Home
Latest images
Register
Log inAnyone sad the final book is almost here?
Page 1 of 1
Anyone sad the final book is almost here?
Elanor Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:11 am
Anyone sad the final book is almost here?
T Vrana - Jul 6, 2007 10:36 am
Edited by Kip Carter Sep 20, 2007 12:28 am
From the moment I finished HBP, I couldn't wait for Book 7 to arrive. I even briefly worried I might suffer a tragic death before it was written and published, and never know what really happened in Book 6 and what happens to Harry. But now that it is only 2 weeks away, I am almsot sad that it is all coming to an end. Don't get me wrong, I'll be snatching the volume from my mailman and reading cover to cover as quickly as possible. But this is it, no more HP books. I'm almost sad book seven is almost here. Anyone else feel the same?
This topic serves as an archive of a thread from the Harry Potter Lexicon Forum as hosted on World Crossing which ceased operation on April 15, 2011. Elanor
T Vrana - Jul 6, 2007 10:36 am
Edited by Kip Carter Sep 20, 2007 12:28 am
From the moment I finished HBP, I couldn't wait for Book 7 to arrive. I even briefly worried I might suffer a tragic death before it was written and published, and never know what really happened in Book 6 and what happens to Harry. But now that it is only 2 weeks away, I am almsot sad that it is all coming to an end. Don't get me wrong, I'll be snatching the volume from my mailman and reading cover to cover as quickly as possible. But this is it, no more HP books. I'm almost sad book seven is almost here. Anyone else feel the same?
Elanor- Hufflepuff Prefect
- Posts : 1440
Join date : 2011-02-19
Age : 51
Location : France
Anyone sad the final book is almost here? (Post 1 to 50)
Elanor Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:12 am
Esther Rose - Jul 6, 2007 10:58 am (#1 of 85)
I will have to wait until DH ends up on my doorstep. I am still anxious about its arrival.
But I have other books I am waiting for the next in series for that will keep me busy for a while.
The Sword of Truth Series (good series but a bit graphic) is concluding this fall and the Pellinor Series is rumored to conclude next spring. Plus there are the rest of the HP Movies to go.
- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Jul 6, 2007 11:11 am (#2 of 85)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
I feel exactly as you do T Vrana. The HP books are it for me. Since i picked up the first book some years ago, I really have no desire to read anything else. I just keep reading HP over and over and over. So when it ends, I will feel like an addict who's supply of drugs has been suddenly and forever cut off....bereft and inconsolable. Then I will pick up book one again and start rereading and will keep that up until the day they close the lid on my coffin. (Note to family - my HP books better be in there with me or like Nearly Headless Nick, I will come back to haunt you!) LOL Heaven for me will be reading HP for eternity. :-)
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 6, 2007 1:51 pm (#3 of 85)
I feel a little sad, T Vrana ... I always do after finishing a great book in which I've invested myself. But I believe that the HP novels will be just like my Jane Austen novels ... I will continue to reread them every year or so for the rest of my life.
Some of the sadness, I think, comes from wondering if people will continue to stay in touch here on the forum, after the books have been read and discussed ad infinitum. If the answer is yes ... then I can only believe there will be regular rereadings and discussions of things we didn't notice before but which are now glaringly apparent! Beyond that, I am almost certain that Jo will leave us a few unanswered questions to chew on for years to come ... don't you think?
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 6, 2007 4:05 pm (#4 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
T Vrana, like you, after HBP, I worried about a tragic death...but I was worried something terrible and sudden would happen to JKR and ALL OF US would never know! **shudder**
As for your question....mixed feelings are the key here: I'm ecstatic that book 7 and all it's many answers (and hopefully some happily-ever-after resolution for our Harry) is nearly here...but I am also bereft that there will be no more books to look forward to. No more predicting and theorizing.....I've truly enjoyed the surprising and creative exchange of ideas --and humor!-- here on the Lex Forum.
Still, I read somewhere that Jo said that it would be impossible to tie up ALL the loose threads in DH....so I'm sure that we obsessed fans will have cause for conversation for a long time yet.
Choices -- mum, dear-- I had no idea that you were so lacking in other great reading material. I will e-mail you a list of some books I've read recently that you may enjoy....and I'll add a list of links to fanfiction stories that I am SURE you will enjoy! **grin**
(can't list the fanfic links on the forum as the hosts want to keep it family friendly and you never know where someone's link may take you...too much for them to monitor...sorry)
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 6, 2007 4:22 pm (#5 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
I suddenly realised today that when I finally have my hands on the book, and I sit down to read it, I may not want to open it and begin. Because I know that once I start reading I'm not going to be able to stop, and then I'll be on the unstoppable fast track to knowing everything, including the ending. It just seems... incredible that soon we will actually know the answers to questions like, "Who dies?" and all the other questions we've been asking ourselves and each other from day one. And if the ending contains the deaths of my favourite characters (i.e. Harry and Ron), there's no going back to the blissful ignorance of the pre-book era. Of course, if they don't die, yes I'll still be a little sad that the series is over, but I'll be grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
- - - - - - - - - -
Mediwitch - Jul 6, 2007 5:20 pm (#6 of 85)
"We could have all been killed-- or worse, expelled!"
I know the minute I get that book in my hands I will devour it voraciously. I can't wait to read it! But at the same time, I will miss the anticipation that I've experienced waiting for three books here (I started lurking on the Forum after GoF). Like Soli and freshwater, though, I look forward to many evenings spent here hashing the new book over, and reviewing the old books in light of what we learned.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 6, 2007 5:25 pm (#7 of 85)
One of my Honors students who is an excellent reader told me there is no book or series of books that she can get lost in like the Harry Potter series. I agree. I will be like Soli and read/listen to them for the rest of my life.
This is a very special moment in literary history. It gives me no end of pleasure that these "children's" books, written by a woman, are so important to so many people. I am sad that the series is ending. This is a magical moment in time. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
PatPat - Jul 6, 2007 5:52 pm (#8 of 85)
I, like freshwater, have very mixed feelings. (By the way, I'm glad that I wasn't alone in fearing an early and tragic death before book 7 came out!) I am tremendously excited at the prospect of finding out the answers to many of our questions. But, I know when I finish reading the book I will feel a little sadness that there will be no new Harry Potter books to read. JKR has said that there will still be unanswered questions, so I am sure we will continue to have our wonderful debates here on the Forum. I, too, will continue to re-read the books every year or so and I believe we will continue to find more and more treasures that JKR wove into this beautiful world.
- - - - - - - - - -
wynnleaf - Jul 6, 2007 6:13 pm (#9 of 85)
My biggest feeling about HP is how fortunate I feel to be one of those reading these books while they were still a work in progress. After Book 7 is out, no one will ever again read the first book and then wait and wait, trying to work out all the carefully laid clues and figure out what's going on. Would Lupin be back to be DADA professor again? Would Sirius stay dead after OOTP? Had Snape really gone off to spy on LV after GOF? What did "Spinners End" mean?" Who is the Half Blood Prince? Is Dumbledore really dead?
Don't you all feel almost privileged to have been reading these books while those questions were actually being asked? Rather than to just be able to pick up the next book?
And now with the films coming out as well, it won't be very many years when practically no one will be able to start the books for the first time without already knowing when Sirius dies, or Dumbledore, or whose side Snape is really on.
I'm not really sorry to see the last book come out. I've read some other very, very excellent series of books and I'm sure I'll read other wonderful books in the future. The only difference between those and this series is that this is the only one with real mystery in it that I got to follow from book to book as they were published.
- - - - - - - - - -
Madame Pomfrey - Jul 6, 2007 6:39 pm (#10 of 85)
Lol, I am truly not alone in worring about a tragic death before reading the final book! We have it bad,don't we? I am very excited about the last book.Sadness hasn't set in yet. Jo is going through the same emotions that we are going through. I believe she loved to write Harry's story as much as we loved to read it so,I really do think there is a great possibility that she will give us something else after a long, well deserved, break. Fans have been asking her for years if she would do this and it wouldn't surprise me if she already has a story outlined.Gee,I really hope this isn't wishful thinking!
- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Jul 6, 2007 7:17 pm (#11 of 85)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Freshwater, thank you for your concern. I am really not lacking in reading material - my youngest daughter is a librarian. I have shelves of books at my fingertips. It's just that I have no desire to read anything else. Occasionally I pick up a book and read it between HP books. Not long ago I read a whole series - 6 books that were about 6000 pages long, all total. I really enjoy it, but I was so glad to get back to HP when I was done. Send me your list though - I am eager to see what you recommend. :-)
- - - - - - - - - -
So Sirius - Jul 6, 2007 8:24 pm (#12 of 85)
I just may be worse than the lot of you, as much as I am thankful Jo didn't meet an untimely horrific end before being able to finish, I am acutely aware of having 2 weeks to go and am treading very lightly. Until the last word is read (assuming I do it without looking to the end first) I won't breathe properly.
As for how I feel about the book. FINALLY. I wish it was in my hands right now. I'm not sad about the closure I've been waiting for, for so long. It's a relief to know it's finally here. There might be a sadness after I'm done, that there will be no more, but there are other books to enjoy and life to enjoy, even more so, having our answers and finality.
- - - - - - - - - -
DJ Evans - Jul 6, 2007 8:56 pm (#13 of 85)
Genealogy....Where you confuse the dead & irritate the living!
In one sense, yes I will be very sad that the end is near as far as any more book releases go. But then I realize that no matter what, the books will be alive for a very long time to come...long after we are all gone. I don't think there is any way Jo could ever write to where all of our questions are answered & for that I'm very thankful. (((Just as long as she addresses the squeaky stair! Please...there has to be more to it than it is just a squeaky stair ))) What better way is there to keep a series alive? I mean, if every single question was answered for us, what would we all have left to debate, theorize, dissect down to the bare bone in the years to come?
I am just glad I was able to be a part of it all now. I think of those who haven't been introduce to the wonderful HP world yet & am sadden they will never have the opportunity to experience what we all have. Yes, I know they won't have to suffer the long months/years to wait between each book, but wasn't that a big part of the fun? We had the great opportunity/job of reading each book as it was released & then had a blast to try & 2nd guess what the next book would hold, what new clues would be given & what old clues would be disapproved. In just 14 days, no one else will have that chance when you think of it. They can get all of the books in one trip to a store, read hundreds of web sites & learn what transpires next....but not the joy of coming together like we have here.
So yes, I am sad to see it end...but I've enjoyed the heck out of the ride & what a ride it's been! And I can't complain, not really as I have gotten to know some of the most interesting, smartest & loving people from here on the Lex. And all just because of a little world that Jo had decided to tell about & invited us all in to share Harry's world. Thank you Jo!
Later, Deb
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 6, 2007 9:04 pm (#14 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
Choices: Oops! I really mis-understood your prediciment, mum! I'll try to get that e-mail to you be early next week.
wynnleaf: your post really touched a nerve with me...as agonizing as it has been to wait (and wait and Wait and WAIT!) for the next book to be published --I don't even try to read mysteries any more because I'm so impatient that about 2/3 of the way through I read ahead a bit, and then flip ahead a bit more, and then it's figured out and I drop the book-- you make an excellent point: it has been a deliciously intriguing experience to have the opportunity to discuss and debate and theorize about so many issues, clues and questions in these books. And this forum has enabled us to do that with people from around the world....amazing. Future readers won't have that same opportunity...unless they deliberately participate in some sort of chapter-by-chapter-read-along group....it will be interesting to see if that sort of thing becomes more popular in years to come....would be a nice thing for public libraries to provide.
