Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Done.

Just after midnight Tuesday morning it was finished. That's when I got done with the last Harry Potter book.

No spoilers here, just my grades.
The book - B+
The ending - D
The series - A-

Anyone else want to offer their grades?

13 comments:

Beth Quick said...

Really? A D for the ending?

I really like the book. I'd give at an A. The ending? I don't know - I found it satisfying...room to know more, but giving us (me at least) enough to be satisfied if there is never more.

Diana said...

We should incorporate Book Reviews into our future Fine Arts Ministry - a perfect forum for such discussions!!

John said...

I only read the first book. It was a requirement back in library school. I was working full time and going to school full time. I walked into a B&N and schedules myself to skim it in four hours. It wasn't an interesting read, but I guess that I didn't give it a fair shot.

Anonymous said...

Book: A
Ending (minus the "epilogue"): A
Epilogue: eh...
Series: A!

Anonymous said...

John,

read harry potter. now. or i'll be your counseling pastor when you're in the hospital.

Haha.

Jim

Andy B. said...

Elizabeth - I can't give my reasons for that grade without giving away parts of the plot. But yeah, I'm going with a D.

Anonymous said...

I think you're a little harsh with the D ending.
The ending provided closure, and that was enough for me.
The whole series was fantastic.

EyeRytStuf said...

Book: B+ to A
Ending: C to A
Series: A

From a grading standpoint, I obviously need to go back and re-read the book... or the series.

This is why I teach math. It's easier to grade.

Donna said...

The book: A- (I was about ready to buy an oxygen tank to keep by me at all times)
The ending: B+
The epilogue: C
The series: A

I really believe Scholastic leaned on JK Rowling to write the epilogue. It just seemed so odd--very sweet (yeah, I cried), but so Danielle Steele. Sure, I was grateful for the resolution, but this series has made such great use of ambiguity--moral and literary--that it seemed wrong to tie everything up with a bow at the end. I felt robbed of the chance to wonder what happened. But then, my wondering would probably have looked a lot like the epilogue, so what am I whining about?

Christ United Methodist Church said...

The series: A
The Book: B- (could've been much longer, a little too LotR.)
The End: A-

I used the following quote in a sermon illustration on Sunday: "I was gifted, I was brilliant. I wanted to escape. I wanted to shine. I wanted glory."

eb said...

[Grumble, Grumble] The ending or the epilogue? If the epilogue, that camp is divided into two factions and I disagree with both. For a great analysis, see the blog of the book's editor here:
http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-thoughts-on-deathly-hallows.html
(or here's a tinyurl link:
http://tinyurl.com/24re38 )
I have some other thoughts, too, but I'll wait until you lift your spoiler ban.

Beth, who's in the middle of her annual HP Kids on Campus class

Anonymous said...

ANDY - This past weekend I was a part of my friend Nick's wedding in Stroud, Oklahoma... at the UMC church that Pastor Joel Betow, a regular commenter here, just arrived at in June! Weird. We sat together at the rehearsal dinner and talked about Enter the Rainbow. Rad. -howie

Don said...

Yeah. The epilogue was pretty bad. I was pretty angry about it for like a week before I softened on it. The key to the final resolution was pretty clever.

Although I guessed a lot of the essential parts of the final book, I have to say that the detail with which she supported the plot points was more than I could imagine.