yes, why does magic = Latin? This is never explained or justified, were the Romans wizards?
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:03 (four years ago) link
I have many issues with the Potter books but the key one comes down to something Tove Jansson said - “Every children’s book should have a path in it where the writer stops and the child goes on. A threat or a delight that can never be explained. A face never completely revealed.” Rowling never, ever does this and it's a real drag.
― JoeStork, Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:06 (four years ago) link
Earthsea's greatest feature imo is Le Guin's own changing attitudes on full display
I keep waiting for JK Rowling to announce that the JK stands for "jk"
― kelis navidad (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:07 (four years ago) link
I also love that they make fun of Muggles for approximating magic, meanwhile they have to wait for an owl to show up to get a message from someone
― glindr jackson (gyac), Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:23 (four years ago) link
the truly amazing thing about the stupid world she created is that everything she’s added since makes it even more nonsensical and offensive
― hot nuts (small) (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 28 December 2019 18:31 (four years ago) link
Xpost oh...my...god....
I had no idea.
Just..wow
― looking for Mon in Alderaan places (Neanderthal), Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:13 (four years ago) link
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/480/743/2c0.jpg
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:17 (four years ago) link
which one was the book that after reading it, it was obvious that she cribbed the emotional denoument from Spider Man 2, which had come out not long before? book 5 maybe?
― the public eating of beans (Sparkle Motion), Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link
I will say this for Rowling, getting the two first books for christmas in 98, after just turning 12, knowing nothing about them, and reading the first fifty pages that night on the floor of my kid brothers room, as the house was filled with family, is one of my fond christmas memories. They're addictive, the world building is fascinating, incoherent as it finally ends up being, and growing up with them for a few years was fun, and there were so many satisfying twists in books three and four. When book seven came out I couldn't remember who half the characters were, they seemed to die as if they were ticked off a list, and I really didn't get the epilogue.
I think it's too easy to say, that because Rowling clearly is an idiot and a bigot, that all her writing must be bad. Nah. The good parts are really really good. And I suspect kids will still pick it up and be captured by it, if she can stop making shitty films, and being an asshole.
― Frederik B, Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:41 (four years ago) link
One hopes that children who begin with the Potter books later move on to books which will teach them life lessons of greater value. But discovering that books can be engrossing and entertaining is a necessary first step.
― A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:47 (four years ago) link
One hopes that children who begin with the Potter books later move on to books which will teach them life lessons of greater value.
It's been 20 years, doesn't seem to have happened yet for many of them.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Saturday, 28 December 2019 20:53 (four years ago) link
xps to Neanderthal
Hogwarts didn't always have bathrooms. Before adopting Muggle plumbing methods in the eighteenth century, witches and wizards simply relieved themselves wherever they stood, and vanished the evidence. #NationalTriviaDay— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) January 4, 2019
― glindr jackson (gyac), Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:14 (four years ago) link
I started reading these when Goblet of Fire first came out (I was staying at someone's apt who had them). I still really like the entire series and have very fond memories of that time. But I also will re-read stuff like Nancy Drew or VC Andrews, even though it aged terribly, if I see it lying around someone's house.
― Yerac, Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:21 (four years ago) link
I have always maintained that the only actually good thing about these books is Snape's Only A Pawn In Their Game backstory and redemption arc. Everything else is filler.
I never understood why there's no criticism of the House system; why would everyone be so tolerant of a system where one-quarter of the student body gets sorted into White Supremacist House at age eleven?
― Lily Dale, Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:32 (four years ago) link
We have an education system where 1% of the nation's children are sorted into White Supremacist School tbf
― Bojo Rabid (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:36 (four years ago) link
My bad, more like 7%
― Bojo Rabid (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:38 (four years ago) link
Yea i always loved "one of our houses tends to spit out evil people at a really high rate, shame really. We were going to maybe do something about it, but...we didn't."
― looking for Mon in Alderaan places (Neanderthal), Saturday, 28 December 2019 21:56 (four years ago) link
Perhaps they shoulda just called him Professor Dumb instead amirite
― looking for Mon in Alderaan places (Neanderthal), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:11 (four years ago) link
Everyone going on and on about how Harry Potter is really bad because it's not about systemic change and kids should really read this edited book of the best speeches by Jeremy Corbyn that Tribune is putting out for christmas is really boring me, but... It is kinda weird that they have Slytherin, and basically the entire house bands together in a genocidal mania that nearly kills off everyone, and then they just keep on as if nothing happened, and then fifteen years later the entire house again bands together in a genocidal rampage, and... Again nothing happens? Like, clearly Rowling is aware something is very very wrong with boarding schools, yet she is unwilling to even consider that something should be done to fix it.
― Frederik B, Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:20 (four years ago) link
Like, the moral of the story is basically 'tories are only ever one charismatic leader away from going full fascist, but eh, what are you going to do...*
― Frederik B, Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:21 (four years ago) link
Everyone going on and on about how Harry Potter is really bad because it's not about systemic change and kids should really read this edited book of the best speeches by Jeremy Corbyn that Tribune is putting out for christmas is really boring me, but...
― hot nuts (small) (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:24 (four years ago) link
they're just bad children's books lads
― Banáná hÉireann (darraghmac), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:26 (four years ago) link
and movies and theme parks and political outlooks and
― hot nuts (small) (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:28 (four years ago) link
Never go full Jolyon.
― glindr jackson (gyac), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:34 (four years ago) link
One hopes that children who begin with the Potter books later move on to books which will teach them life lessons of greater value.It's been 20 years, doesn't seem to have happened yet for many of them.― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Saturday, December 28, 2019 2:53 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Saturday, December 28, 2019 2:53 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
A friend of mine posted a FB story the other day that was a multi-part video of two of her friends (both around 30) having a heated argument about Potter arcania--pretty sure it was meant to be an "oh, how cute!" thing, but it left me fearing for our nation and ashamed of my generation.
― a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:43 (four years ago) link
Someone’s (fortunately) never heard of Harry Potter fandom, you’re like 20 years late on this.
― glindr jackson (gyac), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:47 (four years ago) link
I should have informed everyone itt that I am being dragged to a live showing of Goblet of Fire at the performing arts center tonight, with a live orchestra playing the score.
It's a present for my parents.
(I actually liked the books and movie, but I'm sick of Potter, living a half hour from the Potter park)
― looking for Mon in Alderaan places (Neanderthal), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:55 (four years ago) link
spare a thought for me, i (almost literally) work at hogwarts
― hot nuts (small) (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 28 December 2019 22:56 (four years ago) link
Some of these dorks are dressed up.
Ugh
― looking for Mon in Alderaan places (Neanderthal), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:41 (four years ago) link
Another complaint is that my nearly-9-y/o son's teacher has told the class that they aren't allowed to use the word 'said' in their creative writing, and must cram in as many adjectives and adverbs as they can. I understand that this is an attempt to broaden vocabulary use, but it's still the imposition of an ugly style, and it seems like the HP books are the model for it.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:45 (four years ago) link
Elementary school teachers never give correct or even good writing advice. Be fearful of their rules.
― Swilling Ambergris, Esq. (silby), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:46 (four years ago) link
yikes I really made a mistake taking Fred off of killfile, fixing that now
― subway Stalinist (sleeve), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:50 (four years ago) link
and thanks for that great Tove Jansson quote, JoeStork!
― subway Stalinist (sleeve), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:51 (four years ago) link
I remember a creative writing teacher telling us we could set our film scripts anywhere except the USA and could use any topic except organised crime, that was a good example of restriction, but was at university, actually that was the only good writing teacher I've ever had, he was called Seamus Finnegan, which is also the name of a character in the HP books, he would not be impressed by this run-on sentence.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:51 (four years ago) link
So glad I grew up in a time when children's books weren't subject to such analysis; no-one gave a shit about Jennings and Darybishire, afaik.
― fetter, Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:52 (four years ago) link
Yeah CaAL my daughter used to get told to use "wow words" and it was painful explaining decent prose style to her
― Bojo Rabid (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:53 (four years ago) link
I count among many of my students and colleagues in the university English department where I work and study a large number of people who got into reading via the HP books and then moved on to various other literary fields. These books are basically Star Wars, in that some people are going to use these touchstones as a jumping-off point towards the wider, richer world of film/literature, while others are going to remain willfully trapped in their fanboy bubble.
― Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:53 (four years ago) link
Star Wars is also bad though
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:54 (four years ago) link
Personally I think it's OK to chat shit about the terrible politics of children's authors who publicly flaunt their terrible politics but I guess there's more important stuff we could be doing
― Bojo Rabid (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:56 (four years ago) link
my nearly-9-y/o son's teacher has told the class that they aren't allowed to use the word 'said' in their creative writing
tell him that whenever he might use "said", he should just substitute "burped". that should appeal to a 9-y/o boy.
― A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:56 (four years ago) link
I guess there's more important stuff we could be doing
― hot nuts (small) (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 28 December 2019 23:57 (four years ago) link
potter
fanboys?
what a poor selection of a word
― Banáná hÉireann (darraghmac), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:00 (four years ago) link
Fanbutts
― looking for Mon in Alderaan places (Neanderthal), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
I had an English teacher in the early '80s who forbade the use of "get/got" or "nice". He also taught us the correct plural of "gin and tonic" is "gins and tonic". Stood me in good stead, that.
― fetter, Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:02 (four years ago) link
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:07 (four years ago) link
I have virtually no Harry Potter exposure (read maybe a couple chapters of the first one as a kid and bounced off hard; watched a few of the movies when friends did but had no real opinion) but some people seem a lot more outraged about the existence/imagined reading habits of harry potter fans than anything the author has said
xp also the "said"/"got"/etc thing extremely predates HP
― like, I’m eating an elephant head (katherine), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:11 (four years ago) link
this is a very lazy google books search but should illustrate well enough that it's been around https://www.google.com/search?q=%22dialogue+tags%22+%22said%22&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS838US838&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:1900,cd_max:1999&source=lnms&tbm=bks
― like, I’m eating an elephant head (katherine), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:16 (four years ago) link
(yikes, sorry)
Sometimes it seems like the poptimism ethos does not include books!
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:21 (four years ago) link
Poptimists can’t keep a straight face when it’s books
― Swilling Ambergris, Esq. (silby), Sunday, 29 December 2019 00:22 (four years ago) link