to do in book seven.)
I'm interested enough in HP fandom that I might hunt down some fic. Gah, I just realized, I don't know any author names or websites or anything to keep me from wading through a ton of badfic to find the good stuff. I just peeked at The Pit and it says that there are 301,719 stories listed for HP fandom--that's a lot of potentially awful stuff. Okay, maybe I'm not so interested in reading HP fanfic!
no subject
And umm, HP fandom is slightly scary... but uhh, I could probably direct you to some fic if you life. I'm assuming you'd be interested in gen stuff, but it's been a long time since I've read much HP fic... and so much of it is divided by ship, like probably worse than any other fandom I've read in. Or maybe not "worse" but certainly scary enough...
no subject
I'd have to agree--I liked book six (a whole lot more than book 5, anyway) but parts of it are just irritating. It's funny to me about Snape, though--my older brother's wife can't believe that I still think Snape is (probably) working for the good side. She's convinced that he's evil. I would go looking in HP fandom to find out what others think but it is scary, what little I've stumbled across so far.
I'll take fic recs if you have some time--gen is good.
I was thinking about that--the idea of shippy stuff, even het, in HP fandom is not very appealing. I guess it's the teacher in me--I hate seeing kids get serious about relationships at such a young age. The romance angle as written by Rowling is one of the things I haven't liked much in her books--but I do think I'm inclined to be a bit harsh, so... (and don't get me started on the idea of slashing the students with their teachers, ick ick ick why fandom, WHY?!)
no subject
I peeked over at
Anyway, I actually wanted to mention this essay about Snape (http://a-t-rain.livejournal.com/121392.html#cutid1). It's really quite interesting, and not too long, either.
no subject
Perhaps I should just email you the link for the first, but the second I mention is "Stealing Harry" and the subsequent sequels... they're seriously amazing. It's at
no subject
I'll have a look at the LJ you linked to--despite spending most of the afternoon on the computer I haven't done much that's actually fun. *sulks* And feel free to e-mail me or comment if you have more recs...