Well we have read the last one! And I wasn't disappointed at all.

What ever I thought would happen didn't at all of course. The plot unfolding was tremendous as always. And those bombs you set at the end of all chapters made it hard to put the books down.

I'll miss that kid, his world and his doubts, his humanity; yours JK. I just hope you won't retire and give us more stories... any stories. And ebook versions of them! :D

Yvan

I'm in the midst of chapter six so far and there has been more action in #7 so far then all of #6.

If I guess correctly everyone still has their nose in it? The book I mean! :laugh4:

Captivating isn't it! I've had the good fortune, if I can ironically say, to require medical testing. One day of prep and one day of tests. Plenty of time to read! That's why I could finish it so soon, work would have prevented me to do so and frankly, I would have prefered to read through it more slowly.

Tests came out negative... Yay!:happydance:

Oops, I finished it on monday morning after a few late night reading sessions :)

Glad your tests came out negative, Ivan. And I second your emotion on J.K. Rowling. She has brought so many hours of reading enjoyment to me. I didn't think Book 7 could possibly live up to all the hype, but it did. Narrow escapes and thrilling battles. Lots of tear-jerk moments, too.

The epilogue gave all the fanfiction authors plenty of food for sequels.:2thumbsup

(Spoiler Free: the sadness I refer to is simply that it is over, not that any characters did or did not die)

I finished it last night, and i have to say, as a testament to JK, I've never felt this ... need to grieve... due to a book before. I know that i have read more skillfully written books. I know that I have invested more time into other series (Wheel of Time, Song of Fire and Ice, to a lesser extent, Sword of Truth) but I have realized that I have never wanted a story to go on as much as I wanted this one too.

I think a lot of it has to do with the growth of the characters. We joined them when they were 11, and followed them until their 17th years, most books I've read have either started the protagonists at a later time, glossed over the development and aging, or simply not stuck with the characters for nearly as long a time.

I don't think I've ever felt as invested in a world before this, and i'm very sad that the stories are over. I hope very strongly that JK decides to write more in that universe. It would be great if she visited, directly or indirectly, some of the characters from the series, but what i really want is more tales of Muggles and Wizards.

I know that this got a little long winded, but I've felt the need to write this out since I finished it.

I was at Amazon yesterday looking at something and Potter was in slots 1, 2, 4, 7 & 9 for 'most popular' in the last hour.

JK is in the counting house...

(Spoiler Free: the sadness I refer to is simply that it is over, not that any characters did or did not die)

I finished it last night, and i have to say, as a testament to JK, I've never felt this ... need to grieve... due to a book before. I know that i have read more skillfully written books. I know that I have invested more time into other series (Wheel of Time, Song of Fire and Ice, to a lesser extent, Sword of Truth) but I have realized that I have never wanted a story to go on as much as I wanted this one too.

I think a lot of it has to do with the growth of the characters. We joined them when they were 11, and followed them until their 17th years, most books I've read have either started the protagonists at a later time, glossed over the development and aging, or simply not stuck with the characters for nearly as long a time.

I don't think I've ever felt as invested in a world before this, and i'm very sad that the stories are over. I hope very strongly that JK decides to write more in that universe. It would be great if she visited, directly or indirectly, some of the characters from the series, but what i really want is more tales of Muggles and Wizards.

I know that this got a little long winded, but I've felt the need to write this out since I finished it.

Robin Hobb's Farseer Universe --

never have I wanted a series to continue as this one... Fitz, The Fool, Night Eyes... *sniff* sorry for this OT post...

To bring it back on topic.. I am on chapter 10 of HP7...

I am on Chapter 32... so almost finished!

I hope very strongly that JK decides to write more in that universe. It would be great if she visited, directly or indirectly, some of the characters from the series, but what i really want is more tales of Muggles and Wizards.



Albus' youth was interesting, that could make for great stories.

In an interview on the Today show, Rowling indicates that she may write a Harry Potter encyclopedia, to give information that was prevented from going into the novels due to the constraints of story-telling.

**Warning! Link contains Spoilers!**
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/

**Small spoiler alert**

I was NOT a big fan of the epilogue. To me it sounded too much like living happily ever after... the rest was cool, though, especially the chapter on Albus' and Snake's youth.

If you'd like to read more commentary on the book, there's a Yahoo group called "Harry Potter for Grownups" that you might find interesting. I have to warn you, though, right now they seem to be pretty much focused on tearing the book apart (particularly those who don't like how Rowling portrayed Snape).

The list is full of spoilers, so I wouldn't go there until you've finished the book.

Alexander, the epilogue has apparently not been well received by fans, though I liked it, purely for the one significant scene regarding the younger son. (Hard to avoid spoilers here!) For me, that wrapped things up nicely regarding the long-term development of the principal characters.

