Book Seven Title Revealed!

[Erestor Arcamen]

I got an email from Borders, they're taking preorders on................................................ .......

Harry Potter Book 7:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[Majimaune]

And I dont like the title.

Sorry but it just doesnt work for me. I'm one of those people who buys a book for the title and cover. If those arnt any good then the book is going to be bad...generally.

[Sarah]

In JK's case, however, it really doesn't matter what it's called. It could be called Harry Potter and the Purple Dancing Chickens and people would still buy it.

[Starbrow]

Oh Goody. Is that going to be book 8?:D

[chrysophalax]

Um...it HALLOWS, not HOLLOWS...which leads me to believe the final confrontation will take place on All Hallows. How appropriate!

[Eledhwen]

"Hallows" can mean any 'holy' place or date. All Hallows Day is, of course, November 1st, not October 31st, which is All Hallows Eve (Hallow E'en). November 2nd is All Souls Day. I think Christianity nicked both those dates from the pagan calendar (or maybe it was coincidence! there are only 365 days a year, and at least that many saints in the Latin church).

I looked at Hogwartsprofessor.com, where I can usually find some really meaty speculation (with intelectual grounding), but a redesign of the website has clobbered it

[Barliman Butterbur]

I got an email from Borders, they're taking preorders on................................................ .......

Harry Potter Book 7:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Whoa! That sounds dark indeed! PS: My preorder's in...

BTW: If you want the real goods on this, go to The Leaky Cauldron (http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/), which is the only site (besides her own official site (http://www.jkrowling.com/)) sanctioned by JK Rowling. And a BBC article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6210437.stm) says JKR "has hinted that tragedy awaits" in the final book, and also that "JK mentioned that Harry might be killed off and the general consensus seems to be that Harry is the final Horcrux and to ensure that Voldemort dies he will need to be sacrificed." :eek:

Barley

[Sarah]

This was confirmed by her in several interviews even before book 6 was published. Of course I'm still in denial about Dumbledore.

[Barliman Butterbur]

This was confirmed by her in several interviews even before book 6 was published. Of course I'm still in denial about Dumbledore.

I think a whole lot of people are in denial about it. Speaking as an ex-therapist, I would dearly love to have JK in for therapy in order to find out just how the circumstances of her first painful marriage and early life played out (if at all) in the writing of the whole saga. What fascinates are the first few books: charming, light, funny, endearing, clever, pulling in so many children of the world, as the beginning of an ever-faster downward-spinning spiral into darkness and horror, and especially how it is that these things which almost paralyze with terror must be worked out by a branded boy starting at age 11.

Barley

[Erestor Arcamen]

did she definately confirm that Harry is the final Horcruxe? i didnt hear this, and i mean why would Voldemort make Harry a Horcruxe if he wants to kill him so bad, wouldn't he just be destroying a piece of his own soul? Kind of stupid on old Voldy's part if you ask me.

[Majimaune]

I dont think Harry is a horcrux. It isnt possible.

[Sarah]

did she definately confirm that Harry is the final Horcruxe?

Whoops. Sorry I didn't specify.

She confirmed that Harry wouldn't survive the 7th book.

[Erestor Arcamen]

i agree with you there, we're on part 5 of a discussion on it on www.leakylounge.com

[Barliman Butterbur]

Whoops. Sorry I didn't specify.

She confirmed that Harry wouldn't survive the 7th book.

Sorry to disagree, she did no such thing! She was quoted via third party BBC article (see my Post #7) that he MIGHT be killed. What on earth would be the point of her giving away a spoiler like that???!!! The Leaky Lounge is just that — leaky! It's a fun place to chat, but it's also a hotbed breeding ground of wild over the top, 'round the bend, off the wall, off the rails, totally bonkers speculation that is totally without solid foundation. :eek:

There is a further BBC article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6196433.stm) in which she discusses how she has gone back to "cafe writing" — just as she did in the beginning — to finish the final book, fleshing out the germs of ideas that have been just waiting to be completed for the last twelve years.

(You will also find links to a 3.5 minute video, and four related stories just to the right of the main story on the BBC page — one of which contains this passage:

"Rowling has said two characters will perish in the final Harry Potter novel, but told her New York audience she was not looking forward to writing their deaths.

