Pottermore-

[mary_j_59]

Okay - I confess; I joined Pottermore, out of sheer curiosity. I want to know if, by any strange chance, I will sort to Slytherin, and also what sort of wand I get. Still, some things struck me at once (I've spent about 20 minutes exploring the first chapter

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

House plans are weird. The house I currently live in has a very similar plan to the one I grew up in, except the front door of the current one is where the balcony was in the old one. So I don't find it surprising that using a written description would result in something close enough to what Rowling had in mind.

The number issue is typical Rowling - her personal idiosyncratic preferences become a judgmental statement about the world. And doesn't it remind you of all those times Harry feels the world is mocking him by having weather that doesn't match his mood?

As for measurements - she could have the Muggles use metric if that matches British usage in the 1990s (but anything from previous generations should be Imperial), but the wizards wouldn't use metric. Hmm, continental wizards would though.

[mary_j_59]

You are so right! It's no wonder that Wizarding values are so antiquated if the population skews so old. Some of these people would have been born in the eighteenth century!

[charlottehywd]

That doesn't necessarily excuse them for not being able to adapt, though. I mean, if I were born in the 18th century, I actually would probably be pretty fascinated by all of the technological changes that have happened since I was a child. I mean, that era was the Enlightenment, after all. At least in the Muggle world, learning and advancement were pretty highly valued. Of course, wizards are already shown to be kind of backwards, so maybe this doesn't apply to them.

[nx74defiant]

When describing Number 4, Privet Drive, Rowling said that she chose the number four because she disliked that number, finding it hard and unforgiving.

Four is hard and unforgiving? That is weird.

On a more serious note, she based the look and floorplan of the house on that of a house she lived in herself

The Dursley house is her house. Petunia is JK Rowling!

[kahran042]

Well, if it matters, in Japan four is considered an unlucky number due to associations with death. So it's not all that weird.

[mary_j_59]

That's interesting! Of course, some numbers have cosmic significance in all societies. But, so far as I know, the number four has no particular associations in Britain-?

[kahran042]

You're right, of course. I just wanted to point out that little fact.

[mary_j_59]

A bit more about the Pottermore experience - the sorting quiz was interesting, and I ended up in Ravenclaw, as I expected. But -

If you mention Slytherin in a positive way, question anything, or say anything sarcastic (I've done all three), your comment awaits moderation. If you are straightforward, say something positive, or express enthusiasm, you get the message that your comment will appear soon. I've seen that message too.

Controlling, much?!

[charlottehywd]

Are you serious? What kind of forum doesn't allow dissent? Oh wait, one controlled by rabid fans or people employed by the author.

[oneandthetruth]

Only if the fans are dittoheads and/or the author's a narcissistic control freak. On the Warriors site, the forums have plenty of dissension, including fans saying they hate the heroes and love the villains. There's even a thread making fun of how certain minor characters are males in some books and females in others, or die in certain books, then are alive again in subsequent books. The authors admit that, with dozens of books and hundreds of characters, they make mistakes, and ask fans to let them know when they find a mistake so it can be corrected in future editions. They even make fun of their own mistakes. Horrors!

[charlottehywd]

See, that sounds like a fandom that is actually healthy. There are quite a few things that I consider myself to be a fan of, but I don't usually get threatened when people say that they dislike them. Unless they are one of those annoying kinds of "haters" who just say that something sucks without being willing to expand on why they don't like it, I actually enjoy that kind of debate.

Maybe it just comes down to maturity. Which is weird, considering how many HP fans are at least a few years older than I am. (not that I am trying to gloat about how mature I am or anything)

[granatapfelrot]

she joined the society of weights and measures specifically to annoy her sister
Well, that might explain Lily putting her sister down in that weird letter to Sirius.
Being this vengeful can't be healthy. Everyone who ever even thought about maybe annoying Mrs Rowling a little bit has to 'get it' somehow. Scary.
The number 4 thing is simply not something I understand. I find the concept of sorting numbers into nice ones and not nice ones totally weird.

[mmmarcusz]

On a more serious note, she based the look and floorplan of the house on that of a house she lived in herself - and got wierded out because, without discussing it with her, the filmmakers got the floorplan exactly right.

Presumably they copied the very detailed floorplan derived from the books by the Harry Potter Lexicon - chance of a countersuit? ;) http://www.hp-lexicon.org/atlas/britain/atlas-b-privet.html