Book Club: Harry Potter

[everythingshiny]

CHALLENGE #016

Description This month because i'm not very organized we're going to talk Harry Potter :)
Next Month we'll talk about The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared By Jonas Jonasson :) Let me know if you have trouble finding this and i'll try to find a pdf.

Have you read any/all the HP books?Read more... )

Comments

[queer_theory]

Have you read any/all the HP books? I've read all of them - a couple of them multiple times.
Do you have a favourite book? Not really. I really like the books in the middle (Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix). Those are the ones I'm most likely to re-read. I also have a soft spot for the very first book, I think just because it was really meaningful the first time I read it. I'd just graduated from high school and just had surgery on one of my knees, so I felt sort of lost and I couldn't get out of bed. A friend loaned me a bunch of books, including that one, and I must have read it five or six times just over the course of that summer. It was a perfect escape.
Who are your favourite characters? The women, in general. Seriously, I like nearly all of the female characters in the series. Also Remus Lupin, Hagrid, Neville Longbottom, all of the Weasley boys, Harry, Draco, and Oliver Wood.
Which Characters do you not enjoy, but think are interesting anyway? The Dursleys.
Do you have a favourite scene? Not really? I loved so

[colls]

Did you see all the films? For someone not interested in reading the books do you think the films give enough of the story to 'get the gist'?

[queer_theory]

I've seen all the films, and I don't think you have to read any of the books to get the gist or enjoy the movies. There are little things here and there that are probably more amusing if you've read the books and know some of the context that isn't included, but they're set up for people who haven't read the books to get maximum enjoyment out of them.

[dance_thrulife]

I think one of the things that I love so much about these books is that even though Harry is the traditional hero, there are so many strong female characters every where you look. And each of them is strong in a different way, which shows the diversity of the ways women can be important.

[interchanges]

Have you read any/all the HP books? I've read them all!
Do you have a favourite book? I used to always say Prisoner of Azkaban but I find myself more fond of Deathly Hallows these days (minus the epilogue). But I haven't re-read the books in years so I wonder if my opinion will change once I do.
Who are your favourite characters? Fred & George ♥ I also love Luna, Ron, Neville, and McGonagall.
Which Characters do you not enjoy, but think are interesting anyway? Narcissa Malfoy, Cho Chang, Trelawney
Do you have a favourite scene? Probably when Harry got the memory from Slughorn and we found out about Voldemort's horcruxes. I was just so excited and intrigued by that reveal.
Anything else you wanna ramble about? Ravenclaw for life! My Ravenclaw pride has only increased since I joined hogwartsishome. I love keeping the HP fandom alive through it.

[watchpoint]

I am so happy I was sorted into Ravenclaw! I wasn't quite sure where I was going to land. The whole process made me think a lot about who I am, my strengths, and my weaknesses.

[sexycazzy]

Yay another one who loves the Weasley Twins - I only wish they were featured more often!

[teaotter]

I never could understand why Hermione would rather be Griffyndor than Ravenclaw. Really? I mean, I can at least see some value to Hufflepuff -- hard work will get you places that talent alone won't. But Griffyndor?

[watchpoint]

Have you read any/all the HP books? I've read them all at least twice and I've listened to the majority of them multiple times on audiobook.
Do you have a favourite book? My favorite is Goblet of Fire. I love the whodunnit aspect to it and how that all comes together in the end.
Who are your favourite characters? the trio, Neville, Luna, Lupin, Snape, Tonks, Molly
Which Characters do you not enjoy, but think are interesting anyway? Peter Pettigrew, Umbridge (she's the worst omg but good character), Tom Riddle
Do you have a favourite scene? I'm probably the only person who loves the Dumbledore-sums-up-all-the-shit scenes at the end of most of the books. My favorite Dumbledore-sums-up-all-the-shit scene is at the end of Goblet of Fire.
Anything else you wanna ramble about? I hate all the movies except Prisoner of Azkaban (but that's mostly for Cuaron reasons.)

[catko]

"Dumbledore-sums-up-all-the-shit scenes" hahahahah...yeah I think you are the only one who loves those. I mean, they are necessary to understanding what the heck is going on, but I always just skimmed those.

[dance_thrulife]

I loved the "Dumbledore-sums-up-all-the-shit scenes" too! Reading through most answers here I was thinking that I would be the only one. There was something about the words Rowling chose to use when Dumbledore was speaking that were fascinating to me, the way he strung stuff together and his phrasing was something that I really enjoyed.

[mravenwood]

Have you read any/all the HP books? I've read them all
Do you have a favourite book? Prisoner of Azkaban
Who are your favourite characters? Luna, Sirius, Remus, Narcissa, Neville
Which Characters do you not enjoy, but think are interesting anyway? Bellatrix, Lucius, Voldemort
Do you have a favourite scene? I have a bunch of scenes that I really enjoy. I remember more of my experience reading the books than the actual books though. I remember my sister and I taking turns reading. I fondly remember scenes just because of how I felt in that moment when we were reading the books together. I really love scenes involving the Malfoy family. I found that dynamic very interesting. I wanted more about the 'evil' characters. I wish it was less 'good vs evil' and explored ambiguity more and how people who are 'evil' are still dynamic characters with families and lives. I wish the houses were not seen as being lesser than others too.
Anything else you wanna ramble about? Hmpf, I thought it was weird how J.K. Rowling wants to change things after

[cardboardcornea]

"I wish it was less 'good vs evil' and explored ambiguity more and how people who are 'evil' are still dynamic characters with families and lives. I wish the houses were not seen as being lesser than others too."

This is kind of one of my biggest issues with the series. Rowling makes a point of saying things like "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters" but never really showed that.

How the Slytherin's were portrayed always bothers me. You get the most about Draco, who is just a confused kid who makes some bad decisions. You get a little of what when down with Regulus. Then there's that whole Snape mess to muddle through. Nowhere do you get any mention of a Slytherin that didn't first make bad decisions. But there was such a nice set up to do something like that with Theo Nott, son of a Death Eater but who never seemed to run with that crowd in school.

[mravenwood]

Yeah, it always jelled wrong with me how she said the world wasn't 'black/white, good/evil' but that's exactly how she represented it. Like, she said that's not what she wanted, but she went right ahead and created something like that.

I never understood why we never once saw a Slytherin who was ambitious in ways that didn't lead to bad decisions, and not just simple kid bad decisions, but major ones, ones that would not have happened to everyone. I feel like business owners or anyone who wants to make a big change in the world would be Slytherin, but that doesn't mean 'evil' or 'always going to make every single bad choice they could make'

[cardboardcornea]

Yes. There's always that adage in writing to show not tell and here Rowling is telling one thing but showing another.

The books represent Gryffindor as this epitome of everything good (okay, that may not be what it was meant to be showing but that's what I think a lot of people took out of it) despite the facts that their traits could just as easily lead them down a bad path. Why was there no brave, courageous Gryffindor who just happened to think that Voldemort had things right? They could have honorably fought for what they believed to be right, just as easily as an ambitious Slytherin could realize that Voldemort was full of shit and aim for something that wasn't mass murder.

[malicat]

Have you read any/all the HP books? All of them of course
Do you have a favourite book? Prisoner of Azkaban because of Sirius!
Who are your favourite characters? Sirius, Ron, Hermione, Luna
Which Characters do you not enjoy, but think are interesting anyway? Snape I guess?
Do you have a favourite scene? When Harry sees his loved ones again before he faces Voldemort for the final battle
Anything else you wanna ramble about?

[catko]

I agree with you about Prisoner of Azkaban. What is it about Sirius that is so compelling?