how nice to hear your voice! i get the HBP next, after gerry and ted finish it (they're reading it concurrently). we'll see if i ever make it to chapter 7. that sounds like a funny scene. :)
two confessions: first thing i did, before anyone else touched it, was go to the page where the biggest secrets were revealed (the awful spoiler i saw the night before it came out showed the page, scanned and unavoidable!); and now it sits on my booktable, untouched. when i told the guys that i'd read it next, they all laughed. well, one of these years... (i do regret that i don't enjoy books-in-hand any more.)
I was rather taken by that line from "Half Blood Prince" too; it had already come up on the knitting email group to which I belong, so I knew to look for it.
I did rather like it, but given that one of the things that attracted me to the first book in the series was its light-heartedness, not as much as I might have. I understand perfectly why Rowling is changing the characters and her own writing style perfectly; I just don't like them quite as much.
"Half Blood Prince" is definitely better edited than "order of the phoenix", and much darker.
The darker writing appeals to my own tastes more, but I didn't find this one as engaging as the previous two. My main criticism is that the characters are so one-dimensional and predictable. I'm more impressed with literature that's character-driven rather than plot-driven, and Rowling's series is definitely plot-driven. But she knows how to weave a tale, and this is good, entertaining summer reading.
Oh, they're definitely not Great Literature by any means; I'd be willing to bet that circulation drops precipitously after the last book is written and the last movie goes to DVD. As a librarian, I'm delighted while it lasts. These books have gotten more kids whining about reading than anything I remember for years.
Hmmm, but they are eminently readable and not very challenging. I would compare J.K. Rowling to Agatha Christie, and predict the books will remain popular.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-07-26 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-06 02:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-06 02:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-26 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-06 02:08 pm (UTC)"half blood prince"
Date: 2005-08-06 02:18 pm (UTC)"Half Blood Prince" is definitely better edited than "order of the phoenix", and much darker.
Re: "half blood prince"
Date: 2005-08-06 02:28 pm (UTC)Re: "half blood prince"
Date: 2005-08-06 02:32 pm (UTC)Re: "half blood prince"
Date: 2005-08-06 02:40 pm (UTC)Re: "half blood prince"
Date: 2005-08-06 03:35 pm (UTC)