Harry Potter and the Waitlist of Doom

[dherblay]

Borders just called; the two copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Rah and I reserved on Saturday are now available. Rah's been reading every review and every spoiler she can and she is almost more keyed up for this than I, so as soon as I post and shower we're going shopping! The kind of shopping I like! (Rah's also become very

Comments

Harry Potter's 'real' English

[anonymous]

You could always try ordering from http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/, or amazon.ca. I just checked my copy of Philosopher's Stone and 'car park', 'sweet', 'Sellotape' and, yes, 'jumper' are all there. I'm pretty sure that both places would ship international, so if you wanted to go purist....

Re: Harry Potter's 'real' English

[anonymous]

and oops, that was me above.

LadyStarlight

Yes, I must go purist

[masqthephlsphr]

It's a friggin' English novel, for heaven's sake, not an American one (sorry, my 'tude is directed at American publishers, not you, Lady S.). No one does this to other fine English writers like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. We USers just have to bumble along trying to understand certain words in context like we did when Spike and Giles first came along, or when we watch Brit shows like "Queer as Folk".

It doesn't take long to become fluent in another dialect, but Americans expect everyone to talk their language.

Re: Yes, I must go purist

[oyceter]

Very word. I mean, no one would even think (I hope) of revising the accents in A Little Princess or The Secret Garden or touching the language of C.S. Lewis. At least, I desperately hope this is true. And while we're getting rid of the Britishisms, why don't the publishers just kindly contextualize all books written before the twentieth century so children aren't confused by people not having telephones? Reminds me a great deal of anime in America and how they try to get rid of every single Japanese thing in them -- really, the characters are eating donuts, even though they look like sticky rice balls!

Ahem. Sorry. But really, isn't the lovely bit about books the fact that you get to learn new words and places?

[deevalish]

I have so far resisted the Potter-mania. I've been content to watch the movies witht he occasional thought that maybe I should borrow the books from my boyfriend's mother. The chatter about how the story is geting darker is intriguing to me. I may yet change my mind.

Not a big HP movie fan

[masqthephlsphr]

I'm with you, deeva. I haven't read any of the books, either, but this "dark turn" intrigues my Buffyverse-tainted soul. So I'm having a friend fetch me a copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" while she's in London so I can have something to read while busing to and from work.

I always like a broody, angsty teen-aged character.

[oyceter]

Don't want to do the converting thing, because I know when I read Philosopher's Stone for the first time, I hated it. Personally, I like them starting from the third book, which is where the series picks up a slightly more adult tone. I do hope JK Rowling really brings on the angst ;).