The Harry Potter Book Thread

[foreverpiper]

YAY!! a harry potter thread! well i guess i'll do that spoiler space thing...



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ok, so anyway, here are my thougths on the book



1. i thought this was the best book shes written so far...not only did it explain things that were left unanswered all the way from the first book, but it brought back many beloved characters (ie: sirius and lupin)



2. there were several people i LOVED and HATED in the book...here they are



Loved:



- Hermione (need i even explain)

- Fred and George (just the way that got that HORRIBLE umbridge woman was just great)

- Dumbledore (i loved him in this more than i have in any other book! it really brought out his powerful side in which we havent seen previous to this book...we've just heard of it, but never experienced it)

- Profesor McGonagall ( i loved LOVED her!! so many little things she did against umbridge...like the part in the career advice chapter when she totally dissed umbridge...and when peeves was trying to cause cahos and drop something she whispered to him that the knob turned the other way)

- lupin (i've always liked lupin, so i just thought i'd add him)



HATED

- umbridge (i hated her more than iv'e hated anyone ever before!! she was so annoying and horrible that every time she made an apperience my stomach just dropped...her apperences made me literally scream at my book...she was, in my opinion, more horrible than snape)

- hagrid (i just really didnt like him in this book at all...whats he thinking! bringing a giant into the woods, much less asking teenagers to watch him!!)

- fudge (ooh!! that arrogent little bastard!!! not listening to reason at all!! words cant even expalin it!)

- percy (that little prat!! i cant believe he'd do that to his parents!!)





now harry...sometimes i liked him, but others he was just really annoying...i could understand about the dumledores office thing, but in the begining i couldnt believe him...acting all supirior! grr on him. and i got so sick of the him and cho thing after a while...mostly it was the way he treated his friends and snapped at them like so many of you have said...least now we have proof that guys can have pms too



heh, well theres my 2 1/2 cents

And never let it be said that I left a Tara craving unsatisfied. - Willow in Wilderness

[dazed and confused]

Was going to reply a few days ago when I had finished the book but I've been so busy lately. Can't believe I got the book done in the first place. Took me 2 1/2 days to read and I am planning to go back and read all 5 books again, as soon as my annoying summer classes are finished.



Anyway, on to the book...WOW. My first impression was WOW, this definitely can't be considered a children's book anymore. It's at very least, young adult fiction. I'm so happy that the books are maturing with the characters. It started with book 4 and the darkness toward the end but this book was incredibly dark all the way through.



I admit, I felt angry while reading too...or maybe not angry as much as I was annoyed. Annoyed with Harry. The self-centered, whiny, snot-nosed, egotistical little prick. Then again, who isn't at age 15? I mean really, I've taught 9th graders (14-15 year olds) and my god, they think the whole world revolves around them. Rowling did an excellent job of portraying an adolescent boy, struggling through puberty, who just so happens to have special powers that make him feel, even more so, that he should be the center of attention at all times. I can forgive his behavior in this book if Rowling lets him mature through the next installment and learn how to deal with all of his issues and realize that there are other people in the universe who don't care that he's the amazing Potter boy. In fact I blame a lot of his horrid behavior in this installment to the fact that for the past 4 years at Hogwarts and in his life, people have been catering to his every whim and he's been treated like a celebrity...now all of a sudden, it's stopped.



I have to make a quick analogy, so please bear with me. I think if you look at book five compared to S5 of BtVS you'll see a lot of parallels between the title characters. Both are struggling to figure out exactly who they are and where they fit in. They both ignore the pain and suffering of their friends and dwell on the fact that their problems are worse than everyone else's. And in the end, they both come to realize that ultimately, the answer to the problem (the "big bad" dwelling out there) lies in their hands alone. Just thought it was an interesting correlation.



As for the death, I too feel that this isn't the last time we'll see or hear from Sirius. Why would Rowling mention the portal again if we weren't going to revisit it? She's much more together than and I don't see her leaving something like that unfinished.



I too love the strong, independent female characters in these books, specifically Hermione and McGonagal. Talk about empowerment. Thank you JK for giving us some strong women to relate to. I personally would love to see Ron and Hermione together, if Ron would grow up and stop using her for her brain and start respecting her for her enormous wealth of knowledge. I do not however, want to see Harry end up with Ginny. It's kinda squicky to me. Kinda like incest...Harry's kinda like a big brother.



I felt Rowling did an amazing job with the auxiliary characters in this installment, like Umbridge, Fudge, the Weasley family, random students, the inquisitors at the MoM and the members of the OotP. She brought them to life and their interactions with the core characters were believable and natural. I didn't feel that any of the events or conversations in the book seemed forced. I loved and hated these characters just as much, if not more than the core characters.



As for the core characters themselves, I want to bow down and praise Rowling for giving us character development. How nice is it to read about a character that you've been following for 4 years and seeing them mature and grow along with you instead of placing them into a mold and never letting them out. I truly enjoyed the development and explanation of Neville's and Snape's story lines and loved the little touches like, meeting up with Gilderoy Lockhart at St. Mungo's. I could just hear him saying, "I didn't learn joined together letters for nothing, you know." God that made me laugh.



I am eagerly awaiting the next installment but right now, i have to get to sleep...for those of you who have read it, I'd appreciate your comments and would love to chat about this and all the books. For those of you who haven't, enjoy the read. All the best,

Erica

[urnofosiris]

Well, I am glad I am not the only one who was more than a bit annoyed with Harry in this book.

Quote:

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The self-centered, whiny, snot-nosed, egotistical little prick. Then again, who isn't at age 15?

---

Well Hermione, Neville and Ron aren't. Nope, not even Ron who can be annoying as well at times. If Harry had been made prefect instead of Ron, I think Ron would have been jealous of Harry, like Harry was of him, only not for the same reason. Unlike Harry, Ron would not have been jealous because he considered himself better than Harry, but more because he would have wished he was as good as Harry. He already is in my book, heh, pardon the pun. Harry however considered himself better than Ron and that is one of his many less charming moments in this book.



I don't want to keep harping on Harry though. There is so much more to the book than his brattiness. It was so fascinating get to know everyone better and even the characters that showed their toad-like faces (I just love J.K. Rowling's descriptive talents, it is so easy to picture everyone in your mind) for the first time, were well rounded. It was interesting to follow the Black family tree, Black and Draco being cousins once removed was a bit of a surprise.



The flashbacks into Snape's past idem ditto. I am sure Snape will play an important part in the end. As for Sirius, the way he dies and that portal thing suggest it isn't the end of him, however J.K. Rowling has stressed in her interview that this character is really dead and he isn't coming back. Sir Nicholas tells Harry the exact same thing, which leads me to believe that Harry will get some kind of closing moment with him in the end.



I have read this book so fast that I sometimes skipped entire sentences in my haste to finish it. I think I will take it with me on the plane and reread it at a slower pace and see what details I've missed. I may start with part 4 again, or part 3. Not parts one and two because I have read them twice already and after having seen the movies several times as well, that's enough.

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Coffee, Food, Kisses and Gay Love........Get it while you are hot

[Consolata]

Well, I really enjoyed the book. My favorite character developments were Neville, Snape, and Ginny. I am looking for a Ginny/Harry pairing. She's great fun like her brothers, Fred and George and I like that she's not so lost in her crush on him anymore. Hermione and Ron argue like a married couple but I don't think they should get together. The 2nd movie sets it up a bit but the books don't.

I agree that Snape is not the easy villian anymore and Harry stepped over the line by looking at his memories but then we wouldn't have gotten that great flashback and the particular disillusionment one feels when one first sees their parents in a not so good light.

Harry's anger. I felt it was right on with being a teenager in his predicament. I would never never never want to go back to being a teenager. I think a bunch of his anger/frustration comes from potentially being very powerful and a bunch of the time feeling absolutely powerless. Plus the fact that he's dealing with living life and something/someone trying to kill him all the time and having been kept in the dark about important aspects of his past and his 'destiny'. I empathize with him and at the same time if I were his friend he could not all the time be taking his frustration out on me.

My favorite part of the book was when Dumbledore explains things and told him why he didn't make him a prefect. I got all emotional. Even though he is parentless, he has a lot of love surrounding him and maybe as he matures in the next couple of books, we'll get to see him acknowledge and appreciate it.

dear God, I'm here..I'm here.

