Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
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Harry Potter
Favorite Book: um...probably Prisoner of Azkaban or Deathly Hallows.Movie: By the looks of the trailer, it will be #6!
Character: I REALLY love the thought of James and Lily, I really wish we'd known more about them...otherwise, Dobby.
Scene: I love the scene in Goblet of Fire when Harry masters the unforgivable curse in Moody's class.
Spell: hmm. probably a cleaning spell so I wouldn't have to do any more of it by hand :P
Favorite Book? Prizoner of AzkabanMovie? Probably the first one
Character? I don't really have a fav -- maybe Luna Lovegood
Scene? I like the scenes in the room of requirement
Spell? Acio . . . whatever I might need in my hands
I LOVE these books! My bf is reading Book 6 for the first time and I'm trying to read vicariously through him. :) I have just begun acquiring nicer hardback editions of all the HP books because I know these are ones I will (already have, in fact) constantly re-read.Favorite Book? Probably Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, or Deathly Hallows
Movie? Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix
Character - Kreacher! I know that's kind of odd, but I loved him at the end. I also really liked Dobby a lot.
Scene - the battle at Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows has to be one of the best literary scenes in history.
Spell - I really liked the Expecto Patronum spell just to see all the different forms it could take.
Favorite Book? Errr.. maybe Book 4... Loved the Quidditch World Cup and the Tournamenty thing (I'm OBVIOUSLY a huge fan, right? Err...) Movie? *shrugs* Probably the first one. The kids were really cute then. NOT the one where their hair was really long and dorky.
Character? Hermione, probably.
Scene? Honestly? The epilogue at the end of Book 7. That is THE SCENE that I read the series for.
Spell? The one in Sleeping Beauty with the cleaning items that clean the house for you! ;)
Favorite Book: Maybe Half-Blood Prince, but it's really hard to choose since I just view HP as one big storyMovie: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I love the newness of it all)
Character: Harry & Hermoine
Scene: Hmm, I really liked when Harry and Hermoine used the timeturner in POA.
Spell: Apparition, if that's considered a spell
Did any of you see the HP spoof on The Soup this past week? Too funny!
I wish I'd read HP sooner. I read the entire series for the first time about a year ago. At first, I wouldn't let myself buy into all of the hype. Now I understand that the hype was justified. HP will remain one of my all-time favorites.
Favorite Book? Goblet of Fire! I love Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum and Fleur!Movie? I get bored with the movies, so I've only seen each one once. I would say Goblet of Fire because I saw it at midnight with my best college friends at the time.
Character? Neville is a BAMF.
Scene? Neville in Deathly Hallows, he was just so cool and badass, and I was rooting for him the whole time.
Spell? Alohamora, because I like the sound of it!
Sara TX wrote: "I had to look up BAMF ( www.acronymfinder.com is a great website), and I completely agree!"I love his character development, how he really comes into himself. I love how he goes from being nervous and ill-at-ease, to being a strong character willing to fight the Dark Arts.
*nods* Definitely. I remember reading the part where we first find out about his parents... and it was just so sad!! And it weighs him down--he must have felt (if he were real) so weak and powerless. But then BAM! (okay, GRADUALLY), he ends up being a BAMF! ;)
Favourite Book: Prisoner of Azkaban (where the series picks up and becomes more complex), closely followed by Goblet of Fire (loved the tournament and all the new characters, and how FAT it was!)Movie: Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix (but I do love how the third one was the first to go dark and more mature. It has great atmosphere, but the story wasn't told at all well. Can't stand watching the first two any more, I cringe continually at the bad acting and the jolliness of it all!)
Character: Snape is a real scene stealer, and such a complex character, but I love James and Lily and Sirius too.
Scene: 'Snape's Worst Memory' *chokes* sniff!
Spell: 'Muffliato' is pretty cool (and handy)
I read the books almost continually for four or five years, then forced myself to take a break....I think the break might almost be over...I feel a marathon reading of HP coming on!
I hope you won't throw darts or anything, but I tried to read the first one and just couldn't get into it. I saw the first movie and was not moved to see anymore. I don't know why exactly, but I just can't get into Harry Potter.
Book: Half-Blood Prince, which I read *three times in a row* when I first got it. Also Chamber of Secrets, and unpopular choice and my least favourite for a long time... but I went back and read it again recently and found it HILARIOUS, it's totally the funniest of the books and I love books that make me laugh.Movie: I think they've been getting progessively better, the last two are my favourites - the first ones were just awful and full of cringey bad acting. But none of them really do justice to the books in my mind.
Character: Dumbledore, I LOVE HIM.
Scene: Snape's Worst Memory is a good one, in fact I love most of the scenes in HBP where they go through the Penseive - fascinating.
Sarah - I agree with you about Dumbledore. He's always been a favorite of mine - can't believe I forgot to add him to my list! I love Hagrid, too.
Book: The Goblet of Fire. I love the different tasks and seeing Dobby again. And just the whole book.Movie: I have to say The Sorcerer's Stone and The Goblet of Fire (sure it was rushed and isn't anywhere near as amazing as the book, but I loved it anyway).
