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Just in time for his birthday, right? (I think. I can't remember real people's birthdays, much less fictitious characters'.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
I'm still on record as anticipating some weird prior body-switcheroo thing between Harry's father and Snape. I expect this to be revealed in Book 7, though.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Yes, it's solid, and the release date has been known for quite some time now. (Since December.) Rowling now has a website of her own, and she releases all news of that sort on her site.
Posts: 196 | Registered: Jul 2002
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CT, MuggleNet thinks the switch was between James Potter and Remus Lupin, and the Lupin is the one who died. Considering how much Lupin softens at the thought of Lily and has to restrain himself from being affectionate towards Harry, it may be a possibility.
Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Ahhhhh ... okay, I could go with that. I just didn't buy that James' father went from beastly to saintly on his own. I still think a Snape/James switch would make sense of why Snape is so down on Harry for any hint of pridefulness (having been there -- as James -- himself).
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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quote: CT, MuggleNet thinks the switch was between James Potter and Remus Lupin, and the Lupin is the one who died.
I strongly dislike this theory. A lot of people at the Lexicon Forums think Lupin is Lupin, end of story. I want Lupin to be Lupin, I don't want it to be James.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Reminder: if you can, support your local independent book store, and order your copy through them! Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I have nothing against them, but why are they the default noble choice?
Like in You've Got Mail - I can certainly see why the store owner would want to keep the small one going, but Fox Books did sell them for cheaper. Cheaper books = more books I can afford = that's good. My local Barnes and Noble had a huge party for Harry Potter #5, including a magician, candy, story hour, a public reading starting at midnight, face painting, general revelry.
What makes one place of business more virtuous than another? I am thinking of a story of buggy-whip makers here.
Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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for plaid EDIT to Kat : because the big stores don't need your money to survive. The local book shop do. As a matter of fact, my favourite one died a few months ago, killed by the concurrence of the two big book sellers in town, who sell everything with no style, no advice, not anything to make you feel welcome and well. RE-EDIT : besides, here we have a legal price for books, so they sell them at the same price.
[ March 22, 2005, 11:00 AM: Message edited by: Anna ]
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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You're right, too - but honestly, I met more great local book shops and crappy big book shops than the reverse.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Especially when there is a difference on price, why do I need to spend more to support one business than another?
My family owns a small business, and they get hammered by bigger companies that outsource to China, so I do understand the concept of supporting small businesses. However, my family makes up for the more expensive price necessitated by higher wages in the US by providing better customer service, more specialized products, and the advantages of working with someone local.
If a big store has a better price and just as good or better service, why should I be obligated to take things elsewhere? Shouldn't I reward the company that figured how to do business better?
Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Yeah, the best way for small businesses to go in those situations is to provide something the bigger company doesn't, in order to make up for the price difference.
This is the way I have seen most small coffeeshops react to a starbucks across the street and survive. In fact, I have lived in three different towns at the time a starbucks moved in, and witnessed all three debates about how bad it would be for the local coffeeshops. So far, in every town, the local coffeeshops are still standing, despite the evil influence of starbucks. They do this because the offer a different atmosphere, a different choice in coffee, and a different type of service. It can be done.
I just wish my local booksellers would understand this concept.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Harry Potter thread.
posted
It's...it's almost like we're having two different conversations here. Please, kat, I'm begging you, get help!
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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*sniffsniff* Noemon? That's you, right? Is it you? Are you the one who keeps telling Malfoy to talk to me? I'm trying to be nice, Noemon. It's so quiet...
Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Don't worry kat, I've got some experience with helping people through this kind of thing. Now, you lucked out--the hit you took was only slightly tainted. I want you to lie back, and take slow, deep breaths. Good. Now, would you like the lights on, or off? You're in charge here.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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lalala...If I die Noemon, you can have my stuff. I like you. Send the history books to Taalcon. The treasure is *yawn*...the treasure is...yumyumhemmmm...under the...*soft, snoozy breathing*Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Wouldn't it be great if in 6th year, knowing full well all the other dangers the previous years have brought, Potter eschews the school, takes his broom to South America and hires himself bilingual Wizard tutors? I mean, really.
Posts: 722 | Registered: Jul 2004
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The reason I like to support small booksellers is that they don't cater to the bestsellers. Barnes & Noble has a rotten selection of foreign-language books and Borders, though better, typically only has the American bestsellers translated into other languages.
Small independent bookstores carry more foreign-language books, they sell used and out-of-print books, and they tend to have a lot better selection of independent and hard-to-find books. Sure, they sell bestsellers, but they don't have a ridiculous pile of copies of The DaVinci Code in a huge display with a "you might also enjoy" shelf next to it. I don't want to be pandered to with the latest marketing strategies. I don't want to be sold something statistically proven to get me to fork over more cash. I like my local independent bookstores because they give me real-person advice and treat me like an intelligent creatures. They, too, are intelligent creatures, which helps.
If I shop at the big store in the name of saving money, I run the risk of losing those smaller shops that are better suited to my town and my market. And truthfully, by offering a lot of used books, the little stores are often a better deal. I don't need a brand-new, reprint copy of Cat's Cradle because I want to start reading Kurt Vonnegut - a $3.00 paperback from the 80s will do just fine. And I'm willing to spend the occassional $45.00 on a brand-new hardback when I can, as a vote of confidence in a store that wants me as a customer and not just me as a demographic.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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quote: I don't need a brand-new, reprint copy of Cat's Cradle because I want to start reading Kurt Vonnegut - a $3.00 paperback from the 80s will do just fine.
You're lucky Kurt Vonnegut doesn't post here anymore. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I did that this spring. I bought loads of books. Only the fact that I had to leave (grumble) prevented me from just buying literally hundreds. (It was late in the day and every book was 25 cents!)
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Ah. I find most used books stores too unorganized for me. I live just down the street from an acre-sized Half-Price Books, and I love it because of the poetry readings and amateur art shows they host. Also, fabulous deals on audio books. If I am looking for something in particular though, I hate it because they don't have a definitive inventory. Serendipity HAS to be good, because that's the only way you'll find anything.
Posts: 1163 | Registered: Jan 2005
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