[Scout]

Okay, I'm about halfway through the book, and although I'm enjoying the story and the writing very much, I have to say that the whole hand-cutting incident really bothered me.



I know I'm being overly sensitive, but the fact that Harry kept getting himself into detention and then wouldn't tell any teacher about what Umbridge was doing to him all bordered on a kind of self-mutilation kick. I just found it troubling that Harry did nothing to stop her (I don’t buy that she couldn't be challenged - McGonagall would have put a stop to it), and I didn't find him brave or noble for enduring it either. For a kids' book, it was just downright disturbing.



Anyway, I had to vent that, so thank you.



My favorite exchange so far was Fred and George telling Zacharias, “Would you like us to clean out your ears for you. Or any part of your body, really, we’re not fussy where we stick this.” hehe



Going back to reading now....

[urnofosiris]

Well I am sure J.K. Rowling will probably be getting some lovely fanletters from the more conservative parental figures to add to her collection.

I really can't think of the Harry Potter series as childrens books though, they literally appeal to all ages and they definitely aren't for the very young or faint hearted.



That handwriting thing was rather gruesome, I too was not all that impressed by Harry keeping his mouth shut. If she was doing it to him she probably was doing it to someone else as well (as is made clear for at least one other student later on), she was literally getting away with torture and I have a hard time believing even the ministry of magic could get away with tormenting students. The fact that Harry kept losing his temper and getting another detention did not strike me as bravely rebellious but rather annoyingly unwise. I am tempted to say more, but scout, you really should be a little unspoiled at least.

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Coffee, Food, Kisses and Gay Love........Get it while you are hot

[Scout]

Yeah G, I agree – it’s not a children’s book. I keep thinking about the listing on Amazon that said “reading level: ages 9-12;” but that doesn’t mean I’d want my 8-year-old nephew reading it.



And I hadn’t thought about what you said regarding Umbridge doing it to other students – she could be torturing others as well. She was a real piece of work.



And thank you for not spoiling me unnecessarily. I’ve purposely slowed down my reading so I can really enjoy the book, but I am anxious to see how it turns out and to see Umbridge get hers.



Later!

[Scout]

Well, I finished it, and overall it was a great read – lots of adventure and drama with some truly funny lines thrown in.



People who I was glad to see get more story time were Fred and George, Ginny, Neville, and McGonagall – who rocked!



I agree with much of what has already been said. Hagrid showed unbelievably bad judgment in asking Harry and the gang to watch the giant upon his departure. Sirius was just as reckless and irresponsible at times. Umbridge, Fudge, and Bellatrix seemingly got away with everything – I can only pray that in future books more revenge is headed their way. And Hermione is almost always right and they should all shut up and listen to her (btw, Harry could have ended the SPEW knitting if he had just been decent and told her Dobby was taking the clothes).



It’s clear Harry was not meant to be very likeable in this book and most of the time he wasn’t. I never felt sorry for him until the end when Sirius died. I personally liked Sirius, despite his recklessness, because he seemed to care for Harry, and Harry cared for him as well. Sirius was also one of the best people to provide a direct link to Harry’s past, and I felt that killing yet another of Harry’s “parents” might have been a bit unnecessary and over the top, but I’ll have to wait and see what comes of his death in future books.



I was glad Cho left Harry. I honestly think that she can do better than Harry, who was so uncompassionate and insensitive about her feelings. He worried more about Hagrid looking sad in the bar than he did about Cho’s feelings – not exactly top-notch boyfriend material.



As for Snape, I think that was one of the grayer areas of the book. I hate Snape almost on a level with Umbridge because despite being bullied himself, he loves to bully people and he continuously favors the Slytherins, no matter what they do. I understand him a little more now, but I still find it hard to like him, even though he comes through for Harry when it counts.



As for Snape’s memories, Harry should not have looked in the bowl because Snape did not give him permission. Harry came to the lessons of his own free will and voluntarily submitted to Snape’s invasions during the lessons, but Snape never told Harry he could go to the bowl and look at what was there. Snape can be an obnoxious jerk, but I think Harry was wrong.



