Winks and nods from JKR in DH

[dwalker696]

No: HPFGUIDX 176571

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Dondee Gorski" 
<sweetophelia4u at ...> wrote:
>
 Has anyone else noticed things like this as you have re-read
> the books?
> 
> Cheers, Dondee

I love this, I was hoping someone would start a post like this! I 
noticed quite a few things when I read DH. Of course the book is 
heavily laden with references to past occurences and memories from 
previous books, but what I really enjoyed were the winks to situations 
and occurences in real life! For instance, I love how "Tales of Beetle 
the Bard" is referred to a few times with a bit of an air, that it's 
only a simple children's book...hmmm, we do we know any 
other "children's books" that are in fact quite a bit more than that? I 
apologize for a lack of textual evidence, but I am off to search for it 
now. One moment I seem to remember, where Ron chastises Hermione either 
for reading "Beetle" or for putting too much stock in it, and she 
protests "Dumbledore left me that book!" (ie, so it must be important). 

I also couldn't help notice quite a bit of what could be construed as 
winks in some of the text regarding Rita Skeeter. JKR has been fodder 
for British tabloids, so the whole Rita deal certainly rings true for 
readers. But as far as a specific wink, from DH US edition, pg 23, "Her 
nine-hundred-page book was completed a mere four weeks after 
Dumbledore's mysterious death in June. I (Betty Braithwaite) ask her 
how she managed this superfast feat." 

My take on this is a possible wink on flack JKR received for the long 
delay between POA and GOF, and the length of GOF itself. Certainly the 
number of pages of GOA was much discussed, still is rather, even by JKR 
herself, see her recent Dateline interview. (As a side note, I love the 
interviewers name - Braithwaite - kind of a mix of "waiting" for the 
next book with "baited breath", "holding your breath" while you "wait")

I would love for other winks and nods to get listed, and I am off to 
try to find more, I thought they were so fun.

Donna