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Mar. 11th, 2004 12:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
Okay, so I've read all 5 books. This has much to do with peer pressure though (and not because I like(d) the books)....WILL PEOPLE JUST STOP BUYING THESE BOOKS?! Start borrowing them from friends if you're so desperate to read it, or go to the library. If everyone's so desperate for books to be crazy about, read the Wheel of Time series.
1. WTF is wrong with you if you read five LONG books that you don't like?
2. Why do you care if people buy or borrow these books?
3. Wheel of Time isn't all that great, sorry.
My son Jonah and I started reading Harry Potter, and 5 minutes into the book I immediately noticed that Jonah had fallen asleep. THIS BOOK IS SO BORING. It could't entertain my 7 year old son and I barely read through it without falling asleep also. I read on without Jonah and i realized that the book often contains adult things that are not suitable for children's literature. Harry goes dating for the 1st time in this book and personally I dont think it is right for 7 YEAR OLDS to be reading about dating just yet. Teen pregnancy is up in this country and we don't need MS.Rowling to keep it on the rise for our future teenagers. Also, as a jewish mother I keep a tight watch on Jonah's younger sisters, Debra and Sandra. I have kept them away from Harry Potter since it came out. My daughters see Jonah dressing up as a wizard and trying to cast a spell on Mr.Johnson, our neighbor. Mr. Johnson is an old man who was scared out of his wits when little Jonah came out of the bushed and screamed Wingardio Levioso! I recieved a complaint by Mr.Johnson the next day and was forced to confine Jonah to his room. Jonah then stole a broom out of my closest and tried to fly out the window. He broke all 7 bones in his leg. Now he is in the hospital until may. This book is dangerous to all future adults and should be outlawed.
*cracks up*
I guess SOMEbody doesn't believe in the power of imagination. Besides, these books came out when he was what, one? His sisters weren't even born yet! I call troll!
The book could have been trimmed 500 pages and been much more entertaining.
Can't argue there. There's no need to put backstory in every single book!
Maybe LucasFilm should make the last three films, since they seem to be based on a story that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Has anyone else noticed the resemblance between Harry Potter and the original Star Wars trilogy? Harry is Luke (obviously), Hermione is Leia, Ron is Han Solo, Hagrid is Chewbacca (a bit of a stretch, but not too much), Dumbledore is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Voldemort is Vader (OK, arguably Wormtail is Vader and Voldemort is the Emperor, but Wormtail hasn't had as big a part so far). You can even take it further. The Order of the Phoenix is like the jedi knights, not big enough to be an army but still fighting against the galactic empire, death eaters are the sith lords, the dementors are the stormtroopers, Dobby is R2-D2 (comic relief but still saving the day), and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, trying to keep Harry from realizing his destiny and following Dumbledore on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like his father did.
Book 5 was like Star Wars Episode IV. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid working to fight the dark side. Dumbledore facing off against his former student, Voldemort (only this time, Dumbledore wins). The good guys get a big but not total defeat of the bad guys. (No medal ceremony, though.) Book 6 will undoubtedly feature Voldemort growing stronger and taking his revenge on those who have fought against him. I don't know if Ron will be frozen in carbonite, but I'd guess we'll leave Book 6 thinking that Voldemort has won that round. I expect that Dumbledore will die in Book 6 because he should have died in Book 5 (to follow the Star Wars pattern). Don't worry, though, because I expect that he'll be around in some form or other throughout the series, if only in a voice over. "Remember Harry, you magic power will be with you . . . always."
Book 7 will involve the final, climactic battle between good and evil. Rescuing the frozen Ron, Hermione in a metal bikini (actually I hope not), the final battle with spells flying back and forth like lasers, it will all be there. Hopefully, Ms. Rowling will have the good sense not to include Ewoks in her book, but it could involve Harry finally bringing Voldemort back from being a dark wizard, saving him in the end. Think about it. That's a much kindler, gentler ending than having a 17-year-old boy kill the wizard who killed his family.
