Harry Potter Books (Spoiler Alert--Enter at your own risk!)

[Leslie]

I am really really glad that I read the books (and listened to the CDs) and just let it end there. I never got into any of the HP fandom stuff, never read any HP slash, didn't get into any author interviews (well, mostly...with a few exceptions). For me, that's a good thing. I can just let the books be in my memory as I read them.

L

[Scheherazade]

I wish I had done that Leslie!  In fact, I had done that until I heard about the ebook thing and the researcher in me took over.  I was never into the whole fandom thing, but I read and bought all her books, even got some at midnight releases, and saw all the movies etc... but yeah, as much as I love them she's really soured me to them now.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

I wish I had done that Leslie!  In fact, I had done that until I heard about the ebook thing and the researcher in me took over.  I was never into the whole fandom thing, but I read and bought all her books, even got some at midnight releases, and saw all the movies etc... but yeah, as much as I love them she's really soured me to them now.

I love the books, I love the movies, I collect the collectibles ... JKR doesn't matter. 

[jpmorgan49]

I agree, I loved all the books and I love the movies but I too have lost respect for Rowling.  I'm wondering if the 7 Harry Potter books were all she had in her.  I also enjoyed the Twilight series books and Meyer came back and wrote the Host, which was even a better book than the Twilight series.  She's proved to be shes not just a one series wonder...
jp

[mlewis78]

I loved book 7.  Also, she certainly has read C.S. Lewis.  I didn't start reading the HP series until just before book 7 was released, so I was able to read one right after the other.  I read the first 6 in paperback and the 7th in hardcover.

I didn't even know that the Lexicon eventually was published.  I will buy one.  Thanks for letting us know.

[pidgeon92]

I loved the books, and I don't really care about the author's odd habits. We all have our little fetishes.

[MAGreen]

I love the Harry Potter books. I am happier with the first 3, but all of them are wonderful stories. I would buy then in an instant if they became available on Kindle. I really don't care at all for the author, other than to wonder if she will continue to write.

[koolmnbv]

Can someone explain The Lexicon to me and what happened?? I didn't know any of this until I joined this board. We own most of the Harry Potter hardcover books and I noticed they were not on Kindle but I thought it was just for the same reasons alot of books have not been kindled yet. Just delays.

Now I know (since I joined here) all the fuss she has put up but I had no idea she took another writer/book to court. If someone gets a minute could you update me briefly on that fiasco.

[Leslie]

In a nutshell (and from memory)...a librarian from (I believe) Michigan, Steven Vander Ark, started a website which was basically an encyclopedia of the Harry Potter books. I never visited the website but apparently he had dates, timelines, definitions, genealogies...you name it. If it had to do with HP, it was there. JKR visited the site, said she used it at times to refresh her memory on certain facts, and gave it a thumbs up seal of approval. All was fine until Vander Ark decided to put the content together as a book. I think a publisher approached him with an offer, if I remember correctly. When JKR got wind of that, she sued him for copyright infringement. The case went to trial and I guess you could say the outcome was a draw. The book did get published but there were lots of restrictions on what could and could not be included.

L

[koolmnbv]

In a nutshell (and from memory)...a librarian from (I believe) Michigan, Steven Vander Ark, started a website which was basically an encyclopedia of the Harry Potter books. I never visited the website but apparently he had dates, timelines, definitions, genealogies...you name it. If it had to do with HP, it was there. JKR visited the site, said she used it at times to refresh her memory on certain facts, and gave it a thumbs up seal of approval. All was fine until Vander Ark decided to put the content together as a book. I think a publisher approached him with an offer, if I remember correctly. When JKR got wind of that, she sued him for copyright infringement. The case went to trial and I guess you could say the outcome was a draw. The book did get published but there were lots of restrictions on what could and could not be included.

L

Thanks for the info Leslie. Basically She flipped out after he tried to turn it into a HP encyclopedia. I am glad he still got to make his book at least partially.

[Leslie]

Thanks for the info Leslie. Basically She flipped out after he tried to turn it into a HP encyclopedia. I am glad he still got to make his book at least partially.

My cynical take on it is that she flipped out when she realized he might make some money. As long it was a non-revenue generating labor-of-love website, she was fine with it. But, when the potential of actually making a few bucks from the project came into the picture, she was all over him like slime on a pond.