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 7, 2007 6:14 am (#15 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
It is finally starting to dawn on me that the end is nearing.
- - - - - - - - - -
phuze - Jul 7, 2007 12:31 pm (#16 of 85)
I am too busy anticipating the last book - although I know I'll be sad once I finish it.
Maybe something that will boost your spirits is to think how much better it will be for JKR once we have had the chance to read the last book and start talking about it. The audience (and I think in some ways the Lexicon in particular) is very important to her. I can't help but imagine her relief when she can share the feelings of the last book with the huge Harry Potter community. It must be difficult to know the literal ending (all of the words, not just the plot plans and ideas) and not be able to talk about it with the intended audience.
Phuze
- - - - - - - - - -
painting sheila - Jul 7, 2007 8:05 pm (#17 of 85)
Doing one of the things I love best . . .
Please don't take this the wrong way. I am not making light of any one and the trials in their lives.
I have had the same fear as some of you with dieing an untimely death and not knowing how it all ends. (I know that in the "BIG Picture" it won't matter -but in my limited view from this life it seems very important to me). I have often thought that if I had a terminal illness, the one thing I would ask for is to be able to read the last book. I know Jo has done that for some terminally ill children and I love to think that it took their minds off what they were going through for a while.
I hope and pray that this forum family will stay together as we share excitement over what has been answered and agonize over what is left undone.
Like some one said, never will people have the same experience we have had with this series. Once book 7 is out there a person will be hard pressed to be able to read the series without having it been spoiled by discussions, movies, articles and the like.
What joy these books have brought me. I have found courage from Harry's example; wisdom in Dumbledore's words; righteous indignation at the racism; beauty and magic in all things around me. I have found a family that reaches all over the world - people of all race, religions, ages, and educations. I have been accepted and encouraged by people who would have been complete strangers if not for the books and this forum.
How can you even think about the end of all those wonderful things? You can't. You just have to look at it as a sharp bend in the road - a bend that doesn't let you see around the corner until you have turned it - a bend that makes you slow down and proceed with caution for fear of what IS around the corner! But with a family like you all, turning the corner may be a bit scary, but I think I can do it and find joy and excitement in what new things lie ahead.
So let's not think of it as "The End" but the "Beginning of Phase Two"
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 7, 2007 8:17 pm (#18 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
So very well said, sheilia. Thank you for putting into words feelings that I had not yet recognized until you clarified them for me. "...a sharp bend in the road..." and the "Beginning of Phase Two"....excellent concepts for this transition we veteran, obsessed fans will be making. Thank you.
At the risk of sounding melodramatic...it sounds like many of us are in the early stages of grief....and given our emotional investment over extended periods of time, this doesn't seem inappropriate at all.
- - - - - - - - - -
TwinklingBlueEyes - Jul 8, 2007 1:16 am (#19 of 85)
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking"
"So let's not think of it as "The End" but the "Beginning of Phase Two"
"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." (PS17)
- - - - - - - - - -
Phelim Mcintyre - Jul 8, 2007 7:46 am (#20 of 85)
I had a jolt about "this is it" when I ordered my copies of the book (I child cover, one adult cover). I can't wait to read it. But I don't want it to be over. Oh well, Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic and so am I. But only over Harry Potter.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hagsquid - Jul 8, 2007 8:36 am (#21 of 85)
This is me listening to OoP for the umteenth time.
No. You're not.
Of course, the excitement outweighs the sadness for now.
- - - - - - - - - -
PatPat - Jul 8, 2007 9:41 am (#22 of 85)
What joy these books have brought me. I have found courage from Harry's example; wisdom in Dumbledore's words; righteous indignation at the racism; beauty and magic in all things around me. I have found a family that reaches all over the world - people of all race, religions, ages, and educations. I have been accepted and encouraged by people who would have been complete strangers if not for the books and this forum. painting sheila
I couldn't have said it better, painting sheila. These books have blossomed into so much more than children's stories. They have truly become part of our collective conciousness and have brought generations of people together from all over the world. Harry is a character that is human enough to relate to, yet noble enough to admire. These books will live on in our hearts.
Only 13 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes left. (At least from where I am)!
- - - - - - - - - -
painting sheila - Jul 8, 2007 1:28 pm (#23 of 85)
Doing one of the things I love best . . .
Only 13 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes left. (At least from where I am)!
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 8, 2007 2:36 pm (#24 of 85)
Sheila that was a beautiful post. I like the idea of a Phase Two.
A non Lexicon Form friend of mine was quite relieved to find out she wasn't the only one worried about dying before the final book came out.
What an amazing time we live in. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
Chemyst - Jul 8, 2007 6:00 pm (#25 of 85)
"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." A.A. Milne
While looking for quotes to use with my avatar, I found these:
My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. ~Thomas Helm
and
You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ~Paul Sweeney
and
When you reread a classic you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than was there before. ~Clifton Fadiman
They seemed to fit this thread perfectly.
Yet, I am ready for Harry's closure. I think the timing is as near-perfect as anyone could make it. There are other stories within the wizarding world, and I would much prefer that JKR be free to return to tell those some day rather than continue with Harry.
Reading the books has been fun; but in all truth, reading this forum has been at least three times better than the books! I thank each and every one of you.
Like wynnleaf, I can say, "How fortunate I feel to be one of those reading these books while they were still a work in progress!"
. . . one more quote:
Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes. ~John LeCarre
- - - - - - - - - -
T Vrana - Jul 8, 2007 8:44 pm (#26 of 85)
For me, that last quote, is quite fitting....
- - - - - - - - - -
Veritaserum - Jul 8, 2007 8:51 pm (#27 of 85)
Go Jays!
I remember this deflated, melancholy ache that I always got when I finished a book, knowing that the great ride that was over and that it would be at least a couple years before I got to spend more time in that world. I don't how I'll be feeling now that it really will be forever until we meet again, as it were. But I have a feeling that the ending will be perfect. To paraphrase Casablanca, "we'll always have Hogwarts."
- - - - - - - - - -
Phelim Mcintyre - Jul 9, 2007 5:18 am (#28 of 85)
Waterstones has started a petition to try and get JKR to supply us with more Harry Potter books. I hope she doesn't, not because I don't want any more. Waterstones have said that the books are a lobal phenomina (I agree) but seem more interested in the money they can make. Hopefully JKR is above such greed and will do what she wants not what certain booksellers want.
Also I am training at the moment as a life coach, NLP trainer and counsellor. Once I've got over the shock of DH then counselling will be available.
- - - - - - - - - -
Snuffles - Jul 9, 2007 5:55 am (#29 of 85)
Olivia
Book me in as your first client Phelim
Lol to all who worried about dying before reading book 7. I too have/had that worry. I even made my friend promise me, that if something did happen to me before I got my mits on it, that she would sit beside my little 'garden' each week and read it cover to cover for me!
I've had sets of books before where I have read them a couple of times, but never a set that I read over and over and over again! Hubby said to me the other day "I saw you finish that book (HBP) last week, yet you are nearly half way through again! don't tell me you have started reading it again!". I told him that I needed to remember it all, so when I read DH, everthing would still be fresh! He just doesn't understand (sigh)
I, like Liz, will get hold of the book, then hesitate before opening it. I don't want the magic to end. I NEED my favourite characters to survive!. I also want Sirius to jump out from behind the veil and shout "SUPRISE" Oh well!
As long as this forum is up and running, I know that I will definately still be a regular here
(((hugs))) to all my fellow Potties
Julie
- - - - - - - - - -
Esther Rose - Jul 9, 2007 7:11 am (#30 of 85)
I love the Harry Potter Wizarding world but I honestly do not want another Harry Potter story. I want him to be able to live (survive) in peace marry Ginny have a few Potterettes and not worry about whether there is a DE or Voldemort looming around the corner. In other words, if we ever go back to Hogwarts, I hope it is to introduce us to someone else, in a quest to defeat something else. Harry can come back and give some advice but in no way is he allowed to have anything but a "boring" life after this.
However, I will have my black arm band on, on July 20th because I know that there will be a character that I love that will not survive to the end of DH.
I know Phelim, what I want and what will most likely happen are two different things. I will remain in denial until I read it with my own two eyeballs.
- - - - - - - - - -
Phelim Mcintyre - Jul 9, 2007 7:23 am (#31 of 85)
"I think that Harry's story comes to quite a clear end, sadly," JKR Rowling on the BBC last Friday. I don't think Ginny will become Mrs Potter.
- - - - - - - - - -
Steve Newton - Jul 9, 2007 7:49 am (#32 of 85)
Librarian
While that does sound deadly it is the usual Rowling ambiguity. To her the sad ending could be having to leave her lifes work. I do hope that she keeps all of her notes intact so that she, or her children, can publish them at some time.
I do think that this sound very bad for the Potter kid.
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 9, 2007 9:29 am (#33 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
JKR made a similar statement on a talk show interview within the last few days. When asked if she would write any more HP books she said, [not a direct quote, but very close] "I think Harry's story comes to a clear end....I won't say never because, who knows, in ten years I may want to enter that world again." [remember, not an exact quote, but to the best of my memory] This answer gives me far more hope than a direct "No".
Phelim, when JKR says that his story "comes to quite a clear end, sadly" that could be taken to mean that the end of the story is quite clear, and that she is sad about it coming to an end. Had she intended a different meaning she might have said it "comes to quite a sad end, clearly". It is ambiguous in print, isn't it?
- - - - - - - - - -
Madam Pince - Jul 9, 2007 10:04 am (#34 of 85)
The eyes are the windows to the soul...
Wynnleaf, I agree with your post. I feel so very fortunate to have been "in" on this amazing phenomenon from (almost) the beginning. We have been given a rare gift in having the opportunity to think, puzzle, and wonder about the upcoming books, without having been spoiled by knowing already.
I thought of this the other day when I was wishing that Little Pince was old enough to appreciate reading the books -- by the time he's old enough, he will have already seen the movies and heard what happens in the books I'm sure, so a good portion of the "magic" that we all were fortunate enough to share will be denied to him.
I am sure I will be quite sad once I have the final book in my hands. I hate endings, period, and this is... well, sort of a biggie, isn't it? Sigh...
I am a little bit consoled by the fact that when I first read Gone With The Wind, I had never seen the movie nor actually even heard of it at all. It was just like I was the first person to ever read it, and the experience was wonderful. So maybe if 40 years go by like they did for me in that situation, maybe those who read this series 40 years from now will also be able to read it like we did. (Hard to believe, with movie media and Wii games and the internet and who-knows-what-all else that wasn't around when I was reading "GWTW", but let's hope...) Who knows, kids still wear "bell bottoms/hip huggers" and think they're the first ones to ever do it, so...
- - - - - - - - - -
Joanne Reid - Jul 9, 2007 1:30 pm (#35 of 85)
Hi,
I have lived through many of these, and the end is always exciting and sad at the same time.
However, to me, the measure of success is my desire to reread the entire series, time and again. They are old friends to whom I can return to resume our affair. I find comfort in their stories, their characters and their outcomes.
For me, if the story is long, involved and uplifting, I can enjoy it time and again. So, it is never a loss to me when a particular series ends. It is only a matter of time before I will sit down to enjoy it all over again.
And, if we are lucky, Joanne will return our heroes to life, just as did Arthur Conan Doyle after Queen Victoria requested him to do so. Perhaps it may take the inspiration of a Monarch to do so, but that will be just fine with me.