I don't think that Harry and Hermione will be brother and sister, but I do think that Hermione and Ron will end up together, with Hagrid in the background making howling and grunting sounds.
I'm sure there are more similarities.
*dies laughing*
No mock, no mock! This is goood!
I was very disappointed with this book. Sure, it was good writing and very thrilling, but Harry was not a very nice child in this book. He was disobedient, got away with all his wrong doings and rule breaking and was rude and "cheeky" to his elders. I found that this book had a lot of violence in it: i.e. when he had to write lines and the words were carved into his hands and bleeding and swelling up. I think that this book teaches other kids that it is okay to disobey those in authority and to back-talk your elders. The use of bad language and language that in England is unknown to Americans, but is actual cursing.... very bad cursing, was totally inappropriate and unnecessary. I would not recommend this book to anyone as I found it quite horrid in parts. I am done with this series......
Raise your hands, everyone who was a nice child at 15. Heck, raise your hands, everyone who could reasonably have been called a child at that age instead of a teenager, adolescent, or young adult.
Next the book is dominated by repetitious and trite phrases. My personal favorite is "screwed up his eyes..." Use it once, okay. Use is several times, over and over again, as Rowling does in Order of the Phoenix and it definitely gets in the way.
You JUST NOW noticed this? Honestly, I've been complaining all along that she says "waspishly" too much!
I gave this book one star, because there was not a lower rating. To place this book in any children's category is irresponsible. This story is adult and sophisticated. The salacious sex and the erroneous information on birth control makes this story based on a fairy tale anything but childlike.
If this book had been written for an adult audience, I would have given it four stars for its imaginative writing.
Young adult is NOT children's, people! And "erroneous information on birth control"? It's set in the friggin' dark ages! What do you expect?
I thought this book was pretty neat when I started it, and liked it until I got to the end. I didn't like the end because I was on Rumpelstiltskin's side. I know that in the original story Rumpelstilskin didn't get the baby, but it doesn't seem right to make people feel how he felt, and understand why he did what he did and then just let Saskia have the baby.It makes sense, but I hated it.In my mind, the unknown spinner was a 'good guy', but Saskia was also a 'good guy'.
I wouldn't recomend reading this book. The idea was great, but the ending was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A better retelling of a fairy tale is Beauty, by Robin McKinley.It is MUCH better than Spinners!!
Life is hard, my friend. That's how the story GOES. It's supposed to be sad. If we only ever had happy endings, we wouldn't be complete, okay chica?
I'm only 14, so maybe I'm not "mature" enough to get killing the wrong type of camel to save a friend, and then get PUNISHED for it by DEATH from a *mericiful god*. Oh, wait, isn't 14 around the age that this book is targeted for, not adults? Whoops, my mistake.
So, you also don't understand much of contemporary politics, where people can't marry because of gender? Frankly, neither do I, but I at least understand that many religious prohibitions are pointless. At least I *do* understand that for him to kill an animal that had been abused, for a sacrifice, was sinful. And I understood that at fourteen, too.
Not only that, Beauty and the Beast is FRENCH ok?! Not PERSIAN. And it was annoying how she tried to give me a Persian vocabulary lesson every time I turned a page.
Um, actually, that story transcends national boundaries, sweetie. As do most folk tales.
I would not recommend this book for your child if you are Mexican-American, African-American, Asian, or Middle-Eastern. Non-white characters are depicted as stupid and ugly by the author of this book.
Don't have your little girl read this book especially if she has brown eyes! She'll be told by the author that brown eyes are unintelligent and VERY UGLY!
Ahem. 1. Those attitudes were displayed by the characters because they HAD to be... those were the attitudes of the time. 2. You'll notice that Anna comes around. By the end of the book, she's introducing these formerly "stupid" people as her sister, while here real family may as well be dead.
but hate the book. The message I got from the book is that women get what they want by manipulation. Grandmother, granddaughter all the same. There are no loveable characters. Her mother is nice but she is hardly heard from. Anna is about 10 years old but she is already thinking about sex and men. Her grandmother has her mouth covered with a veil since Byzantines feel 10 year olds could seduce older men. Need I say more?