Harry has a lot of maturing and developing to do in the next two books, and it’s crucial to the story that it happens. He has to learn more about what friendship and loyalty means, and he has to learn how to put other people’s feelings first. He also has to learn how to discipline his anger and his reactions. Right now he’s a very loose yet powerful cannon, and I think they’ll all be in greater danger until he can get better control of himself.

[urnofosiris]

He does need to learn some control, or hopefully he will finally start to listen to Hermione or confide in Dumbledore more. Going to the ministry of magic was such a careless thing to do. Voldemort could have put up a big flashing neon sign saying deadly trap to your left and Harry still would have walked right into it, taking his friends who have always backed him up with him.



I hated Snape in the first three books or so, but I have gradually grown to dislike him less, and after this book I feel more sympathetic towards him. I remain puzzled that he appears to favour Malfoy, when his father is a death eater and Snape being a former death eater faces a fate maybe worse than Harry does if he ever comes face to face with Voldemort again. I am interested to see if more will be explained about him in the next parts.



I too am glad that the thing with Cho was short lived. She really can do better than Harry. I really liked Ron's shocked reaction when he found out his little sister had been dating (before Ron himself even heh). I am glad she got a bigger part in this book and she seems to be showing the same common sense Hermione does.



Anyway, all the cards are on the table now, the wizard world finally knows Voldemort is back and that Harry had been telling the truth all along. I look forward to the next part all the more now. I wonder whether Draco and his Slytherins will still have such a big mouth now that their parents have been exposed. I wonder whether the Dursleys will finally stop treating Harry like crap now that they can no longer deny the truth, or whether it will be the same summer from hell as always. Oh and I am curious who will be the defense against the dark arts teacher this time. Hee.

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Coffee, Food, Kisses and Gay Love........Get it while you are hot

[Scout]

Yeah G, I get the feeling that Snape and Harry are on a path together, so I think we’ll see more development in Snape’s character in the final books – maybe even find out why he seems to straddle the fence so much (protecting Harry, but siding with Draco).



You also brought up a good point about Harry turning in the parents of certain students. If Draco had reason to resent Harry before, he really has a big reason now. Things could get really nasty with Draco in the upcoming books.



Regarding the Dursleys, I did hear a rumor that in the future the battle with Voldemort will bleed over into the Muggle world and that Harry and friends warn the Dursleys, who choose to believe them. Not sure how true that is, but the idea of Voldemort somehow threatening the Muggle world is an interesting one.

[urnofosiris]

Ah I'm sure Voldemort will threaten the muggle world as well, it would make it harder for his enemies to fight him if they have to be protecting muggles at the same time.

Harry's decision to go to the ministry to rescue Sirius, eventhough that actually ended up causing him his life did yield some good, some of the death eaters finally got caught, specifically Malfoy. That pleases me because he really was getting on my nerves and Draco can't hide behind daddy anymore. You are right, he'll probably get even more nasty now, that is saying something. Also of course, the exposure of Voldemort to the rest of the wizard world before he was good and ready to expose himself was a good thing. I found Fudge's pathological denial rather disturbing and it was really good that he got to eat humble pie. I would have liked to have read the scene where Dumbledore deals with him.

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Coffee, Food, Kisses and Gay Love........Get it while you are hot

[Always410]

*laughs* I'M one of those kids who stand in line waiting for it to come out in stores! Great books though, so its worth standing in line for about......4 hours? And I think we were at the END of the line....*shrugs* Amber likes 'em too. Even better! Cant wait for the 6th one!

Tara: Willow, you are using too much magick. What do you want me to do, sit back and keep my mouth shut?

Willow: Well that'd be a good start.

Tara: (Shocked) If I didn''t love you so damn much I would!

[Scout]

I know this is the book thread, but I didn't know if anyone wanted to see the new trailer for the third movie, "The Prisoner of Azkaban." It's pretty good - I like the music, and you get to see how the kids have aged. You also get a look at Sirius and the new Dumbledore. The movie will be out in June 2004.



