It's Harry Potter day...
 

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the day the next installment of the Harry Potter series is out. I've just had an email from Amazon to say that my copy has been dispatched so it should be arriving with tomorrow's post so apologies to all postmen out there. Yippee!

Despite the fact that the Pope has condemned the Harry Potter books I'm really looking forward to it. Don't expect any posts off me tomorrow or Sunday - I might be a bit busy.

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Why in Gods name has the pope conemned Harry Potter books?

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He wrote to a German author who was writing a thesis on the subject Harry Potter - Good or Evil? "It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter becasue these are subtle seductions which act unnoticed and by this deeply distorts Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly".

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:D Back To Hogwart's!!!

I don't wait for any dispatch I just get mine in Asda at mignight! The last Harry Potter I still have the receipt for, I purchased it at 12.06am wonder if I can beat it this time!

he he he be warned Gayle I'm a fast reader I will have finished it in 2 days hope you have your copy by then if not I'll try not to spoil it for you and tell you what happens ;)

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I'm a fast reader. Last time I got mine in the morning post on a Saturday and finished it by Sunday night. I'll be on as soon as I've finished it to give a review - let's see if we agree.

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:) I like the sound of that .. a Harry Potter review.

I have heard that one of the main characters is being killed off I've been speculating for ages which one it will be, I hope it's not Hagrid !

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Mmm! I've heard that rumour too! Wasn't there talk that it was his uncle?

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i can easily spoil this for u.....be nice to me :)

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I'll see you at Asda then Tinks...I'll be pulling an all nighter to get this one read!

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I really can't see the attraction of Harry Potter myself, the films were kinda boring I thought and nothing extra special.

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It's great that 'real' books can still create so much excitment in this multimedia age.

The last one came out when l was living in Glasgow and people were out all night outside Border's books in Argyle Street. Two of my staff and requested the day off, and one [later sacked, but not for this] took the day off to get his copy.

The books aren't for me l'm afraid, though l have read two to my godson. Fantasy just doesn't rattle my cage, just as Lord of the Rings didn't either.

James Baldwin, Bret Easton Ellis, Jean Genet or any other homo realist anyday for me.

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me too...
kwik save are supposed to be selling it for FIVE POUNDS as a loss leader

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It's not about the films - they're only interesting if you've read the books because it's bringing things more to life. It's the books that matter!

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Yes I have to agree with Gayle and go one step further to say the films are crap in comparison to the books. There are no wooden actors in books, only your own imagination the films have just put a face to names!

Although in the last film the scenery was breath taking, especially when Buckbeak was taking Harry across the Loch, I think I heard it was filmed in Scotland.

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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! If you absolutley have to discuss the book, don't give the ending away. It will be over a week before I can settle down with my copy.

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I have to say that HP doesn't float my boat either.......I have read a couple of the other HPbooks but can't really say they were that memorable..........but if it gets kids reading then that's OK. I won't be in the queue.

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Well, I've just got back from Asda with my copy now, so I expect I shall be up till the wee hours! Its always a really funny atmosphere when you go at midnight to pick up the HP books - the adults trying to look nonchalant, but most certainly NOT letting the kids push in front of them to get the book first!

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ive ripped page 247 out so about 2am look out your windows and watch out for fireworks :D

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mt picked mine up, 12.09am on receipt three minutes later than last one :rolleyes: I'm off now to start reading now cya all later when I'm back from Hogwarts :ello: !!

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*phew*

finished it!!!!

hehehhe

i wud absolutly love to spoil it for ppl

so.....

the half blood prince is....





























me!!!*L*

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I'm afraid I'll have to pick up my copy tomorrow at the airport, if they have it. Will have to read it on holiday, but I have a couple of Cornwells on the go at the moment (trying to get some reading in before University starts again)..:D

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I got my copy today in ASDA. Yes I know I have criticised them in the past as the Spawn of Satan and the death of High Street retailing but, where else do you get books now that most of the independants are closed?

