KungFuPanda Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 dd14 loves the movies but didn't care for the books - which I know is unusual, especially here. :p I keep watching for a 2nd hand set of them because *I* would like to read them… I don't want to buy them all new though. I liked the last couple of movies, but not the earlier ones… I saw a few a Goodwill, but not a set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Anyway, did anyone else experience a search for the back stories (other than the religious) in the Classics that the Potter books were built on? The Sorcerer's Companion is a great little book that gives overviews of some of the mythology, folklore, and history behind various things in the HP books. From amazon.com "Harry Potter aficionados: remember when Buckbeak, Hagrid's pet Hippogriff, was put on trial by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures? This crazy idea was not invented by Harry Potter's creator, J.K. Rowling. In fact, from medieval times all the way up to the 19th century, animals and even insects were often charged with crimes, arrested, imprisoned, tried, convicted, and sometimes executed. Harry Potter's fantastic world of magic has its roots in true history, mythology, and folklore; father-daughter team Allan Zola Kronzek and Elizabeth Kronzek have now made this wealth of astonishing information available to Muggles in their Sorcerer's Companion . From astrology to Grindylow to reading tea leaves to witch persecution, this fascinating volume gets to the bottom of every magical mystery connected with Hogwarts. Readers learn the unusual method by which premodern Europeans protected themselves from the cry of the uprooted Mandrake, involving a loyal dog and a rope. (Professor Sprout's solution was to have her herbology students wear earmuffs). Hermione probably knew, when she was hexed by Draco Malfoy so that her teeth suddenly grew past her chin, that hexes originated in Europe. But did she know the connection between hexes and the folk magic of the Pennsylvania Dutch? For fans of the tremendously popular Harry Potter series, or anyone who is intrigued by magical lore, the Sorcerer's Companion will quickly become a true friend." There are quite a few books like this that have been published, investigating things from the history to the science behind the HP books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 We ♥ Harry at our house. James Bond and I have read all of the books multiple times. This is a big deal for JB as he is dyslexic and has a difficult time reading. I've stood in line at midnight when the books were released to get mine. When book 5 came out, I won the trivia contest they held while we waited for 1 am (we were an hour ahead of GMT and they couldn't sell them until 1) and got my book first. :D JB and I both had Post-Potter Depression. Indy loved the movies (he's seen all 8) and wants to read the books. He too is dyslexic and there's no way he could get through them. I thought about reading them to him, but I would lose my voice and be reading for a year. I got he Jim Dale books on CD from the library and put them on my iPod. We listen to an hour or so in the evenings. It's still going to take us at least a year to get through them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I didn't know Rowling was so educated. I'd only remembered briefly the story about writing on napkins as a desperate welfare single mother hitting the big time. I think I'd seen it on "The Today Show" or something like that many years ago.? yes - the publisher really liked the PR of despereate divorced mother on welfare. what they neglected was the upper middle class background with education and that she refused financial help from her father. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Anyway, did anyone else experience a search for the back stories (other than the religious) in the Classics that the Potter books were built on? John Granger's book Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books behind the Hogwarts Adventures covers some of these things. It's a fascinating read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 I'm sure the answer is easy to find if I knew how to find it...but..the question is.. Did Rowling ever affirm the literature theories of Granger? Or is just random theory what he has to say about plot lines/symbolism, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 At first, I resisted the first book when it came out. My librarian insisted I read it, so I took it home with me. I read it straight through... I do agree with the later books having a darker side, but necessary to bring it full circle. MIL convinced eldest ds that the books were filled with witchcraft, devil worship, etc. He won't touch them. DS 2 (6 years younger) has a more carefree nature, and told MIL that it was the same theme as LOTR or Star Wars, good vs. evil, light vs. dark. Let us know how the reading goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I'm sure the answer is easy to find if I knew how to find it...but..the question is.. Did Rowling ever affirm the literature theories of Granger? Or is just random theory what he has to say about plot lines/symbolism, etc.? Yes, at least some of it. Or at least she referred to some of the ideas in/behind the books in interviews (not necessarily in reference to him or his books). I remember reading a quote from her somewhere that she had to learn a ridiculous amount about alchemy while writing them, and the literary alchemy idea is one of the major ones discussed in Granger's book I