Character: Fred Weasley. Just hilarious. One of the things I was really looking forward to when waiting two years for the books was what antics Fred (and obviously George) would get into and the extremely funny things they would say. I love him.
Scene: For some reason, I'm very much into the fighting scenes so I would have to say the fighting scene of The Half Blood Prince and the final war in The Deathly Hallows.
Spell: I don't know just the fact of having magic exist would be enough for me (obviously the good type of magic).
Favorite Book: Goblet of Fire. But I am completely in love with all the latter books, meaning GOF thru DH. GOF- I loved the Tri-wizard tourney, and SPEW and seeing a bit more into Ol' Voldy's life, such as it was.
OOTP- What's not to love? Harry's 15 year old moodiness, Ron's family, Neville's family, the Order, Sirius *sniff*.
HBP- Learning a lot more about Voldy was intriguing, and the inferi!! (I love zombies.)
DH- Seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione on their own, Neville come into his own, Snape's real suffering, everyone's bravery!
(Sorry... I love these books. I could go on forever!)
Favorite Movie: Sorcerer's Stone, without a doubt. I didn't really care for any of the movies after this one.
Favorite Character: Ron. I love him. I wish he was my brother. I wish he was a real person so that I could track him down and tell him what an awesome friend he is.
Favorite Scene: This is going to sound so silly, but my favorite scene (and by favorite here, I don't mean that I love it, just that its the most memorable and touching to me) is the scene where Harry is stressing over the dragon task for the Tri-wizard tourney, and talking to Sirius in the fire, and Ron comes downstairs because he hears Harry talking. Harry blows up when he sees it's Ron, and ends up chucking a "Potter Stinks" badge and hitting Ron in the forehead with it. The thing that struck me the most though, is that Ron is described as wearing "too short pajamas", and that always broke my heart, because he deserves so much better than hand-me-downs. (Sorry again. Rambling)
Favorite Spell: Apparition and Disapparition. I would love to be able to pop around at will. :) A cleaning spell would also be quite handy.
Favorite Book? Goblet of Fire. I love the competition, but that could be because I love competing and winning...Movie? I hate them all so I can't say that there is a favorite... the newest one looks like it has potential, but then again, so did all of the other ones.
Character? Snape, Draco, Lucius, Voldemort, Oliver Wood, Cedric Diggory, Narcissa... (except for Cedric and Oliver pretty much anyone evil...)
Scene? Probably when I thought that Harry and Voldemort were both dead in the last book... least favorite scene - when Harry comes back from the dead. I hate his character! I was fine with both Voldemort and Harry being dead, but I hated that Harry lived... oh, and I hated the epologue. I thought that it sounded like some 13 year old fan girl wrote it.
Spell? Probably a cleaning one because I don't like to clean so one where I could get it all done with quickly would be cool. Hmm, pretty much any spell would be awesome, though.
Kathryn - you hate Harry? HOW could you read all seven books then?!
Wow Kathryn.... I don't know if we can even be friends anymore, haha!
Jamie wrote: "Sarah - I agree with you about Dumbledore. He's always been a favorite of mine - can't believe I forgot to add him to my list! I love Hagrid, too."Oh, Hagrid. I know I'm not alone in professing that I secretly dislike him! I always skip that whole chapter in OOTP when he's back from trying to recruit the giants...
Josie wrote: "Kathryn - you hate Harry? HOW could you read all seven books then?!"I liked him up until book 5... then I hated him. I hated him after he got all self-absorbed and angsty. OH, I forgot to add Dumbledore on the list of people I love! He is probably my favorite character... I remember, I wanted him back in the end. Oh, and the Weasley twins... I like them too. Oh, and I would love for there to be a prequel in the Maurder's time because I love the concept of James and Lily, but don't know enough about them.
All in all, I love the HP series. It got me through some really, really dark times in my life. When I was in 9th grade I found an online community that were all Slytherin supporters, like me, and they helped me get through the problems in my life... times when death looked better then living. And for that, I will never forget HP and what it has done in my life. I really believe that it saved me, so it will always be on the top of my favorite books list. That doesn't mean that I have to love the main character though...
I have re-read this series 4 times. I always enjoy them. Harry Potter was the reason I really started to enjoy reading, not because I had to but because I wanted to. I love the characters and their relationships throughout the series.
No no, Kathryn, you don't have to love the main character. I loved Harry in book 5, myself. He was acting like a normal, angsty teenager. That's one of my favorite things about book 5, because he was so realistically written. Granted, I was 22 or 23 when I read it the first time, so it had been a bit since I was 15, but I still felt I could identify with him. I thought everyone felt that way when they were 15!
I have loved Harry from the start, but loved him (and Ron and Hermione)even more from 5 on, because they were, like Becky said, being realistic! There are no perfect teenagers, and really, if they were, the chances of them then being likable adults would probably be down the drain. They have to experience those growing pains to mature. I love that Rowling was not afraid to let them grow up naturally. No sweetener needed. We constant readers can take it straight and she trusted us to accept it.
Know all about "dark times in your life" Kathryn - there was an about two-year period in my early teens when The Beatles' Abbey Road album kept me sane.