Ahem. First off, that has nothing to do with seduction. For god's sakes, don't introduce concepts the characters didn't even mention. Second, she wasn't thinking about sex when she was ten... she thought about marriage, but that was because she was betrothed. She never mentions sex in the book. Where on earth do you GET this? Third, Anna's manipulations got here... where? It's clear from the book that she learned that from her Grandmother... who taught her brother the same tricks. Her brother isn't a woman, is he? What about her friend, who went with her to the convent? Whom does she manipulate? Or, indeed, her mother?
Fictitious Byzantine character passed off as the real princess. Unbelievably evil character who plots the death of her very own brother. The book has a pretty cover, don't fall for it.
Unbelievably evil? You do know that this is what people, especially royal people, have done for centuries, right? And she and her mother WERE arrested for trying to kill him! In reality! She's not fictitious, sweetie, though the story is very loosely based on reality (as the author admits).
I see people giving The Ear the Eye and the Arm 5 stars. Well maybe your just doing it so it dosent look like a waste that you bought it, even though you know it was. The book is terrible. Little kids do not even enjoy it. Nancy Farmer needs to work on her skills.
I liked it. And it's not written for little kids... not unless you consider a little kid to be as old as 14+
I happened to glance at the book and the first thing I see is the first line of the blurb on the back cover says the dragon is "wronger" or "worser" (I can't remember now exactly)... how terrible! --
You're judging a book by the BLURB? And that's not terrible, either... please say you're insane.
P.S.Why don't they want the wizards to have power? It never says why, so I am forced to come to the conclusion that the main characters are just power freaks
See, I'll ignore your insulting one of my favorite books ever to explain. First off, the wizards are treacherous. They, in this single book, murder a king, grow a valley of poison, break a treaty, and attempt to rig a... well, let's say an election. That's enough reason for me to wish them to avoid getting power. Secondly, they steal magic... thus harming those who depend on magic to live. Like dragons. If somebody's existence depended on my suffering, I wouldn't like them either. It says this pretty clearly in the book.
1. WTF is wrong with you if you read five LONG books that you don't like?
2. Why do you care if people buy or borrow these books?
3. Wheel of Time isn't all that great, sorry.
My son Jonah and I started reading Harry Potter, and 5 minutes into the book I immediately noticed that Jonah had fallen asleep. THIS BOOK IS SO BORING. It could't entertain my 7 year old son and I barely read through it without falling asleep also. I read on without Jonah and i realized that the book often contains adult things that are not suitable for children's literature. Harry goes dating for the 1st time in this book and personally I dont think it is right for 7 YEAR OLDS to be reading about dating just yet. Teen pregnancy is up in this country and we don't need MS.Rowling to keep it on the rise for our future teenagers. Also, as a jewish mother I keep a tight watch on Jonah's younger sisters, Debra and Sandra. I have kept them away from Harry Potter since it came out. My daughters see Jonah dressing up as a wizard and trying to cast a spell on Mr.Johnson, our neighbor. Mr. Johnson is an old man who was scared out of his wits when little Jonah came out of the bushed and screamed Wingardio Levioso! I recieved a complaint by Mr.Johnson the next day and was forced to confine Jonah to his room. Jonah then stole a broom out of my closest and tried to fly out the window. He broke all 7 bones in his leg. Now he is in the hospital until may. This book is dangerous to all future adults and should be outlawed.
*cracks up*
I guess SOMEbody doesn't believe in the power of imagination. Besides, these books came out when he was what, one? His sisters weren't even born yet! I call troll!
The book could have been trimmed 500 pages and been much more entertaining.
Can't argue there. There's no need to put backstory in every single book!
