Harry Potter is 20 years old

[Stig]

So I went to see the Cursed Child today and they kept missing the T off of Voldemort. Was quite off putting since the films always pronounced the T. Read up after that that's how JK Rowling always said she pronounced it but why didn't she tell them not to do that when they started the films? Sounds like recon bs which she seems to do a bit.

[Illyria]

Voldemort is French, so yeah, the T is unpronounced.  I always think it's weird when people say it with the T.

[nakamura]

Harry Potter keeps me company when I'm sad. Unfortunately I've read the series twice in 12 months and a third is on the cards.

Order is my favourite book because it focuses well on the isolation that Harry feels. The feeling he has been abandoned by anyone that cares for him and the power Voldemort has over him. The bitter ending highlighted this further, he hits rock bottom but the human spirit fights on, as it does in so many people around the world. It's a true test of character.

[Stig]

11 hours ago, Illyria said:

Voldemort is French, so yeah, the T is unpronounced.  I always think it's weird when people say it with the T.

But its probably because kids and the likes of myself who read it as a kid didnt know that. If the T isnt pronounced why didnt she say somethig during the filming of the films? She had a massive hand in producing them.

[Illyria]

33 minutes ago, Stigweard said:

But its probably because kids and the likes of myself who read it as a kid didnt know that. If the T isnt pronounced why didnt she say somethig during the filming of the films? She had a massive hand in producing them.

 

Can't tell you that honestly, I never thought about it as for me it was just another English mispronunciation, which happen all the damn time. JK has definitely said it before, though, not just when the stage play came out. Why she didn't correct them in the first film - who knows? I could imagine she was fighting bigger battles with the director and producer and screen writer, and perhaps didn't think this was that important. 

[Stig]

It makes sense and because Vol de la mort in French means flight of death, so I understand why but a little help from the start would have been nice Miss Rowling. Finding out ive been doing it wrong for 20 years is a shock to the system ha.

[Illyria]

hehehe I understand - your world changed in an instant! Hate when that happens  I used to pronounce Hermione wrong, before the films came out! That took some getting used to as well  

 

Or like when I realised that Donald Duck is not pronounced Dook (as you would pronounce it in German) and that Duck is not just a name but the name of the animal he represents. MINDBLOWN MINI ILLY

[Nick R]

On 10/9/2017 at 00:12, Illyria said:

Voldemort is French, so yeah, the T is unpronounced.  I always think it's weird when people say it with the T.

 

Thanks to Terry Pratchett, the "mort = French for death" and "Mort = Mortimer" are forever linked for me, so pronouncing the T doesn't sound weird to me.

 

 

18 hours ago, Illyria said:

hehehe I understand - your world changed in an instant! Hate when that happens  I used to pronounce Hermione wrong, before the films came out! That took some getting used to as well  

 

I don't think you've said whether you first read the books in English or in German. Does the German translation have that bit in the fourth book where Hermione is explaining to Victor Krum that "Hermy-own" is the wrong way to say it?

 

E's at the end of Greek names always throw people off. My mum once told me that when she was a child she thought the name "Penelope" was pronounced "Penny-Lope". And thanks to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, every time I read the name "Socrates", I have to pause for a moment to correct my internal pronunciation!

[Illyria]

56 minutes ago, Nick R said:

I don't think you've said whether you first read the books in English or in German. Does the German translation have that bit in the fourth book where Hermione is explaining to Victor Krum that "Hermy-own" is the wrong way to say it?

 

I can't recall how the translator solved that, and my German versions are still at my parents house so I can't check now. But Hermione is just Hermine in the German books, so it's pronounced differently anyway.

 

I read books 1-6 in German first, then English. When the 6th one came out, I briefly considered reading it in English first so I wouldn't have to wait, but I wasn't confident enough in my abilities and my HP love was/is so great that I wanted to be able to take it all in 100%. I did read book 7 in English first, and only read the German version once (out loud, to my mum).

[MrPogo]

On 10/10/2017 at 13:11, Nick R said:

 

I don't think you've said whether you first read the books in English or in German. Does the German translation have that bit in the fourth book where Hermione is explaining to Victor Krum that "Hermy-own" is the wrong way to say it?

 

 

Having never encountered the name  before, that's how I'd assumed Hermione was pronounced until then!

[SeanR]

31 minutes ago, MrPogo said:

 

Having never encountered the name  before, that's how I'd assumed Hermione was pronounced until then!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_(mythology)

 

her mother was Helen of Troy...

