salixbabylon | notes and observations on HP #5

I'm glad I waited to start reading this book until after I saw the movie. The movie was good, and in many ways, actually superior, IMO. This is only my 3rd reading of the text, and I was pleased that a lot of the things that annoyed so much the first 2 times no longer bug me at all...

Things I Noted On This Reading/Mostly Just Incoherent Babble

1) Harry is so angry and angsty and upset that it takes me *hours* to calm down and let go of residual tension when I stop reading. Which means either that JKR has done a magnificent job of bringing me into Harry's head, or that I'm a totally delusional twit who ought to re-learn some lessons about real and not-real. You decide. ;)

2) I am seriously loving Ron in these last two books, and am head-over-heels in love with Neville after this one. Hermione... kind of bugs me, to be honest.

3) Sadly, Severus and Draco are both far less interesting/witty/panty-meltingly-sexy in the books than they are fandom. *le sigh*

4) Umbridge frankly scares me. She's so evil, such a sadist, and she gives me the creeps. It makes my stomach clench, the way she treats the students.

5) Thank Loki for Fred and George. They provide the funniest moments in this book, so clever and just laugh-out-loud amusing, and it's so needed after all the quiet horrors of Umbridge et al.

6)I always wanted Harry to end up with Luna rather than Ginny. I'm still holding out hope that maybe that can happen at the end of #7.

OMG - one more book, to read in 4 days, and then THE END OF THE WORLD!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sadly, Severus and Draco are both far less interesting/witty/panty-meltingly-sexy in the books than they are fandom. *le sigh*

Isn't that the truth. Sigh.

Sometimes I wonder if that isn't true for every fandom...

Wel, except for Aragorn. ;)

Rescue Remedy...Rescue Remedy...Tension Tamer Tea....More Rescue Remedy and Repeat

Does RR calm you down? I've been tlaking it daily, but never noticed it mellowing me out at all...

Tea! What a brilliant idea - duh! :) *goes to make some*

I know - Luna rocks and Ginny is kinda sucky. Fred and George rock my socks but I don't see why people keep writing twincest about them *pukes* - and I count threesomes in that category. Especially threesomes with Hermione coz she's mine.

Hello. I'm your new stalker by the way. No, not really. But I am watching your journal, which explains why I've suddenly started commenting your entries.

*waves* Stalk away - and welcome! :)

*stalks*

I'm damn sexy when I stalk. You should see me.

Ah, but then *I* would be stalking *you*. ;)

We could be stalker buddies!

Like fuck buddies. Only with stalking.

3) Yes. Sadly.
4) She is the only character - ever - that has pissed me off in such a way that I had to put the book down and take a break reading it. It still amazes me that I had to do that.
5) Amen.

Twinsies, oh how I love thee...

I might even have to write them some fic, someday... :)

Well something to look forward to in book six - Snapes line about diciding how hard or not to be. My personal fav in the whole series! :)

*rowr* ;)

5) My favorite scene in this book, and the one that stands out most vividly in my memory, is Fred and George's departure from the school--and I think the reason it sticks with me so much, aside from being funny, is that it's a very powerful, and essential, plot turn.

In the comment I made on your post about book 3, I was talking about British school stories. Well, part of the school story genre is that the school is the students' whole world. It's at that moment in book 5, when Fred and George tell Umbridge to go to hell and jump on their brooms, that the series finally blows off the school-story conventions once and for all. It introduces the idea that the school is a relatively small and unimportant corner of the world, and anyone can grow beyond its petty limitations just by making the choice to do so.

6) Yeah, I like Luna too. I reckon she ends up with Neville though.

I love the flight from Hogwarts... And yes, the fact that it's not just random humor, but *essential* humor, is what I also ove best about it. Very well written, from a technical point of view. :)

Luna/Neville... I could live with that, I suppose. I just dislike Harry/Ginny so much - who the hell ends up marrying their first crush? Blech.

Personally, I vote for: Hermione/Ginny, Harry/Ron, and Neville/Luna, if I have to match all 6 of them up with each other. *g*

who the hell ends up marrying their first crush? Blech.

Um, hi.

Hehe! Fine - disprove my point. ;)

(Actually I just realized you were talking about Harry being Ginny's first crush... I was thinking of it as her being his first real girlfriend. I married my first girlfriend, not my first crush. So, your point stands.)

Whooo!

BTW - your email bounced, did you see my post about a HP party chez moi on Friday, at my Wanton Hussy LJ? I'll be posting mroe details there.

I really liked the movie too. I don't expect the movies to follow the books exactly; I look upon them as another form of fanfic. I liked Sirius in the movie better than the book, his neurotic tendencies were more subtle. Luna, Umbridge and Bellatrix were spot on.

1) Harry is in the hormonal teen years plus the rest of his life so I would be surprised if he was calm. (Which is a problem for me as I have trouble writing serious angst.) After my initial reading, (when I read it as quickly as possible, holding my eyes open through the night)I've only read it one or two chapters at a time or else I get too wound up.
Tea is good. Chocolate is better. (No wonder Remus is my fave.)

2) and 3)I loved Luna so much I overlooked a lot of the other characters, but yeah, loved Ron. Snape was well portrayed during occlumency lessons, keeps up the balancing act between good and evil. I do like Hermione though, but I have a soft spot for bookish girls.

4) Umbridge is scary. The scene where she talks herself into using 'crucio' on Harry is amazingly horrible. The same scene also shows that hermione can be absolutely bloody-minded when it comes to protecting her boys.

5) Fred and George are a wonderful reminder of what we're fighting for. If we can't laugh, what's the point?

6)I'm afraid Harry/Luna isn't in the cards. My prediction is either Ginny dies and Harry is alone at the end of book 7, or the story ends up Ginny/Harry. If Harry survives. (whimpers).

I've always been impressed by how much happens in this book!

1. Tea, chocolate, and Remus would definitley help me relax. :)

4. I like your observation about Hermione protecting harry - I never thought about it what way, but I totally see it.

Yay for Fred and George!

(and *wibbles* over the future.)

notes and observations on HP #5

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