I read the first four Harry Potter books all in a row.
I read the first four Harry Potter books all in a row. I thought the first two were pretty good, but that the story really picked up in third and fourth, when they started having a more mature tone. Now that I’m reading them with Abby at a much slower pace, I can appreciate the themes Rowling was putting in even in Chamber of Secrets.
Racism
Classism
Murder
Governmental incompetence and corruption
Since I read the books so fast, I didn’t really pick up on these themes until they come more to the fore in later books. I’m even more impressed with them now.
Oh yeah, heck of a series. I think she earned her kibble.
ReplyDeleteReading them with a kid is really fun.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait! I want to do it the way Rowling intended: once a year as the kids age at the same rate as the readers.
ReplyDeleteI do too, but I don't think Abby is going to want to trade off reading pages when she's 17. I think we're heading right into book 3 when we're done with 2.
ReplyDeleteYeah, fair point.
ReplyDeleteIs the reading helping her? She's dyslexic? Am I remembering right?
Yeah. Reading aloud is a good way to get words to "stick."
ReplyDeleteIt's "cool" to trash Rowling, but there is a lot of value in the Potter books in terms of sheer invention alone. The themes aren't, like, ultra-deep or anything, but they are there, and the books are written for kids; whaddya expect, amirite? I do really like that the books are for kids and defiance of authority is such a common theme, though.
ReplyDeleteI reckon 3 is head and shoulders above all the rest. And it breaks causality for the rest of the series, which is kind of an issue. I believe 3 was completed before the movie deal was inked and Rowling was acknowledged as a golden goose that you didn't dare to edit, and it really shows.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally 3 is also a dramatic step up in the movie versions. I don't know why they didn't keep Cuaron for the rest of the films.
...also I recently used HP in class to talk about colonial, segregated societies. She touches on a lot of things, even if her discussions are often tangential or don't go anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI agree 3 is the best. And by far the best movie. It’s the only movie I own in the series, actually. Oh, man. Harry finds two father-figures and he can’t keep either of them. He connects with a father he never knew and acutely feels what he could have had. Gets me just thinking about it.
ReplyDelete3 is so so good.
ReplyDeleteI just thank the Lord that something so intrinsically English continues to influence the American childhood.
ReplyDeleteWhy is that, kirin robinson?
ReplyDeleteBecause the English are delightfully proper as fuck
ReplyDeleteBecause kids need to learn terms like "barking."
ReplyDeleteReading out loud you also notice how often she writes the word "corridor." They spend a lot of time in corridors, not hallways.
kirin robinson I assure you Peppa Pig is driving an entire generation of kids deep into Anglophile territory!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter's accent is already posh at age 3 when she complains about her little friends "talking nonsense."
Sounds like the Beakley household is a regular Downton Abbey.
ReplyDeletePip pip I do say
She has no idea what "a weekend" is, either.
ReplyDeletethat's an American disease! I assure you, we Brits know what a weekend is. It's like after-work pub time but with sleeping breaks.
ReplyDelete(It's a Downton Abbey quote from one of the aristocrats. First episode maybe? The Maggie Smith character.)
ReplyDeleteI remember when I read the first Harry Potter book, and came away feeling like I had read a Roald Dahl pastiche (a good thing, mind you), but things changed quickly in book two, and that atmosphere I liked went away.
ReplyDeletePaul Beakley My Downton knowledge is sadly lacking.
ReplyDeleteI was just pleased that when I read Hagrid's lines, I could hear the actor's voice in my 'ead!
ReplyDelete