"'I didn't enjoy killing the character at the end of book six,' she said, 'but I had been planning that for years, so it wasn't quite as poignant as you'd imagine.

'I'd already done my grieving when I actually came to write it.'")

Barley

[Majimaune]

Thats very interesting Barly. I shall read the article when I have time but I dont right now (hence why this post is so short).

[Eledhwen]

Of course I'm still in denial about Dumbledore.I was discussing this with my son at Christmas, and he pointed out that there was no green flash as usually accompanies the deadly curse. I think he died, but when?

For some horse's mouth on the most recent TV interview, try here (http://www.mugglenet.com/mnnews/06262006/richandjudyjkr.shtml), or it's sliced up on YouTube (it's a long interview). For further sources, you need to search on Richard and Judy J K Rowling Interview.

[Eledhwen]

Another link.

I have found this website very interesting, as it has attracted the attention of scholars who have speculated on stuff I didn't have the foreknowledge to even think of. THIS LINK (http://hogwartsprofessor.com/?p=5#comment-73) is to the thread discussing the meaning of the title of book 7.

[Barliman Butterbur]

FIRST LOOK AT THE HP7 BOOK COVERS

The file showing the three friends is the UK cover, the other is the American cover.

Barley

[Majimaune]

Personly I like the American one.

[Noldor_returned]

I prefer the first one. It looks like the others I have, but if they combined them it could be so much better...

[Barliman Butterbur]

...my son...pointed out that there was no green flash as usually accompanies the deadly curse.

Wow! Do you suppose the old geezer had a trick up his sleeve? Or Rowling slipped? Quite an interesting observation!

Barley

[Majimaune]

I think it might have been a slip up. But still anything is possible.

[Noldor_returned]

Please please please let it be a slip-up. I don't think I can stand all the conspiracy theorists saying we were right Dumbledore wasn't dead nanananana.

[Wolfshead]

The file showing the three friends is the UK cover, the other is the American cover.
Do you get adult covers in the States? The ones we get here are much better than the other covers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/entertainment_enl_1175089753/img/1.jpg (on the left, obviously).

It's an interesting title and sounds quite sinister. Can't wait.

[Noldor_returned]

I feel so ripped off...that cover pwns all.

[Majimaune]

What is the difference between the adult and kids book other then the cover... NOTHING! Why have a different cover when one looks cooler then the other?

[Barliman Butterbur]

Do you get adult covers in the States? The ones we get here are much better than the other covers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/entertainment_enl_1175089753/img/1.jpg (on the left, obviously).

It's an interesting title and sounds quite sinister. Can't wait.

What are "adult covers?" Do they show the trio doing nasty things? :cool: As for the American covers (and the rest of the illustrations) at least, there is some understanding that all the art is done by Mary Grandpré. I think she and Rowling are friends. (And yes, the cover on the left is much better! It's much more in the spirit of the book, I would guess, as well.)

Barley

[Majimaune]

Well the adult covers just look cooler. They have nothing dirty on them.

[Wolfshead]

The adult covers are designed for adults who want to read the books (say for example, on their commute to work) and not look stupid reading a kids book with lots of colours on the front.

Apart from the cover there is absoloutely no difference at all.

I reckon the adult covers are much better than the stupid looking kids ones, so I now buy them instead.

[Eledhwen]

Really Barley!!!:rolleyes:

Maybe the covers are different in the US than the UK. I noticed this when I was reading the 5 books so far of the increasingly mis-named Symphony of Ages trilogy and was looking for book six. It seemed to be only available in the US, and the covers had the same bright comic-book style illustrations similar to those used on the children's HP editions, instead of the small cameo of a symbol from the story I have on the other books.

The subtlety of using a symbolic image on book covers came about in strength when, some while ago, Messrs Collins noted a significant drop in the sale of Agatha Christie novels. They commissioned market research, which began with focus groups to look at all aspects of the marketing. It quickly became very apparent that the respondents found the grizly depictions of murder on the book covers off-putting - they made Christie's novels look like all the other tripe being churned out. Even before the research was complete, Collins commissioned new illustrations depicting a single symbolic item from the story; eg: a plain pair of broken spectacles. Sales immediately picked up.

And so it goes on. The children's edition depicts a dramatic scene from the story. The adult edition depicts a single item, symbolic of the content on a plain background.