- - - - - - - - - -
Lily Potter Fan - Jul 9, 2007 3:51 pm (#36 of 85)
It is sad to think this is the last book. I wonder if anything will come along in my lifetime that will be anywhere near as entertaining and "magical" as the HP books. I'm excited to get my book from Amazon. But I think I'll shed a few tears over it, too.
- - - - - - - - - -
Vox Gerbilis - Jul 9, 2007 6:44 pm (#37 of 85)
I've only been a fan since last October, so perhaps it's presumptuous of me to participate alongside the fans who have had to wait over the course of many years for each installment.
I'm not sad, nor do I think I would be if I had been in on this since the beginning. While reading a book for the first time has its own unique pleasures, the full pleasure is not really cemented until I've finished the book and gotten the story into my head. Then the pleasure of re-reading at a relaxed pace with no suspense or tension can begin. I confess, I'm the sort of reader who peeks ahead, and I disregard spoiler warnings with impunity. When I get my copy on the 21st, I'll probably read the last chapter first.
Right now, I just feel frustrated that I don't know the whole story yet.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 10, 2007 9:18 am (#38 of 85)
Vox all fans are welcome! Your perspective is very valuable because you have been able to read straight through the first six books.
Lily Potter Fan one of the wonderful things about the HP books is the acceptance of Children and Adolescent literature as a respected genre. There are some wonderful books out there, old and new. This is a very unique situation. Jo's style can't be duplicated (thankfully) but there are a lot of great stories to be told. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
mona amon - Jul 11, 2007 4:47 am (#39 of 85)
I'm one of those who have no mixed feelings about it at all, I'm really really glad the long wait is almost over, and I'm really, really glad it is the last book! I just can't wait to find out how it ends! The past week, I've been thinking about nothing but the book, counting days, talking about nothing else , and I'm not enjoying my obsession! I want to see how it ends, so I can get on with my life!
Anyway, it wont be 'goodbye to HP' for me. The books will just join my other favourites like Jane Eyre and Huckleberry Finn, to be cherished forever and re- read now and then.
- - - - - - - - - -
Elanor - Jul 11, 2007 6:27 am (#40 of 85)
I think Sheila, a few posts ago, expressed well what I am feeling about the last book, an incredible mix of joy and excitement, tinged with a bit of sadness and anxiety (I don't want any of the characters to die, but some deaths there will be... It seems yesterday that we were starting to discuss the HBP, and I'm sure we still have much to discover in it, I'm not ready yet for the DH!!! **Phew! Feeling better to have said it**
But the DH is ready, so let's dive in it!
I too feel so fortunate to have lived this wonderful adventure with you all on the forum (it will be three years this week that I have joined it ). I am so thankful for having met you all here and I do hope this is only the beginning! We've got years of discussion of the series ahead of us, so many wonderful hours for us to spend here!
Not to mention the fact that I hope Jo will still continue to answer the fans' questions on her website and give us something new to ponder from time to time (in French we'd say: "give us a bone to gnaw at" ), before she publishes "Hogwarts, a History" that is... (please, Jo!!!).
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna L. Black - Jul 11, 2007 8:52 am (#41 of 85)
"It seems yesterday that we were starting to discuss the HBP" - you know, Elanor, I just realized how true this is. The wait between HBP and DH seems to me a lot shorter than between GoF-OOTP or OOTP-HBP. I distinctly remember the excitement I had when holding HBP in my hands and starting to read it, and I'm already feeling that excitement now.
I know I won't hesitate to start reading the book the moment I recieve the package at home, because one of the things that made me enjoy HBP at first was the amount of answers we got to different questions (over which we debated endlessy before). And this is the ultimate "answer book"! OotP, in that sense, really had me identifying with Harry - he was clueless and didn't get any answers, and so did I! No wonder he was that angry throughout the book
However, I imagine that I'll be really sad when I'll finish the book (hopefully, it'll be at the same day as the beginning) - because of the characters that're going to die (I don't know who they are, but I bet I love them!), and because of this all coming to an end. But then I'll immediately start re-reading the book, connecting the small clues that will surely be hiding in small corners... And then, I'll be able to re-read the whole series, this time with EVERYTHING connecting - and that is surely going to make me thrilled.
I'm certain that the discussions on the forum will not die for the next few years. We're too obssessed to stop talking HP!
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 11, 2007 10:51 pm (#42 of 85)
The popularity of the HP saga makes me wonder ... will Jo ever write another series, or is the stress of such a project just too much to undertake it more than once?
If Harry survives ... and after Jo has a good rest ... I think it would be fun to have occasional future "stand alone" novels whose plots are completely self-contained and whose conflicts are resolved by the end of the books. Then again, maybe she has a brand new set of adventures in store for us ... I hope!
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Miss Malaprop - Jul 12, 2007 2:15 am (#43 of 85)
I’m very sad. I really wouldn’t mind if the release date was pushed back another year – I don’t want it to end! There is a newspaper comic strip called “For Better or For Worse”. One morning I visited a friend’s house and was astonished to find the family obsessing over the latest strip. I stopped laughing when I realized I am the same about HP – I am genuinely fond of these characters and I will really miss them; they’ve been part of my whole adult life. I’ve used up some precious annual leave for the 23rd, as a “Grieving Day,” no matter who lives or dies.
What will other people be doing to “cope” with the end?
- - - - - - - - - -
Konstantin Vajarov - Jul 12, 2007 5:31 am (#44 of 85)
Edited Jul 12, 2007 6:10 am
Same here... :/ There are 8 days left and I can't stand it... I'm very excited but I'm sad too... I can't believe it'll be all over soon... Of course, I'll re-read the books every now and then but it won't be the same. I've been reading the HP books for 5 years now, waiting for the final one to come. And here it is now but I don't know if I really want to read it any more. That's why I'm going to read it slowly and enjoy the last bit of the story which has become an important part in my life... like Choices said... I'm addicted... I have the same feeling when I finish reading one of the books... I feel I need more.
Oh, and by the way I hope J.K.Rowling has left some questions unanswered, some secrets unrevealed for us to keep guessing.
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 12, 2007 9:18 am (#45 of 85)
Fortunately, I will be in Sacramento all next week, at a conference for school, so I won't have as much time to get antsy. I won't return home until late Friday night. I think I'll tuck in for the weekend--stock up on eats, pull the shades, turn off the phone, disconnect the doorbell ... and enjoy my book.
Konstantin, I'd be very surprised if Jo tackles every single question. I suspect that some things which are not central to our understanding of the over-all story arc may remain unexplained ... to give us SOME points about which to haggle for the rest of our lives!
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
zelmia - Jul 12, 2007 10:57 am (#46 of 85)
Oh! And that's a bad miss!
You know, I'm actually kind of glad it's all finally coming to a close. We knew this day would come and I guess I would just as soon get it over with.
(cue Streisand's The Way We Were) Still, there's definitely something to be said for having "been there from the beginning", when even the idea of a film adaptation was scoffed at by those of us who didn't think the film could faithfully recreate the pictures in our heads. (I recall Rupert Grint saying in an interview during filming of PS/SS that he felt a lot of pressure because "I can't just be our Ron. I've got to be everyone else's Ron as well." A very astute observation from the young man.)
I confess I would like to see her do some kind of compendium of unanswered questions. Even if it was in the format of just a straight list of all the questions she's ever been asked accompanied by their answers, that would be fine with me.
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 12, 2007 12:15 pm (#47 of 85)
Perhaps that would be something she could address in an extra book ... or even on her website.
- - - - - - - - - -
Allison R - Jul 12, 2007 12:57 pm (#48 of 85)
Saying goodbye to a friend: We love you, Dusty Bunny. You will be missed.
I read an interview with her somewhere recently in which she said that she plans to write an encyclopedia of sorts on the Wizarding World...
::cringing in anticipation of the request to find a cite:: aw, heck, I should just go off and find it now and get it over with LOL. Hang on:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- - - - - - - - - -
Madame Pomfrey - Jul 12, 2007 1:55 pm (#49 of 85)
The popularity of the HP saga makes me wonder ... will Jo ever write another series, or is the stress of such a project just too much to undertake it more than once?
Soli,I like to cling to the saying "successful people don't quit!" It gives me hope anyway.
The sadness of book 7 being the final read has finally hit.During the movie OoP I stayed pretty emotional.Not because of the movie(except Harry's distress when Sirius went through the veil)but,because it dawned on me that we were soon going to be denied the pleasure of seeing them again. How sad is that? I feel like we are losing loved ones.
- - - - - - - - - -
zelmia - Jul 12, 2007 4:26 pm (#50 of 85)
Oh! And that's a bad miss!
On the contrary, Mme Pomfrey, you'll be able to read the books whenever you like. You'll have your loved ones with you forever.
I will have to wait until DH ends up on my doorstep. I am still anxious about its arrival.
But I have other books I am waiting for the next in series for that will keep me busy for a while.
The Sword of Truth Series (good series but a bit graphic) is concluding this fall and the Pellinor Series is rumored to conclude next spring. Plus there are the rest of the HP Movies to go.
- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Jul 6, 2007 11:11 am (#2 of 85)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
I feel exactly as you do T Vrana. The HP books are it for me. Since i picked up the first book some years ago, I really have no desire to read anything else. I just keep reading HP over and over and over. So when it ends, I will feel like an addict who's supply of drugs has been suddenly and forever cut off....bereft and inconsolable. Then I will pick up book one again and start rereading and will keep that up until the day they close the lid on my coffin. (Note to family - my HP books better be in there with me or like Nearly Headless Nick, I will come back to haunt you!) LOL Heaven for me will be reading HP for eternity. :-)
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 6, 2007 1:51 pm (#3 of 85)
I feel a little sad, T Vrana ... I always do after finishing a great book in which I've invested myself. But I believe that the HP novels will be just like my Jane Austen novels ... I will continue to reread them every year or so for the rest of my life.
Some of the sadness, I think, comes from wondering if people will continue to stay in touch here on the forum, after the books have been read and discussed ad infinitum. If the answer is yes ... then I can only believe there will be regular rereadings and discussions of things we didn't notice before but which are now glaringly apparent! Beyond that, I am almost certain that Jo will leave us a few unanswered questions to chew on for years to come ... don't you think?
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 6, 2007 4:05 pm (#4 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
T Vrana, like you, after HBP, I worried about a tragic death...but I was worried something terrible and sudden would happen to JKR and ALL OF US would never know! **shudder**
As for your question....mixed feelings are the key here: I'm ecstatic that book 7 and all it's many answers (and hopefully some happily-ever-after resolution for our Harry) is nearly here...but I am also bereft that there will be no more books to look forward to. No more predicting and theorizing.....I've truly enjoyed the surprising and creative exchange of ideas --and humor!-- here on the Lex Forum.
Still, I read somewhere that Jo said that it would be impossible to tie up ALL the loose threads in DH....so I'm sure that we obsessed fans will have cause for conversation for a long time yet.
Choices -- mum, dear-- I had no idea that you were so lacking in other great reading material. I will e-mail you a list of some books I've read recently that you may enjoy....and I'll add a list of links to fanfiction stories that I am SURE you will enjoy! **grin**
(can't list the fanfic links on the forum as the hosts want to keep it family friendly and you never know where someone's link may take you...too much for them to monitor...sorry)
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 6, 2007 4:22 pm (#5 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
I suddenly realised today that when I finally have my hands on the book, and I sit down to read it, I may not want to open it and begin. Because I know that once I start reading I'm not going to be able to stop, and then I'll be on the unstoppable fast track to knowing everything, including the ending. It just seems... incredible that soon we will actually know the answers to questions like, "Who dies?" and all the other questions we've been asking ourselves and each other from day one. And if the ending contains the deaths of my favourite characters (i.e. Harry and Ron), there's no going back to the blissful ignorance of the pre-book era. Of course, if they don't die, yes I'll still be a little sad that the series is over, but I'll be grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
- - - - - - - - - -
Mediwitch - Jul 6, 2007 5:20 pm (#6 of 85)
"We could have all been killed-- or worse, expelled!"
I know the minute I get that book in my hands I will devour it voraciously. I can't wait to read it! But at the same time, I will miss the anticipation that I've experienced waiting for three books here (I started lurking on the Forum after GoF). Like Soli and freshwater, though, I look forward to many evenings spent here hashing the new book over, and reviewing the old books in light of what we learned.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 6, 2007 5:25 pm (#7 of 85)
One of my Honors students who is an excellent reader told me there is no book or series of books that she can get lost in like the Harry Potter series. I agree. I will be like Soli and read/listen to them for the rest of my life.
This is a very special moment in literary history. It gives me no end of pleasure that these "children's" books, written by a woman, are so important to so many people. I am sad that the series is ending. This is a magical moment in time. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
PatPat - Jul 6, 2007 5:52 pm (#8 of 85)
I, like freshwater, have very mixed feelings. (By the way, I'm glad that I wasn't alone in fearing an early and tragic death before book 7 came out!) I am tremendously excited at the prospect of finding out the answers to many of our questions. But, I know when I finish reading the book I will feel a little sadness that there will be no new Harry Potter books to read. JKR has said that there will still be unanswered questions, so I am sure we will continue to have our wonderful debates here on the Forum. I, too, will continue to re-read the books every year or so and I believe we will continue to find more and more treasures that JKR wove into this beautiful world.
- - - - - - - - - -
wynnleaf - Jul 6, 2007 6:13 pm (#9 of 85)
My biggest feeling about HP is how fortunate I feel to be one of those reading these books while they were still a work in progress. After Book 7 is out, no one will ever again read the first book and then wait and wait, trying to work out all the carefully laid clues and figure out what's going on. Would Lupin be back to be DADA professor again? Would Sirius stay dead after OOTP? Had Snape really gone off to spy on LV after GOF? What did "Spinners End" mean?" Who is the Half Blood Prince? Is Dumbledore really dead?
Don't you all feel almost privileged to have been reading these books while those questions were actually being asked? Rather than to just be able to pick up the next book?
And now with the films coming out as well, it won't be very many years when practically no one will be able to start the books for the first time without already knowing when Sirius dies, or Dumbledore, or whose side Snape is really on.
I'm not really sorry to see the last book come out. I've read some other very, very excellent series of books and I'm sure I'll read other wonderful books in the future. The only difference between those and this series is that this is the only one with real mystery in it that I got to follow from book to book as they were published.
- - - - - - - - - -
Madame Pomfrey - Jul 6, 2007 6:39 pm (#10 of 85)
Lol, I am truly not alone in worring about a tragic death before reading the final book! We have it bad,don't we? I am very excited about the last book.Sadness hasn't set in yet. Jo is going through the same emotions that we are going through. I believe she loved to write Harry's story as much as we loved to read it so,I really do think there is a great possibility that she will give us something else after a long, well deserved, break. Fans have been asking her for years if she would do this and it wouldn't surprise me if she already has a story outlined.Gee,I really hope this isn't wishful thinking!
- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Jul 6, 2007 7:17 pm (#11 of 85)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Freshwater, thank you for your concern. I am really not lacking in reading material - my youngest daughter is a librarian. I have shelves of books at my fingertips. It's just that I have no desire to read anything else. Occasionally I pick up a book and read it between HP books. Not long ago I read a whole series - 6 books that were about 6000 pages long, all total. I really enjoy it, but I was so glad to get back to HP when I was done. Send me your list though - I am eager to see what you recommend. :-)
- - - - - - - - - -
So Sirius - Jul 6, 2007 8:24 pm (#12 of 85)
I just may be worse than the lot of you, as much as I am thankful Jo didn't meet an untimely horrific end before being able to finish, I am acutely aware of having 2 weeks to go and am treading very lightly. Until the last word is read (assuming I do it without looking to the end first) I won't breathe properly.
As for how I feel about the book. FINALLY. I wish it was in my hands right now. I'm not sad about the closure I've been waiting for, for so long. It's a relief to know it's finally here. There might be a sadness after I'm done, that there will be no more, but there are other books to enjoy and life to enjoy, even more so, having our answers and finality.
- - - - - - - - - -
DJ Evans - Jul 6, 2007 8:56 pm (#13 of 85)
Genealogy....Where you confuse the dead & irritate the living!
In one sense, yes I will be very sad that the end is near as far as any more book releases go. But then I realize that no matter what, the books will be alive for a very long time to come...long after we are all gone. I don't think there is any way Jo could ever write to where all of our questions are answered & for that I'm very thankful. (((Just as long as she addresses the squeaky stair! Please...there has to be more to it than it is just a squeaky stair ))) What better way is there to keep a series alive? I mean, if every single question was answered for us, what would we all have left to debate, theorize, dissect down to the bare bone in the years to come?
I am just glad I was able to be a part of it all now. I think of those who haven't been introduce to the wonderful HP world yet & am sadden they will never have the opportunity to experience what we all have. Yes, I know they won't have to suffer the long months/years to wait between each book, but wasn't that a big part of the fun? We had the great opportunity/job of reading each book as it was released & then had a blast to try & 2nd guess what the next book would hold, what new clues would be given & what old clues would be disapproved. In just 14 days, no one else will have that chance when you think of it. They can get all of the books in one trip to a store, read hundreds of web sites & learn what transpires next....but not the joy of coming together like we have here.
So yes, I am sad to see it end...but I've enjoyed the heck out of the ride & what a ride it's been! And I can't complain, not really as I have gotten to know some of the most interesting, smartest & loving people from here on the Lex. And all just because of a little world that Jo had decided to tell about & invited us all in to share Harry's world. Thank you Jo!
Later, Deb
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 6, 2007 9:04 pm (#14 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
Choices: Oops! I really mis-understood your prediciment, mum! I'll try to get that e-mail to you be early next week.
wynnleaf: your post really touched a nerve with me...as agonizing as it has been to wait (and wait and Wait and WAIT!) for the next book to be published --I don't even try to read mysteries any more because I'm so impatient that about 2/3 of the way through I read ahead a bit, and then flip ahead a bit more, and then it's figured out and I drop the book-- you make an excellent point: it has been a deliciously intriguing experience to have the opportunity to discuss and debate and theorize about so many issues, clues and questions in these books. And this forum has enabled us to do that with people from around the world....amazing. Future readers won't have that same opportunity...unless they deliberately participate in some sort of chapter-by-chapter-read-along group....it will be interesting to see if that sort of thing becomes more popular in years to come....would be a nice thing for public libraries to provide.
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 7, 2007 6:14 am (#15 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
It is finally starting to dawn on me that the end is nearing.
- - - - - - - - - -
phuze - Jul 7, 2007 12:31 pm (#16 of 85)
I am too busy anticipating the last book - although I know I'll be sad once I finish it.
Maybe something that will boost your spirits is to think how much better it will be for JKR once we have had the chance to read the last book and start talking about it. The audience (and I think in some ways the Lexicon in particular) is very important to her. I can't help but imagine her relief when she can share the feelings of the last book with the huge Harry Potter community. It must be difficult to know the literal ending (all of the words, not just the plot plans and ideas) and not be able to talk about it with the intended audience.
Phuze
- - - - - - - - - -
painting sheila - Jul 7, 2007 8:05 pm (#17 of 85)
Doing one of the things I love best . . .
Please don't take this the wrong way. I am not making light of any one and the trials in their lives.
I have had the same fear as some of you with dieing an untimely death and not knowing how it all ends. (I know that in the "BIG Picture" it won't matter -but in my limited view from this life it seems very important to me). I have often thought that if I had a terminal illness, the one thing I would ask for is to be able to read the last book. I know Jo has done that for some terminally ill children and I love to think that it took their minds off what they were going through for a while.
I hope and pray that this forum family will stay together as we share excitement over what has been answered and agonize over what is left undone.
Like some one said, never will people have the same experience we have had with this series. Once book 7 is out there a person will be hard pressed to be able to read the series without having it been spoiled by discussions, movies, articles and the like.
What joy these books have brought me. I have found courage from Harry's example; wisdom in Dumbledore's words; righteous indignation at the racism; beauty and magic in all things around me. I have found a family that reaches all over the world - people of all race, religions, ages, and educations. I have been accepted and encouraged by people who would have been complete strangers if not for the books and this forum.
How can you even think about the end of all those wonderful things? You can't. You just have to look at it as a sharp bend in the road - a bend that doesn't let you see around the corner until you have turned it - a bend that makes you slow down and proceed with caution for fear of what IS around the corner! But with a family like you all, turning the corner may be a bit scary, but I think I can do it and find joy and excitement in what new things lie ahead.
So let's not think of it as "The End" but the "Beginning of Phase Two"
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 7, 2007 8:17 pm (#18 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
So very well said, sheilia. Thank you for putting into words feelings that I had not yet recognized until you clarified them for me. "...a sharp bend in the road..." and the "Beginning of Phase Two"....excellent concepts for this transition we veteran, obsessed fans will be making. Thank you.
At the risk of sounding melodramatic...it sounds like many of us are in the early stages of grief....and given our emotional investment over extended periods of time, this doesn't seem inappropriate at all.
- - - - - - - - - -
TwinklingBlueEyes - Jul 8, 2007 1:16 am (#19 of 85)
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking"
"So let's not think of it as "The End" but the "Beginning of Phase Two"
"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." (PS17)
- - - - - - - - - -
Phelim Mcintyre - Jul 8, 2007 7:46 am (#20 of 85)
I had a jolt about "this is it" when I ordered my copies of the book (I child cover, one adult cover). I can't wait to read it. But I don't want it to be over. Oh well, Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic and so am I. But only over Harry Potter.
- - - - - - - - - -
Hagsquid - Jul 8, 2007 8:36 am (#21 of 85)
This is me listening to OoP for the umteenth time.
No. You're not.
Of course, the excitement outweighs the sadness for now. - - - - - - - - - -
PatPat - Jul 8, 2007 9:41 am (#22 of 85)
What joy these books have brought me. I have found courage from Harry's example; wisdom in Dumbledore's words; righteous indignation at the racism; beauty and magic in all things around me. I have found a family that reaches all over the world - people of all race, religions, ages, and educations. I have been accepted and encouraged by people who would have been complete strangers if not for the books and this forum. painting sheila
I couldn't have said it better, painting sheila. These books have blossomed into so much more than children's stories. They have truly become part of our collective conciousness and have brought generations of people together from all over the world. Harry is a character that is human enough to relate to, yet noble enough to admire. These books will live on in our hearts.
Only 13 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes left. (At least from where I am)!
- - - - - - - - - -
painting sheila - Jul 8, 2007 1:28 pm (#23 of 85)
Doing one of the things I love best . . .
Only 13 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes left. (At least from where I am)!
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 8, 2007 2:36 pm (#24 of 85)
Sheila that was a beautiful post. I like the idea of a Phase Two.
A non Lexicon Form friend of mine was quite relieved to find out she wasn't the only one worried about dying before the final book came out.
