Reading the Harry Potter Set for the Third Time

This post contains some spoilers, but I assume that the only people reading this post are people who know the story of Harry Potter via the books, movies, or both.

After I last read the books in 2020, I wrote at length about my earlier problems with the series and how they were resolved when I finally revisited the books.

My Thoughts on My Rereading of Harry Potter

This is a summary of what I wrote, being as brief as I can.  I was heavily invested in Harry Potter around the time that #4 was first published in July 2000.  I joined a Yahoo! group that discussed Snape and whose side he was on.  I spent lots of time reading the messages in July and August of 2000 and possibly for a few more months as well.

Sometime after that, Rowling made a dismissive comment about the Snape debate, saying that he was bad, period, and that she couldn't understand how anyone could think otherwise.  Um, because she wrote him ambiguously?  If I had had better discernment, I would have realized that she was being misleading since readers were guessing the truth.  I didn't know that at the time, and her statement squelched most of my enthusiasm.  I deeply resented her for ruining our fun.

I found #5 difficult to get through; it was too lengthy for my taste.

#6 was devastating, and I wasn't very interested in the series anymore after I finished that book.

I had a habit of rereading every previous entry before each new book was released.  I am certain that I did not do so before #7 was released, because I mostly no longer cared.  Also keep in mind that the hype and media coverage surrounding each new Harry Potter book was intense.  It was way too much, and that lessened my enthusiasm.  

This is how many times I believe I had read each book prior to 2020.

#1 - 4 times     #5 - 2 times
#2 - 4 times     #6 - 1 time

#3 - 4 times     #7 - 1 time

#4 - 3 times

I stayed away from the series for many years because I was so annoyed at Rowling ruining my fun when it turned out that Snape was playing both sides after all.  I refused to watch the movies, and I refused to read the books again.  The Harry Potter series was dead to me.

In 2020 during lockdown, I read through all seven books and then watched all eight movies.  I got over my negative feelings and came to appreciate Harry Potter again.  I haven't thought much about Harry Potter in the last three years. 

This next part of this post has been taken from my January 1 post on the books I read in 2022.

In early November, Pocket presented me with an article about the All the Young Dudes Harry Potter fanfic.

How a 500,000-Word Harry Potter Fanfiction Blew Up Online

Since I am constantly reading even if it's just stuff online, I followed the link.  I was immediately intrigued.  From the article:

It’s called All the Young Dudes, and it's a 526,969-word fic that currently has a whopping 7.5 million hits on the fanfiction site, Archive of Our Own.  All the Young Dudes is set in the era when Harry's parents attended Hogwarts (ahem, known as the Marauders era), and features both familiar faces, and a budding romance between two of the series' most beloved figures: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

The 188-chapter story has now spawned a fandom of its own.  For many original HP fans, the story has become canon, and the ways in which it extends far beyond the universe J.K. Rowling created are all part of the appeal.  All the Young Dudes has a huge presence on social media, spawned audiobooks, has 16,000 ratings on Goodreads, has been fancasted, and is even the subject of a conspiracy theory involving Taylor Swift. 

My mind blown, I decided that I must check this out.  My favorite Harry Potter book is Prisoner of Azkaban, and if this fanfic even remotely deserved its fandom, then I had to see for myself.  I started reading it, and I liked what I read.  I didn't know what to do with myself when I finished, so I had no choice but to read the Harry Potter series again.

And so I did.  I read straight through all seven Harry Potter books in November and December.  This time I did what I didn't think to do three years ago.  I remembered far more details this time than I did three years ago.  However, some parts were a little fuzzy.  Whenever I reached an important plot point where I couldn't remember specifics, I got online and ran a search for that information.  This then led me to reading lengthy discussions about those parts of the books.

The end result is that reading those discussions greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the series this time around.  One example would be when the doe leads Harry to the lake where the sword is.  I knew that the sword was placed by Snape, but I couldn't recall how Snape knew where Harry was.  So I ran a search and found the information.  This made my reading so much more fun this time around. 

