GoF launch memories (was Re:What if. . .What if it's a dud?)

[Neil Ward <neilward@dircon.co.uk>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51922

Debbie said:

<< Hmmmm...however, my guess though, is that for people it did spoil 
it for, would have left the group. The ones it didn't, will still be 
here. So even if Grey Wolf or Cindy or Flying Ford Anglia or one of 
the many versions of PipSqueak!/Pippin/Pip64 answered, I assume they 
would say it either only made it more enjoyable or didn't change 
anything. Not that I would EVER think to speak for any of them....in 
fact, I would love to hear what they really think. >>

I think I'm the only one of the people Debbie mentions above who was 
here when GoF was released, so I'm crawling out of lurkdom to 
respond, treading the OT borders in the process... 

***

Yes, some of us here were around for the release of GoF and now boast 
long white beards, babies or other accoutrements of the passing of 
time.  Some former list stalwarts unsubscribed, but many of us just 
became lurkers, dipping in now and then or waiting silently and 
impatiently for the release of OoP. I doubt many people left because 
their experience of GoF was spoiled by this list and I expect some of 
them will return to discuss OoP.  

For me, the lead up to the release of GoF and the pandemonium once it 
hit the streets were exciting and unforgettable times. The 
discussions on HPfGU turned my reading of the book into a memorable 
event; so it was a charm, not a curse, being here. I was a prolific 
poster around that time and like a child in a toyshop (we all know 
that feeling, right?) as we worked our way from Dumbledore's gleam, 
via a handy Portkey, to the significance of the `wand order' 
error.    

On the day of release, I was first in the queue to pick up my copy of 
GoF from the local bookshop, before racing over to King's Cross 
Station to watch JKR extract herself from a genuine Ford Anglia, 
clamber onto a genuine Hogwarts Express and chuff out of the station 
on a tour of genuine small towns of Britain.  After that, I raced 
home to write a report on the launch for this list, before settling 
down with the item in question.  Dedicated, or what? (see 
http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/history.html for more on the history of 
the list).

One thing I will do differently this time is to make my reading of 
OoP less manic than my inaugural reading of GoF.  I read GoF in 17 
hours solid (for me, that's speed reading), breaking only for coffee 
and a pizza, as if the earth had been scheduled to explode in a ball 
of fiery flame and this would be my final act of enjoyment before 
Armageddon.  Reading doesn't work as an extreme sport.  

Looking back on it, it wasn't so much that GoF was a real page-
turner, but the fact that I didn't want to miss the party here and 
return to a plate of bones.  This time, I plan to read like a sane 
person: in a rocking chair, with a clock ticking in the background 
and a cat purring on my lap [note to self: must purchase chair, clock 
and cat].   

As one of the group Moderators, I know there will be some sort of 
spoiler protection programme in place on this list before June, but 
my advice to all would be to enjoy OoP from start to finish at your 
own pace, draw breath, then come back here to join the discussions. 
Let's face it, we'll have until Book 6* to discuss Book 5, and that 
could be a very, very, very long time.

Neil
__________________
Flying Ford Anglia
 
* and beyond, naturally