History through Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released in less than 2 hours! I know I said I'd stay away from the net until I've read the book, but I'm too excited to do that, and I haven't been spoiled yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. There's been coverage of the book release in all the news, and I even saw siilukka being interviewed!
I read the first three books in the summer of 2000, after I finally became aware of their existence due to the hype surrounding the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (i.e. the 4th book). I remember my boss at the library recommended the books to me, and she spoke highly of the Finnish translation. Despite of that, I picked up the first book in English (British version), the second in Swedish and the third in German. I read the American edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2001. I still haven't read any of the books in Finnish! In 2002 I reread the 1st book, this time in Spanish and French, and the 2nd book in French.
In 2003, I started to wait for the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I became active at the Finnish fan forum Vuotava Noidankattila (The Leaky Cauldron), where I met greensery, who inspired me to start my own journal here at LiveJournal, and siilukka, who was the second friend I added here. I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on 22-25 of June 2003. After that I listened to the audiobook versions of books 3 and 4 with my then boyfriend Mikael. It was a great way to share the reading experience with another person. (And I'm proud I made him a fan - after we broke up, he has listened to books 5 and 6 on his own.)
When Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released on July 16, 2005, I went to buy the book in the morning, then I met nauriz, ate pizza with her at Rosso, and then we took the train to Tampere, where we went to a festival, Tammerfest. We saw 5 bands that day: Negative, The 69 Eyes, SoulRelic, Bloodpit and Kilpi. I started reading the book in the train on the way home, but I only got through the first 2 chapters. I parted ways with nauriz in Helsinki, and met Mike in a bar, Jone's Karaoke (he loves to sing). There, we agreed to make our relationship official. I never continued to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as there were much more exciting things going on in my life.
At first, Mike wasn't really interested in Harry Potter ("they're children's books") but after some careful persuasion without pressure, he said this spring that he'd like to watch the movies. We've seen the first 4 on DVD, and we saw the 5th last Saturday at the movies. I've found my love for Harry Potter again, and I reread my favorite book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in June. After that I reread the 5th book on July 12-13, and finally I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the first time, on July 14-15. And tomorrow, I'll start reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
Blogging from the lineparties in Finland
(The text is in Finnish, but includes pictures.)
My Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom is:
Sirius Black kills Harry by clever use of the Goblet of Fire
Get your Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom
I read the first three books in the summer of 2000, after I finally became aware of their existence due to the hype surrounding the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (i.e. the 4th book). I remember my boss at the library recommended the books to me, and she spoke highly of the Finnish translation. Despite of that, I picked up the first book in English (British version), the second in Swedish and the third in German. I read the American edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2001. I still haven't read any of the books in Finnish! In 2002 I reread the 1st book, this time in Spanish and French, and the 2nd book in French.
In 2003, I started to wait for the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I became active at the Finnish fan forum Vuotava Noidankattila (The Leaky Cauldron), where I met greensery, who inspired me to start my own journal here at LiveJournal, and siilukka, who was the second friend I added here. I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on 22-25 of June 2003. After that I listened to the audiobook versions of books 3 and 4 with my then boyfriend Mikael. It was a great way to share the reading experience with another person. (And I'm proud I made him a fan - after we broke up, he has listened to books 5 and 6 on his own.)
When Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released on July 16, 2005, I went to buy the book in the morning, then I met nauriz, ate pizza with her at Rosso, and then we took the train to Tampere, where we went to a festival, Tammerfest. We saw 5 bands that day: Negative, The 69 Eyes, SoulRelic, Bloodpit and Kilpi. I started reading the book in the train on the way home, but I only got through the first 2 chapters. I parted ways with nauriz in Helsinki, and met Mike in a bar, Jone's Karaoke (he loves to sing). There, we agreed to make our relationship official. I never continued to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as there were much more exciting things going on in my life.
At first, Mike wasn't really interested in Harry Potter ("they're children's books") but after some careful persuasion without pressure, he said this spring that he'd like to watch the movies. We've seen the first 4 on DVD, and we saw the 5th last Saturday at the movies. I've found my love for Harry Potter again, and I reread my favorite book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in June. After that I reread the 5th book on July 12-13, and finally I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the first time, on July 14-15. And tomorrow, I'll start reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
Blogging from the lineparties in Finland
(The text is in Finnish, but includes pictures.)
My Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom is:
Sirius Black kills Harry by clever use of the Goblet of Fire
Get your Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom