wolf, thanks a bunch. How long do you think that it will be there? I haven`t much time this morning, but wouldn`t pass the chance up if it will be gone before tonight.
Wolf - I soooo wished you and rascal wished closer - I've love to meet over coffee or beer (depending on the time of day, of course) and talk talk talk about this!
There's only 34 more days for the book and 26 more days until the movie (OOTP) comes out.....
You know? It is amazing how excited I am as we count down the days...how eagerly I look forward to finally getting all of the answeres. Yet....I am grieved that THIS is the last one...the last time that we will look forward to a book release with such excitement....I feel like this is the end of a once in a life time very special thing...nuts eh?
I cannot believe that I am this tied up in a book series that I actually was against for the first four....lol I can remember being disgusted with seeing the people on the news waiting all night in line for the book release....
It was from participating on a thread at way dale that I first had the courage to go ahead and read the first four books to evaluate their suitability for my children....geeze...who`d a thought that it would be me that turned into the fan?
The series has almost been like a measuring stick to mark my progress since leaving twi. From reluctant reading of the first four books, cautiously guarding my thoughts against becoming devil spirit influenced .....to excited anticipation for the release of the order of the phoenix, to full fledged participation in the midnight book release, participating with costumes and all....lol my kids actually one several prizes. We had a quiditch player, a talking picture and blast ended skrewt, a flobber worm and some fresh caught cornish pixies :)
The last book, we were in northern mich where book stores were quite few and far between....my family thought we were INSANE when my sister in law, niece and daughters and myself left the lake where we were camping, and rather than just waiting untill the next morning when we could pick it up in wal mart 30 miles away.... drove an hour and a half to the only book store we could find in the upper penninsula that was having a midnight release party.
We took turns reading out loud by flashlight to one another all the way back to the lake and stayed up most of the night reading together....what fun...what memories.
I don`t know if we are going to wear costumes or not this time, but have always thought it would be fun to wear a toilet seat and go as moaning myrtle.
I know I am getting off topic but I really admire j.k rollins she was a welfare mother in england. She wrote the frist harry potter book mostly in cafes, and now she is a millionare many times over. I never read her books but like her movies.Its a real credit to her, She used the power of her mind by useing her writing skills and look where she is now.
I admire her as well. I have to tell you though, the movies are a very pale comparison to the books friend :) They are greatly simplified in order to fit into the time alotted for a movie. Reading them is a huge treat to avail yourself of one day.
My 10-year-old will be in that line in Kansas City, MO at midnight!!!
Rascal - How far we've come since those early days, eh? I remember talking with you a few years back about this Harry Potter series. It was your view on them that settled my heart about allowing my daughter to read those books and then see the movies. She's absolutely devoured each book like the delicacy they are!
She attended the midnight movie premiere of the last movie as well. Fortunately, her best friend's entire family, grandpa included, are Harry Potter nuts, so she gets to enjoy those festivities with them. I, however; will be soundly asleep at that hour.
I did take her to see one of the movies, but she judged me lame for falling asleep while Harry was battling a fire-breathing dragon! LOL
She mentioned the other day that same anticipation of loss you mentioned earlier - she was stricken by the realization that this book will be IT. I tried to understand and spoke kindly and patiently, but I could see I was no comfort. I handed her the phone and invited her to call her friend's mom, who comiserated properly with her and all was well. Funny, her best friend doesn't read the books, so both the princess and the friend's mom get what they need from each other in terms of talking about the books. LOL
Wow...what a special special treat. When I finished....as I sat stunned and digesting what I had read...my overwhelming thought was that I wished that I could say thank you to the author for the once in a life time treat.
She stayed brilliant to the end.
Bow, I don`t remember that conversation...but I am sure glad that the princess got to enjoy the series. Now it is your turn.
Whew! Finished late last night. What a great ending to a great story... still kept me guessing and wondering about things until the very end. Can't wait to re-read book seven, then start back at the beginning and re-read them all through once more.
Well, I certainly won't argue the point that JK's writing is even, it isn't... never has been. And I certainly wish her editers had taken a firmer hand in some cases to make her style a little more well-balanced. But as you mentioned, neither was Tolkein's writing even (some HORRIBLY long and boring passages in Two Towers and Return of the King) and I still love his work.
I would love to know what your list of promised things was that you say she left out.
Personally, I think if you go back over the books, you will find that the ending makes a great deal of sense. (However, I do plan to go back to the beginning and re-read them all, so I may find some discrepancies I'd forgotten about.)
Did I get frustrated when the main characters seemed to spend chapter after chapter wallowing around at a loss? Oh yeah. But I think it emphasized how much Harry had relied on others to direct his path, and that he had to make that all-important transition to trusting his own instincts (not just in the spur-of-the-moment decisions but in the long term).
I was also a bit surprised at how many deaths there were, but good grief, this is the first book where all-out war has broken out. Previously it was a cat-and-mouse game. Now it's all out in the open and shows, if there was ever any doubt about it, how imperative it is to stop Voldemort.
