Out of the Closet - Harry Potter revelation

Last Friday, J.K. Rowlings announced that the character of Albus Dumbledore from her beloved Harry Potter series of books was in fact gay. She said that it was something, as a writer, she decided about the character from the very start - even before the first book ever got published - though she would pepper only slight clues through out the books to this fact. Based on the hub-bub on the Internet and in the media after the announcement, this fact wasn't quite as obvious to her readers as she might have thought.

I don't at all find this surprising - the fact that not everyone picked up on it. I know I didn't catch it when I read the books over a marathon session over the summer and I'm a grown adult who should be able to read between the lines. Maybe, as a writer, Rowlings should have been a tad less subtle on things - especially in her seventh book where Dumbledore's youthful "great tragedy", as she put it, plays such a key role in the many revelations between what the students know and what is the truth about their headmaster.

Sometimes the signs are there and we don't always see them. In both high school and in college, I had good friends whom I thought I knew very well. It wasn't until decades later did I find out that they were in fact gay (one told me right out via an email after I contacted him after all those years, the other still hasn't said so though I know from other reliable sources in his life that he is). It is very possible that at the time I knew each of these guys that they hadn't come to their own conclusions yet. If they had, both were very much in the closet at the time.

I don't know - maybe it's a guy thing. Guys don't always want to tell their guy friends that they are gay. Maybe they think that'll change the friendship. Hard to say. From my perspective, it doesn't change the friendship at all. I'm friends with someone because of common interests we share (professional, hobbies, etc.). Just because we have one interest that we don't share in the same way does not have any bearing on the friendship.

My experience with female friends who have come out is a bit different. One of my closest friends in high school realized in her mid-twenties that she was a lesbian. I remember when she first told me; she was very open about it. I was very happy for her in that she found out what made her happy as was persuing that. She is still one of my dearest friends whom I great with a great big hug every time we get together. And for a few years in the 90's I worked with someone who was quite open about being a lesbian. She and I often talked about music, and she steered me towards a number of musical artists that I've found to enjoy for many years since. Her sexuality was just a part of who she was and it didn't matter to her who knew about it.

It is my hope, now that it is late in 2007, that the world is starting to become a bit more tolerant and open-minded. We are who we are, we like who we like. None of us has the right to judge what people should and should not do, especially when it is causing no one else harm and it is actually allowing some folks to finally find happiness in who they are.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It began for me almost seven weeks ago (Monday July 23rd) and now after many hours and thousands of pages later, I can say I have finished the seven books of the Harry Potter series for the first time. I was pleased that I could finish the seventh book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - in under a week's time, despite it being the second largest book in the series.

First off, I have to give major props to J.K. Rowling for delivering the goods in this final installment. I mean, literally, wow! It was a roller-coaster ride in every sense of the word. Just when you thought things couldn't get crazier, BAM - she delivers another exciting chapter. I said when I discussed the sixth book last week that that one seemed like it was doing a lot of set up for the finale - and now I can say I see where the set-up in that book (and many of the earlier ones too) paid off well in.

I enjoyed immensely that she was able to bring back all of the old faces and places from earlier in the series to help make the pay-off of this one deliver. And, she also added a bunch of new characters, locales and details to further flesh out the world in which these wizards and witches live. The old is balanced out well with the peppering of the new.

And, of course, she did what every writer sometimes has to do - you have to break a few eggs (or in this case bump off a few of your creations) in order to tell the story you want to tell. As a writer myself, albeit an amateur one, I totally understand and respect that.

The ending was a little bit predictable - or at least some of what I wanted to happen did happen. So, if it is predictable but what a reader desires, it's not a bad thing, eh?

I do have major concerns on how Hollywood is going to pull off the film for this book and for the sixth book. I think this book is going to be so jam-packed that they'll have to make it 3 1/2 hours at least just to do the whole story justice. I also think they left out key things in the fifth film that are pertinent to the sixth and seventh films. They'll have to do a little shifting or a lot of expository dialogue to pull it off. As for me, I am glad I've read these as books first, so I get the full, wonderful story in all the details.

Now I can begin reading other stuff from the pile of books on my nightstand.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I just completed the sixth book in the series - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was good to be reading a book in the series that I did not have any previous data on (I saw the films for the first five books before reading them). I didn't have those thoughts about how 'this was different in the film' or 'I can't believe they dropped this subplot', etc. It was a pure straight read.

I found the evolution of Draco Malfoy's character interesting, especially given the light of the events in the fifth book. He went from being a character you hoped someone would sock in the eye to someone you'd want to sock in the eye yourself. I have an inkling a horrible fate will befall him in the end.

