In anticipation of the new Harry Potter book out this weekend..

[rateyes]

who is your favorite "Harry Potter" character?

Mine is Hermione Granger. I loved it when she punched out Draco Malfoy. In another post I said that my middle daughter's is Professor Snape.

[XemaSab]

1. Snape.

n/t

[rateyes]

2. Yeah, he's cool!

[gollygee]

38. I love Prof. Snape

definitely the most interesting and complicated character!

[XemaSab]

40. So many layers...

any last minute predictions?

Here's mine: Snape's the dude who told the Potters that they were going to be attacked, leading them to make Peter Pettigrew their secret-keeper.

[deadparrot]

3. Sirius Black. nt

[rateyes]

6. As a dog, or as a man? Or both?

[deadparrot]

9. Was thinking of the man,

but I suppose his dog form isn't so bad, either. :)

[rateyes]

12. lol nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I like Harry

and Mrs. Weasley.

[Solly Mack]

5. I love Fred and George

But I really can't pick a favorite...

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Harry Potter himself

Though Dumbledore is a close second.

[xmas74]

8. I'm kinda liking Snape.

He seems misunderstood and, in the books, you can understand why he acts like he does.

[rateyes]

11. I think that's why my middle daughter likes him..

I'm inclined that a lot of "middle-children" like Snape. I'm a middle child myself.

[xmas74]

13. I'm the oldest.

I can just identify w/ the misunderstood everywhere.

[XemaSab]

17. I'm an only child

and I agree.... he may or may not be misunderstood, but he's a person who Dumbledore believes is a "good" person who nevertheless does bad things. Virtually everyone else in the books is either a total ass or a totally decent person. That we know about. :-)

[Lavender Brown]

10. Neville

:)

[demjuli]

14. Ron

he is such a loyal friend

[Felix Mala]

15. Don't want to piss in your popcorn, but I just don't get it...

I know a dozen 15 year olds who've read every HP book, but have yet to crack Tom Sawyer or anything else. And the books keep getting longer. I thought it was supposed to get kids to read, but I have a suspicion they just graduate from Hogwarts to Steven King without reading anything worthwhile in between.

[Lavender Brown]

16. Those are kids who probably wouldn't be reading much anyway

I don't think that Harry Potter is necessarily what is keeping them from developing more varied tastes in literature. :shrug: I don't know.

[XemaSab]

18. is that AS Byatt there?

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2003/07/08/byatt_rowling/index_np.html

[Felix Mala]

39. Nope, I'm not her...

I don't want to be too critical of HP. I just want to know what's so exciting about him. Is he on an everyman's journey in which he experiences the joys and tragedies of life? Is he uncovering some important lesson about the world around us and the people who inhabit it? Or is he merely an insect stuck in amber; an imprisoned wretch doomed to react and interact with a fictional cosmology that relies on it own separate rules for the mere purpose of perpetuating the series of books, providing lots of flavor but no real nutrition?

[XemaSab]

42. I think there's an element

of the everyman's journey there.

I think the real "draw" to the series is the increasing levels of darkness and complexity in each book, and how new plot developments, in retrospect, are foreshadowed by "throwaway" lines in the earlier books. I also am totally tickled by the fact that everyone has their own favorite characters. I think that's a sign that JK is doing something right.

[rateyes]

20. Damn! Does my popcorn taste funny!

Just kidding. I get your point. I am 45 yrs young and love Harry Potter--and Tom Sawyer, etc. Best thing we can do is to get our children reading all kinds of literature...READING IS POWER.

[silverpatronus]

26. there's nothing wrong with stephen king

and as far as i'm concerned, reading HP and stephen king is better than reading nothing. i hate lit snobs with every fibre of my being. who is anyone to call an author's labour of love worthless? there is lit i hate but i will never call it worthless. i hate this generalised 'if it's popular it must be bad because the plebes are mindless idiots' mentality.

and as byatt is just jealous because rowling outsells her by far. no one ever heard of her before her rant on HP, but half the world's heard of rowling.

[Felix Mala]

37. There's plenty wrong with Steven King

I'll skip his labored plot lines and his, uh..., willingness? to end his books with big explosions.

Instead I'll focus on simple fair play. I've invested a great deal of time reading his books. Some interesting plot twist will get my attention and then I follow it for 700 pages and then find out at the end that I didn't need to read the rest of that book to find out what's going on. Instead I needed to read another four books plus a fifth published under a different name. Sorry. It's like a Marx Brothers routine. I don't want to have to read more just to find out what something means in one book. With the exception of Carrie, which I think is an American masterpiece, I've grown to distrust King so much I don't even enjoy talking about him, especially on the net when confronted by his "true believers."

