The Shrine

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>We don't have a book section, so I figure this is the best place: Read the Harry Potter series. It's an excellent fantasy story, I think most people here will like it.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Yep. But I'm too busy. So can you record an unabridged audio for me? With the voice acting and sound affects, please.</div>

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>When I can actually enjoy reading again, maybe. Still working my way up to it. Started with Bruce Campbell's autobiography, it's a light read. Going very slowly thanks to school...</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>I'm one of those in the minority I think. I honestly could just not connect with the characters in those books.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>You can go buy that - not sure about the sound effects, though.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>How many have you read?</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>I read the first two while teaching up North. Kids loved them however, and it definately got them interested in reading. I think I've been ruined by Kay, Stevenson and Gemmel.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>Trust me, read the third. The first two didn't do as much for me.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt Dominion; text-align: left; '>that just means the Devil's words have no sway over your soul-- be relieved, my friend, for you are still free</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>LOL, you have no idea what else I've read Tess. Books can influence thinking yes, but I would argue that Harry Potter is no more or less harmful than reading the Old Testament.</div>

<div style='font: 12pt "Cooper Black"; text-align: left; '>most series authors will introduce things early and then refer to it in later books making the reader go, "oh yeah i remember her mentioning that (person, place, etc)."

Rowling, on the other hand, just makes stuff up on the spot every book and its annoying. For example, in the latest book there are these tests called O.W.L.S that 5th years have to take and she makes it a big big deal like the SAT's or something. Only thing is, why has she never mentioned these tests before in any of the other books? There were older characters in the last books that would have been in their 5th year even if Harry and friends were not. A good author would have had one of the Weasley brothers mention the O.W.L.S. in like the 2nd or 3rd book in one sentence or so and then have Harry and friends deal with them in the 5th. She did successfully do this call back with the room where D.A. practice their Dark Arts but this is the ONLY time i think i can remember her doing it. There are also, now, things called N.E.W.T.S. in the 7th year that she just springs up, i'm sure in the 7th book she will use them again, but its still funny how in 4 years at this school this is the first time the reader hears about this stuff when they are considered so important.

While she did grow Harry up in the 5th book, she did it too fast. He is all teenager in this one, attitude and all, while in the 4th he showed no signs of it whatsoever, where is the progression? She also still uses the "You're going to get expelled!" thing too much. By now Harry should have been expelled like 800 times, you would think he would learn that he can do what he wants and wont get expelled, but instead she still makes him always scared of getting kicked out of Hogwarts.

All in all, though, i do like reading them. I guess i am being nit-picky.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt Dominion; text-align: left; '>the Old Testament wasn't written with the blood of the damned by the hand of Beazelbub</div>

<div style='font: 11pt Dominion; text-align: left; '>and yes, I know I slaughtered the spelling :P</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>She mentioned the O.W.L.S. in at least the third book, maybe earlier. Same with N.E.W.T.S. She mentions them, but they're not made out to be a big deal because they're not a big deal to Harry and his friends. Did you stress about the SATs when you were in sixth grade? Same thing.

<i>By now Harry should have been expelled like 800 times, you would think he would learn that he can do what he wants and wont get expelled, but instead she still makes him always scared of getting kicked out of Hogwarts.</i>

That I can understand, and I rather like. Harry thinks like a 15-year-old. He doesn't have the perspective to realize that he's pretty much in the clear - even if the Ministry wanted to expel him, Dumbledore would prevent that. But Harry doesn't realize this. I think that's pretty realistic. He's only 15, he doesn't understand how beauracratic systems work.

