audiobooks

So there I was, caught in a dilemma, leaving London very early on Saturday, June 21st, and I was torn---I knew that I needed to go to bed at a reasonable time, but I had also seen the signs trumpeting the news that Borders would be open from midnight to 1 AM to sell the new Harry Potter book...Exhaustion? Ha! What would Harry Potter do? Stay awake! So I did get a copy of the UK edition...and finished it on the plane, in one, long, glorious six-hour gulp of reading. The flight attendants all wanted me to tell them the plot...But I wouldn't. This is definitely a book to experience for yourself.

It's a good book, maybe the best of the series so far, with a steady, sturdy drive towards the climax and denouement---but it's the darkest tale yet, full of angst, uncertainty, conflicts, disillusionments, and identity crises. It doesn't have nearly so simple a plot-line-arc as the first three books, and Harry is not nearly as simple a character as when he was at eleven, twelve, and thirteen years old. He can be magentic, repulsive, generous, selfish, selfless, all at once---in short, Harry is growing up, and in addition to the ordinary teenage traumas, he's got scholastic and magical ones to face. And face them he does, with strength, courage, intelligence, and the help of good friends.

There is some very interesting (and very timely) commentary on the power of the press to manipulate public feelings, and some memorable new characters (the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a truly hateful woman, and a type I think many people will recognize, more interested in schooling than in education), and more in-depth information about different faculty members' backgrounds and characters (the more I read about Minerva McGonigle, the more I admire her, and wish I'd had her for a teacher in high school). Ron and Hermione are also growing up, in ways both obvious and subtle. The focus on the school-ness of the series is strong again---more about classes and exams, though we don't get to hear about the results of Harry's OWLS until the next book, alas...

I recognized and sympathized with Harry's coming-of-age frustrations, pains, and stumblings, even more so as he discovered new facts about his idolized father's feet of clay and his beloved godfather's recklessness. I felt myself holding my breath, my eyes glued to the page, as Harry struggled, physically, emotionally, and magically, against his many enemies, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the inevitable climactic battle scene with Lord Voldemort---vividly-written and horrifying-real. Yes, it's a dark book, but to insist that the story be all sweetness and light, a romantic, undangerous kiddie-adventure, would be doing a deep injustice to the character of Harry Potter (and to his legions of readers) and to the muse of fiction writing...

I liked it very, very, very much---please, Ms. Rowling, don't make us wait so long next time!

It was the first weekend night of the summer, and what were America's children (and adults) doing? No, they weren't asleep. They weren't watching TV or playing video games-- they were staying up all night in anxious desperation awaiting the moment when they could hold Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in their hands. Your eyes didn't deceive you. They were waiting for a near-900 page BOOK. For those who don't believe in magic, perhaps it's time to start believing.

But the wonder that this book has brought to society aside, the latest Harry Potter installment is fantastic. Rowling's writing hasn't lost a bit of the magic it had in the first books of the series. The plot is magnificent and well-written, it reads like a book far shorter than its 870 pages would suggest. In Rowling's characteristic style, every minute detail weaves seamlessly with every other to create a mystery that is truly spellbinding. Order of the Phoenix is in every way as satisfying, and as irresistible, as the previous books in the series.

However, in every book the characters become a year older, and true to form, the heroes have become teenagers. Undeniably, Harry and his friends are much more angry and less likeable in this book. However, their response to the strain and emotional burden upon them is in every way realistic. Dumbledore told Harry at the end of the fourth book that he was shouldering a grown man's burden, and unfortunately the weight upon his shoulders becomes only heavier in Order of the Phoenix. With the incredible workload he faces at Hogwarts, the fear of Lord Voldemort and the havoc he will wreaked, the remarkable propaganda of the Ministry of Magic that makes Harry out to be a maniac, and the loss of a significant friend, it would be unrealistic to have the protagonist NOT show signs of stress. Yet through the struggles, the forces of good stay strong and powerful new secrets are revealed, leaving plot lines open for the two remaining books, and leaving fans happily awaiting another volume of magic to devour.

I'm a huge fan of the horror genre and am a huge King fanatic, but I couldn't resist reading this book after seeing the Third film. I'm 17 and I found unbelievable that these books are aimed at 9-12 yr olds. The vocabulary is fantasic and Ms Rowling is quite an inticing writer.
I should have read the fourth book first, that's a little advice for the rest of ye, because now I know the general outcome of that book - so I think I'll wait for the fourth film rather than read it.
Anyway, being such a huge King fan, I can't help comparing different writers to him. He is - to me - the best writer in the world, just just at horror but at everything, and I found J.K Rowling right up his alley. She's brilliant, the book's brilliant, cant wait for the film!!! :-)