Anyway, inside the front cover is printed the retail price, £16.99. ASDA, Tesco and Morrisons have been indulging in a mini price war over this item. Originally Tesco announced they were going to offer it for £7.99 then ASDA trumped them by shaving a penny off, then Morrisons shaved another penny off, and finally ASDA had to shave a further penny off, to £7.96. Then along comes Kwik Save and offers it as a loss leader for £4.99! OK the shopper benefits in the short term but, in the long term, you can say goodbye to the delightful pastime of browsing through the shelves of a really good bookshop along with breadth of choice and specialist knowledge and advice.

For an independent bookshop this sort of publishing event would have helped keep the shop open for another couple of months. Now it is just another weapon in the war for dominance between the big four supermarkets. Britain may be saving money on Harry Potter but, it is much poorer today than it ever has been.

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Just finished it. What fab, fab, FAB read!:)

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I've been trying to read it all day - I'm about half way through - but I have two very loud children who have wanted my attention most of the day. When they go to bed I'm going to really plough into it. I'm enjoying it so far.

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Me too lol! Have people no consideration :D kids, visitors, phone calls, door knockers, any distraction possible I've had it today :( lol! Insult to injury what seems like my 50th phone call of the day was my mum she's just rung me but only to ask if i'm reading my book gggrrrr :mad: !!!

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how can you dijest a book in just a few hours????
it would take me at least a week,are you all speed readers or is it just me thats past my sell by date ,,,,

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I'm a very fast reader. What I do tend to do is speed read through a book then go back through it at a more leisurely pace and pick through it. I have books that I have read 10x over and I still manage to fond new things in them.

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Me too. I read them like I'm watching a film - it kind of washes over me the first time. It really helps with these books that we've seen all the main characters on film - so when I'm reading about Snape I'm seeing Alan Rickman.

About two thirds through now and taking a break.

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My daughter has gone to sleep and left her book downstairs, my chance at last to start reading but no I came on here and now my wife has got the damn book now, oh well always tomorrow.

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I'm not a Harry Potter fan, though my daughter (aged 30) is. I much prefer Terry Pratchett when it comes to wizards - and his books came first. You can't beat Rincewind (failed graduate of Unseen University) as a wizard, even though he spells it wizzard, and he's got The Luggage too. I would recommend all H P fans to read Pratchett. ;)

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no offence but with a name like grannyclaret - need we say more? *L*

i have to admit it does need a double read to catch it the full glory

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Called at Asda on my way home from work last night and snaffled my copy. It's now packed in my suitcase to be read on holiday. I reckon I'll finish my current book on the plane so I will start it when I get there. Hmmmm, I'm afraid that I won't be good company until it's finished........ poor Sparky.:D

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Oh I agree. I love HP books, but I couldn't live without my Terry Pratchett collection.:)

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I've never read a Terry Pratchet one and I know I should. I was always under the impression that they were a series and you have to read them in the right order. If that's the case can someone tell me where to start? Otherwise, can you recommend one for me?

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First one is 'The Colour of Magic', and I found it really hard going - it almost put me off Pratchett. Its not as comedy based as the others (IMHO). I ended up starting with the first ones in the 'Death' books and the 'Witch' books (Mort and Wyrd Sisters). After I had gotten myself hooked, I went back and read the first one and really enjoyed it. Most of the books are stand alone, but it does help if you have some previous knowledge of what has gone before.
Or you could try 'Small Gods' or 'Pyramids'. These are Discworld books, but they do stand alone.

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Not as many distractions today I finished it at tea-time :D Brilliant !!!


Does anybody know the difference between the adult copies and the childrens, surely it isn't just the front cover?

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They cost more.......No......I made that up.......I don't know.

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Re. the Pratchett Discworld books. Some of them need to be read in sequence but all of them are funny in their own right.