Oops, I meant to say that I did not like the epilogue either. Sometimes I think faster than I type ... ;(

Yes, me too, that epilog bothered me. It was clearly an afterthought like a trailer to a next phase or other story.
Here I have a question as to why Victoria and Teddy should be there, they are too old for that are they?:wink3:

The odd thing is, I was pretty sure that was the "last chapter" that she wrote out ahead of time. The last word isn't "scar," but it does appear in the last sentence. And interviews have confirmed this. Apparently it did get shorter, though:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323 (SPOILER WARNINGS!)

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-07-25-jk-rowling_N.htm

Those of you who wanted more details (and wanted to know why they weren't in the epilogue) might want to read these. You might also want to read some comments posted by Cheryl Klein, the Scholastic editor who copyedited the books in the U.S.:

http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-thoughts-on-deathly-hallows.html

I particularly liked one of the comments by a blog visitor: ...she can show a portion of the truth and make you believe it, and then show you more later, and suddenly you realize you've got to restructure the entire story all over again in your head. She does that so well that she can use that technique over and over, yet it continues to surprise.

Robin Hobb's Farseer Universe --

never have I wanted a series to continue as this one... Fitz, The Fool, Night Eyes... *sniff* sorry for this OT post...

To bring it back on topic.. I am on chapter 10 of HP7...

I'm going to check that out as my next series. Thanks :)

I'm just starting chapter 11.

One of the problems with the book (IMHO) is that because it was originally written for the UK market and then brought over the US, there are things said and words that should be changed for the American audience. While adults may get these things, a lot of kids won't. So in my opinion, it's a poor job of editing the US version. My wife is Scottish and I've learned a lot of difference between UK and US English. But most people in the US won't have had that opportunity.

for me personally, I'd rather have the disparity of talk. I mean, it does take place in the UK, so it makes it feel much more authentic to me. Most of the kids i know that have read it, love it, and jump on terms like "boogies" :)

Then again, I've always loved the imported British television and my roomie is from the UK, so i might have a different opinion.

Is there any difference between the UK version and the US version? If so, i might have to import and pretend it's a new series :-D

The cover for the Adult version is different. That I know for sure.

I'm going to check that out as my next series. Thanks :)

Your welcome... and she has official ebooks :)

Oops, I meant to say that I did not like the epilogue either. Sometimes I think faster than I type ... ;(

Caution: Be sure brain is engaged before putting mouth, er, fingers, into gear :)

I don't know what differences there might be between the US and UK versions of book 7. There were quite a few changes in the first book, including the title (Philosopher's Stone vs. Sorceror's Stone) and terms like post vs. mail, trainers vs. sneakers, jumpers vs. sweaters. As the series went on, the US fans complained about these changes and we saw fewer of them in subsequent books. I've been buying the Canadian versions (because they are printed on recycled paper) for the past several volumes, which I understand have fewer changes than the US versions. I think kids who read in the US these days can handle the vocabulary differences involved. There's little need to "dumb down" the books for them. Just my opinion, of course.

There have been a few books and series over the years that I have finished with a sense of bereavement. The Travis McGee series was one. Harry Potter is another. JKR created a world we all loved to share. She made us care about the characters, their triumphs and their failures. She has created a classic for children and adults alike. For pure pleasure, it doesn't get any better than this!

Put me down as another person not fond of the epilogue...

It feels too much like an afterthought or a marketing ploy. It definitely leaves her open to pen another series.

Travis McGee Rox!!!!

I loved the epilogue. I truly did. I know its sappy and emotional to have a happily ever after but heck. That world is real only in our minds and I ate the happily ever after stuff up like a bear eating honey.

Great book, great series!

I'm gonna go back now and read em all again!

Travis McGee Rox!!!!

I loved the epilogue. I truly did. I know its sappy and emotional to have a happily ever after but heck. That world is real only in our minds and I ate the happily ever after stuff up like a bear eating honey.

Great book, great series!

I'm gonna go back now and read em all again!

Not that it's bad but it's not well integrated to the tightly knit stories we've been accustomed to. It feels out of place like white socks with a black suit. My daughter tells me that JK had planned double that chapter and that she'd confided to the press about some details. Of course I can't find anything about it.

Not that it's bad but it's not well integrated to the tightly knit stories we've been accustomed to. It feels out of place like white socks with a black suit. My daughter tells me that JK had planned double that chapter and that she'd confided to the press about some details. Of course I can't find anything about it.

Well, considering the beginning of Book 1 took place 10 years before most of the rest of the book, it's not really surprising that there was a big gap between most of book 7 and the epilogue.

Not that it's bad but it's not well integrated to the tightly knit stories we've been accustomed to. It feels out of place like white socks with a black suit. My daughter tells me that JK had planned double that chapter and that she'd confided to the press about some details. Of course I can't find anything about it.

yvan, I posted some links to the articles with more info earlier in this thread (I think). Or try http://www.accio-quote.org/ for a source of all the interviews Rowling has ever given, and then some. :)