In fact, reading discussions as I read the books harkened back to the fun I had in the late summer of 2000 when I read the Snape debate in the Yahoo! group.  

Even though I'm finished reading through the books, I am still thinking about them.  I have joined a few Harry Potter subreddits, and I now receive a daily digest email from Quora with suggested Harry Potter topics.  I'm having fun reading these discussions.

If I am correct about how many times I read through the books originally, this is how many times I have now read through them.

#1 - 6 times     #5 - 4 times
#2 - 6 times     #6 - 3 times

#3 - 6 times     #7 - 3 times

#4 - 5 times

When I read the books this time, I didn't bother with the epilogue.  I have no use for it.  I still feel that the last book should have had more falling action rather than wasting space on that epilogue.

I have thought a lot about how the eighth Harry Potter movie ruined the ending.  Harry should have fought Voldemort in the Great Hall just like in the book.  The final confrontation in the seventh book is perfect.  In fact, I read that scene at least three to four times at different points as I read through the seven books this time.  I love it.

I looked up the Horcruxes multiple times, because I kept forgetting about some of them.  The seventh book glosses over some of the Horcruxes, which is a flaw in the plot.  It helped to look up the information.

I found the last four books to be considerably less dark than I did previously, because I thoroughly understand the underlying plot, such as the agreement between Snape and Dumbledore.  Having a complete understanding of the story lessens the dark aspect of it.

With Harry Potter, rereading the books is quite fulfilling because the reader knows all the little secrets.  Rowling placed many clues throughout the books.  It's so easy to miss something, and reading online discussions has revealed much that I have missed on my multiple readings. 

If you haven't read the Harry Potter books in many years, you might want to visit them again.  It's great fun.

My Thoughts on My Rereading of Harry Potter

This post contains spoilers.

In March, I decided to read Harry Potter again, since I needed something different in light of current events.  I have had a distaste for Harry Potter for many years.  It is only due to the pandemic and a need to escape that I decided to read the books again.  It had been 13 years since I read any of them.

In an old blog post from 2013, I explained why I had a problem with Harry Potter.

I read the first four Harry Potter books at about the time that the fourth book was published and volumes five through seven during the following several years as each of those titles were published.  I dearly loved the first four Harry Potter books, but I was somewhat soured on the series due to some dissatisfaction with the final three books.

Part of the problem was the extreme hype surrounding the series.  I hated trying to enjoy something while news reporters who likely had no interest in the series prattled on about various plot details.  It was so annoying.

I recall joining a Yahoo! Group and reading all of the speculation surrounding one of the characters.  I was then greatly annoyed by a Rowling interview in which she effectively shot down the speculation by making a statement about not understanding how people could be drawing certain conclusions.  That effectively ruined it for me.  Sometimes authors need to keep their mouths shut.

The funny thing is... Rowling's comments from that interview were purposefully misleading.  Again, authors need to keep their mouths shut and let their books do the talking.  She ruined it for me.

Furthermore, Rowling's books became wordier and wordier with each new book, and it became apparent that little editing had been done for the last three books.  The fifth book was particularly awful in that at least one-third of the text could have been removed, thus making the book far less boring.  The epilogue at the end of the seventh book was stupid and should not have been included.  It would have been far better to have had more falling action than to have included that nonsense.

Someday I might read the Harry Potter series again, but it is going to be a long time before I consider doing so.  I have too many bad memories of not enjoying parts of the last three books.  If the books had been carefully edited, that would never have been a problem.  It's a shame, really.

I find it interesting to read my comments from 2013 and realize how much some of my opinions have changed.  The most significant one, however, has not changed at all.

I remember the first time I read Harry Potter #1.  I loved it and found it captivating.  I read the book at least two more times years later.  I also greatly enjoyed it during those readings.  When I read the book again in early March, it fell flat for me.  I found it a bit boring.  I feel like most of the book is exposition.  It just doesn't have the punch of the later books.  Also, I remembered all details of the story quite clearly, due to multiple readings, so I wasn't that interested.