linked above. Some of the other ideas/symbols are pretty obvious (i.e., Greek mythology references), some are a little more of a stretch. The hero's journey cycle is pretty obvious too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) yes - the publisher really liked the PR of despereate divorced mother on welfare. what they neglected was the upper middle class background with education and that she refused financial help from her father. Some might say the books are not well written. ;) However, most people who have read the books can appreciate (even if they don't like the style) how educated she is. Her understanding of mythology, for one, is tops. There is also that pesky grasp of Latin. It's fun to think any ol' uneducated person could write a Harry Potter series, but, alas, it's not possible. Those stories are layers and layers and layered. :) The books are great in that you don't need to understand anything but what is on the page, although there is so much more. Rowlings has an astonishing grasp about...well... everything. :D Edited September 5, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 John Granger's book Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books behind the Hogwarts Adventures covers some of these things. It's a fascinating read. :) Yes. R did not write in a vacuum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Those stories are layers and layers and layered. :) The books are great in that you don't need to understand anything but what is on the page, although there is so much more. Rowlings has an astonishing grasp about...well... everything. :D :iagree: She didn't just write books. She created a fully-realized imaginary world and then told its story. The detail and craftsmanship is staggering, even if she did use lots of adverbs. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Read them together. Reading Harry Potter will be among our favorite family memories. :iagree: I probably wouldn't let an 8 year old go beyond book 2 though. Just my thoughts and opinions.. they do get darker as they progress, but it depends on how vivid your child's imagination is. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 :iagree: She didn't just write books. She created a fully-realized imaginary world and then told its story. The detail and craftsmanship is staggering, even if she did use lots of adverbs. ;) That may be, but not everyone is required to like the books.;) I read them and ds read them when he wanted to. Neither of us hated them but neither of us really liked them either. I read them all out of duty. Ds only read part of one and then put them down. (But then there are some of you who don't like Melville's Moby Dick for some odd reason. It's one of my favorite books!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I didn't know Rowling was so educated. I'd only remembered briefly the story about writing on napkins as a desperate welfare single mother hitting the big time. I think I'd seen it on "The Today Show" or something like that many years ago. That wasn't really fair to push on her maybe? She had split up with her husband and was living on benefits. However, she had a degree in French and Classics from a good university and came from a comfortable background. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 DS was a very early reader and was pretty young when he started the series (sorry, don't remember exactly-- maybe 6/7?) At the time I hadn't read them and didn't realize they got darker. One day (he was 8 at the time) he was near tears when I called him to the table for lunch, and when I asked him what was wrong he said (regarding the book) "A boy died." He was very upset not at the death, but at the reaction of the boy's father which he found heartbreaking. I figured it was time for me to read them too-- and I did. Now we are all (DD as well) huge fans of the books and movies. We've gone to both midnight book release and movie premieres. I don't regret that DS read them at the age(s) he was... it really fostered great discussions about loss, courage, friendships, and many other topics brought up in this thread. That said, as the books continued to come out and he grew older, it was less of an issue anyway. Now that they're older, we've had fun with Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts, The Science of Harry Potter, and Fact, Fiction and Folklore in Harry Potter's World. HP unit studies are some of their favorites. Converting galleons, sickles and knuts to muggle money and going shopping at Diagon Ally is still one of the most fondly remembered things we've done. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 My older boys grew up on HP books, and one of them is now (at 20!) having a ball on Pottermore! How does one get into Pottermore?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 How does one get into Pottermore?? So what is Pottermore? One of my dds has had a ball with Hogwarts Online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 That may be, but not everyone is required to like the books.;) I read them and ds read them when he wanted to. Neither of us hated them but neither of us really liked them either. I read them all out of duty. Ds only read part of one and then put them down. (But then there are some of you who don't like Melville's Moby Dick for some odd reason. It's one of my favorite books!) Oh, I'll freely admit that. :D And I must admit that I've been too chicken to try Moby Dick. One of these days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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