What an amazing time we live in. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
Chemyst - Jul 8, 2007 6:00 pm (#25 of 85)
"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." A.A. Milne
While looking for quotes to use with my avatar, I found these:
My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. ~Thomas Helm
and
You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ~Paul Sweeney
and
When you reread a classic you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than was there before. ~Clifton Fadiman
They seemed to fit this thread perfectly.
Yet, I am ready for Harry's closure. I think the timing is as near-perfect as anyone could make it. There are other stories within the wizarding world, and I would much prefer that JKR be free to return to tell those some day rather than continue with Harry.
Reading the books has been fun; but in all truth, reading this forum has been at least three times better than the books! I thank each and every one of you.
Like wynnleaf, I can say, "How fortunate I feel to be one of those reading these books while they were still a work in progress!"
. . . one more quote:
Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes. ~John LeCarre
- - - - - - - - - -
T Vrana - Jul 8, 2007 8:44 pm (#26 of 85)
For me, that last quote, is quite fitting....
- - - - - - - - - -
Veritaserum - Jul 8, 2007 8:51 pm (#27 of 85)
Go Jays!
I remember this deflated, melancholy ache that I always got when I finished a book, knowing that the great ride that was over and that it would be at least a couple years before I got to spend more time in that world. I don't how I'll be feeling now that it really will be forever until we meet again, as it were. But I have a feeling that the ending will be perfect. To paraphrase Casablanca, "we'll always have Hogwarts."
- - - - - - - - - -
Phelim Mcintyre - Jul 9, 2007 5:18 am (#28 of 85)
Waterstones has started a petition to try and get JKR to supply us with more Harry Potter books. I hope she doesn't, not because I don't want any more. Waterstones have said that the books are a lobal phenomina (I agree) but seem more interested in the money they can make. Hopefully JKR is above such greed and will do what she wants not what certain booksellers want.
Also I am training at the moment as a life coach, NLP trainer and counsellor. Once I've got over the shock of DH then counselling will be available.
- - - - - - - - - -
Snuffles - Jul 9, 2007 5:55 am (#29 of 85)
Olivia
Book me in as your first client Phelim
Lol to all who worried about dying before reading book 7. I too have/had that worry. I even made my friend promise me, that if something did happen to me before I got my mits on it, that she would sit beside my little 'garden' each week and read it cover to cover for me!
I've had sets of books before where I have read them a couple of times, but never a set that I read over and over and over again! Hubby said to me the other day "I saw you finish that book (HBP) last week, yet you are nearly half way through again! don't tell me you have started reading it again!". I told him that I needed to remember it all, so when I read DH, everthing would still be fresh! He just doesn't understand (sigh)
I, like Liz, will get hold of the book, then hesitate before opening it. I don't want the magic to end. I NEED my favourite characters to survive!. I also want Sirius to jump out from behind the veil and shout "SUPRISE" Oh well!
As long as this forum is up and running, I know that I will definately still be a regular here
(((hugs))) to all my fellow Potties
Julie
- - - - - - - - - -
Esther Rose - Jul 9, 2007 7:11 am (#30 of 85)
I love the Harry Potter Wizarding world but I honestly do not want another Harry Potter story. I want him to be able to live (survive) in peace marry Ginny have a few Potterettes and not worry about whether there is a DE or Voldemort looming around the corner. In other words, if we ever go back to Hogwarts, I hope it is to introduce us to someone else, in a quest to defeat something else. Harry can come back and give some advice but in no way is he allowed to have anything but a "boring" life after this.
However, I will have my black arm band on, on July 20th because I know that there will be a character that I love that will not survive to the end of DH.
I know Phelim, what I want and what will most likely happen are two different things. I will remain in denial until I read it with my own two eyeballs.
- - - - - - - - - -
Phelim Mcintyre - Jul 9, 2007 7:23 am (#31 of 85)
"I think that Harry's story comes to quite a clear end, sadly," JKR Rowling on the BBC last Friday. I don't think Ginny will become Mrs Potter.
- - - - - - - - - -
Steve Newton - Jul 9, 2007 7:49 am (#32 of 85)
Librarian
While that does sound deadly it is the usual Rowling ambiguity. To her the sad ending could be having to leave her lifes work. I do hope that she keeps all of her notes intact so that she, or her children, can publish them at some time.
I do think that this sound very bad for the Potter kid.
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 9, 2007 9:29 am (#33 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
JKR made a similar statement on a talk show interview within the last few days. When asked if she would write any more HP books she said, [not a direct quote, but very close] "I think Harry's story comes to a clear end....I won't say never because, who knows, in ten years I may want to enter that world again." [remember, not an exact quote, but to the best of my memory] This answer gives me far more hope than a direct "No".
Phelim, when JKR says that his story "comes to quite a clear end, sadly" that could be taken to mean that the end of the story is quite clear, and that she is sad about it coming to an end. Had she intended a different meaning she might have said it "comes to quite a sad end, clearly". It is ambiguous in print, isn't it?
- - - - - - - - - -
Madam Pince - Jul 9, 2007 10:04 am (#34 of 85)
The eyes are the windows to the soul...
Wynnleaf, I agree with your post. I feel so very fortunate to have been "in" on this amazing phenomenon from (almost) the beginning. We have been given a rare gift in having the opportunity to think, puzzle, and wonder about the upcoming books, without having been spoiled by knowing already.
I thought of this the other day when I was wishing that Little Pince was old enough to appreciate reading the books -- by the time he's old enough, he will have already seen the movies and heard what happens in the books I'm sure, so a good portion of the "magic" that we all were fortunate enough to share will be denied to him.
I am sure I will be quite sad once I have the final book in my hands. I hate endings, period, and this is... well, sort of a biggie, isn't it? Sigh...
I am a little bit consoled by the fact that when I first read Gone With The Wind, I had never seen the movie nor actually even heard of it at all. It was just like I was the first person to ever read it, and the experience was wonderful. So maybe if 40 years go by like they did for me in that situation, maybe those who read this series 40 years from now will also be able to read it like we did. (Hard to believe, with movie media and Wii games and the internet and who-knows-what-all else that wasn't around when I was reading "GWTW", but let's hope...) Who knows, kids still wear "bell bottoms/hip huggers" and think they're the first ones to ever do it, so...
- - - - - - - - - -
Joanne Reid - Jul 9, 2007 1:30 pm (#35 of 85)
Hi,
I have lived through many of these, and the end is always exciting and sad at the same time.
However, to me, the measure of success is my desire to reread the entire series, time and again. They are old friends to whom I can return to resume our affair. I find comfort in their stories, their characters and their outcomes.
For me, if the story is long, involved and uplifting, I can enjoy it time and again. So, it is never a loss to me when a particular series ends. It is only a matter of time before I will sit down to enjoy it all over again.
And, if we are lucky, Joanne will return our heroes to life, just as did Arthur Conan Doyle after Queen Victoria requested him to do so. Perhaps it may take the inspiration of a Monarch to do so, but that will be just fine with me.
- - - - - - - - - -
Lily Potter Fan - Jul 9, 2007 3:51 pm (#36 of 85)
It is sad to think this is the last book. I wonder if anything will come along in my lifetime that will be anywhere near as entertaining and "magical" as the HP books. I'm excited to get my book from Amazon. But I think I'll shed a few tears over it, too.
- - - - - - - - - -
Vox Gerbilis - Jul 9, 2007 6:44 pm (#37 of 85)
I've only been a fan since last October, so perhaps it's presumptuous of me to participate alongside the fans who have had to wait over the course of many years for each installment.
I'm not sad, nor do I think I would be if I had been in on this since the beginning. While reading a book for the first time has its own unique pleasures, the full pleasure is not really cemented until I've finished the book and gotten the story into my head. Then the pleasure of re-reading at a relaxed pace with no suspense or tension can begin. I confess, I'm the sort of reader who peeks ahead, and I disregard spoiler warnings with impunity. When I get my copy on the 21st, I'll probably read the last chapter first.
Right now, I just feel frustrated that I don't know the whole story yet.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 10, 2007 9:18 am (#38 of 85)
Vox all fans are welcome! Your perspective is very valuable because you have been able to read straight through the first six books.
Lily Potter Fan one of the wonderful things about the HP books is the acceptance of Children and Adolescent literature as a respected genre. There are some wonderful books out there, old and new. This is a very unique situation. Jo's style can't be duplicated (thankfully) but there are a lot of great stories to be told. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
mona amon - Jul 11, 2007 4:47 am (#39 of 85)
I'm one of those who have no mixed feelings about it at all, I'm really really glad the long wait is almost over, and I'm really, really glad it is the last book! I just can't wait to find out how it ends! The past week, I've been thinking about nothing but the book, counting days, talking about nothing else , and I'm not enjoying my obsession! I want to see how it ends, so I can get on with my life!
Anyway, it wont be 'goodbye to HP' for me. The books will just join my other favourites like Jane Eyre and Huckleberry Finn, to be cherished forever and re- read now and then.
- - - - - - - - - -
Elanor - Jul 11, 2007 6:27 am (#40 of 85)
I think Sheila, a few posts ago, expressed well what I am feeling about the last book, an incredible mix of joy and excitement, tinged with a bit of sadness and anxiety (I don't want any of the characters to die, but some deaths there will be... It seems yesterday that we were starting to discuss the HBP, and I'm sure we still have much to discover in it, I'm not ready yet for the DH!!! **Phew! Feeling better to have said it**
But the DH is ready, so let's dive in it!
I too feel so fortunate to have lived this wonderful adventure with you all on the forum (it will be three years this week that I have joined it ). I am so thankful for having met you all here and I do hope this is only the beginning! We've got years of discussion of the series ahead of us, so many wonderful hours for us to spend here!
Not to mention the fact that I hope Jo will still continue to answer the fans' questions on her website and give us something new to ponder from time to time (in French we'd say: "give us a bone to gnaw at" ), before she publishes "Hogwarts, a History" that is... (please, Jo!!!).
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna L. Black - Jul 11, 2007 8:52 am (#41 of 85)
"It seems yesterday that we were starting to discuss the HBP" - you know, Elanor, I just realized how true this is. The wait between HBP and DH seems to me a lot shorter than between GoF-OOTP or OOTP-HBP. I distinctly remember the excitement I had when holding HBP in my hands and starting to read it, and I'm already feeling that excitement now.
I know I won't hesitate to start reading the book the moment I recieve the package at home, because one of the things that made me enjoy HBP at first was the amount of answers we got to different questions (over which we debated endlessy before). And this is the ultimate "answer book"! OotP, in that sense, really had me identifying with Harry - he was clueless and didn't get any answers, and so did I! No wonder he was that angry throughout the book
However, I imagine that I'll be really sad when I'll finish the book (hopefully, it'll be at the same day as the beginning) - because of the characters that're going to die (I don't know who they are, but I bet I love them!), and because of this all coming to an end. But then I'll immediately start re-reading the book, connecting the small clues that will surely be hiding in small corners... And then, I'll be able to re-read the whole series, this time with EVERYTHING connecting - and that is surely going to make me thrilled.
I'm certain that the discussions on the forum will not die for the next few years. We're too obssessed to stop talking HP!
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 11, 2007 10:51 pm (#42 of 85)
The popularity of the HP saga makes me wonder ... will Jo ever write another series, or is the stress of such a project just too much to undertake it more than once?
If Harry survives ... and after Jo has a good rest ... I think it would be fun to have occasional future "stand alone" novels whose plots are completely self-contained and whose conflicts are resolved by the end of the books. Then again, maybe she has a brand new set of adventures in store for us ... I hope!
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Miss Malaprop - Jul 12, 2007 2:15 am (#43 of 85)
I’m very sad. I really wouldn’t mind if the release date was pushed back another year – I don’t want it to end! There is a newspaper comic strip called “For Better or For Worse”. One morning I visited a friend’s house and was astonished to find the family obsessing over the latest strip. I stopped laughing when I realized I am the same about HP – I am genuinely fond of these characters and I will really miss them; they’ve been part of my whole adult life. I’ve used up some precious annual leave for the 23rd, as a “Grieving Day,” no matter who lives or dies.
What will other people be doing to “cope” with the end?
- - - - - - - - - -
Konstantin Vajarov - Jul 12, 2007 5:31 am (#44 of 85)
Edited Jul 12, 2007 6:10 am
Same here... :/ There are 8 days left and I can't stand it... I'm very excited but I'm sad too... I can't believe it'll be all over soon... Of course, I'll re-read the books every now and then but it won't be the same. I've been reading the HP books for 5 years now, waiting for the final one to come. And here it is now but I don't know if I really want to read it any more. That's why I'm going to read it slowly and enjoy the last bit of the story which has become an important part in my life... like Choices said... I'm addicted... I have the same feeling when I finish reading one of the books... I feel I need more.
Oh, and by the way I hope J.K.Rowling has left some questions unanswered, some secrets unrevealed for us to keep guessing.
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 12, 2007 9:18 am (#45 of 85)
Fortunately, I will be in Sacramento all next week, at a conference for school, so I won't have as much time to get antsy. I won't return home until late Friday night. I think I'll tuck in for the weekend--stock up on eats, pull the shades, turn off the phone, disconnect the doorbell ... and enjoy my book.
Konstantin, I'd be very surprised if Jo tackles every single question. I suspect that some things which are not central to our understanding of the over-all story arc may remain unexplained ... to give us SOME points about which to haggle for the rest of our lives!
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
zelmia - Jul 12, 2007 10:57 am (#46 of 85)
Oh! And that's a bad miss!
You know, I'm actually kind of glad it's all finally coming to a close. We knew this day would come and I guess I would just as soon get it over with.
(cue Streisand's The Way We Were) Still, there's definitely something to be said for having "been there from the beginning", when even the idea of a film adaptation was scoffed at by those of us who didn't think the film could faithfully recreate the pictures in our heads. (I recall Rupert Grint saying in an interview during filming of PS/SS that he felt a lot of pressure because "I can't just be our Ron. I've got to be everyone else's Ron as well." A very astute observation from the young man.)
I confess I would like to see her do some kind of compendium of unanswered questions. Even if it was in the format of just a straight list of all the questions she's ever been asked accompanied by their answers, that would be fine with me.
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 12, 2007 12:15 pm (#47 of 85)
Perhaps that would be something she could address in an extra book ... or even on her website.
- - - - - - - - - -
Allison R - Jul 12, 2007 12:57 pm (#48 of 85)
Saying goodbye to a friend: We love you, Dusty Bunny. You will be missed.
I read an interview with her somewhere recently in which she said that she plans to write an encyclopedia of sorts on the Wizarding World...
::cringing in anticipation of the request to find a cite:: aw, heck, I should just go off and find it now and get it over with LOL. Hang on:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- - - - - - - - - -
Madame Pomfrey - Jul 12, 2007 1:55 pm (#49 of 85)
The popularity of the HP saga makes me wonder ... will Jo ever write another series, or is the stress of such a project just too much to undertake it more than once?
Soli,I like to cling to the saying "successful people don't quit!" It gives me hope anyway.
The sadness of book 7 being the final read has finally hit.During the movie OoP I stayed pretty emotional.Not because of the movie(except Harry's distress when Sirius went through the veil)but,because it dawned on me that we were soon going to be denied the pleasure of seeing them again. How sad is that? I feel like we are losing loved ones.
- - - - - - - - - -
zelmia - Jul 12, 2007 4:26 pm (#50 of 85)
Oh! And that's a bad miss!
On the contrary, Mme Pomfrey, you'll be able to read the books whenever you like. You'll have your loved ones with you forever.
Elanor- Hufflepuff Prefect
- Posts : 1440
Join date : 2011-02-19
Age : 51
Location : France
Anyone sad the final book is almost here? (Post 51 to 85)
Elanor Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:14 am
Madame Pomfrey - Jul 12, 2007 6:18 pm (#51 of 85)
That's so true,Zelmia.But,I would love to see Harry carry on with being an auror.Seeing him solve mysteries,track down different dark wizards with the help of the original DA.etc.
- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Jul 12, 2007 6:28 pm (#52 of 85)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Me too! Just reading this thread makes me reach for the kleenex.
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 12, 2007 7:40 pm (#53 of 85)
I am one who wouldn't mind seeing the occasional novel in the future, featuring beloved characters from the HP series. As I said, Jo could write "self contained" books that did not need to be followed up ... so she would not feel tied or trapped. She could just write as new ideas came for new adventures.
If she does not opt this way, I hope she creates another new world for us ... with all new characters to love and root for. She has "the gift," and I will be excited to read her future stories.
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Jenniffler - Jul 12, 2007 8:05 pm (#54 of 85)
Searching for gold in the HP world. Oh, here it is!
I am sad, yeah, or at least I am resigned to the fact that Harry Potter is concluding. When I was handed the first book, I knew there would be seven . It already had an end before I read the first page. I am here to the end and beyond. I didn't worry about missing the last book, but I did hope that it would be completed before the pop culture momentum was lost. Yea for Jo! I'm ready for the next big adventure, um, I mean book. I'll be just fine without a grief hotline. LOL
- - - - - - - - - -
MickeyCee3948 - Jul 13, 2007 5:09 am (#55 of 85)
Avatar courtesy of Gwen
All good things must end. Regardless of how much we like them, how we wish they could go on forever. It can't happen.
It is rather the challenge for those of us who have experienced it first hand to see that the mystery and story live on well after the final book. To see that future readers have the same opportunity that we have had. To experience JKR's world of Harry Potter.
Of course they won't have to wait for years and years for the next book. They will already be there.
Mickey
- - - - - - - - - -
Chemyst - Jul 13, 2007 11:20 am (#56 of 85)
"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." A.A. Milne
I confess I would like to see her do some kind of compendium of unanswered questions. Even if it was in the format of just a straight list of all the questions she's ever been asked accompanied by their answers, that would be fine with me. – Zelmia
Well, I wouldn't say no to such a thing. But JKR has shown entirely too much originality and imagination on such things as W.O.M.B.A.T. tests, QTTA, FB, etc. for me to think she wouldn't come up with a more inventive format than a list. And I very much like your original idea of Owl Post: A Complete Anthology. Three years later, it is still one of my favorites!
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 13, 2007 1:16 pm (#57 of 85)
I'm still lobbying for Hogwarts: A History as the follow-up book. After all, tons of info could be included in it.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 13, 2007 2:40 pm (#58 of 85)
Solitaire I like your idea that she write one self contained book about her world. It does not have to be a series. Oh the possibilities! I wouldn't mind Hogwarts: A History either. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 13, 2007 5:37 pm (#59 of 85)
LPO, I think the self-contained, stand-alone books would be great. There would not be the pressure of trying to sustain and properly unfold a long story over a period of a decade or more and get a book out every 2 years. She already has a good base and established characters on which to draw, assuming some characters we love survive the war. And tell me it wouldn't be fun to read about the next generation at Hogwarts!
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 13, 2007 5:51 pm (#60 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
You know, I could never understand why a person would turn to the back of a book before reading the rest. Now I'm so worried and nervous about Harry and Ron that I can understand. I'm almost tempted myself. If I have any willpower at all I won't, but I'm still almost tempted.
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 14, 2007 6:53 am (#61 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
Has anyone else got to the point now where waiting is too painful?
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna L. Black - Jul 14, 2007 8:24 am (#62 of 85)
Not yet, as I'm still on my final re-read of HBP. But I thought today about what I'm going to do next weekend, and figured out I'm going to drive myself crazy - HBP will be finished by then, Fantastic Beasts and Quuiditch Through The Ages are going to keep my busy for no longer than an hour... So I guess I'm going to be catching up on all those threads here that have too many unread posts for me at the moment (Snape with almost 600 unread, Dumbledore with almost 700, and "DD's death - what really happened" with 1324 There are more, but those are the "scariest" to approach).
- - - - - - - - - -
Allison R - Jul 14, 2007 10:31 am (#63 of 85)
Saying goodbye to a friend: We love you, Dusty Bunny. You will be missed.
Soli, JK has said that she does plan to do an encyclopedia of sorts about the wizarding world and the Founders of Hogwarts. Here's a link:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- - - - - - - - - -
painting sheila - Jul 14, 2007 9:24 pm (#64 of 85)
Doing one of the things I love best . . .
I just wish she would photo copy every thing and print it for us! I would love to sit and try to figure out her handwriting or her notes or her direction or things she changed or things she kept or things she didn't use . . . . . . .Jo? Are you reading this?
- - - - - - - - - -
Suzan - Jul 15, 2007 7:54 am (#65 of 85)
Yes, I am sad, and anxious, and I know I'm going to be in a horrible mood all this week. The waiting will be exquisitely painful. I plan to immerse myself in my job and an ongoing house renovation project to try to keep myself distracted - probably a futile exercise.
Time Magazine published an insightful and thoughtful review last week about OP, but also about the entire series. It expresses, better than I can do so myself, much of how I have felt about the books. The Leaky Cauldron listed it on their recent headlines, but I'll paste the URL below. Hope I'm not breaking any rules.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- - - - - - - - - -
PatPat - Jul 15, 2007 10:07 am (#66 of 85)
That's a great article Suzan. There was another one in Time magazine (to which I subscribe) on July 9th about the security of the last book at the American publisher, Scholastic. They said the book has been read by only a "handful" of people and those people don't even share the information among their families. The article talks about something that we have mentioned here. That we are the only fans who will ever come to a HP book fully unaware of the events. Future readers will always know that Dumbledore dies, what horcruxes are, and that Voldemort is really Tom Riddle. It just won't be the same. "The magic moment is a rare and delicate thing: it occurs only when the reader comes to the book in a state of pure ignorance, with no advance knowledge of its contents." This is just so true. And we are the lucky ones to have the opportunity to feel this magic.
One of my favorite lines from the article is regarding Cheryl Klein who is the continuity editor. According to Time: "Rowling's books have become so complex - and their fans so obsessively nitpicky - that it takes a full-time Potterologist to make sure that Rowling's fictional universe stays factually consistent." LOL!!! Do they know us Potties or what?
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 15, 2007 10:30 am (#67 of 85)
we are the only fans who will ever come to a HP book fully unaware of the event
This will be true for a few generations, I'm sure. Eventually, however--when some of the "mania" has died down and people have moved on to new crazes--there will come a generation who can discover HP anew. I can think of many well-known novels I've never read, even though they were written by authors I love. I have no idea what is in them, because no one I know has read them, either ... even though their authors lived in the 20th century. For example, I never knew about or read the Narnia books until one of the stories was in an anthology I used in a 6th grade class. I was an adult in the 1990s when I discovered it, and yet C.S. Lewis was hardly unknown.
Movies will make it tougher to remain "innocent" of plot details for a while ... but you know how quickly movies are forgotten by all but their most avid fans.
