by Travis
What were you doing at this time last year? You were reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I remember dropping Sophia off with Tricia’s mom and heading to the park on two hours’ sleep (I had read until 5am), and then reading all day long.
Today marks the anniversary of the release of Deathly Hallows, a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Remember the excitement, anticipation, those stupid spoilers, “Deathly Hallows Week” here at The Hog’s Head (then SoG) and other sites? We’ll never have another experience quite like that one.
So let’s all jump into the Pensieve: What were you doing on this day last year, and in the week prior? Looking back on it a year later, any new thoughts or realizations about that period of time?
Other stuff happening on the anniversary of Deathly Hallows:
- John Granger asks what everyone is doing to celebrate today and Harry’s birthday in 11 days.
- HP Alliance launches an 11-day campaign to get folks to quit thinking like Muggles. Their podcast Potterwatch (great name for a podcast) introduces the 11 Days. I met Andrew Slack at Portus and had a very pleasant conversation with him. He realizes the importance of Story for personal transformation leading to societal transformation.
Lily Luna on 
Arabella Figg on 
R. Ross on 
Loading ...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I was reading all day to my three youngest children, Timothy, Anastasia, and Zossima. I was also wondering how long it would take me to sort out all the alchemical, Christian, and literature references (answer: I still haven’t) — and how I was going to make a respectable or just coherent set of presentations at Portus in less than two weeks.
As usual, I was disappointed that almost all of my plot-point predictions had not panned out. Certainly the evident alchemical structures of the story and Christian content, though, were ample compensation and satisfaction after I stopped blushing from the gaffed guesses.
And I started writing out possible threads for HogPro. By the “day after” I had 25 going, soon to grow to 30, and the conversation was fast, furious, and for the most part, fun and edifying. I had given a 2 and 1/2 hour talk before the midnight release and then read until all of my trio slept (4 am?) so it was a sleep deprived weekend (they were up early!).
But as Travis wrote, it was a golden once-in-a-lifetime experience to store away to keep us warm in harder and less pleasant times. Thanks to all my Hog’s Head friends, especially Mr. Prinzi, for the fun we had the weeks before and after DH-Day.
I was reading it last year at this time. Pretty much spent every free moment reading it, finishing it in 23 hours. (Had to sleep at one point.)
In the week prior… I had gone to view the Order of the Phoenix film with a friend. After that, I do not remember. I do remember standing in line outside Wal-Mart around midnight though. It was all very exciting.
Off topic, but I love the names of your children John.
I took my eldest daughter (who dressed up for the part) and picked up the book. Then there was a period of intense negotiation with my wife over who would read it when. But then she snaffled it while I wasn’t looking and I couldn’t get near it until 2am. Our bookmarks leapfrogged through the book and whoever was in front wasn’t allowed to say anything.
I got my revenge when the car needed a service so I took the book with me. Lo and behold there was a woman reading it in the waiting room too! When she saw me she wanted to talk about the OotP movie. Yes yes whatever just let me read!
I was glad I read the last few chapters in privacy. No good seeing a grown man tearing up over a ‘children’s’ book!
In the week leading up to the Deathly Hallows release, I was at day camp, and just hoping that no one there had been listening to the news or reading any of the leaked bits of the book. And we were getting rained on and rained out, which doesn’t happen often, even though we are in the Puget Sound. But this was one time I was really glad that our last day was so rain-soaked. It was too wet to even consider staying for the extended day, and the overnight with the older kids was out of the question.
Which meant that I could put on dry clean clothes and go wait at Barnes and Noble for my book at midnight and not feel guilty about leaving day camp early. Yay for the rain!
I read the book straight through with only a few stops for snacks and meals and church. And it was a good thing I read most of it at home–I wasn’t just tearing up at the end, but crying through big portions of the book. I just remember feeling so satisfied with everything that Rowling did with ending the series–and so relieved that Severus Snape was on the right side after all, as I had been convinced since the middle of the 5th book.
Pat
Ow, it was so much fun. I had just arrived three weeks earlier for my year in New Orleans. I had contacted the local independent book store a couple of weeks before I arrived and found out that they were indeed having a release party. I went down as soon as I could and chatted to the owner couple (and avid Potter fans) for a long time. At the end I casually remarked that I could lend a hand at the release if they wanted help and they immediately jumped on it.
All personnel and volunteers were dressed up as characters and I got to be Irma Pince (one needs a librarian to keep an eye on all those brawny kids and make sure they didn’t have their greasy fingers all over the books !) It was wonderful walking around in a cloak and black bun wig, being nasty to visitors together with Snape. A lot of activities were set around the neighbourhood – even an amazing Quidditch game with brooms and balls galore – and the actual midnight chime was exhilarating.
When I got home I did sleep first, ’cause I was exhausted. I started reading in the morning and took my time over the weekend to finish it. In the end it was an experience I wouldn’t have wanted to miss and I’m glad I took my time reading.
I was sneaking in snatches of the book at work. I had a system where I would hide the book under my schematics and blueprints. I had a cutout ‘window’ in the blueprints so I could expose one line of text at a time….I really wanted to read the book, and I’m a slow reader.
A year ago yesterday I made sure I was up early on a Saturday for once to make it to the post office during the fifteen or so minutes they seem to be open on Saturday mornings just in case book wasn’t in my box. But it was. Spent all day reading it.
Unlike most, I’m not averse to spoilers so I did see some earlier in the week. None of the spoilers affected my enjoyment of reading the book in hand.
For an anniversary celebration I started listening to the Dale version of DH as I was traveling yesterday & today. Have just got to the part where Harry goes to Umbridge’s office in the MOM.
Just some notes on the listening: Dale, as I’ve said before, does great on the Prologue readings. Hearing The Libation Bearers sent shivers up my spine & hearing the quote from Penn brought me to tears. Don’t like the way Dale does a lot of his female voices. The voice for Hermione makes it sound like she’s always got a lisp & that she’s always speaking in a pleading, wheedling tone. The voice for Luna was just so out of character for that character I thought. But on a positive note, the reading of Kreacher’s Tale again brought tears to my eyes. One of the best written parts of the book, in my opinion.
My husband and I spent the first part of the day fighting over our one copy, until my mom saved the day. She brought us a second copy and took our three kids with her so we could read in peace. (Actually, she may have taken them out of concern for their well-being, as we weren’t looking like the most engaged parents at the time.) We walked around like zombies after finishing it, and then started the “digestion” process – which we’re still doing!
I am a little late. But this time on the 21st of July I was sitting on a train reading Deathly Hallows. And there were at least three others reading it there. One was an entire family, reading out loud. (But not so loud I heard them.)
I waited outside Toys ‘R Us until midnight, then walked in. A lot of people were in costume. I picked up my copy, sat in the car and opend the book, then shook my head and drove home. And then started to read. I think I put it away around 3 or 4am. I mostly remember a feeling of stillness, of being at the heart of a pool of silence that nothing could penentrate – despite making meals and doing laundry and other chores and spending time with my family. It was all background, and then I went back to reading. I also remember not wanting to rush it (as I usually do with books I love) although I didn’t succeed, and actually jumped from plot point to plot point. Until I came to chapters 34 and 35.
There had been quite a build up to the book – a lot of it at this web site. Nothing, I had thought, could live up to that build up. But there it was. Better than anything we had imagined. One of the few times in life when reality trumped expectation. I was on a Potter high for days. And remarkably, every time I read those two chapters, the feeling returns.
Hello! human growth hormone human growth hormone