Post Deathly Hallows
I'm just getting home from a long day at work and church right before, so I haven't gotten a chance to post yet. Here goes:
First off, I LOVED DEATHLY HALLOWS! It was just great and magical, surprising, and slmost everything I had hoped for. I got my book around 3:30 pm yesterday and finished it 7:30 this morning. I was up by 8 and didn't get an ounce of sleep because I was reflecting. I don't care, though, I'll sleep good tonight!
I don't think I've ever been more proud of Harry in my life than I was in the last few chapters. He was a man. It was like what he said in HBP about the difference between being dragged to your death or walking in with your head held high.
I also loved the fact that Harry finally realized that the world wasn't split up by good and bad people. Dumbledore may have been good, but he too had
Idark tendencies within him. What made him good in the end was his ability to master them. Now we know why he chose to never become the Minister of Magic.
On the reverse, Snape is not all bad either. It is true that he made some horrible choices. But again, it is his desire to rectify his actions that doesn't make him evil. Everyone has good and bad tendencies, but it is what we choose to do with them that make us who we are. JKR is teaching a powerful lesson in DH.
I wish the book hadn't ended so abruptly. I would have liked to see the aftermath of everyone's lives. But then again, maybe JKR did that purposefully so that we could draw out own conclusions. Again, it is what we choose to believe is what personally matters. That was probably a stroke of genius.
There were some things that I didn't care for: Ron leaving the trio (even though he more than made up for it later) even after he knew what he was getting into. Charity Burbgage's death. And though there were surprises, I was looing for more plot-twisting things. But in the end, none of it really matters because it still comes down to the same thing. I love the fact that Voldemort essentially kills himself. It his own greed and hate the brings about his downfall.
Learning the other side to Dumbledore was a tiny bit disturbing and unnerving, as I think maybe it was meant to be. It reiterates the fact that there are 2 (or sometimes more) sides to every story. Or maybe I was just a tiny bit weirded out by Dumbledore's sister being named Ariana. Though I presume we have differeny pronunciations. I say my name like ah-ree-ah-na while her's is probably the more common air-ee-ah-na.
I definitely feel that Harry's powers were very strong. He is able to perform Unforgivables, and while it shocked me while reading, I think now it again shows the right/wrong issue.
As for the deaths, I think it was Hagrid that got the reprieve. Besides R/Hr, he is the last of his childhood friends and mentors to survive. Lupin, Dobby, Hedwig (wah! I think this death affected me the most) and even Fred are gone. I loved that the old Gryffindor Quidditch team was reunited in one room for one last time.
I think R/Hr was very well-executed, though I would have loved to see them on their own. But I get that this was Harry's book and how he saw things. And the way they kissed was beautiful and I wouldn't want that to change. I guess I was looking for some "I love yous" on R/Hr or H/G's side, though I'm glad for what we got. I would have liked to see a H/G reunion, but perhaps that is best left to imagination as well.
There's a weird weight that's settled on my chest and erupts every time I think that this is the ending, and I am reminded that this is the most powerful book in the series. This book also marks the end of my childhood, in a way. I started these books on my 10th birthday, and I've now graduated high school. It's a turning point for me and I don't think it could have come at a better time.
It's time for me to move on, in a way. Things will never be like how they were in these past 7 years again, and I don't want to recreate it, because it will pale in comparison. That does not mean that I am quitting the fandom exactly, just that it won't be the same and I won't make it try to be. I'll basically take it and run with it, because I have no idea how I'll be feeling a week from now. But for now, I know I do not want to read any fanfiction. There are many different possibilites as to what happened in those 19 years and after, and I'll leave them all in my head to ponder on my own at the moment. I'm just taking it one day at a time.
This is no goodbye from me. I will certainly be discussing the book at length both here and at CM forums. After all, this is the last time we will be in this euphoric state post new book release. I plan to enjoy it while it lasts.