[Corranga]

 

On 10/8/2017 at 23:18, Stigweard said:

So I went to see the Cursed Child today and they kept missing the T off of Voldemort. Was quite off putting since the films always pronounced the T. Read up after that that's how JK Rowling always said she pronounced it but why didn't she tell them not to do that when they started the films? Sounds like recon bs which she seems to do a bit.

 

Good to know.  i'm going at the end of next month - having booked tickets about 18 months ago.  We are doing the studio tour again on the way down (from Dundee) which should be fun as my 3 year old has seen some of the films now.

 

On 10/9/2017 at 18:03, Stigweard said:

It makes sense and because Vol de la mort in French means flight of death, so I understand why but a little help from the start would have been nice Miss Rowling. Finding out ive been doing it wrong for 20 years is a shock to the system ha.

 

Mind blown.  I know no French, that's an awesome name.  

Still, I'd presume they pronounce the T in the films as it leads into the who 'I am Lord Voldemort' = Tom Marvolo Riddle anagram - easy to see in a book, but harder when it's said out loud / lots of confused kids wondering where the T has gone, or calling him Om Riddle

 

I don't read books, it takes too long and I have aphantasia so the whole overly embellished descriptions don't lead to fantastical images in my head, they just take longer to read...

Besides, I barely have enough time to play games.

 

I was staying with my girlfriend (now wife) one Christmas, many years back.  Her mum had discovered the first potter book and loved it.  She gifted it to my g/f.  She read it on Christmas day, and handed it to me to read on boxing day.  I read 3/4 of it in one day.  As someone who doesn't read much of anything, I was that hooked.

Over the years, I then listened to the audio books, converting the first couple from cassettes!  Steven Fry is amazing.

I was about 70% through the final book, via a leaked scan / pdf, went to my local Asda at midnight for the launch, and stated reading from where I was up to in the queue.

I downloaded the Jim Dale audio book as it was the first available in teh land of yarr, Jim Dale isn't as good!

 

 

 

 

[Stig]

10 minutes ago, Freeman said:

 

Good to know.  i'm going at the end of next month - having booked tickets about 18 months ago.  We are doing the studio tour again on the way down (from Dundee) which should be fun as my 3 year old has seen some of the films now.

 

 

We did exactly that. How was your child with the films? I really want to read the books and watch the films with my eldest who turns 4 next week, but felt she still might be a little too young.

[Corranga]

We've only watched the first 3 (I think) films with her as we felt they get a bit darker from Order onwards.  She loved them, though what she understood I don't really know.

She hasn't sat through that many films, especially ones with real people in, so I guess that says something.  Her favourite film is My Neighbor Totoro, she's not going to grow up with the normal selection of crap kids films (hopefully, famous last words, etc!).

 

I started reading the first book to her, but she's definitely too young for that at the moment, and got bored.  I'm really looking forward to that time though.  She's heard bits of the audiobooks too as my wife always plays them in our kitchen - well, until her iPod HDD gave up the ghost.

 

We did the studio tour when they were filming part of fantastic beasts in the neighbouring yard, I have photos of her running towards me and me picking her up as I try to do the wizards duel wand thing   We are taking my mother in law who I mentioned before, introducing the books, so that will give it a different spin too.

 

[sprite]

On 09/10/2017 at 19:03, Stigweard said:

It makes sense and because Vol de la mort in French means flight of death, so I understand why but a little help from the start would have been nice Miss Rowling. Finding out ive been doing it wrong for 20 years is a shock to the system ha.

 

4 months later I find the Harry Potter thread.

 

The other thing though is that in Latin, the name works as well, and in Latin mort definitely has a ‘T’ pronounced.

 

vol is effectively “I wish”

de meaning “away from”

and mort, of course, referring to “death” as in post mortem

 

I do think in Cursed Child it became a stylistic choice that Rowling has backed.  Whilst the story is said to be canon, since it wasn’t fully written by her I feel that there’s a bit of poetic licence going on that she’s supported.  There’s certain plot points that I’m not sure ever would’ve been in a “true” book.

 

That said, I loved every minute and it felt nothing short of epic.  I saw the original West End cast (though a stand-in Scorpius) and it was brill.  My favourite actor was the one Playing Harry

 

Ive got three of the books in Afrikaans as well to help me learn the language, since I know them inside out

 

 

[Luseth]

I grew up with these books, so did the wife (I think she has first edition copies of all of them?).

 

The books were great in that they grew up in maturity with us. The first one I was in year 3 at school and the teacher used to read them out every Friday afternoon to us. As our reading ability grew the books developed for more of a mature audience. In fact even my dad read the later books (both my parents went up to Asda to pick up a copy for all of us of the last book I think, so 5 of them, though my brother never read his )

[sprite]

I’ve got a very fond memory of my mum taking me to Waterstones for a midnight opening for Order of the Phoenix.  I was 17/18  

[neverendingcircles]

This will always be the greatest book series ever. The characters are so rich in depth, and the classic good vs evil is done to perfection. I can't wait for a movie version of The Cursed Child!

