My fiance is a “first year”
In light of the penultimate Harry Potter film being released in November, Jason and I have assumed the task of reading through all seven of the novels (I’m reading aloud to him because he’s a slowpoke). Jason is….somewhat of an anomaly. He has never read the books, he has never seen the films, and amazingly, he knows absoluely none of the plot twists or spoilers. Jason, by some miracle, is stepping into the world of Harry Potter all innocent and brand new.
This is fantastic most of the time. He laughs at all the right moments and is, after just finishing Chamber of Secrets, getting attached to characters. Neville is currently is favorite, and he has a soft spot for Snape. I’m absolutely loving how these books are enchanting him as they did me when they were first released. The excited look on his face at the beginning of each chapter, or when he makes a connection (“OH MY GOD, VOLDEMORT’S IN THE TURBAN!!!!”), is not unlike the blissful and triumphant expression of an infant who just discovered that he can reach his feet to his mouth.
The problem, of course, is that we’re slowly inching out of “kids books” territory. We’re planning on spending tomorrow on Azkaban, the last novel everyone gets out of alive. Characters he cares about are going to get hurt, some lower blows than others, and I’m feeling terrible that I’m going to have to put him through the heartbreak we all experienced. I know they’re only fictional characters….but who doesn’t want Hagrid or Luna or whoever to be their best friends? Who on earth didn’t want a Weasley sweater and some treacle tart on Christmas morning? That’s just as good as them all being real people, and I don’t know anyone who didn’t cry in books 5, 6, and 7. It’s going to break his poor heart, and I wish I could save him…but we all lost characters we love, and we soldiered on.
On a lighter note, we’ve watched the first two films, and he’s just as indignant as I was about all the changes and deleted scenes. He’s almost as annoyed as he was when Cyclops died in X-Men: The Last Stand. Rather adorable, really.
Almost forgot–J keeps mentioning how much he loves Scabbers. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he finds out about Wormtail!
August 23rd, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Wow… SPOILER ALERT!!!
I haven’t read any of the books, and I only saw the first movie and part of another movie with some giant-ass snake and some other things that looked like smokey reapers…
On another note, I just finished Firefly and Serenity, and that was extremely awesome.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:54 pm
I spoiled nothing! The snakes are in the Chamber of Secrets, and the “reapers” are called Dementors, and they are introduced in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Yay for Firefly goodness! How cute is Kaylee? She’s exactly what I want to be….but somehow my temper keeps getting in the way…
August 23rd, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Mandy was into Harry Potter and she was the one who got me to watch the first one (fully)… I walked in on her watching the other ones with the snakes and the reapers and then walked out. I just never got into it.
Kaylee is my favorite character there (even though Adam Baldwin is a bad ass). You could be Kaylee who goes on awesome rants about hipsters and such.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
If you haven’t listened to them. I highly recommend the audio books. The guy that reads them won awards for all the character voices, and I’m pretty sure that he inspired all the character actors in the films.
I know money is tight, but I’ve heard that the library has them. Or ask around, I know a few people who have copies and might lend them.
I cant stress enough how good they are!
August 25th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I love the audio books! That guy (who IS that guy??) is absoultely wonderful; easily one of my favorite narrators. We’re almost halfway through Azkaban, but I’ll definitely see if our library has GoF.
August 27th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
THIS is that guy!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197715/bio