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Suzan - Jul 16, 2007 2:07 pm (#68 of 85)
I think this is the only large group of fans who will share this unique experience, but there always will be individuals in the future who discover the books without any prior knowledge to spoil the wonder and surprise. I really regret not reading the books much earlier than I did. I feel like I missed out on so much of the experience!
- - - - - - - - - -
Mrs Brisbee - Jul 17, 2007 3:57 am (#69 of 85)
The experience has been wonderful, and I too feel lucky to have been in on it. Being able to come together on the internet with other fans to share theories and debate them and anticipate future books has been tremendous fun. I was surprised by the announcement that DH was coming out this summer, because we hadn't gotten any clear hints of how far along Rowling was before that (for HBP, we had learned when she was in rewrite, so it wasn't surprising when the book was done). I think I was sad to hear it was done because I wasn't expecting it so soon, I was thinking more around Christmas or next summer. But the closer the day comes the more content and relaxed I feel about it. I'm looking forward to having the book in my hands.
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna Sarauw - Jul 17, 2007 12:17 pm (#70 of 85)
Since I was about 9-10 years old and read the first Harry Potter book I've been dreaming about his world! I and Harry have always been about the same age - we even have birthday close to each other! Only now I have overhaul him with a year (just passed my 18th years birthday) but he will overtake me at the end of the book. When I turned 11 I waited and waited for a letter from Hogwarts confirming that I was a muggle-born witch - or that my parents has been victims of a terrible memory modifying charm which made them forgot about their real identity as witch and wizard! I even still dream about it seconds before I go to sleep - that the real Hogwarts accepts students elder than 11 so they would be more mature. I've been with Harry in every book, trying to help him solve the mysteries and find the culprit. And now it’s all coming to an end!! Yeah, I’m tremendously sad that the final book is almost here. When I turn the last page I’m going to cry, an era is soon to be over.
- - - - - - - - - -
Regan of Gong - Jul 18, 2007 3:28 am (#71 of 85)
Self declared doctor of everything.
I am sad the final book is here. I am sadder it's probably already been spoiled for me via a YouTube comment.
But anyway, props to the Lex and its great resources, it's been fun.
- - - - - - - - - -
Esther Rose - Jul 18, 2007 7:01 am (#72 of 85)
Note to self: Do NOT visit YouTube!
Right now I am still in excited mode! All things come to an end. Better a big bang than a lukewarm fizzle.
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 18, 2007 10:08 am (#73 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
I am definitely feeling sad now.
- - - - - - - - - -
Veritaserum - Jul 18, 2007 8:38 pm (#74 of 85)
Go Jays!
I'm almost shivering with anticipation at the moment. It seems like time was going by really fast for almost the whole year, whenever I looked at how many days were left. But this week, time has slowed down so much, the week since OOP came out has seemed to drag on forever, and there's still two days left! I am so impatient! But then I think about all the essays and threads I still have left to read and I get kind of panicky, because I only have 48 hours or so to get all my thoughts, predictions, evaluations of clues and things in order before it's too late! Hahaha, I love being obsessed like this!
- - - - - - - - - -
Connie1983 - Jul 19, 2007 6:33 am (#75 of 85)
I just can't believe that in a couple of days time we will know EVERYTHING (as Jo mentioned on her website) after spending years reading everything on this forum (and enjoying it very much!). At one side I'm looking forward to it and as a lot of you, at the other side I'm a bit sad to know that it all be..well ehm..over soon. It's just so unbelievable that by this time next week we'll know why Dumbledore had James' cloak, what is important about Harry's eyes, if Harry has indeed returned to Hogwarts, whether there is really something about socks in the whole series, if the Giant Squid really is Dumbledore (as if we need any confirmation about thát!)..everything that we have thought, discussed, argued, 'theorized' about will be clear soon..how weird will that be?!
- - - - - - - - - -
Denise P. - Jul 19, 2007 6:41 am (#76 of 85)
Ravenclaw Pony
I don't think it is possible for Jo to answer all the questions fans have. I think a huge load will be answered but just as many (if not more) will be left hanging for fans to speculate and talk about.
- - - - - - - - - -
HungarianHorntail11 - Jul 19, 2007 8:37 am (#77 of 85)
The heart sees deeper than the eye.
Well, I can't add much more than what has already been posted, so I'll just quote Monty Python: I'm not dead yet!
I think she'll continue to write something - perhaps a trilogy. I fully expect more from her.
- - - - - - - - - -
Steve Newton - Jul 19, 2007 10:04 am (#78 of 85)
Librarian
I'm not exactly sad that the last book is (almost) here but I will miss the discussion. Or at least I think I will. I guess we may have some things still to figure out.
- - - - - - - - - -
mona amon - Jul 19, 2007 7:36 pm (#79 of 85)
After my recent re-reads, I'm feeling a surge of affection even for characters as diverse as aunt Petunia and Horace Slughorn, for everyone in fact, who is'nt Umbridge or a Death Eater! Tomorrow at this time if all goes well, I should be reading the book (its about 8.00 A.M, Friday out here), and though I'm not feeling sad, I am feeling a little apprehensive. Who will die? What's going to happen?!
- - - - - - - - - -
Veritaserum - Jul 19, 2007 10:07 pm (#80 of 85)
Go Jays!
It's exactly 24 hours from where I am right now. I can't believe it's almost time...
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna L. Black - Jul 20, 2007 1:18 am (#81 of 85)
For me, it's about 48 hours left. *Excited*
- - - - - - - - - -
Konstantin Vajarov - Jul 20, 2007 12:34 pm (#82 of 85)
Only 11 hours for me! I can't wait... I feel so excited that I've almost forgotten my anxiety! I don't want it all to end (the HP series) but... at the same time I'm dying to read the last book...
- - - - - - - - - -
zelmia - Jul 20, 2007 3:37 pm (#83 of 85)
Oh! And that's a bad miss!
Ah yes. Owl Post: A Complete Anthology. I had nearly forgotten about that. I would still love to see that published, actually.
It's certainly a bittersweet time. It seems, after reading the posts here, that many of us are more afraid of losing the momentum of the Forum than anything. I hope that won't happen, but just in case, let me take this moment to thank all of you for the memorable, lively, intelligent discussions we've had here. (Who can forget the controversy of "Lupin is Really James"? or the coining of "DIGS"?) I look forward to many more after we've finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
And thanks especially to Kip and all the Mod's. Without you... Well, fuhgeddabadit!
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 23, 2007 11:36 am (#84 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
I'd like to echo zelmia's thanks for "all the memorable, lively, intelligent discussions we've had here", and for the zealous oversight of the mods, and for all the laughs and silliness as well.
How's this for mixed feelings....I drove 3 hours to attend a release party --arriving the day before and staying over-- and after walking and doing HP activities all day, stayed up for the midnight release of the book, but dallied about getting into line to pick it up because I couldn't believe it would soon be "over".
But I DID get the book and I have finished the first read.....very satisfying. And it's nice to discover that it's not really "over" after all....I'll be reading it aloud to my son and I'll definately be re-reading. Also, there's the chapter by chapter discussion on the forum. **sighs happily** :-)
- - - - - - - - - -
Madame Pomfrey - Aug 8, 2007 11:04 am (#85 of 85)
I must admit now that book seven has been released and read and reread I am extremely sad.I have spent the last 6 years of my life pouring over these books trying to guess what is coming up and getting so emotionally connected to the characters I feel like I have lost touch with very close friends.How sad is that? Jo said in an interview she wouldn't miss Harry because she knows pretty much what he's up to or something like that.geez,I wished she would share!
That's so true,Zelmia.But,I would love to see Harry carry on with being an auror.Seeing him solve mysteries,track down different dark wizards with the help of the original DA.etc.
- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Jul 12, 2007 6:28 pm (#52 of 85)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
Me too! Just reading this thread makes me reach for the kleenex.
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 12, 2007 7:40 pm (#53 of 85)
I am one who wouldn't mind seeing the occasional novel in the future, featuring beloved characters from the HP series. As I said, Jo could write "self contained" books that did not need to be followed up ... so she would not feel tied or trapped. She could just write as new ideas came for new adventures.
If she does not opt this way, I hope she creates another new world for us ... with all new characters to love and root for.
She has "the gift," and I will be excited to read her future stories. Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Jenniffler - Jul 12, 2007 8:05 pm (#54 of 85)
Searching for gold in the HP world. Oh, here it is!
I am sad, yeah, or at least I am resigned to the fact that Harry Potter is concluding. When I was handed the first book, I knew there would be seven . It already had an end before I read the first page. I am here to the end and beyond. I didn't worry about missing the last book, but I did hope that it would be completed before the pop culture momentum was lost. Yea for Jo! I'm ready for the next big adventure, um, I mean book. I'll be just fine without a grief hotline. LOL
- - - - - - - - - -
MickeyCee3948 - Jul 13, 2007 5:09 am (#55 of 85)
Avatar courtesy of Gwen
All good things must end. Regardless of how much we like them, how we wish they could go on forever. It can't happen.
It is rather the challenge for those of us who have experienced it first hand to see that the mystery and story live on well after the final book. To see that future readers have the same opportunity that we have had. To experience JKR's world of Harry Potter.
Of course they won't have to wait for years and years for the next book. They will already be there.
Mickey
- - - - - - - - - -
Chemyst - Jul 13, 2007 11:20 am (#56 of 85)
"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." A.A. Milne
I confess I would like to see her do some kind of compendium of unanswered questions. Even if it was in the format of just a straight list of all the questions she's ever been asked accompanied by their answers, that would be fine with me. – Zelmia
Well, I wouldn't say no to such a thing. But JKR has shown entirely too much originality and imagination on such things as W.O.M.B.A.T. tests, QTTA, FB, etc. for me to think she wouldn't come up with a more inventive format than a list. And I very much like your original idea of Owl Post: A Complete Anthology. Three years later, it is still one of my favorites!
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 13, 2007 1:16 pm (#57 of 85)
I'm still lobbying for Hogwarts: A History as the follow-up book. After all, tons of info could be included in it.
- - - - - - - - - -
Ludicrous Patents Office - Jul 13, 2007 2:40 pm (#58 of 85)
Solitaire I like your idea that she write one self contained book about her world. It does not have to be a series. Oh the possibilities! I wouldn't mind Hogwarts: A History either. LPO
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 13, 2007 5:37 pm (#59 of 85)
LPO, I think the self-contained, stand-alone books would be great. There would not be the pressure of trying to sustain and properly unfold a long story over a period of a decade or more and get a book out every 2 years. She already has a good base and established characters on which to draw, assuming some characters we love survive the war. And tell me it wouldn't be fun to read about the next generation at Hogwarts!
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 13, 2007 5:51 pm (#60 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
You know, I could never understand why a person would turn to the back of a book before reading the rest. Now I'm so worried and nervous about Harry and Ron that I can understand. I'm almost tempted myself. If I have any willpower at all I won't, but I'm still almost tempted.
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 14, 2007 6:53 am (#61 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
Has anyone else got to the point now where waiting is too painful?
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna L. Black - Jul 14, 2007 8:24 am (#62 of 85)
Not yet, as I'm still on my final re-read of HBP. But I thought today about what I'm going to do next weekend, and figured out I'm going to drive myself crazy - HBP will be finished by then, Fantastic Beasts and Quuiditch Through The Ages are going to keep my busy for no longer than an hour... So I guess I'm going to be catching up on all those threads here that have too many unread posts for me at the moment (Snape with almost 600 unread, Dumbledore with almost 700, and "DD's death - what really happened" with 1324 There are more, but those are the "scariest" to approach).