Maybe LucasFilm should make the last three films, since they seem to be based on a story that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Has anyone else noticed the resemblance between Harry Potter and the original Star Wars trilogy? Harry is Luke (obviously), Hermione is Leia, Ron is Han Solo, Hagrid is Chewbacca (a bit of a stretch, but not too much), Dumbledore is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Voldemort is Vader (OK, arguably Wormtail is Vader and Voldemort is the Emperor, but Wormtail hasn't had as big a part so far). You can even take it further. The Order of the Phoenix is like the jedi knights, not big enough to be an army but still fighting against the galactic empire, death eaters are the sith lords, the dementors are the stormtroopers, Dobby is R2-D2 (comic relief but still saving the day), and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, trying to keep Harry from realizing his destiny and following Dumbledore on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like his father did.
Book 5 was like Star Wars Episode IV. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid working to fight the dark side. Dumbledore facing off against his former student, Voldemort (only this time, Dumbledore wins). The good guys get a big but not total defeat of the bad guys. (No medal ceremony, though.) Book 6 will undoubtedly feature Voldemort growing stronger and taking his revenge on those who have fought against him. I don't know if Ron will be frozen in carbonite, but I'd guess we'll leave Book 6 thinking that Voldemort has won that round. I expect that Dumbledore will die in Book 6 because he should have died in Book 5 (to follow the Star Wars pattern). Don't worry, though, because I expect that he'll be around in some form or other throughout the series, if only in a voice over. "Remember Harry, you magic power will be with you . . . always."
Book 7 will involve the final, climactic battle between good and evil. Rescuing the frozen Ron, Hermione in a metal bikini (actually I hope not), the final battle with spells flying back and forth like lasers, it will all be there. Hopefully, Ms. Rowling will have the good sense not to include Ewoks in her book, but it could involve Harry finally bringing Voldemort back from being a dark wizard, saving him in the end. Think about it. That's a much kindler, gentler ending than having a 17-year-old boy kill the wizard who killed his family.
I don't think that Harry and Hermione will be brother and sister, but I do think that Hermione and Ron will end up together, with Hagrid in the background making howling and grunting sounds.
I'm sure there are more similarities.
*dies laughing*
No mock, no mock! This is goood!
I was very disappointed with this book. Sure, it was good writing and very thrilling, but Harry was not a very nice child in this book. He was disobedient, got away with all his wrong doings and rule breaking and was rude and "cheeky" to his elders. I found that this book had a lot of violence in it: i.e. when he had to write lines and the words were carved into his hands and bleeding and swelling up. I think that this book teaches other kids that it is okay to disobey those in authority and to back-talk your elders. The use of bad language and language that in England is unknown to Americans, but is actual cursing.... very bad cursing, was totally inappropriate and unnecessary. I would not recommend this book to anyone as I found it quite horrid in parts. I am done with this series......
Raise your hands, everyone who was a nice child at 15. Heck, raise your hands, everyone who could reasonably have been called a child at that age instead of a teenager, adolescent, or young adult.
Next the book is dominated by repetitious and trite phrases. My personal favorite is "screwed up his eyes..." Use it once, okay. Use is several times, over and over again, as Rowling does in Order of the Phoenix and it definitely gets in the way.
You JUST NOW noticed this? Honestly, I've been complaining all along that she says "waspishly" too much!
I gave this book one star, because there was not a lower rating. To place this book in any children's category is irresponsible. This story is adult and sophisticated. The salacious sex and the erroneous information on birth control makes this story based on a fairy tale anything but childlike.
If this book had been written for an adult audience, I would have given it four stars for its imaginative writing.
Young adult is NOT children's, people! And "erroneous information on birth control"? It's set in the friggin' dark ages! What do you expect?
I thought this book was pretty neat when I started it, and liked it until I got to the end. I didn't like the end because I was on Rumpelstiltskin's side. I know that in the original story Rumpelstilskin didn't get the baby, but it doesn't seem right to make people feel how he felt, and understand why he did what he did and then just let Saskia have the baby.It makes sense, but I hated it.In my mind, the unknown spinner was a 'good guy', but Saskia was also a 'good guy'.
I wouldn't recomend reading this book. The idea was great, but the ending was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A better retelling of a fairy tale is Beauty, by Robin McKinley.It is MUCH better than Spinners!!
Life is hard, my friend. That's how the story GOES. It's supposed to be sad. If we only ever had happy endings, we wouldn't be complete, okay chica?
I'm only 14, so maybe I'm not "mature" enough to get killing the wrong type of camel to save a friend, and then get PUNISHED for it by DEATH from a *mericiful god*. Oh, wait, isn't 14 around the age that this book is targeted for, not adults? Whoops, my mistake.
So, you also don't understand much of contemporary politics, where people can't marry because of gender? Frankly, neither do I, but I at least understand that many religious prohibitions are pointless. At least I *do* understand that for him to kill an animal that had been abused, for a sacrifice, was sinful. And I understood that at fourteen, too.
Not only that, Beauty and the Beast is FRENCH ok?! Not PERSIAN. And it was annoying how she tried to give me a Persian vocabulary lesson every time I turned a page.
Um, actually, that story transcends national boundaries, sweetie. As do most folk tales.
I would not recommend this book for your child if you are Mexican-American, African-American, Asian, or Middle-Eastern. Non-white characters are depicted as stupid and ugly by the author of this book.
Don't have your little girl read this book especially if she has brown eyes! She'll be told by the author that brown eyes are unintelligent and VERY UGLY!
Ahem. 1. Those attitudes were displayed by the characters because they HAD to be... those were the attitudes of the time. 2. You'll notice that Anna comes around. By the end of the book, she's introducing these formerly "stupid" people as her sister, while here real family may as well be dead.
but hate the book. The message I got from the book is that women get what they want by manipulation. Grandmother, granddaughter all the same. There are no loveable characters. Her mother is nice but she is hardly heard from. Anna is about 10 years old but she is already thinking about sex and men. Her grandmother has her mouth covered with a veil since Byzantines feel 10 year olds could seduce older men. Need I say more?
Ahem. First off, that has nothing to do with seduction. For god's sakes, don't introduce concepts the characters didn't even mention. Second, she wasn't thinking about sex when she was ten... she thought about marriage, but that was because she was betrothed. She never mentions sex in the book. Where on earth do you GET this? Third, Anna's manipulations got here... where? It's clear from the book that she learned that from her Grandmother... who taught her brother the same tricks. Her brother isn't a woman, is he? What about her friend, who went with her to the convent? Whom does she manipulate? Or, indeed, her mother?
Fictitious Byzantine character passed off as the real princess. Unbelievably evil character who plots the death of her very own brother. The book has a pretty cover, don't fall for it.
Unbelievably evil? You do know that this is what people, especially royal people, have done for centuries, right? And she and her mother WERE arrested for trying to kill him! In reality! She's not fictitious, sweetie, though the story is very loosely based on reality (as the author admits).
I see people giving The Ear the Eye and the Arm 5 stars. Well maybe your just doing it so it dosent look like a waste that you bought it, even though you know it was. The book is terrible. Little kids do not even enjoy it. Nancy Farmer needs to work on her skills.
I liked it. And it's not written for little kids... not unless you consider a little kid to be as old as 14+
I happened to glance at the book and the first thing I see is the first line of the blurb on the back cover says the dragon is "wronger" or "worser" (I can't remember now exactly)... how terrible! --
You're judging a book by the BLURB? And that's not terrible, either... please say you're insane.
P.S.Why don't they want the wizards to have power? It never says why, so I am forced to come to the conclusion that the main characters are just power freaks
See, I'll ignore your insulting one of my favorite books ever to explain. First off, the wizards are treacherous. They, in this single book, murder a king, grow a valley of poison, break a treaty, and attempt to rig a... well, let's say an election. That's enough reason for me to wish them to avoid getting power. Secondly, they steal magic... thus harming those who depend on magic to live. Like dragons. If somebody's existence depended on my suffering, I wouldn't like them either. It says this pretty clearly in the book.