I was mostly impressed, and I did find the ending satisfying. As a storyteller, I was a bit troubled by two extensive expositions coming right at the climax, but really, I can't think of a better place to have put them.
It sounds like a whole other book could have been written concerning Ginny, Neville, and Luna and the final year at hogwarts with the death eaters as teachers, the tortures that left scars for misdeeds.
How COOL that Neville stepped up to the plate in the absence of the usual leaders amongst the students....
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WordWolf
Fans of the Harry Potter books,
THE THIRD WOMBAT TEST IS OPEN!
That's on JKR's website.
It will be only open for a short time, so don't wait forever!
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WordWolf
I don't normally do this, but I'm bumping the thread so readers can see it in time...
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rascal
Wolf, How do I register to take it? I can pull the id card, but it wants an established student id.
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WordWolf
No, you're trying to get scores.
What you want to do is sneak in and take the next test.
First, click on the eraser on the desk- it is a Portkey.
It takes you to the door to take the (TIMED) test.
You can spend time working it out yourself, but last time, I wasted a lot of time
on that. So, per Mugglenet, here's the access:
1. Click on the fly (on the window). It turns into a key.
2. Drag this to the keyhole.
3. Stack the shapes on top of each other: Triangle on line, circle on triangle.
4. Click this shape, then click the exam paper to begin.
Expect it to be hard.
Part II was.
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rascal
wolf, thanks a bunch. How long do you think that it will be there? I haven`t much time this morning, but wouldn`t pass the chance up if it will be gone before tonight.
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WordWolf
Honestly couldn't say, there's no posted time and apparently it went up Thursday.
I'd take it tonight. Make sure you have about 45 minutes of uninterrupted time.
It's a TIMED test.
It's also amazingly difficult.
The last one was hard-this one is harder.
If I get the same score this time as I did last time, I'll be impressed.
Oh, and the entry code:
by one ON the other, that doesn't mean stacked in a pile,
it means each superimposed on the last, into one symbol.
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ChasUFarley
Wolf - I soooo wished you and rascal wished closer - I've love to meet over coffee or beer (depending on the time of day, of course) and talk talk talk about this!
There's only 34 more days for the book and 26 more days until the movie (OOTP) comes out.....
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WordWolf
So, Chas,
did you take the WOMBAT?
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ChasUFarley
not yet - i've been burning the candle at both ends this week with work and home projects. i will tho...
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rascal
You know? It is amazing how excited I am as we count down the days...how eagerly I look forward to finally getting all of the answeres. Yet....I am grieved that THIS is the last one...the last time that we will look forward to a book release with such excitement....I feel like this is the end of a once in a life time very special thing...nuts eh?
I cannot believe that I am this tied up in a book series that I actually was against for the first four....lol I can remember being disgusted with seeing the people on the news waiting all night in line for the book release....
It was from participating on a thread at way dale that I first had the courage to go ahead and read the first four books to evaluate their suitability for my children....geeze...who`d a thought that it would be me that turned into the fan?
The series has almost been like a measuring stick to mark my progress since leaving twi. From reluctant reading of the first four books, cautiously guarding my thoughts against becoming devil spirit influenced .....to excited anticipation for the release of the order of the phoenix, to full fledged participation in the midnight book release, participating with costumes and all....lol my kids actually one several prizes. We had a quiditch player, a talking picture and blast ended skrewt, a flobber worm and some fresh caught cornish pixies :)
The last book, we were in northern mich where book stores were quite few and far between....my family thought we were INSANE when my sister in law, niece and daughters and myself left the lake where we were camping, and rather than just waiting untill the next morning when we could pick it up in wal mart 30 miles away.... drove an hour and a half to the only book store we could find in the upper penninsula that was having a midnight release party.
We took turns reading out loud by flashlight to one another all the way back to the lake and stayed up most of the night reading together....what fun...what memories.
I don`t know if we are going to wear costumes or not this time, but have always thought it would be fun to wear a toilet seat and go as moaning myrtle.
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WordWolf
I just wish I could find another S.P.E.W. button....
In other news, the W.O.M.B.A.T. grades are in!
Click on the WOMBAT card on the desktop, enter your Student ID Code,
then click on the envelope to open it and get your grade....
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nyunknown
I know I am getting off topic but I really admire j.k rollins she was a welfare mother in england. She wrote the frist harry potter book mostly in cafes, and now she is a millionare many times over. I never read her books but like her movies.Its a real credit to her, She used the power of her mind by useing her writing skills and look where she is now.
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rascal
I admire her as well. I have to tell you though, the movies are a very pale comparison to the books friend :) They are greatly simplified in order to fit into the time alotted for a movie. Reading them is a huge treat to avail yourself of one day.
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WordWolf
Both can be enjoyed for what they are.
I try not to judge the movies or the books against each other.
Except where something I think is critical may be left out.
*cough 3rd movie cough*
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ChasUFarley
Anyone gonna be in line for the new book on 07/21/07 at 12AM? :)
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Raf
I will not be on line, but I will be watching out for the UPS truck!
