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anamardoll · 06-30-2011, 01:15 PM

Are we getting HP bashing off our chests? Is this a safe place?

I think the books -- the ones I've read anyway -- could be better edited. I'm not a fan of world-building or character-building for world/character-building's sake, I like my details to be very much in service to the overarching narrative -- which is, I grant, an UTTERLY SUBJECTIVE bar.

Then again, I feel that most books I read should've and could've been cut down to 300 pages at most. I'm quite ruthless when it comes to my law of narrative conservation.

I also "get" that a lot of HP fans wanted more and more details as the series progressed and Rowling had to chose between satisfying people like me or people like them. In all seriousness, she probably made the best choice for her, and I respect her for it.

Having said THAT, I reserve the right to feel that the books are a little bloated.

As for "getting kids reading", I don't really care one way or another. It's a logical fallacy to assume that the children who were hooked on HP wouldn't have been hooked by something else if Rowling had never existed.

Oh, and if we're taking a poll, I can't stand "bottom-quoting". Seems like not worth even leaving the quote in the post in those cases, since it's not providing context or clarity, at least not for me. But eh, whatever.

06-30-2011, 01:15 PM	#211
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Are we getting HP bashing off our chests? Is this a safe place? I think the books -- the ones I've read anyway -- could be better edited. I'm not a fan of world-building or character-building for world/character-building's sake, I like my details to be very much in service to the overarching narrative -- which is, I grant, an UTTERLY SUBJECTIVE bar. Then again, I feel that most books I read should've and could've been cut down to 300 pages at most. I'm quite ruthless when it comes to my law of narrative conservation. I also "get" that a lot of HP fans wanted more and more details as the series progressed and Rowling had to chose between satisfying people like me or people like them. In all seriousness, she probably made the best choice for her, and I respect her for it. Having said THAT, I reserve the right to feel that the books are a little bloated. As for "getting kids reading", I don't really care one way or another. It's a logical fallacy to assume that the children who were hooked on HP wouldn't have been hooked by something else if Rowling had never existed. Oh, and if we're taking a poll, I can't stand "bottom-quoting". Seems like not worth even leaving the quote in the post in those cases, since it's not providing context or clarity, at least not for me. But eh, whatever.