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Don't kill Harry Potter, authors urge Rowling

Started by Lord_of_the_Dense, August 01, 2006, 10:34:12 PM

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Lord_of_the_Dense

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two of America's top authors, John Irving and Stephen King, made a plea to J.K. Rowling on Tuesday not to kill the fictional boy wizard Harry Potter in the final book of the series, but Rowling made no promises.

"My fingers are crossed for Harry," Irving said at a joint news conference before a charity reading by the three writers at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

The author of "The World According to Garp" and a string of other bestsellers said he and King felt like "warm-up bands" for Rowling, who is working on the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter series, and who has said two characters will die.

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"THIS MEMBER IS CYBERWASTE INTOLERANT"

Dan

Harry Bloody Potter
Kill 'em all i say

Every time i get on the tube and see someone reading what are effectively kids books i want to grab them and scream 'IS THIS THE MOST YOU ASPIRE TO AFTER XXX YEARS READING!!!"

:pissed:
www.HellInside.com - welcome to Hell!

Ed

As I've said before - JK can magic him back to life for a sequel any time she likes and, yeah - the books are written for 12 year-olds, so who cares anyway? :grin:

Hi, LotD :afro:  Nice to see you dropping in :smiley:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

littlelaniec

I knew she was going to kill two characters, but I didn't know she was considering Harry! I still don't believe Dumbledorf is really dead. I think Snape put some sort of spell on him.
Another thing is: I thought those books were a little too much for children. I know of more adults reading the Potter series than the kids. I don't know too many kids that could read such long novels. And, each book of the series gets darker in content.

And, what's wrong with aspiring to write like J.K. Rowlings? Who do you think writes childrens' books: ten and twelve year olds?

Lanie
Raven
Blood Goddess

Lord_of_the_Dense

Hi blunt. Wish I could offer more. I think this site just takes too much brain power and focus. I have not a hair of imagination and am too preocupied in all the other forums to devote deserved time to the Cafe. Still enjoy what I do take the time to read. Have a good one. :)
Soul, Peace & Chicken Grease!


BeatKing.com :: Music News, Forums, and Lyrics

"THIS MEMBER IS CYBERWASTE INTOLERANT"

Ed

#5
There's nothing wrong with aspiring to WRITE like JK Rowling (although she's not very talented if you believe the literary critics).  What Dan said was about READING.   :afro:

I read novel length fiction from a very young age, probably about 8 or 9 yrs old.  By the time I was thirteen I was reading Sven Hassel books about the war on the eastern front during WW2 from the POV of a soldier of a German penal regiment, so I don't think Harry Potter would be any darker in comparison.  If you read some of the fairy tales from Victorian times, they're horrific - I've got a children's book illustrated with pictures of a man chasing children with a huge pair of scissors chopping arms and legs off, and that's just one of the tales my grandmother grew up on.  I think we might be in danger of coddling our children too much.  After all, they need some kind of preparation for the horrors of the adult world, sadly :/

LotD - there's not much going on here at the moment, but I'm glad you enjoy what you read. :smiley:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

littlelaniec

And, again, I ask: what's wrong with READING Harry Potter or children's books?
I too, read a lot as a kid, but a lot of the kids today rarely pick up a book. And, I disagree about overprotecting our children. What they see affects them. They can't depict the reality from fiction. Yes, I watched all of the classic horror movies with my Dad, but I grew up terrified of EVERYTHING!! I don't believe scaring a kid is the way to condition them to the horrors of the world.
There are better ways to make our children prepared and stronger. Well, it worked with my four boys.

Anyway, I see NOTHING wrong with adults reading adolescent novels. Again, I say, ADULTS WRITE THEM!

Lanie
Raven
Blood Goddess

canadian

I think it's time the world stops dissing J.K. She came up with some fantastic characters, an interesting setting, and had the wherewithal as a writer to get it all down in print. Yeah, she got rich. Good for her! It's what we all dream about, right?

My daughter and I have read all the books. I had to 'patiently' wait 'till she finished each one before I was allowed to dig in. She was only 11 years old when the first one was published.

