This thread is a focused discussion group. Please see the first post below for the current topic and upcoming book discussions. While natter will inevitably happen, we encourage you to treat this like a virtual book club and try to keep your posts in that spirit.
By consensus, this thread is reopened specifically to discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It will be closed again once that discussion has run its course.
***SPOILER ALERT***
- **Spoilers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lie here. Read at your own risk***
The Canadian editions actually provide a bit of a check here - there weren't any changes to the books, as far as I know, and most of the changes were words that are just as unfamiliar to Canadians as to Americans. Were the sales any less impressive in Canada (proportionate to population, of course)?
I suppose once it became a phenomenon, the effect of the popularity in the US would spread here (Canada) anyway. Hmm. Was there a lag in sales in Canada compared to the US? I have no idea how to look that up.
I think the changes are a bit of a shame, because I always enjoyed figuring out from context what plimsolls were and so on, but I know that I'm hardly the typical reader.
Anyway, I can afford to not care very much since it didn't inconvenience me at all.
t /smug Canadian
Philosopher's Stone --> Sorcerer's Stone, OTOH, is just plain stupid. Oh noes, kids might not recognize "Philosopher's Stone" as a reference to the real history of alchemy!
Amen. Apparently kids were thought to be smarter in the '50s, since Elizabeth Enright's
Gone-Away Lake
uses the Philosopher's Stone as a main plot point.
The changes may have been important from a marketing point of view, but it doesn't make them less annoying. I managed E Nesbit as a kid, and picked up the odd words from context, which I was doing a lot of anyway at 8 and 9. The only thing that baffled me for a long time was "jumper."
I had problems with the word "jumper" as a kid, too!
I was happy to see the inclusion of a lot more British words in the later HP books. When I saw "trainer" instead of "sneaker," I knew that they had finally decided to trust us Yanks to figure these words out.
Yeah, I don't understand the change from Philosopher to Sorcerer at all.
I think that they thought that Sorcerer was more exciting than Philosopher. For children, philosphers are these boring old guys that just sit around and say stuff. Sorcerers do cool stuff.
Amen. Apparently kids were thought to be smarter in the '50s, since Elizabeth Enright's Gone-Away Lake uses the Philosopher's Stone as a main plot point.
yes, but it's not in the title. And the title is key for kids.
I was happy to see the inclusion of a lot more British words in the later HP books. When I saw "trainer" instead of "sneaker," I knew that they had finally decided to trust us Yanks to figure these words out.
either that, or they knew that they would sell like hotcakes regardless, so why spend the money?
t /cynic
I had problems with the word "jumper" as a kid, too!
Vest is the one that always trips me up.
pparently kids were thought to be smarter in the '50s, since Elizabeth Enright's Gone-Away Lake uses the Philosopher's Stone as a main plot point.
Awww, I loved her books!
...wait, what does vest mean in British??
I still reread my Elizabeth Enright on occasion, and they're still good. The Melendys were the family I wanted to be part of, instead of my own.
I am giddy happy!
I veered into my normally woeful local library branch with no expectations of finding anything interesting. How wrong I was.
There were not one, but TWO copies of Deathly Hallows on cd.
::snag::
Usually, I buy the hardbacks on the day and then wait months to find a good deal on the audiobooks.
Ooooh. Voldemort just said,"Such lllliiiiieeeeesss Lucius."
Fun!
