Why now?

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 110732

Kneasy wrote:
snip

> The fans seem to be developing definite expectations -  about this 
> character or that; about the solution to this puzzle or that; for 
this  resolution or that. So much  so that some are getting pretty 
involved  or even dogmatic about it. Some no longer say "I think 
this might  happen.." they say "This will not happen" or "I 
experienced this, I   know about this, so I'm an expert."

snip

> 
> Remember -  these books were not conceived with a fan-base in the 
> hundreds of millions in mind and it's totally impossible for  all 
of us  to get the ending we want. Me - I'm already getting 
prepared.  I  can  think of three endings that would satisfy me - 
and all of them have low  probabilities of coming to pass. So it's 
likely that I'll re-read  volumes 1-6 fairly frequently and  pass 
the final one on to a Charity   shop. I  expect to  read it just 
once.
> Unless she surprises me, of course.
> But I'm not very  optimistic about  that.
> 


Potioncat:
Oh, Kneasy, you are an optimist.  You do know what an optimist is?
When the situation is at its darkest and someone says, "It can't get 
any worse." The optimist comes back with, "Oh, yes it can!"

In the beginning this was all new and fun. It was "Oh, look at this 
pun!"  and "Gee, this was foreshadowed in book 1" and "Where have I 
heard the name Black before?"  

And the with the long wait for the next book fans became restless. 
They began to find one another and bounce theories off each other. 
(sometimes painfully) Will the next book confirm or destroy our 
theories?  What new things will happen?  If this... then that...?  
Suddenly fans are reading up on mythology, researching word roots, 
and reading Jane Austen.

At some point, as you said, it went from "I wonder if..." to "It 
just has to be..."  Then (for me) along came Mark Evans and ruined 
it all.  How could something so obivious be so wrong?  (Choose what 
is right over what is easy?)

So I'm stepping back (yes I am, see, one centimeter back) and trying 
to enjoy the puzzle without ruining it. Trying more to find what is 
there rather than looking for what will be.  Will I be disapointed?  
I don't know.  It will be either be "Wow, I didn't expect that!" 
or "What? I didn't expect that." or "Hey, I was right all along!" 

Now we have JKR joining in. I'm not sure yet if that is good or 
bad.  I'd rather she stay at work on the book!  If anything her 
clues leave me more confused. (As if that's possible!) 

What I do believe is that in a few years, after book 7 has come and 
survived the  hype.  After the movies are "old" someone will pick up 
book 1 and enjoy it.  Go to book 2, start to see the puns, the clues 
and rush to get book 3. Those readers will have the fun of guessing 
and getting it right (or wrong), but will work their way through 
pretty quickly.  

The rest of us will remember how awful it was to wait between books 
and how much fun it was to struggle with the clues and argue with 
the other fans.  And I'll bet most of us will still be re-reading 
all 7 books.  Just not as often.

Potioncat (who remembers waiting for each next book in the Merlin 
series by Mary Stewart, but didn't have anyone to discuss it with)