Kids can handle things way better than we believe. I'm with Blunt on this one ... expose them to life as soon as possible, albeit in a way they are capable of handling for their age & maturity level.

If people stand in a circle long enough, they will eventually begin to dance. -- George Carlin

Ed

I think Rowling's story would make a good book in itself - going from being a penniless single parent to a multimillionairess in the space of a few years.  The odds of it happening to an author are astronomically long.

Admittedly, I haven't read any of the books, so I can't comment on the quality of the writing or its suitability for child or adult, but I don't have a yearning to read them, because I feel like I've moved on - probably at the point where I began reading Sven Hassel books.  Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.  What did you think of them, Donna?

Lanie - when I said about preparing kids for the horrors of life I was thinking specifically about the issue of characters being killed off, and I think the sense of loss a child might feel over losing a character they've grown to love might prepare them, in some small way, for the grief of losing a real life friend or relative.  As for the supernatural horrors and scary characters, I think children can handle stuff like that as long as they're guided by a parent. 

Our kids can watch Dr Who and all kinds of stuff you might think would give them nightmares, but we explained to them from an early age what's real, what's acted, and how much of what they see is created for people's entertainment.  If they're ever worried about something, they'll ask if it's real or not, and we'll tell them.  I actually went out and bought stage make-up and showed them how to make a gory looking wound a while back, and ever since then they haven't worried about seeing gore on the TV, not that we let them see films that are made for adults, but some quite ordinary progs can contain scenes of injuries, etc.

Parenting is a huge experiment, isn't it?  I don't think there's only one way to raise a child, but I think we're doing alright so far.  We can only be guided by our own experiences and our conscience, I suppose :smiley:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

SharonBell

Had it not been for fiction and the world of literature, the horror of my childhood would have been unbearable. My abusive, boderline, religious NUT of a mother, was more horrifying than anything I ever read in a book (think Carrie). Books offered me another world away from that horror of starvation and abuse in the name of Jesus.  Try being locked in a closet, hungry, with a mother screaming that you a SINNER and you tell me which is scarier--a book or real life?

"Be good and you'll be lonesome." Mark Twain

www.sharonbuchbinder.com

littlelaniec

Well said, Blunt. And, yes, you did give me the impression of purposely scaring kids to make them tough. I always thought that was cruel. Like throwing a kid in front of a truck to teach them not to run out in the street, or burning a kid's hand to teach them not to touch fire. My Dad did the same with me while watching the classic horror movies: that it was just actors pretending, STILL, as a kid, it scared the crap out of me! To this day, I STILL don't like the werewolf nor can I watch ANYTHING about them. I have nightmares about them. You're right, each child is different and must be treated as such.

Sharon, sorry to hear about your childhood. No child should have to live that way. I got sucked into that nightmare as a young adult and still have issues about it. Had to go to therapy ten years ago to DEprogram me!

Lanie
Raven
Blood Goddess

Ed

Oh, no - I would never do anything to purposely harm or scare my children.  A (former) friend of mine thrust his child's hand into stinging nettles to teach him to avoid them.  That, to me, is lunacy and if I'd been there at the time I think I would have slapped him upside the head for doing it.  I don't like the way he is with his kids - it's like he's power-struck or something.  Some people don't handle responsibility well, I suppose. ::)


Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

littlelaniec

Parents, grandparents all did that back in the days. Tell your kid they're stupid or ugly thinking it will make them want to be smarter.
My friend's grandfather kept purposely scaring my son even though I told him stop, until I finally snapped and took David out of there! My friend couldn't understand why I got so upset.
I wouldn't turn on a horror movie or force my boys to watch it, like my Dad did or my grandmother. I actually took the lead of my sons. If they showed an interest in a particularly scary movie, I'd watch it with them. As soon as they showed too much fear, off it went and I'd distract them with something else.
Yes, I've watched and heard a few of my acquaintances say or do things with their kids that I got on them for it.

But, as to Harry Potter: I don't want him to be killed off! My son believes Harry's Voldemort's son and he turns evil in the end. I can't believe how hooked I got on those books!! And, seeing how J.K. Rowlings came up from poverty to fame, gives me hope!!! :afro:

Lanie
Raven
Blood Goddess