Prisoner of Azkaban

[jadeo0]

The last two movies were kind of a disappointment compared to the books. But I guess it's harder to create the atmosphere that Rowling visualized when all you have is the book to guide you. Anyways, the trailer looks pretty good. Maybe it won't be a flop after all

A dose of Amber makes my day.

jess

[Scout]

Yeah, the Harry Potter series really illustrates the limitations of the book-to-movie conversion process. You just can't get all that literary goodness into a movie.



The one thing I can compliment the HP people on is that they try to stay true to the books. I've seen so many movies that were so different from their original books ("A Beautiful Mind" for example). At least the HP films seem to make a sincere effort to honor Rowling's vision.

[themagicpixie]

The trailer for Azkaban makes it look better than the first two films, but I guess we won't know until the film is actually here... I think it's cool that Alfonso Cuaron is directing this one, I really want to see what he does with it.



Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix disappointed me a bit because it seemed like not very much happened. I was also frustrated with the way the characters behaved - especially Harry. Perhaps JK Rowling is trying to get that reaction out of her audience, I don't know... but I wanted Dolores Umbridge to suffer some consequences directly as a result of her being cruel enough to use the "handwriting" punishment.



And why didn't Harry just use the mirror to get in touch with Sirius? I guess he forgot, but why doesn't he say at the end: oh no, I forgot the mirror, I could have saved all of this if I had used it...



I have heard some complain that Hagrid isn't in this book enough, but I'm glad, as personally, I don't like Hagrid!

[urnofosiris]

Shinnen has started a thread for the Harry Potter movies on Genuine Molded Plastic. There will of course be overlap between these threads, but please continue movie centric discussion in the Harry Potter movie thread.

The last mosquito that bit me had to check into the Betty Ford Clinic.

--Patsy Stone

[jadeo0]

Don't know if this is appropriate, but just for a little bit of dirty humour concerning the male anatomy, I decided to try it out (Mods, feel free to move or delete this if it is any way offending or goes against board rules. Cheers!).



My friend (who has a hell of a lot more time on his hands than me) decided to replace the word "wand" with "wang" in certain areas of the Harry Potter books. What happened with this is below

Quote:

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"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.

"Oh, well -- I was at Hogwarts meself but I -- er -- got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wang in half an' everything



A magic wang... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.



"Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wang. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wang for charm work."

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wang. Eleven inches."



Harry took the wang. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wang above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls



"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wang, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"



The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wang had still been in his hand when he'd jumped - it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.



He bent down and pulled his wang out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.



He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wang, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wang at the dementors. Shot silver stuff at them.

"Yes," Harry said, gripping his wang very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding.... Any second now, he might hear his mother again... but he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn't want to... or did he?

Something silver-white, something enormous, erupted from the end of his wang.



Then, with a sigh, he raised his wang and prodded the silvery substance with its tip.



'Get - off - me!' Harry gasped. For a few seconds they struggled, Harry pulling at his uncles sausage-like fingers with his left hand, his right maintaining a firm grip on his raised wang.

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A dose of Amber makes my day.

jess

[Karmah]

Jess LMFAO thats classic







I loved book 5 Fred & George was the best characters in this book IMO they had me lmao. Hermione was brilliantly written as ever and Ron seemed to be not such a dunderhead in this book which was refreshing I was glad to see him become prefict I thought it should have been Harry but I understood Dumbleore's reasons and to that extent he was right Harry doesn't need the stress he already deals with so much and to always be cast out because he is the boy with the destiny Its ironic that his first 11 years he was unloved and wanted and now when he is not being called a liar and a troublemaker he is like a celebrity. All and All I was impressed with book 5 it was even better than book 3 which till this point had been my fav. and I am having small fits over when I am going to find out for sure whether Sirus is going to get another appearance I loved that character and am sorry to see him leave. the most surprising thing about this book was that it made me feel bad for Snape and I detest him but now I see him as a someone trying to overcome his past and his hatered of Potter makes sense he was love with his mother and she choose Harry's father who would torment snake for fun . But the fact that Voldimort was a muggleblood too threw me I mean Slithern is all about the pure blood and yet they follow a half muggle. I can't wait for the 3rd movie I am waiting to see how the dementors are going to appear on screen.

