Harry Potter

[Darrell]

On a side note, I've noticed that in the last two books Rowling keeps mentioning how fast the boys are growing. "Sprouted up a foot over the summer" etc.

I have to wonder if that was help keep up with the timeline of the movies where the actors are aging much more rapidly than the storyline.

[boymom]

Or the fact that teen boys tend to do that. Either that, or I'm the Incredible Shrinking Woman.

[myotch]

I thought that the early books were more slapstick, and then noticed there was an escalating or evolving gravity. I think Rowling meant to have each book more appropriate to the grade level Harry was in.

The "level of evil" that Harry is fighting is also more grade-understandable in each book.

[paul]

(11-16-2011 12:00 PM)boymom Wrote:  Or the fact that teen boys tend to do that.

^^^This. My older son grew over a foot one summer. He grew so fast during the baseball season, and he was my #1 catcher, that his knees (patella tendon) had a hart time keeping up with the rest of his body. He had to do therapy and everything. Crazy growth. Don't remember the exact numbers, but it was somewhere around a 12-18 inches in under three months.

[Darrell]

(11-16-2011 12:00 PM)boymom Wrote:  Or the fact that teen boys tend to do that. Either that, or I'm the Incredible Shrinking Woman.

True. I know it does happen. I'm just curious to know how much influence the thought of "this is going to end up on film played by these actors" had on the writing of the last few books as opposed to the first few.

[Tchaiko]

I was recently going over the different HP characters and character types in my head, and I realized that (**possible spoiler alert**) Percy Weasley was the exact characterization of an IFB. Being convinced of his superiors' impeccability even though they themselves knew that they were wrong, his treatment of his family when they were acting against what he believed, how he preached at them every chance he got, the self-righteousness. . . Just everything. And I was curious as to what you all thought about it.

[pastor's wife]

Yes, Tchaiko. I thought that too.

BTW, Paul, did you know that there already was an existing thread about Harry Potter?

[Beowulf]

(11-16-2011 11:03 AM)Darrell Wrote:  

Quote:It's kind of like a "highlights" reel. Nuances and details are missing.

That's a good way of putting it.

I'm sure they're very enjoyable in their own right but I'm still glad I'm reading to books first.

They just couldn't squeeze a 700+ page book into a reasonable movie time period. If you get the DVDs there are lots of deleted scenes there were in the books, and in some cases are important to the plot. The Family Channel showings have included a good many of those missing scenes (which, in addition to commercials, makes them quite long.)

[Sharon]

I love the audio books, as read by Jim Dale. They are wonderful, and I have the whole set. I haven't heard the ones produced for the UK market, but I've heard those are also very well done.

I read the books faster than Mr. Dale, so I'd buy the print copy and race through it, then get the CDs and take a more leisurely stroll through the material.

[Darrell]

Quote:I love the audio books, as read by Jim Dale. They are wonderful, and I have the whole set.

That's what I've been listening to for the last...six months?