harry potter

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As of a few minutes ago, my quest to re-read all of the Harry Potter books before the release of the final novel reached another benchmark, as I finished Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.Immediate thoughts after reading this one again: this is the book where the Harry Potter series really hit its stride. A lot of things from the previous novels converge here and the tale begins to take a very, very dark turn. I think that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the Potter books’ equivalent to The Empire Strikes Back, in the sense that right up to the moment when Vader told Luke the big secret, Star Wars was still a fairly innocent fairy tale… but with five words, the tables got kicked upside-down and nothing was the same again. So too is there irrevocable change in the wizard world ...

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Just over 48 hours since finishing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a few minutes ago I wrapped up re-reading Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Which is always a pleasure to read because Sirius Black figures so much in its story.

So since I started re-reading all of the Harry Potter books, in preparation for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows nineteen days from now, I’ve now read the first three books in exactly one week! And since Darth Larry was the one who called me out, I can brag that at this clip I should soon easily overtake him, as deep as he already is in Book 4, muhahahahahahaha!!

Something I spotted this time that I never noticed before: when Snape takes over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class he has the students read up on ...

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Starting with this past Monday night, I have resolved to re-read the entire Harry Potter series, as a lead-up to the release of the seventh and final book – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – now three weeks away. Early Thursday morning I finished the first book. And about ten minutes ago I completed the second chapter: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Funny thing: for awhile I’ve thought that Chamber of Secrets was the weakest of the Harry Potter series by far. Having read it again, in light of everything I know from the subsequent novels… well, I definitely have newfound respect for the second book. There was a lot of stuff that J.K. Rowling put right in plain sight, years before it was picked-up on again. The vanishing cabinet that plays such a major role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? ...

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On Monday evening I started reading all of the Harry Potter books, in the lead-up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in just over three week’s time. A short while ago I finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, the first novel in the series. That’s about the fourth time that I’ve read that book and if this rate keeps up, I should definitely have the other five done in time for the seventh and final chapter of the Potter saga.

Next up is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which is probably my least-favorite of the entire series. But in light of what we’ve come to know of Voldemort in the subsequent books, maybe there’ll be something new that I’ll catch this time in reading it again, in that light. Anyways, I’ll start reading that later today (it’s way early ...

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A few weeks from now on July 21st, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – the seventh and final chapter of the Harry Potter saga – will be published. We pre-ordered our copy last week. On the night of July 20th (which ironically will be me and Lisa’s fifth wedding anniversary) we’ll be at the Border’s bookstore on High Point Road in Greensboro to be part of the midnight festivities, just as we did two years ago. I’m considering putting together some sort of costume for the night, which will be the first one I’ve done for a Harry Potter character. But who to go as? My first inclination is to go as Professor Severus Snape, since my dark black gown from high school graduation looks perfect for the role. Except that if I show up as Snape I’ll probably get lynched and killed on the spot by a ...

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The History Channel re-broadcast Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed last night. It’s a two-hour documentary about the film saga, its mythic roots, and the timeless values that it’s tried to share with the modern audience.

As the program was winding down I thought, and not for the first time lately: after all of these years of being a devout Star Wars fan … well, what is the point of it? What has been the point of any of the loyalty that we as fans have shown these movies?

Guess what I’m wondering is: in spite of the multitude of morals and lessons that this movie series has given us, what have we actually done with them, at all?

F’rinstance, George Lucas intended for the recent Star Wars prequels to be a parable about the decline of republican government: that democracies invariably become dictatorships. The final step toward tyranny usually happens ...

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Hot on the heels of comes the domestic trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix… in awesome Quicktime!

See that pic up there? That’s from the scene that the Potter fans have been slobbering to see the most in this film: the scene where Fred and George basically tell Umbridge that she can shove her damned rules straight up her ass, before unleashing indescribable mayhem as they flee Hogwarts.

Two things I hope we have learned from the Harry Potter books. Number One: Do not fear death (a lesson I think the books have done beautifully). Number Two: Government f**ks everything up so bad that you… yes you… have to do it yourself. From the looks of this trailer, the Order of the Phoenix movie might do a handsome job of making that point loud and clear for everyone watching it.

And gotta love the ...

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I am so digging this. Bright and brilliant and an amazing contrast to the previous six covers. This one screams, how do I say this… “Here I am, at last. Here is where I make my final stand. No matter what happens, I will hold my head high and proud. Now do your worst.”

And here is the full cover artwork – front and back – minus the title. Notice that this is the VERY first time (I’m assuming this is him) that we have seen Voldemort’s face depicted in any of the book artwork:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out on July 21, 2007.

EDIT 5:53 PM EST: I keep looking at this cover and for some reason I can’t help but think: Harry is gonna die. There’s something about this cover that hints at at, just like the last cover seemed (well it did for me ...

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There’s a book fair going on at my wife’s school this week. She bought a few things from it and brought them home. Chief among them is this hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:

This needs some ‘splainin’ about why this is a big thing for me. The first Harry Potter book I bought was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire back in June of 2000, right after it had been released. I figured at the time that as fast as it was going, it might be nice to have a first edition for a collector’s item. I didn’t read it then though. A few months later I bought a paperback copy of the first book in the series, started to read it and then dropped it: seemed kinda boring at the time. Then about six months after that I decided to see what ...

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