L

[koolmnbv]

Of course, it was fine with her as long as no one else profited and she could still benefit from time to time.

In one way I can see an author trying to stop someone even if it seems harmless because if one person wants to create a HP type book then whats to stop another 10 ppl,100 ppl etc.

On the other hand she should have absolutely no complaints over the amount of money she has generated by HP books. I am sure his book would not have taken anything away from her success or riches.

And if she was fine with the website and all the information it contained beforehand then she should be fine with it no matter what format he decided to produce it in. But as we all know she has an "issue" with works being made in different formats. 

[Leslie]

And if she was fine with the website and all the information it contained beforehand then she should be fine with it no matter what format he decided to produce it in. But as we all know she has an "issue" with works being made in different formats. 

Very true. Good point.

L

[Betsy the Quilter]

Just read this thread this morning.  Dumbledore's gay?    

I somehow missed this....must not be as much of a HP fanatic as some, though I have all the books and enjoyed them all.

Betsy

[Ann in Arlington]

There was an interview with JKR shortly after book 7 was published and, in discussing her view/impressions/thoughts about various characters she said something like "I always thought of Dumbledore has having lost a great friend and loved one in his life when <what's his name> turned on him/died".  I'm sure someone can find the exact quote.  She didn't, to my recollection, flat out say, "yeah, he's gay", but she certainly left the door open for that conclusion and many people ran with it.

Mind you. . .I'm not as close a follower as many, so I may completely wrong. . . .I guess I just never considered it an issue one way or the other. 

Though I wish, in her epilogue, one of the 'first years' going to Hogwarts had been his cousin Dudley's kid. . . . .

[ProfCrash]

Dumbledore's sexuality was revealed after book 7 was released. It was one of the more silly statements I have heard. As someone pointed out in the thread, none of the teachers were married or had kids, that we knew of.

Somehow or another Dumbledore's relationship with the evil Wizard who came before Voldemort (I am forgetting his name, Grindenwal maybe?) was a gay relationship. She claims that in book 7 when she discussed Dumbledore wand whats his face she leaves appropriate hints that they were dating. If she did, everyone missed it, including the Gay community. (rolls her eyes)

The magical realm was the most vanilla of realms. I know of no single parents (maybe Seamus but I think his Dad was a muggle and I don't think he took off after he found out his new wife was a witch), no divorced families, and no gay kids or adults. I don't really think that there were any gay adults but she can claim Dumbledore if she wants. I think she did that more because she realized that she had left the gay/lesbian/bi-sexual community and she had no problem with that community. Making one of the more complicated heros of the book gay probably made up for that omission in her mind.

I am fine with her world being so vanilla. It is a series of books for kids. I am fine with skipping the dirtier aspects of the real world (divorce, single parents, teenage mothers). Let the ten year olds read and enjoy the books without needing to ask a ton of questions.

I don't think that anyone was ready for Harry to blow up the way that it did. I think that JKR has gone over board in trying to protect her franchise and she has alienated some of her fans for doing what she has done. I think her stance on e-books is silly. If you are so focused on paper and wanting kids to experience your books then you don't let them get made into movies. Last I checked Lego Harry Potter was not made of paper. She has sold the brand into every other format but the e-book. It is silly.

[ProfCrash]

Dudley's Kid being a wizard or witch would be awesome. By book 7 you could see that Dudley had figured out that Harry was not evil and there was nothing wrong with being a wizard. I thought that was a nice touch.

[MAGreen]

If she had been smart about the whole Lexicon thing, she would have collaborated on it and gotten a share of it. He may have done the work, but it was based on her work. Many HP fans would love to have a HP encyclopedia that JKR had a hand in.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

And if she was fine with the website and all the information it contained beforehand then she should be fine with it no matter what format he decided to produce it in. But as we all know she has an "issue" with works being made in different formats. 

What really ticked me off was after praising Steve's site to the skies, she got up on the stand and claimed the site was sloppy and inaccurate.  As far as I'm concerned, it's the go-to site whenever I want any Potter information.  Want to know about a potion or a spell or whatever, go right there and get the info with a citation back to the book. 

There was an interview with JKR shortly after book 7 was published and, in discussing her view/impressions/thoughts about various characters she said something like "I always thought of Dumbledore has having lost a great friend and loved one in his life when <what's his name> turned on him/died".  I'm sure someone can find the exact quote.  She didn't, to my recollection, flat out say, "yeah, he's gay", but she certainly left the door open for that conclusion and many people ran with it.

