Monday, July 23, 2007

Meet back here...

...when you've finished Book 7!!!!!

I don't know about you, but my husband's next in line to read it so I have to keep mum about the amazing journey I just went on with Harry Potter and I want to talk about it!!!! So don't read the comments if you don't want spoilers, but share if you do!!!!

26 comments:

Linz said...

Sounds like a plan! I'm less than halfway into it but it would be great to chat when a bunch of us are done. I'll be done this week.

Liz said...

Where do you think the cover scene is? I was trying to figure that out htis mroning and have a few guesses but I'm not sure...

Skipper said...

That was the best book I ever read. I feel like such a dork, but I was definitely crying as Harry made his way back into the Forest. It was captivating and in a strange way it really touched me...is that weird?

Liz said...

nope not wierd, cried my eyes out and my little one just stared at me wondering what was wrong! she kept trying to soothe me-so cute!!! :)

i loved how the forest and his sacrifice totally made sense. It amde sense how it protected his friends and how his wand was the most powerful in the end, rowling is so good at making things come full circle!

glad i wasn't the only one crying... :)

Tiffany said...

I started crying when I first got the book because I was so happy to have it. I'm a dork. But anyway, I LOVED it. J.K. Rowling is an amazing author...I mean, everything fit. All of my questions were answered and it all made sense. And the whole Snape thing...I didn't think that anyone could make me think of Snape as a good person...but she pulled it out. And Dobby....I love Dobby...and Kreacher...I really liked this book. I am so happy to have finished it...but also so sad. There's no more Harry Potter to look forward to. Oh well...I guess I'll just have to reread them all. :)

Unknown said...

I absolutely loved it! I reread the Prince's Tale chapter, just because it moved me so much. I find it so ironic that all day today (I finished it late last night) I keep thinking about Snape instead of Harry. Especially when he's in Sirius's room crying over Lily's letter. Just seeing him so vulnerable after hating him so much was (as ridiculous as it might sound after just reading a fiction book) such a reminder to me on how important it is never to judge anyone. And then for Harry to name his son after him! I'm with those of you who just kept crying throughout! My husband gets big-time kudos for watching the girls while I locked myself away this weekend!

Liz said...

I was one of those who was so mad at Snape for killing Dumbledore, I couldn't imagine how Rowling was going to get me to to even symphathize with him and yet she did!

Laura, my hubby was wonderful too-did the dishes and watered my flowers and took the little one on errands just so i could read! Hooray for husbands!

Aubreydoll said...

I have to say that this was probably my favorite book out of the whole series! I think I said that after every book I read, but I really mean it this time! I, too, loved how everything came full circle and I also loved how we really found out what was going on with Snape. I have to agree with Skipper when Harry was walking into the Forest, there was something about that part that made me cry, too!
Anyway, hooray for Harry and I will definitely go back and read them all through again!!

kristi said...

I too loved the book and I too cried in numerous spots of the book. I loved all the heroism that there was. All of his friends were so brave and stuck with him till the end. I just loved how strong and brave Neville was. When I thought that Harry was going to die, I was so mad but I think that I always knew that something was going to stop that from happening. There was so much action in this book that I can't wait to see the movie. I just hope they actually include most of it. I was so glad she showed the future at the end. I love to see what happens to my beloved characters in books.

Liz said...

kristi, i loved the epilogue too! My cousin was bashing it as "unnecessary" but some of us like loose ends taken care of!

Joni said...

Okay, I went through it very quickly because I had to finish it on a deadline (my husband made me swear so as to not delay his reading schedule).

Can someone help me understand the wand scene?

Did Harry have the Elder Wand then, or was it really Voldemort? Like, what happened with that? Can someone sum up the scene? Maybe I'll go back and reread it now that it isn't 2AM.

I'm proud to say that it was my guess since book 6 that Dumbledore and Snape had somehow worked out his death beforehand. I have believed in Snape since day one.

