The joys of waiting

[Kristin]

I realized something: The waiting for the next book always forces us to reread the other books, to speculate, theorize and predict. That's a wonderful thing. :)

We wouldn't get that if we suddenly had all the books. We could analyze but not predict. And that would be a shame, it would be a major part of the Harry Potter experience missing. (I feel bad for people who read them after all the books are out.)

Think of Star Wars. I was 3 when The Empire Strikes back was released (1980). So I never got that whole shocking revelation that Vader was Luke's father. For me, Vader was *always* Luke's father. It was just a fact of the Star Wars universe. And for that matter, I never had to wonder whether Han Solo would be freed from the carbonite.

When I started reading Harry Potter, the first three books were out. So I never did any wondering between SS and CoS or between CoS and PoA. I finished one and immediately started the next.

Between PoA and the release of GoF the major questions were: Will Wormtail rejoin Voldemort? Will he ever be killed? Will Sirius' name be cleared? And then there was the massive speculation between GoF and OotP.

But I wonder what the speculation would have been like if we only had the first book or if we were waiting on the third book. Of course, PoA, GoF and OotP were more open-ended, so they were better for speculation anyway.

If you were waiting for CoS to come out, what would you have developed theories and predictions about? If you were waiting for PoA to come out, what would you have developed theories and predictions about?

(I'll come back later to give my own answers.)

[Colli]

:) I read an article much to the ideas of this thread a few weeks ago entitled "It's a great time to be a Potter fan"... or something like that. Maybe it was posted here, I can't remember. :o

These are REALLY hard questions, Kristin!

From The Sorcerer's Stone, I probably would have taken a better look at the run-in with the centaurs. "Mars is bright tonight." They said it plenty of times. Mars was the Roman god of war. I should've figured out a connection! Ronan said "Always the innocent are the first victims. So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

Which brings me to a theory I want to go formulate now. In another thread, of course. ;)

[Seriphus]

That's exactly how I feel, Kristin. I got into HP just after GoF came out and I think the 'best' point would have been after PoA, as there would be the first three books to really get you into the series and then speculation for the first of the huge books. I had to wait quite a while between reading CoS and PoA, but can't remember predicting what would happen in the next book. Maybe if I'd been waiting for the publication of PoA it would have been a lot different.
I guess the main speculation after CoS would have been the Heir of Gryffindor theory, after the Heir of Slytherin in CoS. Also I'd want to know more about Harry's parents - stuff we've found out later and stuff we still don't know like their jobs; more about Tom Riddle; more about Snape - whether he would ever stop hating Harry; that sort of thing.
Up until the end of PoA I can imagine there being an awful lot to speculate on, but not that much information to formulate theories with.

[swiftsnowmane]

Colli~ And of course, that whole thing about the innocent being the frst victims was proven to be so very true once again. Ginny, being directly under Riddle's control, was a victim even though she wasn't killed. Then of course, Cedric Diggory, the Ultimate Good Guy, so coldly murdered. And then Sirius Black, though not what you might call "An Innocent," was certainly innocent of the crime he had been made to suffer from for so long.... :(

I like centaurs, they seem to have good insight into things, even though they're not always completely accurate. Its a pity that in the HP world they don't care for humans at all. I wonder why? Did something happen between centaurs and human wizards in their history? Or are they just offended by the human's mistaken impressions of them being "pretty horsies"? I think they must have been persecuted or something, like many other 'human-like' magical creatures (i.e. like werewolves, giants, house-elves, etc).

I got into Harry Potter when it was only up to PoA. That was indeed a good point to be. There were just enough books in the series to make it really engaging, but enough books left in the series that I really had no clue what direction the books would take after that. PoA was (for me) when the series stopped being just 'good', but IMO became excellent. :) But GoF was really the turning point in terms of the direness of the situation with Voldemort.
I don't know why exactly, but I don't like to speculate too much. I do enjoy in-depth disscussion on the books already out there, but for some reason I feel like I won't enjoy the book as much if I've guessed and theorized SO much that I like MY theories better than the real thing when it comes out. (Same goes for my opinion on fan-fiction, but we won't go there:rolleyes: ).

[Moxie]

Originally posted by swiftsnowmane
I like centaurs... a pity that in the HP world they don't care for humans at all. I wonder why? Did something happen between centaurs and human wizards in their history? Or are they just offended by the human's mistaken impressions of them being "pretty horsies"? I think they must have been persecuted or something, like many other 'human-like' magical creatures (i.e. like werewolves, giants, house-elves, etc).

Well, what we've seen so far seems to imply most human wizards consider themselves superior to non- and part-human intelligent lifeforms; remember the statue showing a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf all looking up adoringly at a wizard and witch? :rolleyes: I'd get pretty sick of that attitude too, if I were on the receiving end of it.

I still want details of the centaurs' oath "not to set ourselves against the heavens" (as stated by Bane in SS/PS, Ch. 15). When did they swear this, to whom, and why?

[Athelas]

Originally posted by swiftsnowmane
I got into Harry Potter when it was only up to PoA. That was indeed a good point to be. There were just enough books in the series to make it really engaging, but enough books left in the series that I really had no clue what direction the books would take after that. PoA was (for me) when the series stopped being just 'good', but IMO became excellent. :) But GoF was really the turning point in terms of the direness of the situation with Voldemort.

Oh yes, I remember when my old college buddy FORCED me to read TS/PS (which I had heard so much about from my family, and thought was just TOO popular to bother with)--just after POA had been released. I had GOF Amazoned to my summer cottage that July.

All of the series that I really love had all been written before I discovered them--Agatha Christie, LOTR, Nancy Mitford, etc.--I am very much enjoying the wait and speculation for these. I don't mind the spec myself because JKR always comes up with so much more than I (or anyone I read) could ever have imagined!

Cute pic of the kids--especially Hermione and the tall Ron
http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2003350139,00.jpg

[Lord Schaudt]

Nope, i hate waiting im impatient already!

[Lanen]

So Kristin, actually I'm doing the world a favour by being such a slow writer and making everybody wait before my next book comes out?

You sweetie! :hug:

But there again, you do occasionally give me a hard time over this. Do I detect a slight double standard here? ;) :D

:cool: