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This is going to be the catch-all topic. In case your memories are terribly leaky, this month's book selection will be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. If you have any general observations, questions, suggestions, or anything else feel free to post it here. I'm going to start a bunch of specific topics as well, and once we get going, I encourage anyone else to begin a thread as well, if one comes to mind. To keep it straight, I would make the title "May : <whatever>" so that everyone understands it is a May book club topic.
Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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I was rereading HP over the weekend and I really, really wanted to run over to people and say "Hey, in a general hubbub kind of a way, did you notice that Rowling uses a lot of em dashes and ellipses?" Because whenever I thought to look, I could find at least one em dash or ... within two pages.
Wow. Good to get that out there. I feel better now.
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Welll...NOW that you've pointed it out...I listened to these all on tape but I picked up my husband's copy and flipped to five random pages and found elipses or dashes on all of them. Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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But as a writer, I do to, so I'm not going to criticize that. In fact, I may have acquired the habit inadvertantly from JK Rowling.
Posts: 295 | Registered: May 2003
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I only noticed it this time because I was editing a book, and I'd decided my crutch word was actually the elipsis. Crutch puntuation. So I was in annihiliate-or-turn-to-dashes mode on elipses when I read it for this one... (see?? there I go again!).
Posts: 253 | Registered: Jan 2004
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I don't think this is worthy of it's own thread, so I'll just make a rant in here: Quiddich.
All right, it's actually kind of a neat sport. I have a mind that it could be fun to play and watch...EXCEPT....catching the snitch is worth 150 point. one HUNDRED and FIFTY? It makes the rest of the game pointless. It feels like she just made it worth that many points to inflate Harry's importance in the game. In my mind, the snitch is worth fifty points, because that just makes more sense.
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The point of the snitch is that catching it (something that is really hard to do) ends the match (some matches went on for ages). Matches that go on for a long time might not be decided by the snitch as the other team might have racked up enough 'hoop points', but at least they end. In fact, if you were behind by more than the snitch would catch you up, I think it would be in your best interests to NOT catch the snitch until your side catches up, and you'd want to keep the other seeker from catching it - it would be more important to prevent them than to catch it yourself. I think there is enough balance that the points just make it more exciting to me.
And yes, it is a device to make Harry more important. But it also is used to get him in trouble, and intimidates him at first - it makes him important when he's never been treated like he was important (by his family) in his life. But he does it anyway, overcoming fear and being sick to his stomach. Like the kid who pitches, or must catch the fly ball to prevent a home-run. It also connects him to his dad. I kind of liked the parallel between the Golden Snitch and the Sorcerer's Stone (small ball-item, important, Harry gets it).
So catching the snitch usually ends the game and means the side of the Seeker who caught it usually wins. But there are many other parts of the game to confuse things too. I heard this game related to cricket, which is apparently pretty confusing.
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I think you missed the point...making the snitch worth 150 points makes the regular game play meaningless. Who cares how many points they rack up if the game is over as soon as the snitch is caught and almost certainly, that team wins? If it was worth 50 points, it would still serve the same purpose...to end the match, but I bet it would be even more exciting and purposeful...because there's a greater probability that your team is behind 60 points and so the strategy becomes two-fold...make sure your team is ahead enough and catch the snitch or try to fend the other team off from the snitch. With a 150 point value, the chances that your team is behind 160 points is very rare..in fact, I found the one time it happeneed in the series to be rather contrived, as if she was trying too hard to answer back the critics, such as myself, who had noticed the problem.
Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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I think the school snitch is a little easier to catch than a professional one. but it's true. I think it really is a sport of two people, the seekers. all the other people, beaters, chasers, and keepers. Not to mention the crazy invisable people that dance on the grass through the whole game. anyways all those people are just eye candy so people will pay to see it. It's all just a sham to get money. Or my other theory is that it shows how different the wizard word is. A game that wouldn't 'fly' in real life, is exiting to wizards.
Posts: 1895 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Personally, I think the fact the Seekers are the only real players stems immediately from JK's inability to create a good sporting event. Granted, a lot of people like Quidditch (sp?) and the game does allow for her to use her main, Harry, as the most pivotal member of the team. But as an athlete, though amateur, I was dissapointed in how non-team-dependant the game is.
Additionally I hate seeing all the plyers be from the Weasley family. In book 5 when they were "banned" suddenly Ginny's out there playing and of course Ron is the new Keeper, etc etc.
But honestly, isn't Gryphandor House large enough to pose any sort of other talent? Personally with Wood out of the picture, the game is almost annoying in the books and seems less real to me. But again, that's just me.
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