I particulary like those that involve Commander Vimes of the Night Watch and his wife, Lady Sybil, who breeds dragons. The storyline where those two got together, Vimes sitting in Sybil's sitting room while a very elderly dragon has its head on his knee and is gently dribbling acid down his leg; Vimes absent-mindedly lighting his cigar with a small "flaming" dragon-pup (to Lady Sybil's horror - baby dragons tend to explode when over-excited); Vimes' interaction with his "men", the bogey-man who carries a door round with him, the zomby whose limbs fall off every now and then, the very shy banshee who slips notes under the doors of the soon-to-be-bereaved, that say, "Ooo-eee-ooo-eee", the female werewolf and Detritus the troll, the dwarf who turns out to be female - but all dwarves have beards so nobody knew.

I also have a fondness for Death, who rides a white horse called Binky and is rather fond of cats. The 3 witches are fantastic characters too. Once you've read it you'll never forget the thought of Granny Weatherwax running backwards and forwards with her broomstick, trying to jump-start it, and Nanny Ogg who has been a bit of a "goer" in her time - and still is, given half a chance.

The wizards at Unseen University are a dissolute bunch, much given to over-indulgence in everything that's bad for you, especially food, and have a librarian who was turned, in a magical accident, into an orang-utan. Sorry but, to me, Harry Potter is just a pale imitation. ;)

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It's just the front cover. It started with the earlier volumes when adults began to enjoy reading them but didn't like to be seen reading a childrens' book in public they brought out a version with a more adult cover to look less conspicuous.

In our family I was actually the first person to read the first couple of books, the kids caught onto it later.

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Love the discworld novels and the way he blends things together, Death is my favorite character also Death of Rats who keeps popping up, sorry all HP fans tried but couldn't get over excited and it wasn't because they were kids books I still love Roald Dahl, but its discworld for me.

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Thanks for your Pratchet suggestions but no one has actually told me the title of the first book in the series so that I know what to search for on Amazon.

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I did mention it in a previous post Gayle!:D

Westender I have to agree that the 'Vimes' books are by far the best. However I do have a soft spot for Nanny Ogg...:)

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I know we can't discuss HP too much because of members who haven't read it yet but did anybody else flood with tears or was it just me! I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT :( !!


I'm dreading the film of this book coming out I will start stocking up on the Kleenex now I think :o

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I know, and it's killing me that I can't chat about it because no one else I know has read it yet. We should have a special Harry Potter night in the chat room.

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I wonder if we could get J.K. to do a Q&A in chat for an hour if we pay her £20 each I'm sure she could do with the money :D

Apparently my mum was telling me today that J.K. has said her next book will be the last in the Harry Potter series because she's fed up with Potter and wants to start writing more adult novels! :mad: (I swore then but deleted it!)

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I think the next one was always intended to be the last one.

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Did you know she made £20 million just between midnight on Friday night and midnight on Saturday?

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I don't have a liking for HP......but I do like the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels......I think I read them out of sequence but I still enjoyed them.

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I've just been on Amazon and ordered a few Terry Pratchet novels - I'll let you know how I get on after I've read them.

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Well, I finished my copy of HP in a day and a half while on holiday. What a cracking read, I lent it to a 16 year old lad who had already been in Greece for a week, and had missed the release date. He enjoyed it too, but we couldn't discuss it too loudly, as Sparky and the lad's mum hadn't read it..........

I must admit that I was shocked when......................;)

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I think you will love them.

What the deal then? Can we discuss Harry Potter openly cliffhangers and murders and all, or have some slowcoaches still not finished yet?:D

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Ok folks, I have now finished the latest Harry Potter. And highly entertaining it was too!

Thanks to everyone for not giving the ending away before I had finished.:foryou:

I'm ready to start discussing it when everyone else is!

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Old thread again - I tried a Pratchet book. On recommendations from here I bought three of them - The colour of Magic, Mort and Wyrd Sisters. So far I have read one half of The Colour of Magic and thrown it away - sorry, really can't get into it. I'll give the others a go sometime but I don't have great hopes for being hooked by them. Oh, well, we can't all like the same thing.

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I havnt read any of them but my daughter has so maybe I can get her to discuss the fine points of these "works of arts" or not as the case may be.