For those who haven't finished reading yet (NO Spoilers!)

[Reba]

Ok, I just picked up my copy on Monday afternoon, and I'm about halfway thru, so obviously I don't want to go into any of the other threads where there are spoilers! But I would like to talk about it so far, without giving anything away to those who haven't started or haven't read very much yet.

So, if you feel compelled to post spoilers, post in one of the other threads, this one will remain spoiler free! Post generically, no specifics!

So, first thing I said when I opened the box...wow, its BIG! I picked it up on Monday, as I mentioned, and stopped at the McDonald's drive-thru on the way home because I was hungry and its too blinkin 'ot to cook. Wouldn't ya know it, they didn't have any McChickens cooked, so I had to wait :rolleyes: (fast food?) so while I waited in my car, I started reading. Then was startled a few minutes later when the girl brought out my order :o

I drove home, flopped on the couch with my Mc:barf: meal, and read until I fell asleep for a while (I'd had to get up with Azog at 5am for him to get a taxi to the airport). Then I read some more. Every evening I've come home from work and read some more, and I'm about halfway thru. I still think its rather BIG! and awkward to hold onto to read it, especially if you're munching at the same time ;)

So far I'm quite enjoying it, tho some parts are a bit annoying, but that's just because I want it to go faster and can't understand all the superfluous words in between all the good parts. JKR's got diarreah of the word processor just like Stephen King :p ;)

I'm wondering very much what's up with Hagrid, and still I don't know who dies, or who will win the Quidditch match. I wish I could have just taken a day off work so I could just sit and read ;) :)

Remember, NO SPOILERS! Or I'll set Melkor after you! :D

[Monkfish]

All will be revealed..........You WON`T be disappointed!;)

[Kristin]

Nice, Reba! :)

For all the pre-book talk about different threads and no spoilers, everybody seems to head instantly into the spoiler zone. When I got the book, the first thing my husband did was flip through it to find out who died! :eek: I couldn't do that! I'm about halfway through as well. I don't know who dies.

Thus far, it seems like things are happening even when it seems like nothing is happening. Sinister things bubbling just below the surface.

What I mean is that, in Chamber of Secrets for example, classes were just classes and Quidditch matches were just games. Events outside of students being petrified didn't have much more meaning. They just were normal.

Contrast that with Goblet of Fire. When we reach the end, we find out that all of Moody's doings (which seemed innocent at the time) were all part of an evil plot.

Order of the Phoenix thus far feels more like the Goblet of Fire situation. It's like nothing can just be ordinary anymore. (And I don't have anything specific to base it on. It's just my impression.)



A random musing: I placed OotP next to GoF, and GoF was thicker! :confused: OotP is definitely more than 100 pages longer, so this really makes no sense to me. Did they use thinner paper or something? (Does anyone know?)

Another random musing: An article I read about OotP referred to the "gruesome" death in GoF. Maybe they just meant because it was a murder or because it was a young person. Personally, though, I don't think Avada Kedavra would be such a bad way to go. The victims are always dead before their bodies hit the ground. Doesn't sound drawn out or torturous to me.

[Mirdan]

Originally posted by Kristin
A random musing: I placed OotP next to GoF, and GoF was thicker! :confused: OotP is definitely more than 100 pages longer, so this really makes no sense to me. Did they use thinner paper or something? (Does anyone know?)
we did just the same thing this morning...my copy of GoF is about the same thickness as my copy of OotP, but if you look closely at the way the letters and words are printed, they're a little more closer to each other in OotP than in GoF :D

though the size of the font looks just about the same in both books...

[Kristin]

But it shouldn't matter what the font size is.

870 pages should make a fatter book than 734 pages, and yet, the shorter book seems thicker.


GoF was set in 12-point type. OotP was set in 11.5-point type. So that's not much difference visually. (It makes a difference over hundreds of pages and saves some space.) They might have adjusted the kerning as well.

[StarGazr]

Originally posted by Kristin
For all the pre-book talk about different threads and no spoilers, everybody seems to head instantly into the spoiler zone. When I got the book, the first thing my husband did was flip through it to find out who died! :eek: I couldn't do that! I'm about halfway through as well. I don't know who dies.

*gasp* my friend's husband did the exact same thing!! We were in the car after the HP party we went to a Borders and he's trying to read by the lights in the parking lot! He slams it shut and goes "I know who dies!" I replied: "If you so much as breathe the wrong way and I THINK I know what you said, you're WALKING home!" I so did not want to be spoiled
It's almost Friday, I've had the book since Saturday afternoon and I'm on page 535 right now. I've been avoiding this website like the plague (cept for the forum I mod! ;)) and my livejournal cuz I KNOW people are posting spoilers in theirs!!! Grrr

[Reba]

Well, I read a couple more chapters before I finally had to tell myself to just put it down and go to sleep last night. About midnight :o I was waaaaaaay tired today at work, but luckily my one and only student did the exact same thing reading his copy :LOL:

Anyone remember Dr. Evil, oh he that used to single handedly moderate this site long long ago? Well, the silly begger went and got a life believe it or not! but he dropped in for a visit to my place this evening for dinner and a couple hours of catching up. Just thought I'd let you know he's still alive!

ugh...I just want to sit and read and read and read until there's nothing left to read! I read a chapter just after Dr. Evil left here. There's so much going on, so many characters whose eyes I'd like to poke out, others whom I'd love to sit and ask them "what the heck are you DOING?", I'd like to give Hagrid a hug...just because he's Hagrid :) Smack Harry around a bit...he's a bit thick sometimes isn't he?