I think I used to like Harry Potter #2 less than #1.  The reverse is now true.  I like #2 a lot more than #1.  While I remembered the main plot of #2, enough was hazy for me that the book kept my interest quite well.  This trend continued throughout the rest of my rereading of the set.

I like this quote from book 2 in Chapter 18, "Dobby's Reward."

"It only put me in Gryffindor," said Harry in a defeated voice, "because I asked not to go in Slytherin..."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, beaming once more.  "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle.  It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Book 3 has always been my favorite, and it is still my favorite.  It is perfect, and I love everything about it.  I love Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, and learning about the dynamic between James Potter and his friends.  I especially adore the scene where Scabbers the rat is revealed to be Wormtail.

"Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet?  You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.

I laugh all through that scene.  I love it.

Book 4 is where the series takes a dark turn.  The first three books do have darkness in them, but the fourth book is where the series becomes quite dark.  If these books had been around when I was a child, they would have been too intense for me.  I was quite sheltered, and the scenes with Voldemort would have given me nightmares.

Near the end of the fourth book, Voldemort returns.  Cornelius Fudge refuses to accept Voldemort's return as reality.  He smiles and implies that Harry has lost his mind.  I just want to slap him.  But even more, I was struck during this reading by how much Cornelius Fudge reminds me of the behavior of the United States government and media during February 2020, when the American people were told that Covid-19 is "just the flu," that masks only protect healthcare workers and not regular citizens, that Covid-19 is a hoax, and that we should just go out and frolic with other people rather than let fear rule our lives.

This passage is from Chapter 36, "The Parting of the Ways."

"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated.  "If you accept that fact straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation."

Right, just like how the CDC should not have been so inept with getting COVID-19 tests out to the states.  Testing is still a problem, even now.

In this passage is from Chapter 37, "The Beginning," Harry has just given George and Fred his prize money to help them start their joke shop.

"If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain.  I don't want it and I don't need it.  But I could do with a few laughs.  We could all do with a few laughs.  I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."

I was also reminded of current events when I read that.

I really enjoyed the fourth book on this reading, at least as much as I did before and perhaps a little more.

I recall not liking the first half of book 5 years ago (refer to my comments above from 2013).  During my original reading, I thought that the time in Sirius Black's house is too long and boring.  I thought that the Ministry of Magic fight scene near the end of the book is too excruciatingly long.  I also found Dolores Umbridge to be too deeply disturbing.  The book was too dark for me at that time.

This time, I had no problem with the part of the story in Black's house.  It flows just fine and is not boring.  Umbridge is still awful, but I knew from my previous reading that she would be deposed.  While Umbridge is sickening, I delightedly looked forward to her fall.  The Ministry of Magic fight scene isn't as bad as I recall.  It is mostly fine, but I did skim some of it.

This passage from Chapter 11, "The Sorting Hat's New Song," also reminds me of people who have thought that the pandemic is a hoax.

Anyone who thought Harry was a liar had to think that Dumbledore was too or else that Dumbledore had been hoodwinked...

They'll know we're right in the end, thought Harry miserably...

Unfortunately, many people still think the pandemic is a hoax.

Also from Chapter 12, "Professor Umbridge," Umbridge declares, "The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark Wizard."

Sometime after book 4 was published, I joined a Yahoo! group that was devoted solely to discussion of which side Snape was on.  I checked that group often, reading the new messages each day.  I was enthralled.  I was utterly fascinated with Snape.  I just knew that he was somehow torn between the two sides.  I knew it. 

At some point after I devoted so much time to reading the discussions about Snape, J.K. Rowling made a statement that caused me to lose much of my interest in the series.  I don't know whether this statement was in an article or in a filmed interview.  I also don't remember the exact words.  All I can do is paraphrase what I recall hearing over 15 years ago.

J.K. Rowling said something like this:  "I am shocked that people think Snape is good.  He is clearly evil!"  I'm sure those aren't the actual words, but that is the meaning of whatever she said.  It was like a punch in the gut.  Why bother reading the rest of the books?