***************

And here's a little extra for you. I worked out what the fly-leaf had written on it from the illustrations on Amazon, and I've typed it out below:-

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionsip of the Burrow and follow, without fear or hesitation, the inexorable path laid out for him.

In this final, seventh instalment of the Harry Potter series, J K Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again.


Amazon's synopsis says:

Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfil the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with.
(the 2nd paragraph is the same as the flyleaf.

I wonder how JKR likes being called a "mistress of storytelling"? I think it's like calling a female chess grandmaster a grandmistress; vaguely insulting.

[Barliman Butterbur]

This business of "adult covers" is something that must occur only in GB. Over here in the Colonies, it's been the "kid" covers all along, and the adults buy the books with no problems or reservations whatever. It's a non-issue.

Barley

[Wolfshead]

This business of "adult covers" is something that must occur only in GB. Over here in the Colonies, it's been the "kid" covers all along, and the adults buy the books with no problems or reservations whatever. It's a total non-issue.
Well, that just shows how far behind the times the Colonies are. You must learn from the mother country ;)

Also, the American Scholastic covers are ghastly compared to even the kids covers over here.

[Barliman Butterbur]

Well, that just shows how far behind the times the Colonies are. You must learn from the mother country ;)

Au contraire, mon ami! Here in the Colonies we have evolved past the need for making such childish distinctions! Saves money, too! :D :p

Barley

[Noldor_returned]

Well the adult covers just look cooler. They have nothing dirty on them.
I was so nearly tempted to add a link to Daniel Radcliffe in Equis. That would definitely be an adult cover.

[Majimaune]

I was so nearly tempted to add a link to Daniel Radcliffe in Equis. That would definitely be an adult cover.Or in Extras.........

[Noldor_returned]

lol yeah...but as to the topic, that was the first "adult" cover I remember seeing. Are the others better?

[Majimaune]

Well their better then the 'Kid' covers but you know....*trails off and hopes NR knows what he means*

[Eledhwen]

Au contraire, mon ami! Here in the Colonies we have evolved past the need for making such childish distinctions! Saves money, too! :D :p

BarleyPlainly, we Brits have yet to learn that you can't judge a book by its cover. It's just as well, because I like the adult covers, eg: Half Blood Prince (http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0747584664.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS500_.jpg) and Deathly Hallows (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/0747591067/sr=1-2/qid=1176110889/ref=dp_image_text_0/203-8317656-3541526?ie=UTF8&n=266239&s=books&qid=1176110889&sr=1-2)

[Noldor_returned]

I see what you mean. There's something about the adult ones which make it seem less childish. Maybe it's the lack of cartoon drawings, but it has a sort of darker feel.

[Barliman Butterbur]

I was so nearly tempted to add a link to Daniel Radcliffe in Equis. That would definitely be an adult cover.

You mean like this?

http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry, I chickened out!:eek:

Barley

[Eledhwen]

I see what you mean. There's something about the adult ones which make it seem less childish. Maybe it's the lack of cartoon drawings, but it has a sort of darker feel.My own impression is that when a scene from the book is depicted on the cover, one tries to work out what's going on and may make assumptions about the story that make the book less attractive (unless, like Harry Potter, a reputation goes before it); but when a single item is used to symbolise the story, one is intrigued and the curiosity, thus whetted, begs to read the story.

I ordered mine from Waterstones (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=1018), cos there's a freebie with it (with an attitude like that, maybe I should have ordered the children's version)

[Majimaune]

I ordered mine from Waterstones (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=1018), cos there's a freebie with it (with an attitude like that, maybe I should have ordered the children's version)Maybe. I dont have to order. Neither do you NR. My sister works in a bookshop so she can get all family and friends books without ordering. No discount on them unfortunately.

[Noldor_returned]

You mean like this?

http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry, I chickened out!:eek:

Barley
I know...it's one thing to say you'll do it, but another to provide a link to something which violates the rules. Strangely enough, I clickedon the link even though I knew what would come up.

[Majimaune]

Strange enough I clicked on it too.

[Eledhwen]

So did I :p You never know...

This is like when everyone in the house admits they've read the pre-school comic someone left in the bathroom.

[Majimaune]

It is a bit. Funny if it actually was a link though.