to think that the Harry Potter are timeless literature and the films are woefully miscast?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Inflammatory title to draw you in. I hope. I just fancied some HP chat.

I'm re-watching the films at the moment. Is it me or is there something old-ladyish about Alan Rickman's mouth? I realize I am thinking about this far too hard, and I know it's practically forbidden to speak ill of him on MN. But every time I see those films, I'm disappointed again that he just isn't as sexy as his voice.

I also think the Burrow looks all wrong to me. I love what they do with the reeds in the scene where Bellatrix taunts Harry and he and Ginny run after her. But I imagined the Burrow being rural and farmland-ish, with an overgrown garden around it - not plonked down in the middle of a marsh. Am I right?

What's your favourite bit of the films/books?

Exactly! Bastards.

Oh, yes, I love Dark is Rising. Actually, I'm very lucky because I discovered it as an adult. It makes me happy knowing there are still new things out there.

The descriptions of Christmas are just so perfect.

Have been warned off the film, though.

She wrote The Boggart and The Boggart and the Monster too, I loved those. I have a signed copy of the second one somewhere, all about the Loch Ness monster IIRC.

Wonder how long before they decide to do new films of the books with a new generation of actors? It would be good to see someone else as HP, I've loved watching the films with ds but almost all the 'child' actors were really poor.

And King of Shadows (you've got me googling her now!). I didn't realise that was her. That's a very good book too, with all bits of A Midsummer Night's Dream in it.

Ooh, that's a thought, route!

Although reading that, I'm feeling all defensive of the current films. I can't see them really shelling out that amount of money again, though, can you?

maryz - oh, yes, re-read. I love the so much.

King of Shadows is good, but not quite so magical as Dark is Rising.

Oh yes, moaning is all part of the fun! Like I say, I enjoy the films and have watched numbers 3 to 5 SO many times with ds, I think they stand up really well but I assume HP will have a similar place to Dickens and so the stories will be retold through film/tv and even radio many times.

That's another moan come to think of it...I really hate the way Stephen Fry narrates the audio books!

Yes, I don't like Stephen Fry.

Stephen Fry reads his own books well but not convinced he has the "range" for others.

Who would we recast to read?

Erm ... I'm probably thinking this cos I'm watching Bake-off on catch up, but Sue Perkins would be awesome.

It annoys me a bit that JKR is female, but (of course) we had to have a cosy male narrator.

I hate the way SF says 'your' in the audio books, it's too much like Pocoyo for me. (Which also drove me niuts) and MalFOY.

Actually, she'd only be awesome for the first three.

I do think that makes it tricky - I think SF was chosen before the later books were close to out, and probably people didn't know it was going to get quite so angsty.

Actually maybe I mean you're. Yes, thinking about it I do. Sounds like a tosser either way tbf.

I'm not wild on audiobooks as a whole. It takes about a million years to get through anything! Long car journeys, that's about it. And I'm always the one driving and tuning out for the interesting bits.

Ah. I shall try that.

We've just done a couple of looooong journeys and they've been a life saver tbh. I do actually love a couple of the Roald Dahl audio books, not ll of them, but one or two are excellent!

Maggie Smith to read the audio books?