Harry Potter Survey #2

[Ripleywriter at aol.com]

(can I ask that all your replies be sent to me offlist, at 
ripleywriter at aol.com? Thanks!)

Hey again,

  Wow! You guys are incredible! I got an overwhelming response to the first 
part of my survey. And if you wanted to fill out the first part but haven't 
yet, you still can. ;-)

  I haven't even been able to read everyone's replies yet (there were A LOT), 
so I haven't been able to write back to everyone. I'd like to, to say thanks 
and comment on what some of you had to say. I was surprised by a lot of your 
answers. For now: thank you! And especially those of you who commented you 
had fun. I'm very glad; I tried hard not to be boring.

 If you could reply the way you did last time, copying and pasting the q's 
between the lines into another e-mail and writing your answers below each 
one, that'd be great. This one's a little bit longer, so answer at your 
leisure. :-)

J/i/c you don't know: 
SS/PS = Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone
CoS = Chamber of Secrets

If you have not seen either HP movie please skip all movie-related questions.

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Question-as-an-afterthought: Have you not seen either movie? If so, why not?

Survey Questions 21-43.

21. What was your initial reaction to the movie(s)? If you saw one or both of 
them before you read the books, how much of an influence have they had on 
your reading? If you saw one or both of them after having read one or more of 
the books, tell me all about what you thought of them. Did they live up to 
your expectations? Were you pleased with the casting? And so on. 

22. Which character in the movies do you believe to be the best cast? 

23. Which movie do you prefer over the other, SS/PS or CoS, and why?

24. Which part (be it a character, a specific scene, a subplot, etc.) of 
SS/PS and/or CoS were you most disappointed had not made it into the movie?

25. Do you remember the most outrageous rumor you heard about any of the 
earlier books before they were released? For example, not *that* crazy, but I 
read in more than one article and GoF was supposed to be called "Harry Potter 
and the Doomspell Tournament." 

26.  Have you read/do you own the HP textbooks written by J.K. Rowling? These 
would be 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'Quidditch Through the 
Ages'. If so, what did you think of them? 

27.  What is the most interesting piece of information you've heard about 
J.K.? For example, her reading GoF to a dying girl is quite fascinating to 
me. 

28.  What crazy or not so crazy (but the crazier the better) influences have 
you heard of Harry Potter having on the world? For example, I read an article 
about the rise in enrollment in British boarding schools thanks to Harry, and 
not so crazy, the New York Times created the best-selling children's books 
list because of Harry.

29. What is your estimate of how many people in the entire world you think 
have read *all four* Harry Potter books (making them a fan, you see)? This 
can't be calculated by the number of books sold because of lending, 
libraries, etc. So give me your best guess! I'll be creating an average from 
everyone's guesses, so give it a minute of thought. I would guess...300 
million. I don't know if I'm overestimating or under, so I am very curious 
about what you all will say. 

30.  Have you ever attended or had a child attend, etc., a class that studies 
the HP books or any aspects of them? What was/have you heard it's like?

31. Is there any movie coming out in the near (such as the Matrix sequels) or 
distant (such as the third ep of Star Wars in '05) future that you think 
could challenge the Harry Potter movies in their places on the lists of 
highest grossing movies ever? 

32. What would you *eloquently* (no bad language, please *g*) say to someone 
who believed the Harry Potter books are a threat to children for any reason 
(and please state the reason) you've heard them called a danger in the past? 
For example, Jack Brock, mentioned below, said the books, "encourage our 
youth to learn more about witches, warlocks, and sorcerers, and those things 
are an abomination to God and to me". 

33. What would you say specifically to people like the pastor who burned a 
pile of HP books, saying, "This is a holy fire."? His name was Jack Brock 
from New Mexico.

34. Do you run/help run a Harry Potter web site? If so, can you please 
provide me with the name(s) and address(es)? 

35.  Do you write Harry Potter fanfiction? If you have, can you please 
provide me with the title of the one you are most proud of, that way I can 
write: "Leela Thompson, author of 'The Poison Party'...." 


If you have *not* read *any* fanfiction, please skip to #41. 
(Please forgive me if #'s 37 & 38 are hard to understand at all; I tried to 
form the q's for everyone)

36. In your own opinion, why would you say Harry Potter fanfiction is so 
popular? Please be as eloquent as you can because this is one of the 
questions I need the most direct quotes for. 

37. How long have you been reading fanfiction, not just HP?

But if you started reading fanfiction because of Harry Potter, and had never 
read any before, then please tell me:
why you sought it out? 
what your first experience with it was like? 

38. About how many HP fanfictions would you say you've read? 

And how long have you been reading HP fanfiction? For those who *have* read 
any fanfic *before* HP fanfic specifically, why did you seek out HP 
fanfiction? <--I know why, but I'm looking for answers like: "I wanted to 
read more about Snape's days before he was a Hogwarts professor." 

40.  -- Please skip this q if you're going to write "Because he's hot!!" 
Obviously that's not worth quoting ;-) -- 
In your own words (I say that because I generally know why, but I'm looking 
for quotes):
Why do you think Draco is such a popular subject in fanfiction?
...and why Severus Snape? 

41. How many times have you read each of the books (please do not emphasize, 
like saying '1000!!!'):
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer' Stone/Philosopher's Stone?
...and the Chamber of Secrets?
...and the Prisoner of Azkaban?
...and the Goblet of Fire?

42. How many times have you seen the movies:
SS/PS: 
in the theaters? 
at home?
CoS:
in the theaters?
at home? 

43. Do you think the books, hardback and/or paperback, are quality made? For 
example, I've had people tell me their copies have come apart. Please tell me 
what editions (American hardback, German paperback, etc.) you own in addition 
to your answer, so I can refer to each specifically. 

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Whew. This survey stuff wears me out, man. Lots of work, but fun work. So, 
all of your efforts to respond really are appreciated, if I didn't make that 
clear, lol. It's so nice to know I'm not killing myself for nothing. 

Looking forward to another batch of replies!

Melly