Bees, Order of the Phoenix, and Incredibly Slow Writing

[persephone_kore]

First of all: YAY! I checked and my bees do indeed have a queen! -- Or at least they have the beginnings of a normal brood pattern, if starting out oddly off center. This implies the presence of a queen, though I didn't spot her. (Hate that, though. I always worry I'll squish her or something. Yes, I know, I'm paranoid.)



No, mine hasn't come yet. But I ended up spending around six hours in Borders today, and for about the last two and a half they had a restock in of OotP, so I absconded to a corner and settled down with it. (This led to some purely personal amusement over Harry's reasons for lying in the flowerbed.) And when one considers that about the first bit of the series I ever read was the GoF graveyard scene (a couple years before I got around to the rest of it, but still), one may perhaps fail to be surprised that I have gotten myself spoiled for the rest from sources I consider trustworthy. (And some others.)

General impressions of the book that I thought about while reading it:

Itchy.

And a bit scattered. I think that's Harry's POV coming through; the sense of disconnection I've seen someone complain about since, I suspect, may be partly him and partly that it somehow seems more obvious when he's being irrational now. Or maybe I'm analyzing more as I go.

And I fail to be surprised that some people find it feels depressing and unfinished. It's The Empire Strikes Back. So to speak.

Though Alan told me about the Dumbledore-Voldemort duel and I am having, for some reason, Yoda-flashbacks.

Rereading High Wizardry apparently causes me to think excessively in Star Wars metaphors.

And I liked the Sorting Song in that we now have grounds for saying that the Founders were all friends at first, and I rather liked that it looks like it was everybody quarreling with everybody (which does indeed sound familiar...). I was somewhat annoyed that we now also arguably have canon for Hufflepuff being made up of leftovers, but then, we also have the previous statements of valued qualities and it's somewhat consistent for Helga not to play favorites (and/or to recognize the value in people who get otherwise overlooked!). I still maintain that the Hat has to go largely on shared values rather than actual defining accomplishments or whatnot. It Sorts eleven-year-olds. ;) I am neutral but amused on the Hat's expressing misgivings about its purpose in existence.



And I tried to work on Ashes while eating lunch, and accomplished approximately three sentences. Sigh. Of course, holding a bagel in one hand probably didn't help.

Comments

[ymfaery]

Are you rereading High Wizardry to get ready for the later books?

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

Not exactly... I got to read "A Wizard Alone" recently and have ordered an omnibus of the first five, which is all very nice, though. I just had some time to play and felt like it. :)

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

I would say Two Towers more than Empire Strikes Back, but yup, I had the same impression and was not really surprised about it.

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if I've ever actually, well, stopped after Two Towers. (The movie doesn't count that way when I can perfectly well go and pick up the books any time I want.) That might be why it doesn't really come to mind in the same context.