Sunday, November 14, 2010

Deathly Hallows Week

Usually in this blog I try to focus on the books rather than the movies.  It is, after all, JK Rowling's writing that I'm most interested in.  But the release of the first part of the last movie is huge, and I'm just as excited as any other rabid fan.  We've already got our tickets for the midnight premiere!

So, in celebration, I'll post something every day relating to the books or the movies, whether through links to other blogs, guest posts, or my own.

First up, a question for you all:  When did you first meet Harry?  Was it through a book or a movie?  And which one?

I found Harry by way of a recommendation from my local used bookstore owner.  My son was about 5-6 years old at the time, and we used to go into his store a couple of times a week to pick up kiddie books for me to read aloud.  The owner pointed to a paperback of Sorcerer's Stone and said, "This one's been very popular with the kids.  You might want to try it."

But, it looked a bit too old for my son, so I didn't get it at first.  It was still there a few days later, and the next week, so I eventually got it and read it aloud to him.  We were both hooked.

From there on, I bought all the books new.  We quickly went through Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban as they were already out, and then picked up Goblet of Fire as soon as it was released.  I read each one aloud to my son, even after he got to the age where he could read them himself.  Until the last book, Deathly Hallows.  I'd attended a fan conference in London where I'd presented a couple of workshops and had to read the whole book overnight without him there.  So, when I caught up to him on a family vacation in Turkey, he read that one on his on during the car rides.

We went to release parties for Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince as well.  It was a great bonding experience for us that included my younger daughter as she got old enough.

So, what about you?

Photo credit

8 comments:

  1. Hi :)
    I loved reading the HP novels for my children. I was sad the day they said they wanted to read for themselves. Didn't they realise I wasn't reading aloud for their benefit? :)
    Thanks for stopping by and following :)

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  2. LOL! I totally agree. Maybe someday I'll get to read them aloud again -- to THEIR kids! :-)

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  3. I found HP and the Sorcere's Stone many many years ago when the hype was getting really big. I think at that point there were only three books out. I was hooked!
    I can't believe I never found your blog before. I am a die-hard HP fan! I think I've read all the books about four times or so.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog too!

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  4. I began reading them as soon as my best friend in middle school did. While we no longer talk because of distance and middle school angst, I have still held onto Harry! I have been hooked like a crack addict. Seriously. I would be in lines to purchase the book with all my awesome nerdy friends. I would look up recipes from book and try to make them. I could go on. lol.

    I couldn't get tickets for the premiere but I am going on Friday night. SO EXCITED. Literally HP has become an indelible part of my growing years.

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  5. Hi Lydia, LOVED your blog. You've got so much great information, especially the medical info for writers. Sounds like we found Harry around the same time, and I've lost count of how many times I've read some of them.

    Thanks for stopping by and posting!

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  6. Hey BookGeek, did any of the HP recipes you tried turn out good? I saw there's an unofficial HP Cookbook on Amazon now, which frustrated me a bit because I tried to sell one years ago to a publisher I was working with, and they thought it was too risky. :-(

    Hope you enjoy the movie. I can't wait! Will blog Fri. - Sat. with a review.

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  7. My husband and I started reading Sorceror's Stone by the time the 3rd (or so) came out. We wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We took turns reading Deathly Hallows so neither of us was too far behind the other. Now that we have kids we don't go out to movies often, but we always see the HP movies in the theatre.

    Now my oldest son is 7 and he read Sorceror's Stone last summer and is hooked. He has seen the first 2 movies only.

    It's so great to have that shared interest!

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  8. I totally agree, Vicki. And for your 7-year-old, since he's just discovering it, if you haven't already, you might want to steer him to some of the forums/companion books out there that explore the clues and mysteries along the way. My son loved speculating and stringing clues together before the next book would come out. (As did his mom! :-)

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