Also, the revelations into the past of Tom Riddle helped give more understanding to the overall villain of the series - knowing how he came to be. That means the sixth film will be full of a lot of these flashbacks of sorts.

This book really had a penultimate feel to it. Unlike previous books that had major events as the backdrop to them, this book was more of a foundational one. It set up ideas and events to build into the seventh and final book. With such a large amount of preparation set by this book, the expectation of the payoff in the final book is a big one. I am hoping Rowlings delivers.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Once again, after eight days and 870 pages, I have completed the fifth book in the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Now, my family saw this film a month or so ago, on the night that the seventh and final book was released. Knowing the size of the book versus the length of the film (just over two hours), I knew some stuff had to go by the wayside yet again in order to bring the film to screen. I never realized how much would go by the wayside!

There are quite a few major subplots in the book that are critical to character developement that did not make it into the film. These include key details in the lives of all the Weasleys: Ron, twins Fred and George, Ginny, Percy and the parents. Also, some hold over stuff with Hermoine from the previous book is carried over into this one - but again, dropped totally from the films. The film did not include any of the Quidditch activities from the 5th year, nor did it really emphasize the all-important O.W.L. exams.

I have to say that reading this novel was a pleasure in that so much of it was unspoiled by having seen the film first. Again, I must commend Rowlings as she continues to grow as a writer with this novel. You can see the evolution in her style, in her narrative abilities and her growth of all the characters of this world. You can see her building upon this epic adventure, allowing things to get darker and more serious as the characters age accordingly.
I look forward to starting on the 6th book and then getting to the 7th. My goal is to have both completed by mid-September at the latest.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

It took about eight evenings to do it, but I just finished the fourth book in the series - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. All 734 pages - whew! Given that it usually takes me about that amount of time to read your average sized paperback, that was a pretty good clip.

Book Review: first four Harry Potter books

Once the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series came out last month, I figured it would now be time to actually read all of the books in sequence (I had seen the films but not read any of the books until now).

So, in about seventeen days I've managed to finish reading through the first three books. Here are my thoughts after reading them:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: For a first book, you can see where J.K. Rowlings keeps it simple. The story is pretty straightforward. I felt the ending was a bit weak - in the final encounter she makes what I would consider a writing mistake. She ends up telling us what happened after the fact (through another character) rather than showing us. Yes, I can see she wanted to keep it all from Harry's point-of-view, but it really doesn't serve well from the dramatic high of the book that it should have. All writing books I have read (and I have read plenty) advise that you should "show, not tell". It was a nice enough opening book for a series, but it could have been better. Ah, hindsight.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: I really like how Rowlings builds upon the cast of characters from the first book as well as the introduction of new ones. The expansion of the world these characters live in further breathes life into the line. My only negative: Ginny Weasley. For someone so key to the second book, Rowlings sort of keeps the clues away from the reader through out. Instead we are given the whys and hows after the fact without the hints all along. That bothered me slightly. Again, could be a sophmore novel mistake is all so I'll give her a pass. Still, a fun read - and this book does fill in details that the second film had to leave out.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: I really liked getting more of the backstory to Harry's parents and their acquaintances when they were at Hogwarts. The additions of more quirky teachers and other sideline classmates of Harry's further fleshes out things. That was a nice touch as well. The mystery involving Hermione is much more easier to follow in the book rather than how it was handled throughout the third film. Rowlings lays the clues out for this all along - something I would have liked her to do with Ginny in book 2.

I'll likely dive into the fourth book this weekend and continue the cycle until I get through the seventh. Given that the last four books in the run are quite a bit larger (double the size or more!) of some of the first three, this could take awhile. I would love to be able to finish them all before the end of September if I can. Since my son just started on book 5 for the first time, it'll be interesting to see who gets to the seventh book first. My wife, however, is disqualified. She read the seventh in one day, and then began to reread all seven books again after that. She finished book 7 for the second time on Tuesday night (she is definitely the speed-reader in our house).

Midnight Date With Harry

My wife, my son and I spent last night doing what a lot of other people across the country did: hung out a book release party at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Of course, it was a special event - to mark the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the best selling series. It warms my heart to see so many folks, especially those my son's age and all, so excited for the release of a book. This isn't the latest in video game technology and a fancy-schmancy phone that can do everything you ever wanted and more. This is a stor, words on pages that they have to use their imaginations to enjoy! I've always had a love for reading, and I love it when I see others share that too - even if it might be isolated to certain book series and such. Baby step, baby steps.

Though the first Harry Potter book came out in the United States in 1998, our household really didn't get into them until early 2001 - just before the first movie was to come out. My son, age six at the time, had expressed an interest in the books. My wife picked up the first one of the series in hardcover and began reading it to him as a bedtime story. Having devoured the first, she decided to pick up the remaining three that were available as well - reading them first herself and then introducing them to him as well. When my son wanted to read them himself, we picked up paperback copies as well so that he could tote them to and from school, etc. His teachers all recognized the merits of the books and allowed the children to read them as part of their daily reading requirements. And my view was at least he was showing interest in a series of books. Prior to this, he saw reading as a chore to be done ten to fifteen minutes a night for school. I was more than willing to let him give these a try. He has since shown interest in other fantasy lines and some sci-fi (mostly Star Wars tie-in stuff). When books five and six came out in the more recent years, we would pick them up within a few days of release (after finding them for a good price).

Now, I haven't personally read any of the novels yet, but that is in part due to my always having so much stuff to read. I have a pile of paperbacks as well as comic reprint collections that keep calling to me. I knew the Potter series would be finite in length, so I've sort of held off until the last one came out. That way, I can do a marathon run and read them all back to back to back without having to pause for the next release. I have seen the first four films; our family truly enjoys going to the theatre together for films that are appropriate for our son's viewing. So, I do have a general gist of things going on. I know the books will provide a much richer subtext - especially in some of those tomes that clock in over 600 pages.

To truly make the night a special event for us, we started off by going to see the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The local theatre only had three showings to chose from. 5:30pm was going to be too early to pull off. 9:30pm was going to be too late at the film clocks in at 2 hours and 18 minutes, not counting the obligatory 20+ minutes of previews and such before the film (we'd end up getting to the bookstore too late for the fun). So, we settled on the 8pm showing. Just to be safe, we picked up tickets early for the show, ran to dinner, and right after stopped at the bookstore to see if they were giving out numbers for folks who pre-ordered. Turns out they were - and that we ended up with number 223. Okay, so we're covered. We then went and enjoyed the movie.

As we returned back to the store around 10:30pm, we noticed the parking lot was overflowing with cars and people - a huge plaza area really. I dropped my wife and son off and proceeded to park down the hills at the Sam's Club. Then I hiked back up, through the IHOP lot and found them in front of the store. Now, my wife gets claustrophobic in crowds, so this was a challenge to say the lease. I offered to take my son inside to see the doings there. Inside was just as packed and crazy. They had activities through out the night - magic shows, face painting, etc. - but things were winding down at this point. They wanted everyone out of the store by 11:15pm so they could start to set up for the selling of the book. Lots of folks dressed in costumes too. From witches to Hogwarth's student gear. All very nice, very festive.

We got back outside, talked to other folks also waiting. People getting books for themselves, for their wives or kids. Just like us. A whole common bond thing. We waited a bit and then I moved closer to hear the announcements from the door. At 11:45pm they called out numbers 1 through 50. I saw people around us with numbers in the 700's and 800's. Man, this was huge. Hung out a bit more, went back and forth to the family. Then I find out from someone that they were on to the 300's a few minutes later! I quickly notify Terri so she can make her way into line while I stood with my son. From the windows outside, we could see them snaking people into and around the inside of the store. We found a spot by the cafe door where they would have folks exiting. Time to watch the clock. 11:50. 11:55. Boxes would get cracked at 12:01.

By 12:03, people began to come out - the first lucky ones here in Hickory. And then it just was a steady stream of folks. As I stood there, I overheard two older men in the 60's or so just shaking their heads at the whole thing. I don't think they had ever seen anything like this before. And I watched the door too - to watch the faces. And those faces spoke volumes! Joy, rapture, elation, excitement. A few plopped right down on the curb and started to read. Others clutched their books like a prized possession. A book - this is about a book. What a true joy! The joy reading and anticipation of reading can bring to folks. It really was amazing to see.

My wife came out with our copy about 12:30pm. We hiked back to the car and drove the five minutes home. While my son went off to bed, I walked the dogs. When I came back in, my wife had already started reading. I went downstairs and found the other six hardcovers - putting them aside in my room to read soon (I promise). I then came upstairs, quickly ran through my taped Best Week Ever and then we went up to bed. My wife was still sleeping when I fell asleep at 1:30pm.

A book. Magic. That's what it's all about.

Update: I should note that my wife finished reading the book on Saturday night before going to bed. I knew once she started it that she couldn't put it down. She really enjoyed it. I guess I better get started on the series, eh?