The only thing that's bothering me is just what scene of the book the US cover is depictingn? I can't figure it out for the life of me!
First off, I LOVED DEATHLY HALLOWS! It was just great and magical, surprising, and slmost everything I had hoped for. I got my book around 3:30 pm yesterday and finished it 7:30 this morning. I was up by 8 and didn't get an ounce of sleep because I was reflecting. I don't care, though, I'll sleep good tonight!
I don't think I've ever been more proud of Harry in my life than I was in the last few chapters. He was a man. It was like what he said in HBP about the difference between being dragged to your death or walking in with your head held high.
I also loved the fact that Harry finally realized that the world wasn't split up by good and bad people. Dumbledore may have been good, but he too had
Idark tendencies within him. What made him good in the end was his ability to master them. Now we know why he chose to never become the Minister of Magic.
On the reverse, Snape is not all bad either. It is true that he made some horrible choices. But again, it is his desire to rectify his actions that doesn't make him evil. Everyone has good and bad tendencies, but it is what we choose to do with them that make us who we are. JKR is teaching a powerful lesson in DH.
I wish the book hadn't ended so abruptly. I would have liked to see the aftermath of everyone's lives. But then again, maybe JKR did that purposefully so that we could draw out own conclusions. Again, it is what we choose to believe is what personally matters. That was probably a stroke of genius.
There were some things that I didn't care for: Ron leaving the trio (even though he more than made up for it later) even after he knew what he was getting into. Charity Burbgage's death. And though there were surprises, I was looing for more plot-twisting things. But in the end, none of it really matters because it still comes down to the same thing. I love the fact that Voldemort essentially kills himself. It his own greed and hate the brings about his downfall.
Learning the other side to Dumbledore was a tiny bit disturbing and unnerving, as I think maybe it was meant to be. It reiterates the fact that there are 2 (or sometimes more) sides to every story. Or maybe I was just a tiny bit weirded out by Dumbledore's sister being named Ariana. Though I presume we have differeny pronunciations. I say my name like ah-ree-ah-na while her's is probably the more common air-ee-ah-na.
I definitely feel that Harry's powers were very strong. He is able to perform Unforgivables, and while it shocked me while reading, I think now it again shows the right/wrong issue.
As for the deaths, I think it was Hagrid that got the reprieve. Besides R/Hr, he is the last of his childhood friends and mentors to survive. Lupin, Dobby, Hedwig (wah! I think this death affected me the most) and even Fred are gone. I loved that the old Gryffindor Quidditch team was reunited in one room for one last time.
I think R/Hr was very well-executed, though I would have loved to see them on their own. But I get that this was Harry's book and how he saw things. And the way they kissed was beautiful and I wouldn't want that to change. I guess I was looking for some "I love yous" on R/Hr or H/G's side, though I'm glad for what we got. I would have liked to see a H/G reunion, but perhaps that is best left to imagination as well.
There's a weird weight that's settled on my chest and erupts every time I think that this is the ending, and I am reminded that this is the most powerful book in the series. This book also marks the end of my childhood, in a way. I started these books on my 10th birthday, and I've now graduated high school. It's a turning point for me and I don't think it could have come at a better time.
It's time for me to move on, in a way. Things will never be like how they were in these past 7 years again, and I don't want to recreate it, because it will pale in comparison. That does not mean that I am quitting the fandom exactly, just that it won't be the same and I won't make it try to be. I'll basically take it and run with it, because I have no idea how I'll be feeling a week from now. But for now, I know I do not want to read any fanfiction. There are many different possibilites as to what happened in those 19 years and after, and I'll leave them all in my head to ponder on my own at the moment. I'm just taking it one day at a time.
This is no goodbye from me. I will certainly be discussing the book at length both here and at CM forums. After all, this is the last time we will be in this euphoric state post new book release. I plan to enjoy it while it lasts.
The only thing that's bothering me is just what scene of the book the US cover is depictingn? I can't figure it out for the life of me!