Finished it today and am too far away to really get into the discussion, but did anyone think when Wormtail showed up at Snape's and was acting up that Snape would take away his bucket ?

This is a really nice analysis of some of the pieces of the book.

From that, I especially am interested in this bit, none of which is mine, but is from there.

Here is another random thing that struck me as I was flipping through and looking for page numbers. In the midst of the battle, on page 601:

The giant Gryffindor hourglass had been hit by a curse, and the rubies within were still falling, with a loud rattle, onto the flagstones below.

Is it just me, or is that the death rattle of the school, and of youth, and of silly things like Quidditch and points and petty rivalries? Many reviewers noted that OotP ends without any mention of the House Cup winner, which is appropriate given Harry’s state of mind. Now, however, Harry is not the only one who likely does not care one whit about who won or lost. Whether the school closes or not, students are leaving in droves--including Harry and Draco. They all are facing terrible losses and difficulties, and this image of the broken hourglass (which is of course appropriate--time passing, growing up, &c.) and the spilled points seemed like the most melancholy thing in the world to me.

What I'm interested in is this, will HP7 really have the Harry et al not at Hogwarts? and if so, how is this tied to all of the bits about them reaching their majority at 17.

I am hung up on this because I've realized that the some of the first readers or intended audience of HP1 are now college students. The idea of growing and maturing and leaving behind childhood dreams, wishes and wants shows not just through the characters, but also on a greater meta level of what the original audience experiences.

You know, lots of people in the UK leave school at 16, don't they? BTW, is Regulus Black's middle initial "A"? We don't know that, do we?

One of my friends doesn't believe that Snape killed Dumbledore in his role as a double agent. She thinks that JKR would have allowed Harry to see some sort of hesitation as we saw with Draco. However, I would like to think that Snape has years of not hesitating in playing this role to prepare him for this, whereas Draco is mostly a loudmouthed snob and a bully.

Word.

And yes, sumi, they do.

Just finished.

really so good. DH was waiting for my first thought- and it is that they are all grown up now. They aren't kids anymore. They may still do kid things, but they aren't kids.

The death of Dumbledore - so well done. Not a shock, but it still happened so fast. and even though I hadn't thought it out - I am with everyone that thinks Snape had to kill him.

I liked the paceing of this book so much more than the last two. Even though there were spots where I wanted to smack them all - it didn't feel dragged.

The Ginny thing was inevitble too. but to some extent Harry still sees her as Ron's little sister. so doubly he has to protect her. But we all know Ginny has some powerful magic. The are hints that she is very advanced.

and the Bill and Fleur thing - really cute.

I woke up this morning thinking about the pensieve and the quite large role it has played in the last three books. I have a strong suspicion at DD will reappear in the next book after having stored his memories and thoughts for Harry's retrieval .

When that happens, I predict that DD will clear Snape of all wrong-doing .

Or, at least I hope that will be the case. Because I'm loving the idea of Snape repenting for Lily's murder and his whole 'greasy-haired' stick-up-the-buttness being an extension of unrequited love.

Cuz otherwise? He's crap as a villian.

And I'm completely agreeing with beth in re: pacing vs. the last book. There times, while reading OotP that I wanted to knock myself out with its heft, it was so slow and draggy and whiney.

Now that the characters seem so much more mature , I'm really, really curious to hear Jim Dale's interpretation.

What? Why, yes! As a matter of fact, I DO have all the books in hardback, tapes AND CDs. Don't you?

Actually, this time, I've just gotten the cds (which shipped yesterday, yay!) and can make tapes if I've a mind to. oh, and the hardback to because I have no impulse control. I'm whack, and I'm proud!

Off to put on offering on my altar to Jim Dale.

Hmmm, I've never heard Jim Dale read the books. . .

Long after I joined the Cult of Dale, a neighbor lent me the first book as read by Stephen Fry whom I adore as an actor and writer. I have to say, Fry ain't no Dale.

In the first three books, he succeeded in creating 142 distinct voices. I especially like his treatment of women's and creature voices.

There have been some bobbles along the way...missed, or changed pronunciations from book to book, but not the sort anyone a fraction less obssessed than myself could perceive.

I highly, highly recommend giving him a listen.

On the topic of great audiobook readers, I have to highly recommend Tim Curry reading the Lemony Snicket books. I especially like his voice for Sunny (the baby).