[silverpatronus]

44. so you have a problem with series

fair enough, some people don't like the investment required in reading series. i happen to enjoy series immensely. i love the opportunity to re-meet characters i love. but king is far from the only serial writer.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

46. That's funny. I have to disagree with you.

Harry Potter came out when I was much younger than I am now. I've read every HP book so far, and I'm 18 with intentions to read book 6 and 7 in the series...

I've also read Hawthorne, Kerouac, Twain, Steinbeck, etc, etc. Tons of the classics. I've always been into reading. Kids that are into reading will always read books. It's a gaurantee that Harry Potter won't be their first or last book.

Kids that *aren't* into reading won't even bother with Harry Potter.

What I think the Harry Potter mania actually aids in is getting kids who are already reading to read longer books... especially because each part of the series has gotten progressively longer. Face it. Kids aren't going to sit down and read a 1000 page novel at 15 years old. They have to work their way up.


PS - Most teenagers I know have read Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn in some capacity. GET THIS: I didn't read the full version until 12th grade, for a college literature course! I was reading other things before that, and Tom Sawyer didn't interest me.

When I read it... I found it to be quite overrated. Go figure. :shrug:

[MN ChimpH8R]

19. Tough one

Snape has a fascinating side, but he is just too purposefully cruel to Harry (who has never done anything to him AFAIK) for me to like. Probably Sirius, Harry and Dumbledore in that order.

[ralps]

21. Prof. Remus John Lupin, Harry's year 3 DADA Teacher

Here's the HP Lexicon page about Remus Lupin
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/lupin.html
:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[rateyes]

32. Cool! Love that link. nt

[hyphenate]

22. I think my favorite character is Lupin

Lupin is such a good guy and is unfortunately put to the test many times. My least favorite is Lockhart. I know Lockhart was written to be a pain in the ass, and yes, that is really clear!

I would have to add my second favorite is Sirius Black. What a tragic character in so many ways!

Of the kids, I can't really pull one out specifically, because as a team, the trio is without peer. They all seem to complement each other in some way, and it's essentially a unit sometimes. I get a little exasperated with Hermione sometimes because she seems to come across as a "know-it-all" but with her half muggle background, and the fact that she's female it makes her just seem to be more earnest in her endeavors.

For pure sympathy, I love Hagrid. Just such a teddy bear! Or, perhaps considering his size, grizzly bear!!

[intheflow]

23. Professor McGonagall

My alter-ego! Changes into a cat! She's very cool.

[shugh514]

24. Hagrid

and his menagerie of creatures. I'm sure he knows where the good pubs are too.

[rateyes]

35. Yeah, I would love to take a ride..

on Buckbeak.

[silverpatronus]

25. ron

he's such a boy.

[GaYellowDawg]

27. Arthur Weasley!!

Great dad, passionate about his work, does his job because he thinks it's important to help people instead of getting rich (like that slimebag Lucius Malfoy), loyal, kind... I've known people like him, and it's those people who really build worthwhile communities.

[lumberingbear]

28. He-who-shall-not-be-named

Lord Valdemort

:evilgrin:

Just kidding.......I like Ron Weasley

[rateyes]

29. You named him! AAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

[KitchenWitch]

43. "Weasley is our King!"

[rateyes]

30. My youngest daughter wanted me to tell you all that

her favorite is Ron Weasley. He's got the same characteristics as her. She's terrified of spiders!!! Arachnophobe--wonder what that says about her parents!!

[derby378]

31. Probably Harry himself

But I'm also fond of Professor Snape, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore.

I got the mind of a Slytherin, but the heart of a Hufflepuff. I can't help it.

[rateyes]

33. Well then,,,

I hope you follow your heart.:hippie:

[ole_evil_eye]

34. Voldemort

he's just such an awesome bad guy. truly evil and twisted

[rateyes]

36. That's what I would expect from

an Oakland Raider fan. Bad boys and all, you know. You're welcome for Randy Moss, btw. :hi: And, welcome to DU!!!

[RevolutionaryActs]

41. Ron, Lupin and Sirius are my favorites

I was so sad at the end of the last book. :cry:

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

45. Professor Trelawney!!!

:D