[HPforGrownups] Hmmm. What's your favorite *now*?

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 182976

SSSusan wrote:

>   That question is: Now that we're almost a year out from the release
> of DH and the completion of the series, which of the books has become
> your favorite?
>

Debbie:
No book has *become* my favorite.  My favorite has always been GoF.  Why?
None of the other books, before or since, come close to
matching the emotional intensity of that book, which begins in the very
first chapter (the best opening chapter of the series, IMO) and continues
throughout.  The QWC.  The tragedy of Winky.  The rift between Harry and
Ron.  The TWT.  The Pensieve, a chapter I've reread over and over.  And most
of all, the graveyard and everything that followed.

I also thought that the DEs we met in GoF (Barty Jr, Karkaroff, the ones we
met in the graveyard) were more fully realized as characters than the ugly
cardboard baddies that showed up in the later books.

And GoF was funny!  Rita Skeeter and her tabloid journalism.  The entire
Yule Ball sequence, complete with Snape blasting lovers out of the bushes.
The Egg and the Eye, a masterwork of comic timing.  The Canary Creams
(though I thought the Ton-Tongue Toffees were over the top).

With all that going on, I didn't care one whit if Barty Jr could have turned
Harry's toothbrush into a Portkey in September.  What a story!

SSSusan:

>   Then, if you're game, how 'bout these:
> *Which is/has become your least favorite book of the series? Again,
> can you express why?
>

Debbie:
Once again, I'll go against the general trend.  My least favorite book is
the first, PS/SS.  It's more childish than the others, IMO, it contains too
many annoying POV changes, and I find Hagrid, who features prominently, to
be a really annoying character.


>   SSSusan:
> *Is there a character you find yourself especially fond of now that
> it's all over? Any pourquoi to add?
>

Debbie:
My favorite characters have changed very little over the years.  Snape.
Hermione.  Ron, who I've always been very fond of, in spite of (or perhaps
because of) his faults; I admire his lack of guile.  Oddly, Percy,
whose return proved me right in the end.  Lupin proved a disappointment,
however.

SSSusan:

>   *Are there chapters or scenes (or whole books) that you skip when you
> (if you) re-read? Warum?
> *Are there chapters or scenes (or whole books) that you find yourself
> turning to again and again? Perche?
>

Debbie:
Another oddity.  I've read the series over and over again, but for reasons I
still don't quite comprehend, I've read The Third Task from GoF only once.
It's not because I found anything wrong with it.  When I finished my first
read of GoF I reread the final chapters, starting with Harry's arrival in
the graveyard.  I skipped past it again on my first reread, and have done so
ever since.  I also skip chapter 2 of that book, which is basically just a
summary of the first three books.

I have many favorite scenes that I've gone back to again and again.  They
come from every book, even PS/SS.

SSSusan:

>   *Are you surprised at any of your responses? IOW, is there anything
> about how you feel about the series now that you never expected you'd
> feel?
>

Debbie:
I've been pleasantly surprised at how well the books fare upon rereading.  I
initially didn't like CoS, but I have come to appreciate its subtleties
after rereading it in the context of the entire series.  Similarly, I
initially found aspects of DH very disappointing, but I reread the book in
its entirety before I wrote my chapter discussion a few weeks ago, and while
my annoyances did not go away, I appreciated the book much more than the
first time.  JKR is some storyteller.

Debbie


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