July 22, 2007

Emerging from my Harry Potter Haze...

Of course, I was done with HP7 on Thursday night, courtesy of the dude who photographed the "carpet" book. Thanks, bud. You rawk.

We did go out yesterday morning and get 2 copies, and I finished it with DH yesterday evening (we were reading aloud).

To make up for it, we set ourselves up for some more serious house work, and this morning we nearly finished the front room.

But this evening I am going to snuggle back up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and re-read a few favorite moments.

So, what did you love? What did you NOT love? Spoilers sure to abound in the comments, if you're a slow reader.....

My own thoughts in the extended:

It was the Dumbledore subplot that convinced me about the "carpet" book's validity. No fake would have that kind of unexpected doubt or develop a dead character that fully.

The Snape bits were no surprise on the other hand, I pegged it YEARS AGO that Snape was a good guy because he loved Lily.

I was concerned about the Hary/Ginny romance but it makes more sense after reading the book, and well, I was just wondering how many pages it would take for Ron to wake up and kiss Hermione.

Did anyone else catch the Star Wars moment at Gringotts? These are not the wizards you're looking for..... Although the Force is a lot smoother than a Confundus charm. Gringotts was actually my LEAST favorite part, and I wifh H/R/H had done more, rather than just sitting in a tent waiting for something to happen.

Oh, and YAY NEVILLE!!!!!!! I always knew he'd prove himself the truest of the Gryffindors!

Posted by caltechgirl at July 22, 2007 04:09 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I was SO happy when Neville turned out to be such a hero! The parts that bothered me the most - the students who died fighting in Hogwarts, Dobby ::sniffle::. I was thrilled when Molly Weasley kicked Bella's butt! I laughed out loud at that scene. And what about Kreatcher? He was awesome!! Ack! There's so much I loved about the book, I feel like I am going to pop!

Posted by: Kate at July 22, 2007 04:44 PM

I loved the thing insanely, but I haven't wanted to get too excited around Jay since he's only a bit more than halfway through it. The way that man reads my mind, he'd figure some of it out by my extreme level of happiness. Ditto on Snape. If he hadn't turned out to be exactly who I thought he was, I'd have been crushed. I really appreciated that she went ahead and let things unfold logically, rather than trying to be all tricksy. Well done. Very well done. And can I say again that I'm happy the Snape thing turned out the way it was supposed to? LOL.

Posted by: Deb at July 22, 2007 05:37 PM

Got my copy Saturday, but haven't read it yet. Instead I am doing what I promised myself... going back and reading from the very first book, slowly, enjoying it. When I finally get to book 7 it'll be that much better!
Yeah, I should take my temp; I could be SICK! LOL!

Posted by: pam at July 23, 2007 05:32 AM

I love that JK broke with tradition and formula on this one. It felt much more adult somehow. I, too, was not surprised with Snape's revelations. I was a bit peeved at one thing, however. I feel that Dumbledore's compartmentalization of information really hurt the Order.

I continue to see about a bajillion symetries between the story and WWII, but that's nothing new.

I loved the way that Kreacher transformed after being shown some kindness. I liked the addition of a pragmatic and realistic Aberforth. It really really upset me when both Tonks and Lupin died, leaving their child orphaned like Harry was. Dobby's death didn't hit me as hard, but it was nice to see him go out on his own terms and in a noble endeavor. I really liked seeing the entire magical community rally there at the end. Somehow, it pleased me to see the Malfoys brought so low and then redeemed, if grudgingly. Snapes death made me really angry but not because I felt sorry for him, but because it so purely defined Voldemort: so evil that he would kill even his most trusted lieutenant (however wrongly - he never knew that Snape had betrayed him) for an advantage - without really thinking things through.

Posted by: Phoenix at July 23, 2007 09:34 AM

What I most wanted from the books was Snape being innocent, and he was, so I was happy.

Posted by: Ith at July 23, 2007 03:55 PM

I too was surprised by the Harry/Ginny and in the epilogue, the Ron/Hermione romances/marriage + kids thing. I think it was a little strange given that in the other books Ron and hermione always seem to bicker and argue, whereas Harry and Hermione really seemed close. I was expecting them to hook up. It was almost as if both H/Hr were too afraid to tell each other of their love and it fell through. Harry did save Ginny's life, and he does seem to like her. They never kiss though (?)And in the 6th book Ron is all over Lavender. You'd think they would be the couple in the end, Harry + Hermione, and Ron + Lavender.

Posted by: Francis at July 27, 2007 05:42 PM