This serves as an example of when an author should not say anything at all.  Snape is a conflicted character.  He is a bully and just a horrible person to be around.  It is revealed in the final book that Snape indeed was playing both sides and that he was helping Harry, even though he treated Harry in the worst way possible.

Sigh.

Rowling deliberately misled fans when she should have not said anything at all.  Her statement about Snape truly did spoil my reading of the final books in the series when I first read them in the 2000s.  My enjoyment of books 6 and 7 was not what it should have been when I first read them years ago.  I was quite nettled when I reached the Snape reveal in book 7 and saw how Rowling had misled us.  Grrr.  It just spoiled the whole thing for me.

That's why I went 13 years before reading the books again.  I have been annoyed about Rowling's Snape quote this entire time.

On this reading, I found book 6 to be excessively dark, but I still enjoyed it more than I did years ago.  This time, I loved book 7.  I absolutely adored it.  That is, except for the epilogue, which I hated years ago and still don't like.  I opted to skim it this time.

I have a few thoughts on the characters.  I don't care that much for Harry's parents, particularly James.  In the flashbacks, James is so mean to Snape, and it's not clear that there was any real justification for it.  I feel that Rowling does not adequately show James' growth as a character.  I accept that James is supposed to be a really good person, but we aren't shown that at all.

I have never understood the Ron and Hermione relationship in the books.  It comes out of nowhere halfway through the series and never feels real to me.  I recently watched all eight films (for the first time ever) after rereading the books, and the movies show the development of the relationship far better than the books do.

My favorite book is #3 followed by #7, 2, 5, 6, 4, and then #1 in last place.  #6 and #4 are very close.  The reason I put #4 near the end and after #6 is that I don't care much for the romance aspect of that book.  It has always seemed forced to me.

Regarding the movies, #1 is my least favorite movie.  #4 is also in next-to-last place.  I don't know that I have a favorite movie.  All of the rest are around the same and quite enjoyable to watch, even though the movies leave out a large amount of what happens in the books.

In closing, my opinion of Harry Potter improved on this reading and my feelings returned to what they were before Rowling's unfortunate statement about Snape.  I am still irked about that, but I can overlook it.

Update on My Activities

I am trying to psych myself up for listing books on eBay.   I am having trouble doing so, due to my fear of contracting COVID-19.  I am afraid of going into my post office or anywhere, for that matter.  I was happy that my post office smelled of Lysol on Saturday morning, but I remain concerned.  My fear is not good for my mental health, although my caution is better than being cavalier about it like all the people who packed Walt Disney World on its last night open.

I tend to be a worrier.  My school district said on Friday, as we released for spring break, that it intended to have school on Monday, March 23.  My thought was, Sure you are.  I wasn't going to worry about it.  By yesterday, I had a niggling concern about it, which increased today.  I can't help it; that's just how I am.  I had no intention of going back on March 23 and had even left the stack of worksheets and sub directions on my desk.  The plan was to start using my personal leave, if necessary.  But I didn't want to let my students down.  They need someone to actually explain the problems to them.

Fortunately, the Oklahoma State Department of Education voted today to cancel all public schools in Oklahoma through April 6.  Whew.  That, at least, made sure that every district will close, which would not otherwise have been the case.  Best of all, we are not allowed to grade papers.  That made me laugh.  I left my few papers at the school with no intention of grading them before school resumes.

I personally think that the school year is over.  I don't see how we can go back before the end of the year, which is supposed to be on May 22.  It's odd to think that I could actually, for all practical purposes, already be on summer break.  I'm not going to enjoy this extra time, since I'm so worried about all the people of the world.  It weighs on me.

I have such great students this year.  I'm mourning a bit, since I believe the year is pretty much over.  I figure that at some point, probably in June, we will go back to wrap things up.  This is so sad.

I also wonder about my salary.  I do have money in savings, so I will be okay, regardless.  Also, I understand that the federal government is apparently going to see that workers do not take losses.  Therefore, I am not concerned about the money.  I am merely curious.  Will the district continue to pay me even though I have served only 75% of my contract?  These are interesting times.