Rowlings is an excellent storyteller, but she's not quite as good of a writer. She has some great lines, but she's not as much of a wordsmith as some other authors. She writes scenes which play out superbly, but she never has sentences that make me sit back and appreciate her word crafting. (Which I do with authors like Bill Bryson, Tom Robbins and Douglas Adams.)</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>I don't get the Christian groups that dislike the "occult" aspect of the books. Harry Potter isn't that different from Star Wars.</div>

<div style='font: italic bold 14pt ; text-align: center; '>Man do I wish I had a gun so I could shoot everyone who is past middle school age who says that</div>

<div style='font: 10pt "EngraversGothic BT", "Copperplate Gothic Light", "Century Gothic"; text-align: left; '>Harry Potter's got nothing to any real occult books.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>Have you read them? Rowling said in an interview she is not writing kid's books. She's writing a story that happens to have kids as main characters, and hence, insterests kids. But after and during book three, the series becomes darker. People die and bad stuff happens.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>Well those are pretty harmless too.</div>

<div style='font: italic bold 14pt ; text-align: center; '>I have read them and I can say yhey are kids books....read something sophisticated rather than childish crap. By the way gray that erikson is fucking awesome. I just finished the first book and damn....</div>

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>"The Hobbit" was on the childish side.....then it got darker. =8^)</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>And Tolkien wrote it specifically for his grandchildren, not grown-ups.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Yeah....but it got darker. He couldn't help himself. 8^)</div>

<div style='font: 10pt "EngraversGothic BT", "Copperplate Gothic Light", "Century Gothic"; text-align: left; '>Well, every book is technically "harmless".</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Have you read Hans Christian Anderson, or Brothers Grimm? Some of that stuff is incredibly dark too.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt ; text-align: left; '>heh, but then it got darker...heh....hehe....haha..bwahaha. :P I just find that very funny for some reason.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>You just like laughing at me. 8^)</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>Pull the stick out of your ass. I read what interests me. For the past two weeks I read fantasy books. Pretty much everything else for the past year has been a book on science. I wouldn't be surprised if I read more in a few months than you do in a year.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>I read the Hobbit and the Grey (Gandalf wannabe) said it was meant as a children's book. But we likes it, my precious! We likes it!</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Lol, I realize looking at what I wrote that it sounds like a criticism. It's not supposed to be, I thoroughly enjoyed 'There and Back Again, a Hobbit's tale' very much as well ;)</div>

<div style='font: 12pt "Cooper Black"; text-align: left; '>no shit, i like to read fun stuff inbtween what you would call 'adult' books and i dont consider that bad, kiss my ass Derith.</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Have you read all of Roald Dahl's books? Damn good, and very funny to boot. BFG is one of my fav books even today.</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Look, Derith may put his foot in his mouth at times but come on. His mother is actually a Librarian, he reads almost as much as I do.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt verdana; text-align: left; padding: 0% 10% 0% 10%; '>It's been a long time since I picked any of those up. Matilda was my favorite.</div>

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Many toes have been crushed by large books, ya know.</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Did you know that at one time or another, almost all his books were taken out of US school libraries?</div>

<div style='font: 12pt "Cooper Black"; text-align: left; '>yeah i heard about that, people need to fucing grow up, i love Dahl... Charlie and CF, Glass Elevator, Henry Sugar, Witches, BFG, Matilda....</div>

<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Judging from the Return of the King and a lot of Tolkiens earlier works, he's a huge fan of Darkness, his first story ever, Beren and Luthien which he wrote during WWI was extremely dark.</div>

<div style='font: 14pt "Sans Serif"; text-align: justify; padding: 0% 15% 0% 15%; '>True,but it wasn't dark for the time. We live in an age where some people think Bugs Bunny cartoons are too violent, so I guess context is important.</div>

<div style='font: 10pt "EngraversGothic BT", "Copperplate Gothic Light", "Century Gothic"; text-align: left; '>No, it really is funny, in a "laughing at you" type of way. "Yeah....but it got darker. He couldn't help himself." Like he's taking a light slider switch and turning down the light. "Oh shit...it got darker!"</div>

<div style='font: 10pt "EngraversGothic BT", "Copperplate Gothic Light", "Century Gothic"; text-align: left; '>Dahl? Isn't a cousin of his or something a sci-fi writer? I don't reconize the...oh, I thinking of Frederik Pohl. N/m.</div>