Time was, when another Harry Potter book was coming out, it was a simple matter to reread the first few in order to remind oneself about what has happened. No longer. I made the mistake of starting Book 5 _without_ having reviewed Book 4, and was constantly losing track of stuff because of names or events I had forgotten. Smarter this time around, I went out in search of a detailed synopsis of Book 5, expecting to find it at one Potter fansite or another. Turns out, though, that the real goods are at good ol’ Wikipedia. Check out their excellent synopsis “here”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Order_of_the_Phoenix.
Not only are we on the cusp of a new Potter book, but Cormac McCarthy’s long-awaited latest, _That Is No Country For Old Men_, is due out just a few days later. Maybe I’ll alternate reading chapters from each, just to blow my mind with the contrast. On second thought, nah, the world’s crazy enough as it is.
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July 14, 2005 at 7:43 pm
Anonymous
Oh Nate, read the HP first and give us some serious spoilers. I just finished the HP 5 (for the first time), and I won’t be able to read the 6th for a while.
July 14, 2005 at 7:59 pm
Chris Bowerman
Nate, Just wondering when we might be syncing the polytropos.org podcast from itunes?
BTW, the previous post by “Anonymous” was from Heather. She asked me to correct the anonymity.
Your idea of reading alternate chapters reminds me a cdrom put out sometime in the mid (late?) 90’s I remember reading about. It was a “Myst” type thing based on Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five”. The cdrom contained the book as well and had a randomization feature that scrambled the chapters, paragraphs, etc. As if the book itself didn’t jump enough! I’ve never been able to find this cdrom. I wonder if it ever even existed or was just a joke.
July 14, 2005 at 8:30 pm
Jim Zoetewey
Pathetic as I am, I read the first 5 over the course of June (and followed it up with reading “The Confusion” because I finally got a copy).
So now I’m hoping Jack Shaftoe survives Book 6…
July 14, 2005 at 9:06 pm
Ed Hand
Darn it Jim, I’m in the middle of The Confusion and you’ve just ruined it for me…
Nate, thanks for the Cormac McCarthy heads up. I really enjoyed reading the border trilogy as a result of your recommendation. Blood Meridian and Suttree are still on the shelf, but they scare me a bit, so I’m holding off for the right moment.
So are you going to be at your local Borders at midnight for the great unveiling of the sixth book?
July 14, 2005 at 11:54 pm
nate
Heather: I do plan on reading it right quick once it comes out, but I’ll definitely give fair warning on any spoilers.
Chris: Funny you should mention — I was exploring the world of podcasts for the first time just a couple days ago. Not a bandwagon I plan on jumping on in general, but it does seem like something it’d be fun to do once or twice. Re: the Vonnegut scrambling — I heard about that too from somewhere, so either it’s true or it’s a very well-established rumor.
Jim: I envy your reading speed. Clearly I need to be playing less Grand Theft Auto.
Ed: Just judging from the blurbs, CM’s latest sounds like it’s more in the Border trilogy vein and not quite as hardcore as some of the earlier stuff. Which means the CM aficianados will probably poohpooh it as “McCarthy Lite.” But I’m holding out hopes that it’ll be good. Goodness knows he took his time with it.
As for the midnight campout — I actually found myself at one of those completely by accident last time around . . . we had just gotten out of a movie and happened to be driving by a Barnes and Noble with a strangely big crowd inside. If I’m not doing anything else I may swing by a store just to see the people in costume.
July 15, 2005 at 7:49 am
Heather
You misunderstand me, Nate. I want spoilers. I need spoilers. You won’t ruin the ending for me. But I need to know what happens. I won’t be able to read the book until Xmas, and I don’t want to wait that long to find out what happens to everyone. I’ve come to expect a full (very full) review of books here, so don’t disappoint me!
July 15, 2005 at 8:35 am
Ed Heil
Nate, you should never have installed the “Hot Coffee” mod….
July 16, 2005 at 4:54 pm
Ed Hand
I was in Shop Rite (a local grocery store chain) today and they were selling Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in the produce section next to the tomatoes.
I’m not sure what this says, but it must say something.