Aww, poor maligned Harry. I disliked his angst phase too, but I thought he conquered it well and was very noble in the 6th book.Now that you have raised your flag Josie, I too will come out of hiding and agree to a hearty dislike of Hagrid and all his minions (Grawp, dragons, spiders etc). He's ok in the first book but after that he's just more trouble than he's worth, always whingeing and making them all feel guilty and getting everyone into trouble. He gives me a NO feeling.
Kandice wrote: "I have loved Harry from the start, but loved him (and Ron and Hermione)even more from 5 on, because they were, like Becky said, being realistic! There are no perfect teenagers, and really, if they ..."exactly K! I think the way they show immaturity and grow up and such is all so NATURAL, makes the books even more wonderful.
Sarah wrote: "Aww, poor maligned Harry. I disliked his angst phase too, but I thought he conquered it well and was very noble in the 6th book.Now that you have raised your flag Josie, I too will come out of hi..."
Aww, I'm sad to see that nobody likes Hagrid! I guess I saw him as a protector. There were others who played that protector role in the kids' lives, but it just seemed like Hagrid was always there and had been from the beginning. I was always afraid he'd be killed off - he just seemed like THAT character to me.
I loved Hagrid too. He was bumbling, and certainly caused his fair share of trouble, but everything he does is out of goodwill. I always thought he was the sort of "reltive" we all have that needs coddling, at the same time they feel they are coddling you.
Kandice wrote: "I loved Hagrid too. He was bumbling, and certainly caused his fair share of trouble, but everything he does is out of goodwill. I always thought he was the sort of "reltive" we all have that needs ..."exactly!
I liked Hagrid, but he wasn't my favorite either.
well its all one big story...the big plot outlines stand out, but all the details meld together.
(which is my way of saying I don't know either)
Grawp was in the 5th book. I think he may have reappeared in the 6th, but don't remember.
yeah didn't he save somebody or something just by being big and bumbling?
Haha yeah... he saved Hermione from the mean, pink lady lol (Umbridge)
Becky wrote: "No no, Kathryn, you don't have to love the main character. I loved Harry in book 5, myself. He was acting like a normal, angsty teenager. That's one of my favorite things about book 5, because he..."
I read book 5 for the first time when I was fifteen, and I understood angst... I was right smack dab in the middle of it. However, when I was in the midst of mine, I austricized my parents, but not my friends... I hated him for the way he treated Ron and Hermione. I understand that he feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and that it is a heavy burden to bear and that he has every right to be angsty but I didn't like the way he treated the friends that had been there for him since the very start.
I can understand that Kathryn, but you have to remember, he didn't have parents to push away and rage against. He had only his friends, who, at that point, he did feel were abandoning him in a way. It wasn't their fault, or his, but he was angry at the situation and the people he felt were treating him in a condescending "let's protect the child's feelings" kind of way. You're feelings aren't wrong, of course. I can't tell you how to feel. (and I hope you realize that I was kidding about the friend thing). I just understood him so perfectly in book 5 that I couldn't see how anyone could feel differently! Of course, that's kind of narrow-minded of me, isn't it? LOL
lol, I understand that you're kidding. Just being the same age as him when I read the book, I couldn't understand his actions. But then again, my family has always said that I am overly rational... and I didn't understand how he couldn't be rational about this. That is just how my resentment formed and I never forgave him, the character for it. I had several friends who all felt the same way. But like I said, I'm overly rational and identify more with the slytherin's then the gryffindors.
Ahhhh! I understand the rational/emotional thing. *nod* Makes sense. :)
Favorite Book? Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Movie? Goblet of Fire and (from the looks of the trailer) Half-Blood Prince
Character? Many. From the trio, I would say Hermione. But I also love many others, including but not limited to, Tonks, Lupin, Ginny and Ballatrix
Scene? The wedding scene in Deathly Hallows brought tears to my eyes, as did the scenes involving Snape's memories. So poignant. (Sorry, for any spelling mistakes)
Spell? I know this sounds simple, but I've always liked the idea and executon of "Accio"
While on the topic of Harry angst.. you all need to watch this hilarious video, it's The Potter Puppet Pals - Wizard Angst.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD-Huw...
April wrote: "While on the topic of Harry angst.. you all need to watch this hilarious video, it's The Potter Puppet Pals - Wizard Angst.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD-Huw..."
OMG, April, thank you for this... I just watched it like three times and then read the comments with people quoting it. It was great!
Sara TX wrote: "I like the Mysterious Ticking Noise...www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4"
What is that mysterious ticking noise? Not over here, not over there. Hmmm it's kind of catchy. Snape Snape Severus Snape...
That's MY FAVORITE ONE!!! I drove from NY to FL a couple weeks ago and that came on the playlist at about 4:30 a.m. in South Carolina, and we just sat there trying to do it hyped up on too much Starbucks energy shots. Yeah, special love for the Mysterious Ticking Noise.
One of my friends has part of that song as her ringtone on her cell phone! It's just so clever!
Go crazy.
Here are a few questions:
Favorite Book?
Movie?
Character?
Scene?
Spell?