Welcome from Your Moderator [ Edited ]

[Rachel-K]

Welcome, everyone!

As we all await Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the conclusion of J. K. Rowling's monumental saga, what better opportunity to take a moment and think about what this truly majestic work has meant to us.

This is a place to share your memories -- whether of the first time you discovered Hogwarts, the first person you eagerly pressed your copy of Sorcerer's Stone on, or the first time you got swept up in the anticipation of waiting for a new Harry Potter adventure!

It's also where we can talk about what we think about the significance of the "Harry Potter phenomenon." What's made these books so uniquely and overwhelmingly popular? Will there ever be anything like it? Has it changed the way we see "children's literature"?

I'm looking forward to reading all of your contributions!

Message Edited by Amanda_R on 06-06-2007 10:49 AM

[Nadine]

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rkubie wrote:
Welcome, everyone!

As we all await Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the conclusion of J. K. Rowling's monumental saga, what better opportunity to take a moment and think about what this truly majestic work has meant to us.

This is a place to share your memories -- whether of the first time you discovered Hogwarts, the first person you eagerly pressed your copy of Sorcerer's Stone on, or the first time you got swept up in the anticipation of waiting for a new Harry Potter adventure!

It's also where we can talk about what we think about the significance of the "Harry Potter phenomenon." What's made these books so uniquely and overwhelmingly popular? Will there ever be anything like it? Has it changed the way we see "children's literature"?

I'm looking forward to reading all of your contributions!

Message Edited by rkubie on 05-24-200704:34 PM

Message Edited by rkubie on 05-24-200711:08 PM

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Much of the Harry Potter discussions have been dominated by the "mystery puzzle" element of the series--trying to put all the clues together. However, as I reread the series this time around, I am noticing more issues that are brought up in the series that I think will become more important after the last book is out and the "mystery" is resolved. The characters in the books are ordinary people who must face extraordinary circumstances, it is a "coming of age" story, the magical world is a mirror of of our current world and presents a way of looking at current issues from a different perspective, there are ethical issues that can and should be discussed, there are the topics of friendship, dealing with those who are social outcasts or considered inferior or less talented, there are social issues such as the relationship of the wizardarding world with other beings in the magical world, and much more. In fact, there are so many topics that deserve more discussion that it is difficult to know where to start.

Rachel, maybe you could pick one or several of these "beyond the mystery puzzle" topics and open a more organized discussion of these important topics?

[Psychee]

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Nadine wrote...Much of the Harry Potter discussions have been dominated by the "mystery puzzle" element of the series--trying to put all the clues together. However, as I reread the series this time around, I am noticing more issues that are brought up in the series that I think will become more important after the last book is out and the "mystery" is resolved. The characters in the books are ordinary people who must face extraordinary circumstances, it is a "coming of age" story, the magical world is a mirror of of our current world and presents a way of looking at current issues from a different perspective, there are ethical issues that can and should be discussed, there are the topics of friendship, dealing with those who are social outcasts or considered inferior or less talented, there are social issues such as the relationship of the wizardarding world with other beings in the magical world, and much more. In fact, there are so many topics that deserve more discussion that it is difficult to know where to start.

Rachel, maybe you could pick one or several of these "beyond the mystery puzzle" topics and open a more organized discussion of these important topics?

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Nadine, have you checked out the Harry by the Month board? Many of those ethical and other discussions go on over there...

[Rachel-K]

Hi Nadine,

I do think the excitement building now before #7 leads us to do a lot of guessing, and I bet if we were doing these discussions a year from now the ways we'd focus on the stories would be very different! We can always try to pose questions around those deeper issues, and see who's interested, but for the next couple of months, I bet we will have to accept smaller interest than threads predicting the location of the final battle or the outcome of the horcruxes!

Rachel