I have felt, since January, that this is the most significant world event of my lifetime.  I never expected to live through anything like this.  Everything about this event is surreal, and the United States has not quite reached the really bad part.

Enough of that.

I read Christopher Pike's Spooksville series a few years ago.  I really enjoyed those books.  I love everything Christopher Pike, for that matter.  I am such a Pike fan girl.  Squeee!

Anyway, a television series based on Spooksville aired from 2013 to 2014 and was cancelled after one season.  I decided, since I am now on extended quarantine, that it was high time that I watch the shows.

I purchased the entire season of 22 episodes on YouTube for $24.99.  The series can also be purchased on Amazon and other places, probably at $24.99.

I have so far watched three episodes and am on the fourth.  Honestly, the books are better.  Isn't that almost always the case?  The one exception is Twilight, where the films are better.  In fact, having read the books makes the films really good, since I understand Bella quite well.  But I digress.

The problem with the Spooksville television series is that Christopher Pike's humor is not present.  That is an epic fail.  I love Pike.  He is so funny.  Take away his voice, and the story falls flat.  Ugh.

I will keep watching, however.  The shows might get better.  They are interesting enough to watch, even though nowhere near as good as the books.

I also started reading the Harry Potter series again the other day.  I have read most of the set more than once.  I have read the first book several times.  I have stayed away from Harry Potter ever since I read the seventh book for the first time due to a distaste that I developed as a result of the hype and some comments made by J. K. Rowling.  I found an old blog post from 2013 where I explained my grievances.

I read the first four Harry Potter books at about the time that the fourth book was published and volumes five through seven during the following several years as each of those titles were published.  I dearly loved the first four Harry Potter books, but I was somewhat soured on the series due to some dissatisfaction with the final three books.

Part of the problem was the extreme hype surrounding the series.  I hated trying to enjoy something while news reporters who likely had no interest in the series prattled on about various plot details.  It was so annoying.

I recall joining a Yahoo! Group and reading all of the speculation surrounding one of the characters.  I was then greatly annoyed by a Rowling interview in which she effectively shot down the speculation by making a statement about not understanding how people could be drawing certain conclusions.  That effectively ruined it for me.  Sometimes authors need to keep their mouths shut.

The funny thing is... Rowling's comments from that interview were purposefully misleading.  Again, authors need to keep their mouths shut and let their books do the talking.  She ruined it for me.

Furthermore, Rowling's books became wordier and wordier with each new book, and it became apparent that little editing had been done for the last three books.  The fifth book was particularly awful in that at least one-third of the text could have been removed, thus making the book far less boring.  The epilogue at the end of the seventh book was stupid and should not have been included.  It would have been far better to have had more falling action than to have included that nonsense.

Someday I might read the Harry Potter series again, but it is going to be a long time before I consider doing so.  I have too many bad memories of not enjoying parts of the last three books.  If the books had been carefully edited, that would never have been a problem.  It's a shame, really.

So here I am.  It has been nearly 13 years since I read the seventh and final book in the set for the first and only time.  I can carry a grudge for a long time.  It is only due to COVID-19 that I am reading Harry Potter again.  Otherwise, it might have been another 13 years.

Upon this reading, I did not enjoy the first book very much.  Overall, I found it boring.  The plot moves too slowly.  I have started the second book and am liking it very much.  That's a good sign.  I probably can read through the entire set, although I expect that I will have to skim a lot in books 4 through 7.  I wish that the publisher had actually edited those books and reduced the length somewhat.  Remember:  Less is more.

Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, and the Problem of Too Much Hype

This post was written months ago and was never finished nor published.  In reading over it tonight, I have decided that it is good enough to publish in the form in which I left it.  My thoughts are a bit more scattered than what I normally publish, but I think the content is still worthwhile.
....................................................................
After I finished reading the latest book in the Tapestry series, I began to think about the different modern series that I have read and what I think of them.

