Harry...

NO SPOILERS HERE.... YET!

Quick note: I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at 2:31 p.m. on Saturday, July 21. I read with such lightning speed I'm surprised the pages didn't catch on fire from the friction. Such single-minded devotion has rarely been seen before. Nothing kept me from my appointed task. I read on Friday night until my book light died (damned thing!) at 2:30 a.m., took up the challenge again Saturday morning, and read until Mr. BSR and I reached our hotel in the city Saturday afternoon.

My only comment is I'm satisfied with the ending, but not entirely pleased. I'll wait a little while longer before I post on the details, but be CAREFUL reading the comments to this post, just in case someone else posts a spoiler! I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone. I know how I'd have felt if the ending had been spoiled or me. It would have been awful.

When Mr. BSR and I were in the city this weekend we saw several people reading HP. The funny thing is, they were all adults.

I love catching people reading in public:

The lesson here is, if you're in public in Chicago, you're fair game for BSR.

In upcoming weeks you'll see more reasons why I said that. Let's just say, I got tired of all those flower photos, as much as I love flowers. I have a  new theme now. You can let me know what you think of it.

In the meantime, happy reading. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the final Harry installment.

Comments

[Bluestalking Reader]

Susan, I saw JKR on the Today Show this morning, and she said she'll keep writing but she's done with HP... Well, we'll see. I could easily see her starting up a new series, especially since there's another generation featuring an orphaned child of wizard parents and Harry's the godfather. BUT, there'd need to be more sinister step-parents, and none of the original three will be that. I'm on the fence. I'm not sure if she will or should write more about these characters.

[Susan Balée]

I know, dreamy Alan Rickman. And if only there'd been a scene of "love requited" with Lily, what a movie we'd have to look forward to! Alas, all we're gonna get is more of the greasy-wig-wearing Rickman looking constipated and then some young whippersnapper playing Sev as a teen. Sigh. Oh, well: I guess we'll get to see Snape's memories of his pining for Lily and developing the doelike Patronus in her honor.

I'm with you about Neville. I really thought he should have had a larger role at the end, but it didn't happen.

But I can see a sequel already in the making: Harry's son Albus Severus falls for Malfoy's daughter and it's another war of the wizarding families. Whaddya think?

[Bluestalking Reader]

Susan, one of the things that really bothered me about the book was the fact Neville didn't play a bigger part. I predicted, in the library poll here, that Neville would be one of the ones to die. I thought he'd come into his own and die a hero.

I don't think his destroying the Horcrux directly killed Voldemort. Though it did at least give him something big to accomplish, it wasn't as much as I'd hoped to see for him. He was such a deserving character. I liked him so much. I wanted to see JKR give him more his due, but I guess like in real life that doesn't always happen.

The chapter near the end, with Dumbledore, really did explain a lot of what was behind everything in the series, but it left an awful lot of threads hanging. Some complain of the inconsistencies in the characters, and I can agree with some of that. But, on the other hand, people are complex, too. Stuff happens, and people don't always do what you expect them to do. So I'm not sure I agree with some of the harsher critics who try to hold JKR to impossibly high standards. Have you read some of the negative reviews?

Snape was first on my list of characters who'd have to die, and I thought he'd die proving himself and protecting Harry. While he kind of did, considering he was behind those spells Harry knew he wasn't casting in the beginning of the book (which I figured out, since Snape had helped him out in the Quidditch match earlier in the series), I thought it would be much more overt.

I knew Snape loved Lily, and that James had made his life miserable by teasing him. I didn't realize how MUCH he'd loved her, though.

I was sorry to see Snape go, but I can see why he had to. Such a sad life he had! But he's ALAN RICKMAN... Sigh. So much for HP sequels with him...

[Susan Balée]

Snape hated *Harry's* father -- darn. Didn't proofread.

[Susan Balée]

I loved it, too, and am delighted that Elaine posted my review of it on her blog (first and last time I'll ever write something that appears on the A-front of the paper).