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bowtwi
My 10-year-old will be in that line in Kansas City, MO at midnight!!!
Rascal - How far we've come since those early days, eh? I remember talking with you a few years back about this Harry Potter series. It was your view on them that settled my heart about allowing my daughter to read those books and then see the movies. She's absolutely devoured each book like the delicacy they are!
She attended the midnight movie premiere of the last movie as well. Fortunately, her best friend's entire family, grandpa included, are Harry Potter nuts, so she gets to enjoy those festivities with them. I, however; will be soundly asleep at that hour.
I did take her to see one of the movies, but she judged me lame for falling asleep while Harry was battling a fire-breathing dragon! LOL
She mentioned the other day that same anticipation of loss you mentioned earlier - she was stricken by the realization that this book will be IT. I tried to understand and spoke kindly and patiently, but I could see I was no comfort. I handed her the phone and invited her to call her friend's mom, who comiserated properly with her and all was well. Funny, her best friend doesn't read the books, so both the princess and the friend's mom get what they need from each other in terms of talking about the books. LOL
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rascal
Wow...what a special special treat. When I finished....as I sat stunned and digesting what I had read...my overwhelming thought was that I wished that I could say thank you to the author for the once in a life time treat.
She stayed brilliant to the end.
Bow, I don`t remember that conversation...but I am sure glad that the princess got to enjoy the series. Now it is your turn.
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TheHighWay
Whew! Finished late last night. What a great ending to a great story... still kept me guessing and wondering about things until the very end. Can't wait to re-read book seven, then start back at the beginning and re-read them all through once more.
A treat, indeed!!
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WordWolf
I disagree.
It was an acceptable read, but I was expecting a lot better.
For one thing, the middle dragged, and we had a few chapters of "and nothing much happened to our heroes."
I've seen that twice before, and hated it both times.
(Once in "Return of the King", once in "the Great Hunt.")
It's forgiveable, but annoying.
For another, JKR had promised to include several things, and they're nowhere to be seen.
That includes a number of elements introduced in Book 5
("Why is Book 5 so big?" "I had to include a lot of things I'll be using later..." -paraphrased)
And I found the ending didn't sound like it makes sense on paper.
I'll need to recheck to see if it does.
I don't mind character death, but a number of them just seemed thrown in to rack up the body count.
I've been objecting to that in stories for years now, and JKR doesn't get a free pass on that.
I DID find the "Aliens" semi-quote amusing, but I imagine some parents won't find it so.
And when someone has a few weeks to do nothing BUT make up a plan, (infiltrate the MoM),
I expect them to have worked out the most obvious aspects like "entrance", and especially "exit",
and "what to do if the obvious things don't work right".
For some clever kids that had nothing BUT time to think and plan, they sure made some easy-to-avoid mistakes.
Then again, it's not like they were properly prepared for this- DD's plans fell FAR short of giving them all the information
they needed.
I considered it a passable read- but a lot of "this will make sense later, I promise!" stuff...never did.
I have the distinct impression-based on a partial list of what was promised and never included- that JKR never made a list
of the things she had to include to bring the series to a successful close, and just winged it and went from memory.
Me, I had a partial list memorized, and it was mostly left out.
There were some good scenes, but as a whole, I found it inadequate to the task of ending the series.
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TheHighWay
Well, I certainly won't argue the point that JK's writing is even, it isn't... never has been. And I certainly wish her editers had taken a firmer hand in some cases to make her style a little more well-balanced. But as you mentioned, neither was Tolkein's writing even (some HORRIBLY long and boring passages in Two Towers and Return of the King) and I still love his work.
I would love to know what your list of promised things was that you say she left out.
Personally, I think if you go back over the books, you will find that the ending makes a great deal of sense. (However, I do plan to go back to the beginning and re-read them all, so I may find some discrepancies I'd forgotten about.)
Did I get frustrated when the main characters seemed to spend chapter after chapter wallowing around at a loss? Oh yeah. But I think it emphasized how much Harry had relied on others to direct his path, and that he had to make that all-important transition to trusting his own instincts (not just in the spur-of-the-moment decisions but in the long term).
I was also a bit surprised at how many deaths there were, but good grief, this is the first book where all-out war has broken out. Previously it was a cat-and-mouse game. Now it's all out in the open and shows, if there was ever any doubt about it, how imperative it is to stop Voldemort.
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Raf
I was mostly impressed, and I did find the ending satisfying. As a storyteller, I was a bit troubled by two extensive expositions coming right at the climax, but really, I can't think of a better place to have put them.
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rascal
I am sorry, but what is an extensive exposition?
It sounds like a whole other book could have been written concerning Ginny, Neville, and Luna and the final year at hogwarts with the death eaters as teachers, the tortures that left scars for misdeeds.
How COOL that Neville stepped up to the plate in the absence of the usual leaders amongst the students....
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Raf
Extensive exposition is when you stop the action to explain things you need to know for the action that follows it to make sense.
I'm creating a spoiler thread so those who've read this already can discuss the plot more openly. It will be called "Don't Read This Unless..."
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