HOLY CATS! I had a bit of a fright with Harry's scary dream (if you're at or past that part, you'll know what I mean, if you're not yet, you'll understand when you do get there) I thought "ok, this is it!" but then remembered that JKR had said she cried and cried when the person died...I don't think she'd cry for that particular person. Well maybe, anyone would cry when someone they know dies, but well... you know what I mean!

I'm afraid to even guess who it is that'll die, and if its who I think it is, I'll have to go to England personally and hurt JKR! Kick her in the shins maybe! :p ;)

I'm kinda glad I don't have anyone here to fight over the book with, or to tell me to hurry up, or to tell me what's happened...nobody within close vicinity of me has finished it yet, except maybe my sister, and I'll see her tomorrow, but I'm not sure if she's done yet. Melkor will get to read it when I go to his place next month to visit and take him my copy. Not much sense buying 2 copies really...

Did anyone read GoF again to remind themselves what happened? I didn't, and its been a couple years since I read it, so I started out a bit confused and forgetful. I meant to read it again, but got busy with stuff and didn't have time. I've pretty much remembered now tho, what needs to be remembered anyway.

I kinda feel sorry for Professor Snape :o

[Athelas]

Yes, Reba, I reread them all quite recently and was reminded what a cliffhanger we were left with in GoF!

And the paper in OOTP is thinner than the first 4 books (US edition, anyway).

[Kristin]

I thought the same thing about the dream and "this is it." And I was sad, but rather relieved too. Because I thought a specific character was going to be the one who died, so I was upset over that character and happy for the ones who didn't die and thinking I had gotten the death out of the way. ... I still don't know who dies.

But every time I think it's a different character, I think, "No! Not _____ !" And I don't think there's a character I wouldn't think that about (except for the baddies).


Reba, did you tell Doc to visit us once in a while? We miss him!

Thanks Athelas. I figured the paper had to be thinner.

My husband and I have realized that with OotP and a number of other new books that have come into our lives, we need a new bookcase! We have several small bookcases and a big one and still not enough room for all our books! :eek: :D

[Athelas]

I'm such a geek.

When FedEx came up the road, I jumped up and met the driver so he didn't even have to get out of the truck. Then I spent some time reading the special Amazon box. I finally opened it and got all the info I could from the dust cover pictures. When I opened the pages, I compared the paper and the printing with the previous books. Finally, I read all the chapter names.

I just wanted to postpone the time when it would be over as long as possible.

[Reba]

Well I've just finished it, and I must admit I found it a tad anti-clamactic, including the death. I mean for 2 years we've been waiting to find out who dies, and well, it just wasn't a very spectacular occurance, if you follow. I'm kind of disappointed in the ending really. I hope she does better in the next two.

On the other hand, I dunno about the other publishers, but the Canadian publisher printed on the second last page of the book (that would be the penultimate page for you folks with rather large vocabularies ;)) the following statistics:

Raincoast Books is Ancient-Forest Friendly: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

By printing the first Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on ancient-forest friendly paper, Raincoast Books is minimizing its impact on the environment and helping safeguard bio-diversity and the world's forests. Using 1,121,049 kilograms of 100% post consumer recycled, processed-chlorine free paper and fibre instead of virgin fibre means that Raincoast Books is making these ecological savings:

* 29,640 trees (a forest area equivalent to 95 times the size of the SkyDome in Toronto, or equivalent to a forest area just larger than Vancouver's Stanley Park)

* 47,007,044 litres of water (enough water to fill 31 Olympic-size swimming pools)

* 633,557 kilograms of solid waste (equivalent to the weight of 155 average female elephants)

* 20,248 BTUs of electricity (enough electricity to power the average North American home for 195 years)

* 1,215,443 kilograms of greenhouse gases (enough to travel 3.9 million kilometres in a car with average fuel efficiency)

Wow!

And because the paper is thinner, it takes up less space on the bookshelf as well! ;)

Now I've got that out of the way, I guess I can get on with my summer.

[Moxie]

The US edition just says "No old-growth forests were used to create the paper for this book." on the same page as the printing/binding details; doesn't even specify percentages of recycled or post-consumer recycled content as many US paper products do these days.

[legolass]

Hoooray!!!! I got my copy of OoTP today!!! :D :D I'll go to the post office at lunchtime to pick it up!!!

Thank you, Ambie!! :hug:

I don't think I'll get to sleep early in the next few days or so.

:D