Books: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" a couple of days ago and have to say: J.K. Rowlings best book, yet. (You're supposed to speak the "period" as well.)

Since I loathe spoilers, the following comes in two parts. When I indicate, that you shouldn't read any further and don't want to have the experience reading the book spoiled, stop reading!

The book has an incredible pace, the—often abused—word "page-turner" gets a real meaning here. I simply couldn't stop reading. This book is proof, that writing is indeed a form of art. J.K. Rowling shows how it's done. Everyone with an interest in the subject should read this book.

Assuming that this is a book written for children only is a mistake. I actually know of some 11 to 14 year olds, which didn't like HP V + VI anyway, and they won't like HP VII as well. There might be exceptions, but few. The marketeers in the respective publishing houses will cringe by my saying so, but this book has to be marketed to the proverbial "young adult and above" demographic.

I paused reading another book to read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the former is marketed as "thriller", when I continued reading said book, it felt too slow for my taste. I'm inclined to say, that HP VII did set a new standard regarding the pace of a book. It should be used as an example in the education of aspiring writers.

And here comes the section that might spoil it for all who didn't read the book yet. You've been warned.




One thing crossed my mind while pondering about possible subjects that might end up in yet another HP book. The author killed all protagonists worth writing another book about. Seriously, Moody, Remus, Tonks, one of the Weasly twins, Dumbledore, Snape, all gone. I might be wrong here, but I don't think this is coincidence. IMHO, of course.

There you have it, didn't read the book, did you? I warned you before, you should have listened.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, Books

Books: Harry Potter V & VI read them again, seriously

I'll refer to both books here, since they are out in the wild for some time and I read both again—in preparation for the 21st of July, obviously.
Just to make sure, the titles are:

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix


• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

There is nothing I could say about the content, at least, nothing new. But there is something I noticed during this second reading of these books—when I read them for the first time, I "ploughed" through the books—it is the style of the writing. These (childrens-)books have an amazing flow in the story, worded almost flawlessly, especially if I dared to compare them to some acclaimed books targeted at adults. It took this second time for me to understand why some younger children had problems reading these books, J.K. Rowling said so herself: They are written for an older audience. The books "grow up" with the readers. I have to admit, I was impressed.

My recommendation: Read the books again. The experience is a more relaxed one the second time around. Book 7 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" needs "ploughing" again. Its a matter of self-defense against too chatty people in the media or the Internet, I'm afraid. But I won't wait that long to read the book again—to really enjoy it.

IMHO: What is wrong with the media or other people trying to spoil the experince for the shallow fame of being the first to ruin the reading of a book reporting the conclusion? I don't have an answer for that, but may they be punished accordingly.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, Books, Reading

Stellar Fireworks for Independence Day

It's the 4th of July again, time to celebrate. And for all of you not being able to light their own fireworks, take a look at Stellar fireworks through Hubble’s eyes, it doesn't get any bigger, promised.
;-)

Have a nice and peaceful day.