Arron

What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

~ by Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

[willowlove]

From bloomsbury.com, the British publisher of the Harry Potter books, comes news of a webchat featuring her.



Special note for Tipping the Velvet fans: one of the other scheduled guests is Sarah Waters.



Full text of PR release:



J K Rowling launches the second World Book Day Online Festival

http://www.worldbookdayfestival.com



Readers across the world will have the opportunity to chat online with

JK Rowling when she launches the second World Book Day Online Festival on Thursday 4th March.



The bestselling author will talk to children about her books, her writing and the kind of books she likes to read. And during the chat, JK Rowling will answer twelve special questions from the winners of the Festival competition open to all UK schools.



Readers will be able to access the World Book Day Online Festival at their local library via the People’s Network, which provides internet access in all UK public libraries. Libraries will also be programming thousands of special activities on the day. The Festival films and transcripts of the web chats will then be archived at http://www.worldbookdayfestival.com so they can be visited over and over again.



The Festival is funded, for the second year running, by Arts Council England. Last year’s Festival site attracted three quarters of a million hits from over 60 countries on World Book Day; readers in 100 countries continue to use the site via the Festival archive.



For 2004, twelve other bestselling writers, including Nick Hornby, Jacqueline Wilson, Benjamin Zephaniah and Minette Walters, will join JK Rowling for what promises to be an even larger Festival. In a mixture of specially-commissioned films, online chats and a discussion forum for readers of every age, the World Book Day Online Festival will also feature:-



Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt - a unique and hilarious double act plus an audience of lively five year olds, filmed at the Sunshine Library in Wakefield



Minette Walters — the CWA Gold Dagger winning crime writer focuses on her reading life and the books and authors that have influenced her own work



Sarah Waters — the author of Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith shows how she brings history so vividly to life in her bestselling novels



Debi Gliori — a Teddy Bear’s picnic for the Under 5s with the author and illustrator of the very popular Mr Bear books



Jamila Gavin —the Whitbread award-winning author of Coram Boy in a live web chat



Jacqueline Wilson — this much-loved children’s writer receives over 300 fan letters every week. She replies to every one. This film shows what those letters mean to her and how they affect her writing



Benjamin Zephaniah — filmed in performance at Westminster Hall, Zephaniah talks about the importance of performance poetry in his early reading life as well as overcoming dyslexia



Jackie Kay — an online chat with the popular and award-winning poet who has now made the transition to novels



Nick Hornby — talking about the film adaptations of his bestselling books, including Fever Pitch, High Fidelity and About a Boy



Anthony Horowitz — Anthony Horowitz is filmed at the London Aquarium talking about his super-spy boy hero, Alex Rider, and we hear from some of his greatest fans.



Tony Hawks — the grand finale to WBD - a web chat with the author of Round Ireland with a Fridge, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, and whose latest book recounts his hilarious attempts to make a hit record

A full programme of events follows.

- ends -



Notes to Editors

World Book Day 2004 is on Thursday 4th March.



Click on http://www.worldbookdayfestival.com to view the first ever World Book Day Online Festival.



Photographs of all the authors taking part in the World Book Day Online Festival are available from Colman Getty PR.



The World Book Day Online Festival brings together key partners - World Book Day, The Reading Agency, Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, Society of Chief Librarians, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.



The Reading Agency is the national development agency for libraries working with readers. It is founded on the principle that reading has infinite potential for making life richer and that libraries are the most democratic medium for bringing reading to people. The Reading Agency is managing the Festival, on behalf of the Festival partners.



The People's Network connects all public libraries to the internet, as part of the Government's commitment to give everyone in the UK the opportunity to get online. There are now more than 4000 library ICT centres available throughout the UK. The People's Network is lottery funded by the New Opportunities Fund and managed by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries. Further information is available from the People's Network website at http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk.



Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries — Museums, archives and libraries connect people to knowledge and information, creativity and inspiration. Resource is leading the drive to unlock this wealth for all. The Resource website can be viewed at http://www.resource.gov.uk.



The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) is the body representing Chief Librarians. SCL takes a leading role in the development of public libraries by influencing statutory, financial and other decisions.



CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers, with over 22,000 members working in all library and information sectors. http://www.cilip.org.uk.



More information about World Book Day is also available from the WBD web site http://www.worldbookday.com, sponsored by The Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland.



Book Tokens Ltd is the leading sponsor of World Book Day 2003 and has sponsored, for the fifth year running, both the production of 14 million — one for every schoolchild in the UK and Ireland - £1 World Book Day Book Tokens and the World Book Day Schools’ Pack. World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is a joint venture between The Publishers Association and The Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland.



Spokespeople for the World Book Day campaign and authors are available for interview through Colman Getty PR.



For more information about World Book Day, contact



Liz Sich or Laura Creyke

Colman Getty PR,

Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland Street,

London, W1T 4JE

Tel: 020 7631 2666

Fax: 020 7631 2699

e-mail: liz@colmangettypr.co.uk or laura@colmangettypr.co.uk





Colman Getty PR

November 2003

[WebWarlock]

Ok Book Six will not be out till July, but it is already on everyone's top ten sales lists (and number 1 on most) in pre-sales alone!



www.chicagotribune.com/bu...agebiz-utl

Quote:

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Potter's latest already magic

No. 6 in successful series not due until July but is adding holiday warmth to the whole industry



By Becky Yerak

Tribune staff reporter

Published December 22, 2004



Harry Potter can still work his magic at the cash register.



Hours after the announcement Tuesday that the sixth installment in the boy-wizard series will appear on bookshelves on July 16, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" shot to the top of the best-seller lists due to a rush of pre-sales.



Stocks of publishers and book retailers rose sharply, too.



In a literary development sure to spark a "Who shot J.R.?" debate among the series' young fans--and to create sales buzz--author J.K. Rowling teased that one of the main characters will be killed in the sixth book. She has also said the seventh book will be the last in the series.



Pre-sale orders landed "Half-Blood Prince" in the No. 1 spot on Barnes & Noble's Top 100 and on Amazon.com's best-seller list as of Tuesday evening. Both are selling the book for $18, 40 percent lower than the $30 suggested price.



Shares of Scholastic Corp., the book's U.S. publisher, rose 4.2 percent Tuesday to close at $37.44 and surpass its 52-week high. In London, Rowling's British publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC saw shares surge 7 percent to an all-time high of $5.69.



Retailers saw share gains, too. Borders Group Inc. added 1.5 percent, Barnes & Noble Inc. rose 2.5 percent and Amazon.com Inc. gained 1.1 percent.



"The release of Harry Potter No. 6 is expected to be a major publishing event in 2005, with the book likely to be, by a large margin, the largest-selling trade book of the year," Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert said in a note about Scholastic.



The sixth book could sell about 11.6 million copies nationally, "which appears realistic when compared to the 13.4 million hard-cover copies of Harry Potter No. 5 currently in U.S. circulation," he said.



Indeed, expectations among booksellers will be high.



"Sales from the last Harry Potter book grossed as much as a major Hollywood movie in its first week of release," Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, said in a statement Tuesday.



"We expect this next book in the series to make publishing history once again. We've already collected 500,000 e-mail requests from our customers waiting to be notified of the date of the next book. so this announcement is very welcome news for readers everywhere."



About 260 million copies of the fantasy series, which debuted in 1997, have sold worldwide.



Barbara's Bookstore, a Chicago chain, said it will order a similar number of initial copies for the sixth Harry Potter as it did the fifth.



"Expectations are that it will be as big as the previous ones," General Manager Debi Morris said. Moreover, the question of which character gets killed off "certainly keeps people interested in reading it," she said.



If the past is the best indicator of future success, Rowling likely has another hit.



"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the series' fifth book, was released on June 21, 2003, and became the fastest-selling title in history on the first weekend of its publication. All five Harry Potter books have been No. 1 best-sellers.



"It looks like Christmas will be coming in July next year," Allan MacDougall, chief executive officer of Raincoast Books, Potter's Canadian publisher, said in a statement. Raincoast has sold 8 million copies of the first five books in the series, making it the best-selling series in Canadian publishing history.



The sixth takes up the story of the adolescent's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.



