[HPforGrownups] Amanda Rants Again

[Wanda Mallett]

No: HPFGUIDX 24243

Here, here from Revere! As a parent and one who still
likes to read out loud to her pre-teen and teen, I
agree with you 100%! I'm still learning from all of
you on the list! I'm 48 and still like to learn new
ideas from everyone. But some of the posts were beyond
me. The ones you mentioned in your posts, I had a
feeling they were from very young minds, and very
happy that you have this rant! Thank you, Amanda for
keeping things in check! 
>From just one of the group!

Wanda the Witch of Revere, Massachusetts
  
--- Amanda Lewanski <editor at texas.net> wrote:
> To those list members under 18 (or under the mental
> age of 18): Listen
> up.
> 
> Our name is HP for Grownups. That's not because we
> dislike children.
> It's because we are grown up. The majority of us are
> legally adults,
> working professionals and/or parents, who all have
> an interest in good
> literature and enjoy discussing it. And by
> discussing it, I mean not
> only delving into the details of the story and
> unearthing possible
> mistakes (like the "why didn't Lupin transform
> before the moon came out"
> line). I mean exploring the grand themes under the
> work, the meanings
> these books may carry, how these themes relate to
> our own experiences,
> what these books bring to people, the interesting
> question of the
> extreme reaction of some religious groups, and
> various spinoff lines of
> merit that are either on or off Chatter, depending
> on whether they
> ultimately have to do with Harry Potter.
> 
> Please pick up, in the above, on the word "parents."
> Lots of us are.
> Lots of us are teachers, too. We are a tolerant and
> thoughtful group,
> and tease each other about typos and misspellings.
> We have lots of
> listmembers whose first language is not English, and
> I can invariably
> never tell it from their command of the language;
> they amaze me.
> 
> However, what we do *not* want to read is long
> rambling blocks of words
> with no punctuation (that's periods ["dots" for
> those of you in the
> computer generation], commas, question marks, etc.).
> We like the
> convention of capital letters at the start of
> sentences, and lowercase
> for the rest of it. We like complete sentences,
> grouped into paragraphs.
> And we like substance, posts that discuss the books,
> not posts that
> advertise somebody's cool new website (there's a
> list for that,
> HPFGU-Announcements, post there) or to say "Hi" to
> each other.
> 
> We don't mind reading questions we've seen before.
> We understand that
> brilliant new thoughts occur to readers at different
> times, and if you
> thought of it, it's still brilliant and you'll want
> discussion. THAT is
> what this list is for, to let you bounce your ideas
> off other readers
> and explore the responses. And it's great fun when
> somebody has a brand
> new take on an old question (which *does* still
> happen).
> 
> So please, you younger ones, you 12- to 15-year-olds
> who *act* like it,
> there are simply *scads* of Harry Potter groups that
> are built for your
> age group and interests and English usage. Seek
> those, please, unless
> you want Parents and Teachers on your back.
> 
> That said, please let me add with all sincerity: For
> those of you who
> feel that talking about Harry Potter with older
> Parents and Teachers and
> other mature types is your kind of thing, that's
> wonderful, it really
> is, and you're more than welcome to pull up a chair,
> grab a butterbeer
> and jump into the conversation.
> 
> --Amanda. putting the clue bat down, out of breath,
> and wondering if
> she's getting too old for this sort of exertion
> 
> 


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