My guess about Snape was right -- I knew he adored Harry's mother but hated her father -- but I was all wrong about Neville. I was just sure Neville had a larger role to play because he was the other "boy who lived" when his parents were stunned by the Cruciatus Curse. I really thought the ending would reveal that all of Harry's life, he'd been the decoy drawing Voldemort's attention away from the person who would really kill him.

Unless, of course, you think Neville really *did* kill him by taking out the final horcrux.

Whaddaya think, Lisa?

[Bluestalking Reader]

Pamela, now THAT'S funny! Is anyone still ashamed to read HP? Adults were at first. I remember articles on that subject. And, apropos of nothing, I just spilled a LOT of coffee down the front of my shirt! Ugh.

[Bluestalking Reader]

Bybee, I think people in general are wonderful subjects, but especially children. I have a whole slew of more "children playing in the Millennium Park fountain" I'll be posting off and on here. You can't take a bad photo of children and water. That's a truth universally acknowledged.

[Bluestalking Reader]

KM, the theme is people in general, but I'll definitely be catching more Chicagoans reading. So, if you're in the metro area you may as well be on the lookout!

[Bluestalking Reader]

Andi, I couldn't read it slowly. I had to FLY through it. I couldn't stand the not knowing!

Do you think JKR will ever write more about these characters?? I wonder.

[Bluestalking Reader]

Elaine, You're on!! Shall send you a note later today. I'm perishing to talk to someone about it...

[Bluestalking Reader]

Matt, I resisted the temptation to peek, but I really thought about it. I was so scared someone would spoil the ending for me, so I thought of spoiling it for myself, basically. But I managed to finish without resorting to that.

[Book Club Girl]

I finished on sunday, my 16-month old was very agreeable and treated me to several long naps on both saturday and sunday. I loved it and am just sad that it is over. But I'm currently re-reading the last 100 pages or so, much more slowly, as I really started to race toward the end. I love the photos. In NY and NJ you see people reading it everywhere -- on NJ transit, on the NYC subway, in elevators and on the street, it is so fantastic.

[Pamela HD]

I had to laugh - one of the women on my Metra train out to the suburbs of Chicago was reading HP&DH, but she had a brown paper book cover on it (like we used to cover our textbooks with in school). I don't know if she was hiding what she was reading or protecting it.

[Bybee]

Photos of people reading is a great new theme. Have you noticed that even homely people photograph well when they're engrossed in a book?

[katie m.]

Hi BSR!
I finished quickly, but loved it. I'm going to buy it on CD so I can listen to Jim Dale's incarnation.
If your new theme is capturing Chicagoans reading, I Love It!!!!!
It's a swell idea ;)
KM (your librarian fan in AL)

[Andi]

Flingin' flangin' loved it! And I love your pics of people reading. We were at Petsmart on Saturday shopping for a "special" cat that we found last weekend (no luck, already adopted) and saw a girl come out of the break room with her HP clutched tightly to her chest. She looked rather ill that she had to go back to work, and I don't blame her. I'm glad I had today off to zoom through 500+ pages. I kept thinking of little things to do to drag it out a bit longer.

*sob*

[Elaine]

I bought mine at 8 am in the morning of Saturday and went to bed that night having sat and read it solidly all day. I thought it was brilliant with a simply stunning ending.

YOu want to talk about it Lisa - I will happily discuss it with you - am at home this weekend!!! I have already had a long discussion with my daughter this evening about it all.

[Matt]

I spot similar sights of people reading HP all over the city--on the bus, at the park, in the cafe, everywhere. I saw kids peeking into the end as soon as they got their books. :)

[Bluestalking Reader]

Joy, I won't be able to hold out posting spoilers for long. That's one thing you can bet on. I've been wanting to talk to someone about this since Saturday afternoon. Now I need to find that willing someone!!

I will admit, I was biting my nails reading the last installment. I loved the characters so much, and really feared for a few of them. The final scene had all the characters I worried about most assembled in a really dangerous situation, too, which didn't help. The two deaths... Ugh. I hated them. They were bad enough, and that's all I'm saying for now...

[Joy]

I can't wait to see your pictures! You have me intrigued. :)

Like I said before I am not a HP fan, but I wanted to know how it ended, so I read someone else's spoiler post.