As recently as Dec. 10, Rowling, who is pregnant with her third child, sounded like the sixth book wouldn't arrive soon.



"I have nothing noteworthy to report because I have been spending nearly all my time sitting in front of my computer writing, re-writing and taking the occasional break to bang my head off the desk in frustration or rub my hands together in fiendish glee," she said on her Web site, jkrowling.com.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

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I LOVED the fifth book. I just finished a bit ago and it was fantastic.



I can't wait for this one.



If you get a chance go to J.K. Rowling's website.

www.jkrowling.com/



It rocks, and she has a thing or two to say about Potter shippers and Star Wars.



Warlock

Web Warlock, web.warlock@comcast.net, The Other Side.

Liber Mysterium: The D20 Netbook of Witches & The Dragon and the Phoenix: New Adventures of Willow and Tara

"But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight, Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight"

- "Lovers In A Dangerous Time", Bruce Cockburn.

Edited by: WebWarlock at: 12/22/04 12:49 pm

[urnofosiris]

I am really looking forward to the new book. It is too bad it is going to be shorter, but I think she said book 7 will probably be very long because she won´t be able to let it go, heh. Here´s hoping. I saw a slightly old TV interview with JK Rowling on BBC world a couple of days ago and I read some of her comments on her website as well. That lady kicks ass and I am happy for every bit of good fortune that she has earned.

[Repost Moderator]

Originally posted by sheba


The name of the thread says it all! I'm getting the book in a couple of hours from now, and I was wondering if there were any others on the board who're fans of the novel?

Let the comments flow!

[Repost Moderator]

Originally posted by GayNow

I'm certainly a fan...read all the books, own all the movies. I'm not the fan that will go to the various HP: HBP events and dress up as my favorite witch or wizard, but I ordered the book a few months ago...I think the day after it was available for pre-order...so I should be receiving it soon. It's going to be hard to pull myself away from Pens to read HBP, but I sure am gonna try.

Carleen

[Repost Moderator]

Originally posted by sheba


LOL, yeah I wouldn't go to the events either, but I do enjoy the books! Anyway, get this...this is the text I sent to my Mom today :

'This is to inform all parents of charming 22 year old girls that the 6th book in the Harry Potter series comes out tomorrow. Book a copy for your lovely child NOW!'

The result? Mom booked my copy, and I get it tomorrow morning How brilliant is that?! LOL!

[urnofosiris]

I am looking forward to reading part 6. I´ll try to get my hands on a copy tomorrow, but as I did not pre-order one, I probably will be out of luck like last time. Still, I only had to wait for 2 days then before a new pile of books arrived.

[GayNow]

I probably will be out of luck like last time.

I got lucky for Order of the Phoenix...I got the last book at the store on the first day...and I really wasn't even trying. Just happened to be there shopping with my gf, saw it, picked it up, bought it.

This time, I didn't want to take the chance...and I really didn't want to have to go out to get it. Yeah...I'm lazy. LOL So I pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

I am looking forward to the GOF film in November...I'll actually go to the theatre to see that. The HP movies are the only ones I see at the theatre...I wait for the DVD on everything else.

Carleen

[Spighy]

I can't wait to read the new book either, but unfortunately, being italian means that i'll have to wait at least until Christmas for the italian version... I might very well do like i did last time, tho: go to the international bookstore and purchase the english version.
When i bought OotP the girl at the checkout warned me at least three times that i had the english version, and there i was, politely telling her that i knew, i had taken it from the shelves with my hands... apparently a lot of kids just grabbed the book, and the parents blindly paid for them, not noticing that it wasn't in italian.
Oh, and i'll have to remember to not check the italian HP newsgroup (and this thread, i guess ) unless i wanna be spoiled!

[Carnival Kid]

I just bought it but can't read it as I have an exam coming up and have to study. Very frustrating.

Never mind I'm sure the tax law I've got to learn will be an even better read!

[Willow~Rosenberg]

I just got the book around noon today. For Christmas, I had received the pre-order receipt with the promise of the boox, so after a LONG wait, I now have it. I've already read the first hundred pages and it looks good. The only thing is I am going on vacation soon and will not be reading it as quickly as I usually would have. Hope y'all are enjoying it!