Harry Potter 7, thread A ***NO SPOILERS!***

[_Yoda]

Sorry, Shades! :(

I didn't realize that giving the title of a chapter was a spoiler.

Sorry, guys!

Oh! And Bond is right...once you get to page 500+, it's non-stop action!

;)

[_Dr. Shades]

Sorry, Shades! :(

I didn't realize that giving the title of a chapter was a spoiler.

It is, since I now know that a certain locale is visited, which I wouldn't have known otherwise.

[_Blixa]

I've yet to read a single Potter, but a series I keep meaning to get to is His Dark Materials. Anybody familiar with it? I would expect it would be of interest to people here.

[_Blixa]

In case you don't know anything about Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, here's a quick summary I lifted from Wikipedia:

The three major literary influences on His Dark Materials acknowledged by Pullman himself are the essay "On the Marionette Theatre" by Heinrich von Kleist, the works of William Blake, and, most importantly, John Milton's Paradise Lost, from which the trilogy derives its title as well as many of its basic ideas. Pullman's stated intention was to invert Milton's story of a war between heaven and hell. In his introduction, he adapts Blake's line to quip that he (Pullman) "is of the Devil's party and does know it." The novels also draw heavily on gnostic ideas, and His Dark Materials has been a subject of controversy, especially with Christian groups...

His Dark Materials can be seen as the antithesis of The Chronicles of Narnia, the seven-book fantasy series by C. S. Lewis, although Pullman denies any conscious connection. This image has been reinforced by Pullman making public statements accusing Lewis of being "blatantly racist" and "monumentally disparaging of women" in his novels.

Christianity and the Church are criticized by some of the characters. For example, Ruta Skadi, a witch and friend of Lyra's calling for war against the Magisterium in Lyra's world, says that "For all of [the Church's] history...it's tried to suppress and control every natural impulse. And when it can't control them, it cuts them out." Skadi later extends her criticism to all organized religion: "That's what the Church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling."

I've been meaning to read this series for ages--I'm especially interested in its anti-Narnia aspects (and Pullman's criticism of Lewis is spot on IMHO).

[_KimberlyAnn]

Yee Haw! I just finished it!

My daughter read it first and I got to start reading last night. It's a great read!

KA

[_Gazelam]

Christianity and the Church are criticized by some of the characters. For example, Ruta Skadi, a witch and friend of Lyra's calling for war against the Magisterium in Lyra's world, says that "For all of [the Church's] history...it's tried to suppress and control every natural impulse. And when it can't control them, it cuts them out." Skadi later extends her criticism to all organized religion: "That's what the Church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling."

There is a difference between pleasure and happiness. As King Arthur said to Lancelot and Guinevere as the kingdom began to crumble due to their affair "Let not our passions destroy our dreams"

[_Dr. Shades]

Yee Haw! I just finished it!

My daughter read it first and I got to start reading last night. It's a great read!

How the Hell can you people read a book that long in less than a day??

I'll never figure it out. A book like that takes me about a month.

[_Pokatator]

I'm with Dr. Shades on this, I read a lot slower. My son on the other hand went to the midnight opening to get a book, got home and I know he slept a little and was complaining at 9:30 am the next morning that he had to be at work at 10 and had 15 pages to go.

I could read that fast but I wouldn't comprehend a bit of it.

[_Dr. Shades]

I could read that fast but I wouldn't comprehend a bit of it.

I'm with you. Yes, I could read it that fast, but there's no way I could possibly enjoy the read and I wouldn't remember a single bit of it once I got done.

[_Bond...James Bond]

I could read that fast but I wouldn't comprehend a bit of it.

I'm with you. Yes, I could read it that fast, but there's no way I could possibly enjoy the read and I wouldn't remember a single bit of it once I got done.

The first read is about quenching the Harry Potter gene.....the second (and third.....and fourth....) reads are about enjoying the book and finding the complexities of the story. (Example: My second read through Harry Potter 5 I noticed the locket while they were cleaning Sirius's house......which of course was a big deal later on....I remembered the locket because I had reread 5 before 6 came out, and thus made the subtle connection.)