I read the first four Harry Potter books at about the time that the fourth book was published and volumes five through seven during the following several years as each of those titles were published.  I dearly loved the first four Harry Potter books, but I was somewhat soured on the series due to some dissatisfaction with the final three books.

Part of the problem was the extreme hype surrounding the series.  I hated trying to enjoy something while news reporters who likely had no interest in the series prattled on about various plot details.  It was so annoying.

I recall joining a Yahoo! Group and reading all of the speculation surrounding one of the characters.  I was then greatly annoyed by a Rowling interview in which she effectively shot down the speculation by making a statement about not understanding how people could be drawing certain conclusions.  That effectively ruined it for me.  Sometimes authors need to keep their mouths shut.

The funny thing is... Rowling's comments from that interview were purposefully misleading.  Again, authors need to keep their mouths shut and let their books do the talking.  She ruined it for me.

Furthermore, Rowling's books became wordier and wordier with each new book, and it became apparent that little editing had been done for the last three books.  The fifth book was particularly awful in that at least one-third of the text could have been removed, thus making the book far less boring.  The epilogue at the end of the seventh book was stupid and should not have been included.  It would have been far better to have had more falling action than to have included that nonsense. 

Someday I might read the Harry Potter series again, but it is going to be a long time before I consider doing so.  I have too many bad memories of not enjoying parts of the last three books.  If the books had been carefully edited, that would never have been a problem.  It's a shame, really.

A few years ago, I read the Percy Jackson series.  I remember that I was fully satisfied with the ending of that series, which is better than how Rowling ended her series.  Yes, I will keep going back to that. How a series ends is just as important as the journey.  The series does not have to end happily, but the ending has to be satisfying.  Rowling's series did not end in a satisfying fashion.

I read the Nicholas Flamel series.  I dearly loved reading those books, although the ending was not quite as good as it should have been.  The biggest threats to the twins' survival were killed off way too quickly and easily.  And then the book abruptly ended.  I was left somewhat dissatisfied, but I was not nearly as annoyed as when I finished Harry Potter.

I have read the Hunger Games trilogy.  This is another series that suffered from the hype.  The first book is wonderful.  The second book is nearly as good as the first book.  The third and final book is quite confusing at times, and the lack of proper editing really shows, just like with Harry Potter.  When authors create something that gets hyped, editing is sloppy for the later books, thus creating an inferior final product.

Near the end of the third Hunger Games book, a major character is killed.  The author, for some reason, thought it would be best to mention the character only by a vague passage referring back to an event from an earlier book.  It took me quite a few pages to figure out who had died, and then I was surprised and confused.  I felt like I had somehow missed reading a page or two of text.  I went back and read through the event another one or two times and still was confused.  I could tell by reading the reviews that I was not the only one who didn't get it.  Editing, people... sure, the author is a big-shot after a series gets mega-popular, but the books need editing.

When I finished the Hunger Games trilogy, I was left with a similar letdown feeling to what I felt when I finished Harry Potter.  It should not have to be like this.

Fablehaven is a truly magical and special series which should appeal to the same audience as Harry Potter.  The series has a pretty good following, although not anywhere near the level of Harry Potter.  Even so, the series did take a step down with the fourth and fifth books.  The main problem is that both books have endless fighting and action that never seems to end and are very repetitive.  I am reminded of J.K. Rowling's Ministry of Magic fight scene from her fifth Harry Potter book.  Oh, the horror...

Despite the endless fighting, the Fablehaven series has a very satisfying ending, which of course is more than I can say for Harry Potter.

This brings me back to the Tapestry series, which is what got me to thinking about the rest of these books.  The Tapestry series has such a low number of reviews on Amazon that it is apparent that most people have never heard of it.  Tapestry would appeal to the very same people who enjoyed Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Fablehaven.

The Tapestry series is not yet finished, so I have no idea whether the series will fall flat as others have done.  What I do know is that each book has been better than the last.  The first book is the weakest of the four books, and the series has gotten better and better with each book.