[Mr Cochese]

Welcome to RLLMUK, JK.

[Danster]

On 31/01/2018 at 08:26, Luseth said:

I grew up with these books, so did the wife (I think she has first edition copies of all of them?).

 

 

You might want to check....

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/how-to-tell-if-your-old-copies-of-harry-potter-are-worth-up-to-40000-a6897756.html

 

[Illyria]

45 minutes ago, Danster said:

 

You might want to check....

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/how-to-tell-if-your-old-copies-of-harry-potter-are-worth-up-to-40000-a6897756.html

 

 

For a second there I got excited about my American edition of Sorcerer's Stone, but it's 1999 not 1998. Damnit! Also it's in well-read condition so no one would pay shit for it anyways. Also I think I am too attached to it to give it away, ever. Imagine having one of those first editions in mint condition though... rich over night! 

[Stig]

Well, that's book 1 done. Been reading them to my daughter. We're doing the book and then movie combo. Loving getting to re-read them whilst also introducing my daughter to the Potter world.

[Illyria]

Ugh, living my dream.

 

Maybe I'll read it to my cats one day.

[charley farley]

On 10/09/2018 at 21:01, Stigweard said:

Well, that's book 1 done. Been reading them to my daughter. We're doing the book and then movie combi. Loving getting to re-read them whilst also introducing my daughter to the Potter world.

 

Doing the same at the moment. Finished HBP reading it to my two last week. 

 

I discovered Philosophers Stone when I was about 22 and gave it a try. Liked it without loving it, but I was hooked. Ripped through that and COS in a week just days before Azkaban came out and from then I was a preorder, pick up at 8am and the Friday booked off work to pile through it that day and over the weekend.

 

They’re my favourite fictional thing (like anything including series of films, books, TV etc) and it’s been amazing going through them for me the 4th time with the kids, seeing it through their eyes. The gasps and shocked looks I got from ‘He turned around. It wasn’t Snape. It wasn’t even Voldemort... It was Quirrell.’ and having the kids asking questions and discussing their theories about who the Half-Blood Prince is, then the shock when it’s revealed. Since finishing HBP they’ve been questioning me daily about R.A.B. 

 

I think one of the reasons it’s so well loved is it’s got such a lot of heart. The whole thing about everyone having the capacity for good and evil in them, but what you actually choose to do being what’s important, being able to be a good person despite having to go through what HP goes through both during and before the books, the importance of friendship and of having people around you who care about you and look out for you and how all that can define how someone deals with loss.

 

It has a remarkable number of moral points in it and all of them positive.

[SeanR]

peak buzzfeed...

 

 

[Dudley]

No-one show that guy dinnerladies.

[Boothjan]

Started reading this to my 8 year old daughter today.

 

I don't think I've re-read the first 4 books, so it's the first time I've read them in nearly 2 decades. I really hope she likes them! 

[Pete]

I read these when I was 15, even though it was very uncool. I thought they were beneath me but by the third book I was completely hooked. While it's full of tropes the world building and detail are superb. The world opens up with each book and it's full of clever call backs and very satisfying twists and turns. 

 

Great way to learn a language! I might try it with French.

[Dudley]

I'd actually recommend even if you've not seen the films, or like me only saw a couple of them, visiting the studio tour.

 

I've been twice as gifts for my mother and Mrs Dudley who certainly have both seen all the films and it's still impressive, both as a demonstration of how you go about making movies in general and also about realising the books, something that almost works better if you've never seen the films and then find yourself standing in literal Diagon Alley.

 

They've done a hell of a lot of work around it too, they've got a lot of the sets there too, a huge bunch of the props (How they did most of the really clever stuff is explained in video by Warwick Davis and the guys who built it) and you can even walk across what I insisted on calling "The inexpertly constructed bridge".  And if you have kids they've even got setups allowing them to be filmed flying a broomstick against a green screen and practice wand moves directed by the guy who came up with them.

 

And for sheer scale, this is probably worth not knowing before you go in but I was blown away by

 

 

 

The full size model they used for all the castle flybys.  The entirety of Hogwarts in 1:24 scale, it's fucking massive and an incredible creation, you can walk right around it and see the whole thing.

 

[Illyria]

I've been to the Harry Potter exhibition that moves around the world and shows off a lot of sets and costumes, creatures and all that, which was already very impressive but I cannot WAIT to one day do the Studio Tour. That world is simply my favourite world