HP

[mrv3000]

Finished The Sorcerer's Stone and had a few general thoughts:

• The book did seem to pick up a bit as it went along, so I wasn't distracted as much by the writing style.
  
  
• However, I was distracted by all the American words and terms. They kept making me pause.
  
  
• Book!Dumbledore > Movie!Dumbledore. In fact, all the teachers are better in the book, but I guess you can only focus on so much in a movie.
  
  
• Also nice is the bit more detail you get about the generation before. In the movies that doesn't seem to start coming out until later.
  
  
• Draco is one of the most one-dimensional characters I've ever read. It's both amusing and annoying. Amoying!
  
  
• Still not shipping any wee children.

Comments

[janetmaca.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Draco gets a bit better as the books go on... or I'vew grown accustomed to him. *shrugs*

Also if you started shipping at this point I'd be really concerned. :D

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I'd guess that Draco does get fleshed out in the books since he does seem to play a bigger role as time goes on. Here though...

WEE CHILDREN. :D

[lissapocalypse.livejournal.com]

Draco is one of those frustrating characters where you can see the three-dimensional personality in the character *eventually*, but the books are so heavily filtered through Harry's perspective, and he always thinks of Draco as a one-dimensional villain.

I honestly think that one of the reasons fanfiction is so popular with the HP fandom is because the books are almost entirely through Harry's perspective, and so it's always interesting seeing things through someone else's eyes.

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

You shouldn't be thinking about shipping at this point. Really. Hell, I didn't start thinking about shipping until I finished all seven books!

And the previous generation is totally my favourite part of the story. Which is why Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book :)

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Good point! I didn't even think about that. It makes sense at this age Harry would simply see him as "the mean boy" and wouldn't care about anything else. Therefore, one-dimensional.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I hope I don't think about shipping at all. I think they'll always be wee children in my mind. :D

Also, I'm finding myself interested in the previous generation as well. Lots of stuff went down back then.

[robas.livejournal.com]

However, I was distracted by all the American words and terms. They kept making me pause.

The Sorcerer's Stone is the only HP book with a fairly rigorous American edition. There is also a British version (The Philosopher's Stone).

[nel-ani.livejournal.com]

What I miss most in the movies that I loved in the books is the awesomeness of Fred and George. But, like you said, you can only focus on so much.

[spellweaver731.livejournal.com]

The previous generation bits are definitely my favorite bits.

[janetmaca.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely. *nods*

:D You is evillll

[janetmaca.livejournal.com]

That is a good point, I didn't think of the Harry goggles.

[lissapocalypse.livejournal.com]

Yeah... eventually, Harry's one-dimensional perspective of every character gets old enough that you start feeling like shouting at your book "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? HAVE YOU NO CONCEPT OF EMPATHY?!" but at the age of eleven, it's perfectly understandable.

[lissapocalypse.livejournal.com]

By the end of the series, I was pretty sick of the Harry goggles, and I think that's why I appreciate non-Harrycentric fanfiction so much. I enjoy the different perspective other characters can bring to the story.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

*snickers*

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

It's very intriguing. I think the best part of it so far are the hints that Harry's dad wasn't really a saint.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness for that. I was cringing when words like "soccer" popped up.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

There hasn't been a whole lot of them yet - I'm looking forward to it!

[janetmaca.livejournal.com]

I think my lowest point was at the beginning of OotP, but by the ned of DH I was looking to non-Harrycentric fanfic to fill my desire to find out more about other characters. :)

[kynaii.livejournal.com]

I didn't alway agree with what book elements they decided to use in the movies, I thought a lot of the story was lost on the editing room floor.
However, if they had filmed all of each book, I think we would have been looking at 10 hour movies. I have all of the HP audio books (unabridged) and they run between 8 and 13 hours to listen to.

Maybe they should had filmed them in a serial, like they used to before TV, we get to see a 1 hour episode each month in the theater.

[gowdie.livejournal.com]

Re Harry Goggles - This is one of the things I find most fascinating about the series. It is entirely Harry's pov - so you always get his opinion on the other people and events around him. The awesome part is, later on, you start to realize that he is often wrong. I wouldn't go so far as to call him an unreliable narrator, but he makes some pretty hardcore decisions about people, that as he learns more, he realizes he has to reevaluate.

Earlier Generation - There is a ton of information about Harry's parents and friends, and the original Order of the Phoenix that never makes it into the movies. They've kept it at a bare minimum. And for a person who has seen all the films, so you know a lot of the mysteries already, I suspect this will be one of the bonus hidden nuggets you will enjoy.

American words and terms - Unfortunately you have your American publishers to thank for that. When the series was first published in the U.S., the publishers decided the kiddies wouldn't be able to handle the British language, so they translated EVERYTHING, right down to the title of the first book. J.K.R. let them do it, because at the time she had zero power, but she has said it is one of the things she regrets. As the series goes on, they become less stingy about changing quite as much. Here, in Canada, we get the full British version, so you know, na na na boo boo!

Shipping - At the end of the first book, what I thought was precisely, "Huh, I can tell this story is going to be about the trio. And this is a friendship of two boys and one girl, and they are going to grow up through seven years together. I wonder how that will play out?" Then in the second book there is a moment where I went, "Huh, I guess that answers that question! Heh."

It wasn't until I read the first four over again before the release of the fifth that I got that OTP tingle. And that was because on the reread, I started to notice a few things, and became suspicious that I could sense where she was going for the love interest for Harry. Then reading the fifth, it was like, OMG! I think I might be actually freaking right about this! Then it was like two years of suspense. All leading to the payoff of Half Blood Prince ... which I have to say, after waiting for two years to find out if I was right about a theory, when it turned out I was, it was a huge freaking deal. And there was much dancing in my living room.

[fauxkaren.livejournal.com]

Draco was never one of my favorite characters. He is pretty one dimensional. I mean, he does get some depth in the last couple of books, but I still don't understand his appeal.

Boook!Dumbledore is fantastic! And he only becomes an even more fascinating character as the books go on. He's absolutely brilliant.

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I imagine that's what would have happened - most times there's way too much in the books for a 2 hour movie. And I wonder if a serial would have worked. It would have been interesting, that's for sure!

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

Re Harry Goggles

*nods* I've already found that to be the case in the first book with Snape.

Earlier Generation

Can't wait!

American words and terms

BAH! It really is pretty annoying. Kids are smart, if you give them half a chance.

Shipping

XD

That's one thing about reading this all now - I know who ends up with who, so it's easy to pick out little moments. But I can only imagine reading it as it came out!

[mrv3000.livejournal.com]

I think the bad boy usually gets some appeal by default. :D

And Book!Dumbledore was the nicest surprise of the book. He's way more interesting here.

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

Dumbledore is like my least favourite mentor ever. JUST SAYING. Though I'm not sure he started really annoying me until the later books to be fair.