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
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...