- - - - - - - - - -
Allison R - Jul 14, 2007 10:31 am (#63 of 85)
Saying goodbye to a friend: We love you, Dusty Bunny. You will be missed.
Soli, JK has said that she does plan to do an encyclopedia of sorts about the wizarding world and the Founders of Hogwarts. Here's a link:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- - - - - - - - - -
painting sheila - Jul 14, 2007 9:24 pm (#64 of 85)
Doing one of the things I love best . . .
I just wish she would photo copy every thing and print it for us! I would love to sit and try to figure out her handwriting or her notes or her direction or things she changed or things she kept or things she didn't use . . . . . . .Jo? Are you reading this?
- - - - - - - - - -
Suzan - Jul 15, 2007 7:54 am (#65 of 85)
Yes, I am sad, and anxious, and I know I'm going to be in a horrible mood all this week. The waiting will be exquisitely painful. I plan to immerse myself in my job and an ongoing house renovation project to try to keep myself distracted - probably a futile exercise.
Time Magazine published an insightful and thoughtful review last week about OP, but also about the entire series. It expresses, better than I can do so myself, much of how I have felt about the books. The Leaky Cauldron listed it on their recent headlines, but I'll paste the URL below. Hope I'm not breaking any rules.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- - - - - - - - - -
PatPat - Jul 15, 2007 10:07 am (#66 of 85)
That's a great article Suzan. There was another one in Time magazine (to which I subscribe) on July 9th about the security of the last book at the American publisher, Scholastic. They said the book has been read by only a "handful" of people and those people don't even share the information among their families. The article talks about something that we have mentioned here. That we are the only fans who will ever come to a HP book fully unaware of the events. Future readers will always know that Dumbledore dies, what horcruxes are, and that Voldemort is really Tom Riddle. It just won't be the same. "The magic moment is a rare and delicate thing: it occurs only when the reader comes to the book in a state of pure ignorance, with no advance knowledge of its contents." This is just so true. And we are the lucky ones to have the opportunity to feel this magic.
One of my favorite lines from the article is regarding Cheryl Klein who is the continuity editor. According to Time: "Rowling's books have become so complex - and their fans so obsessively nitpicky - that it takes a full-time Potterologist to make sure that Rowling's fictional universe stays factually consistent." LOL!!! Do they know us Potties or what?
- - - - - - - - - -
Solitaire - Jul 15, 2007 10:30 am (#67 of 85)
we are the only fans who will ever come to a HP book fully unaware of the event
This will be true for a few generations, I'm sure. Eventually, however--when some of the "mania" has died down and people have moved on to new crazes--there will come a generation who can discover HP anew. I can think of many well-known novels I've never read, even though they were written by authors I love. I have no idea what is in them, because no one I know has read them, either ... even though their authors lived in the 20th century. For example, I never knew about or read the Narnia books until one of the stories was in an anthology I used in a 6th grade class. I was an adult in the 1990s when I discovered it, and yet C.S. Lewis was hardly unknown.
Movies will make it tougher to remain "innocent" of plot details for a while ... but you know how quickly movies are forgotten by all but their most avid fans.
Solitaire
- - - - - - - - - -
Suzan - Jul 16, 2007 2:07 pm (#68 of 85)
I think this is the only large group of fans who will share this unique experience, but there always will be individuals in the future who discover the books without any prior knowledge to spoil the wonder and surprise. I really regret not reading the books much earlier than I did. I feel like I missed out on so much of the experience!
- - - - - - - - - -
Mrs Brisbee - Jul 17, 2007 3:57 am (#69 of 85)
The experience has been wonderful, and I too feel lucky to have been in on it. Being able to come together on the internet with other fans to share theories and debate them and anticipate future books has been tremendous fun. I was surprised by the announcement that DH was coming out this summer, because we hadn't gotten any clear hints of how far along Rowling was before that (for HBP, we had learned when she was in rewrite, so it wasn't surprising when the book was done). I think I was sad to hear it was done because I wasn't expecting it so soon, I was thinking more around Christmas or next summer. But the closer the day comes the more content and relaxed I feel about it. I'm looking forward to having the book in my hands.
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna Sarauw - Jul 17, 2007 12:17 pm (#70 of 85)
Since I was about 9-10 years old and read the first Harry Potter book I've been dreaming about his world! I and Harry have always been about the same age - we even have birthday close to each other! Only now I have overhaul him with a year (just passed my 18th years birthday) but he will overtake me at the end of the book. When I turned 11 I waited and waited for a letter from Hogwarts confirming that I was a muggle-born witch - or that my parents has been victims of a terrible memory modifying charm which made them forgot about their real identity as witch and wizard! I even still dream about it seconds before I go to sleep - that the real Hogwarts accepts students elder than 11 so they would be more mature. I've been with Harry in every book, trying to help him solve the mysteries and find the culprit. And now it’s all coming to an end!! Yeah, I’m tremendously sad that the final book is almost here. When I turn the last page I’m going to cry, an era is soon to be over.
- - - - - - - - - -
Regan of Gong - Jul 18, 2007 3:28 am (#71 of 85)
Self declared doctor of everything.
I am sad the final book is here. I am sadder it's probably already been spoiled for me via a YouTube comment.
But anyway, props to the Lex and its great resources, it's been fun.
- - - - - - - - - -
Esther Rose - Jul 18, 2007 7:01 am (#72 of 85)
Note to self: Do NOT visit YouTube!
Right now I am still in excited mode! All things come to an end. Better a big bang than a lukewarm fizzle.
- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jul 18, 2007 10:08 am (#73 of 85)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
I am definitely feeling sad now.
- - - - - - - - - -
Veritaserum - Jul 18, 2007 8:38 pm (#74 of 85)
Go Jays!
I'm almost shivering with anticipation at the moment. It seems like time was going by really fast for almost the whole year, whenever I looked at how many days were left. But this week, time has slowed down so much, the week since OOP came out has seemed to drag on forever, and there's still two days left! I am so impatient! But then I think about all the essays and threads I still have left to read and I get kind of panicky, because I only have 48 hours or so to get all my thoughts, predictions, evaluations of clues and things in order before it's too late! Hahaha, I love being obsessed like this!
- - - - - - - - - -
Connie1983 - Jul 19, 2007 6:33 am (#75 of 85)
I just can't believe that in a couple of days time we will know EVERYTHING (as Jo mentioned on her website) after spending years reading everything on this forum (and enjoying it very much!). At one side I'm looking forward to it and as a lot of you, at the other side I'm a bit sad to know that it all be..well ehm..over soon. It's just so unbelievable that by this time next week we'll know why Dumbledore had James' cloak, what is important about Harry's eyes, if Harry has indeed returned to Hogwarts, whether there is really something about socks in the whole series, if the Giant Squid really is Dumbledore (as if we need any confirmation about thát!)..everything that we have thought, discussed, argued, 'theorized' about will be clear soon..how weird will that be?!
- - - - - - - - - -
Denise P. - Jul 19, 2007 6:41 am (#76 of 85)
Ravenclaw Pony
I don't think it is possible for Jo to answer all the questions fans have. I think a huge load will be answered but just as many (if not more) will be left hanging for fans to speculate and talk about.
- - - - - - - - - -
HungarianHorntail11 - Jul 19, 2007 8:37 am (#77 of 85)
The heart sees deeper than the eye.
Well, I can't add much more than what has already been posted, so I'll just quote Monty Python: I'm not dead yet!
I think she'll continue to write something - perhaps a trilogy. I fully expect more from her.
- - - - - - - - - -
Steve Newton - Jul 19, 2007 10:04 am (#78 of 85)
Librarian
I'm not exactly sad that the last book is (almost) here but I will miss the discussion. Or at least I think I will. I guess we may have some things still to figure out.
- - - - - - - - - -
mona amon - Jul 19, 2007 7:36 pm (#79 of 85)
After my recent re-reads, I'm feeling a surge of affection even for characters as diverse as aunt Petunia and Horace Slughorn, for everyone in fact, who is'nt Umbridge or a Death Eater! Tomorrow at this time if all goes well, I should be reading the book (its about 8.00 A.M, Friday out here), and though I'm not feeling sad, I am feeling a little apprehensive. Who will die? What's going to happen?!
- - - - - - - - - -
Veritaserum - Jul 19, 2007 10:07 pm (#80 of 85)
Go Jays!
It's exactly 24 hours from where I am right now. I can't believe it's almost time...
- - - - - - - - - -
Anna L. Black - Jul 20, 2007 1:18 am (#81 of 85)
For me, it's about 48 hours left. *Excited*
- - - - - - - - - -
Konstantin Vajarov - Jul 20, 2007 12:34 pm (#82 of 85)
Only 11 hours for me! I can't wait... I feel so excited that I've almost forgotten my anxiety! I don't want it all to end (the HP series) but... at the same time I'm dying to read the last book...
- - - - - - - - - -
zelmia - Jul 20, 2007 3:37 pm (#83 of 85)
Oh! And that's a bad miss!
Ah yes. Owl Post: A Complete Anthology. I had nearly forgotten about that. I would still love to see that published, actually.
It's certainly a bittersweet time. It seems, after reading the posts here, that many of us are more afraid of losing the momentum of the Forum than anything. I hope that won't happen, but just in case, let me take this moment to thank all of you for the memorable, lively, intelligent discussions we've had here. (Who can forget the controversy of "Lupin is Really James"? or the coining of "DIGS"?) I look forward to many more after we've finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
And thanks especially to Kip and all the Mod's. Without you... Well, fuhgeddabadit!
- - - - - - - - - -
freshwater - Jul 23, 2007 11:36 am (#84 of 85)
Connections, speculation, discussion: the best part of HP reading! Check out the on-going HP Lex Forum series re-read! Currently reading GoF...
I'd like to echo zelmia's thanks for "all the memorable, lively, intelligent discussions we've had here", and for the zealous oversight of the mods, and for all the laughs and silliness as well.
How's this for mixed feelings....I drove 3 hours to attend a release party --arriving the day before and staying over-- and after walking and doing HP activities all day, stayed up for the midnight release of the book, but dallied about getting into line to pick it up because I couldn't believe it would soon be "over".
But I DID get the book and I have finished the first read.....very satisfying. And it's nice to discover that it's not really "over" after all....I'll be reading it aloud to my son and I'll definately be re-reading. Also, there's the chapter by chapter discussion on the forum. **sighs happily** :-)
- - - - - - - - - -
Madame Pomfrey - Aug 8, 2007 11:04 am (#85 of 85)
I must admit now that book seven has been released and read and reread I am extremely sad.I have spent the last 6 years of my life pouring over these books trying to guess what is coming up and getting so emotionally connected to the characters I feel like I have lost touch with very close friends.How sad is that? Jo said in an interview she wouldn't miss Harry because she knows pretty much what he's up to or something like that.geez,I wished she would share!
Elanor- Hufflepuff Prefect
- Posts : 1440
Join date : 2011-02-19
Age : 51
Location : France
Similar topics» Life after HP: What other book or book series has been your favourite since HP has ended?
» Was anyone disappointed in Book 6?
» Potty Games - Hangman Only, (Vol. III)
» Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (replies will contain SPOILERS)
» Harry Potter Book Read Along Thread - Deathly Hallows
» Was anyone disappointed in Book 6?
» Potty Games - Hangman Only, (Vol. III)
» Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (replies will contain SPOILERS)
» Harry Potter Book Read Along Thread - Deathly Hallows
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|