Mind you. . .I'm not as close a follower as many, so I may completely wrong. . . .I guess I just never considered it an issue one way or the other. 

She was talking to a group of kids at a type of kids' press conference.  One of them asked if Dumbledore was gay and she said yes, she had always thought of him as gay.

Though I wish, in her epilogue, one of the 'first years' going to Hogwarts had been his cousin Dudley's kid. . . . .

In another interview, she talked about someone who didn't do magic until late in life.  That was an issue that was never resolved. 

If she had been smart about the whole Lexicon thing, she would have collaborated on it and gotten a share of it. He may have done the work, but it was based on her work. Many HP fans would love to have a HP encyclopedia that JKR had a hand in.

JKR had announced that she would be doing an encyclopedia, profits to go to charity, but not for another five years.  Then RDR Publishing approached Steve about The Lexicon with a very limited press run (10,000 copies, I believe). 

Many of us would have bought both, especially since there are five years in between publications, but now I'm thinking she'll probably piggy-back off Steve's hard work.  That was probably her original plan and he one-upped her.  It could be why she went after him with unprecedented vengeance.

A lot of the kids who don't know anything about legal contracts cited the fact that Steve had a hold harmless agreement with the publisher in case of a law suit.  They said that was proof that he knew he was infringing on her copyright.  Baloney, and I don't mean Oscar Meyer.

[Forster]

I've lost a lot of respect for JKR.  I don't suspect we will ever see another major work out of her, why should she, she is set for life and then some.  Her books while all very, very good, were IMO not unusually so, meaning there are lots of books every bit as good as hers but for whatever reason didn't benefit from the media hype of a poor single mother making it big, ect., etc.

Websites such as the Lexicon helped fuel the hype and entrench the fandom and IMO JKR benefited handsomely from such sites.  It irks me to no end that she went to such lengths to bite the hand that fed her.

[ProfCrash]

She did have a great back story. It took a while for the books to really take hold. I am thinking it was somewhere around the third book that people started talking about her and the series.

Were I think she is different then many authors of children's/young adult literature is that she developed a world with very well defined characters. She allowed her kids to age and face many of the problems that come with aging. She did deal with some pretty big issues, racism, discrimination, peer pressure, and death. She dealt with these issues in a way that did not hide them but did not make them overwhelming to younger kids.

I have tried reading some of the newer series that are compared to Harry Potter and I just don't find them as well defined or as pleasurable. Some have massive agendas that are clearly defined (Golden Compass anyone) and most are just not written in a manner that treats the kids as if they are intelligent enough to read the books. They dumb down the language or the scenarios.

I don't know that I would compare Harry to Narnia. I think that Narnia is in a different league. I know that I would not compare Harry and the Lord of the Rings. Totally different league. Then again, Harry is meant to be read by 10 year olds and there are not to many 10 year olds that would really get the Lord of the Rings. And I actually think that Harry has better character development then Lord of the Rings.

[Chad Winters]

I have tried reading some of the newer series that are compared to Harry Potter and I just don't find them as well defined or as pleasurable. Some have massive agendas that are clearly defined (Golden Compass anyone) and most are just not written in a manner that treats the kids as if they are intelligent enough to read the books. They dumb down the language or the scenarios.

I think Pullman's series is much older, I remember reading it many years ago....

And yes...he had more agenda than story 

[ProfCrash]

I read the first book and was seriously offended. I am a Catholic who disagrees with the Church on a fair amount and I was offended by the book. I never made it to the second book because the first was just so offensive. Bleech.

I don't know how old it is, only that it was recommended to folks who liked Harry.

[CS]

I read the first book and was seriously offended. I am a Catholic who disagrees with the Church on a fair amount and I was offended by the book. I never made it to the second book because the first was just so offensive. Bleech.

I don't know how old it is, only that it was recommended to folks who liked Harry.

I assume you mean the Golden Compass books, and not Harry?

[ProfCrash]

I assume you mean the Golden Compass books, and not Harry?

Yup. Loved Harry and have been thinking bad thoughts. I want to re-read them but I am not holding those thick, thick books again.

All I know is that JKR is losing out on a lot of money.