Liz said...

the way I understand the Elder Wand to work is that it is loyal, like any other wand, to whoever has "won" it. So, Dumbledore won it by defeating Grindelwald.
Snape killed Dumbledore.
Voldemort therefore thought that by killing Snape, it would be loyal to him.
However...since Snape and Dumbledore had that worked out beforehand, he didn't really defeat Dumbledore.
But right before that, Draco had disarmed Dumbledore and therefore was the last one to "defeat" him. So the elder wand belonged to Draco.
Then, even though he didn't have the elder wand, Harry defeated Draco and took his personal wand and the elder wand switched to Harry. So, when Voldemort tried to use it, it was loyal to Harry and not him because he had assumed wrong that it was Snape and not Draco who had defeated Dumbledore.
That's how I interpreted it anyway! :)

kristi said...

That is how I took it too Liz. I think you hit it right on the mark.

Unknown said...

Ditto, Liz--nice summary. As for your earlier question about where the cover scene is, I have no idea! I tried to guess, but I just couldn't.

On another note, I wonder what would have been said about Luna in the epilogue. I can't help but wonder if maybe she and Neville ended up together. It's the romantic in me! :)

kristi said...

I think that the cover is in the Great Hall with the final duel between Voldemort and Harry. Remember the school was destroyed all over. At least that is what I think.

Liz said...

Well, and the ceiling's enchanted so it could be the great hall. i wondered that too!

Joni said...

But neither of them have wands in their hands on the cover and they aren't really looking at each other.

What's the deal?

Joni said...

Thank you, by the way, for the wand summary. It's all making sense now.

Linz said...

Yippee!! I can read these comments now! I finished tonight!

I agree with so much that has been said and I have to say that I, too, had faith in Snape. A couple of years ago, this quirky friend of mine and I were talking about HP in a college class and I asked him who his fave character was and he said, "Snape". And I was like "What?!" And ever since I've really been intrigued by Snape and just known he would be good.

I, too, wondered about Luna in the Epilogue! Oh, and I loved that she had painted her friends on her wall. Too cute.

The cover is kind of confusing. I actually read the whole book without it on so I didn't think about it much, but I looked at it today. Part of me thinks that maybe Rowling didn't have a lot to do with the cover but that doesn't really make any sense either.

LOVED MOLLY WEASLEY'S ROLE AT THE END!!

LOVED Aberforth as well as Dumbledore's history. Very intriguing.

I LOVE that Rowling made it so REAL. As sad as we are to see characters we love die, it makes the sacrifices and the courage and everything so much more meaningful. She didn't sugarcoat the story. She made it gut-wrenching, powerful, even spiritual. I love that we're set up from book 1 not being big fans of Slytherins...and that could be just an innocent dislike of school bullies, but then they really ended up being like evil. Death Eaters were seriously after them from the very beginning of the book. This is not just juvenile fiction, this is fantastic writing!

Okay so the crying creature in the area that Harry was when he was talking to Dumbledore...was that representative of Voldemort?

Liz said...

Hooray! You get to join us, Linz! :)

That's what I think. It's what he'll become when all the pieces of his soul are destroyed. That's what's left. In fact, reading it, I kept imagining the gross looking creature they had in the 4th movie before he transformed.

Tiffany said...

I also loved Molly Weasley's role at the end! It was great! Also, I loved that Neville was able to pull the sword out of the sorting hat to kill the snake. I like Neville a lot...he was great in this book. Calling all of those people to come and fight...it was awesome.

Liz said...

That reminded me of a question that I didn't get. How did the sword get from the goblin Griphook back to the sorting hat??? Can the sorting hat summon whatever it wants or what? I thought that was strange-but maybe I read it too fast and missed the connection! :)

Linz said...

I wondered that too...I'm too lazy to go back and read certain parts but I remember something along the lines of the sword coming to those who need it or something like that. I agree Tiffany, Neville rocks.

My husband finished last night too and thinks the cover is definitely the final duel since they had described the sunlit ceiling and their arms are outstretched ready to catch the wands.

kristi said...

In Chamber of Secrets Dumbledore told harry that only a true Gryffindor could pull the sword out of the hat (at least I think that is what was said). Well Neville showed such bravery that I think that is why the sword was brought. I too loved Mrs. Weasley because I know, that I would have been the same way.

Unknown said...

I just finished re-reading book 1, and I love reading the comments about Neville and his bravery, as opposed to what he was like when he started at Hogwarts.

Liz said...

I loved how his crotchety old grandma finally was proud of him and joined in the fight!