Did anyone read it? A friend turned me on to the series a few years ago and I just finished the 6th book yesterday...not too bad, but I felt it seemed rushed (the writing, that is).

We have it. I haven't read it yet, but I will.

Have it, read it in 6 hours, love it. Best yet. Can't wait for the next one. I can't believe she killed him off, though! How could she!!! And the Half Blood Prince, THAT was unexpected.

See I thought it was a predictable, trite, and overly derivative.

All of her books follow a similar, if not nearly exact, plot skeleton. You start with Harry at home. He gets "broken out" of his home at the Dursley's, he meets up with his friends and tells them of some new plot. They discuss the plot for a while and then the books slows to a near grind. This is where quidditch takes up a LOT of time. Eventually they win the big match and it's back to the main plot. There's always a twist (she tries dilligently to point you in the wrong direction) and Harry ends up the hero...but ultimately loses someone. This fills him with anger, confusion, and just enough inner fire to put him through to the next book.

Don't get me wrong, the books are entertaining to a point. There are plenty of better writers than Rowling, but Rowling has tapped into a generation of readers (both young and old) with a fantasy world that plays backdrop to a mystery novel.

I love it...stood in line for the book to go on sale and went to the Harry Potter festival hel that night by the book store...they had a Diagon Alley set up and I got my fortune told by Professor Trelawney...very cool.

I got my signed copy of the book...signed by the illustrator that is...but cool nonetheless.

Dont have it yet...must get book!!!!!!!

I'm a big fan of the series, got it Saturday, finished it Sunday. I like how she's developing the characters and also her writing style at the same time. It's a very interesting process to observe from a "literary" sort of standpoint. And the books are just plain great

Honestly, I feel that that "skeleton" gives the book some familiarity. It's a form that is part of her style, and is almost necessary considering that the main characters are in school, so everything follows the cyclical nature of the school year. Very interesting plot developments, I thought. I'm waiting for my mom to finish it so I can discuss all of my theories with her

By-the-by, the new movie looks pretty cool. I'm interested to see how the new director turns out. I liked the last one as an improvement over that Chris Columbus guy, but we'll see.

I'm not saying the book wasn't entertaining, but it's certainly not a classic, either. I was expecting more from the book...

Oh, and I wholeheartedly disagree that she needs to stick that basic plot scheme. While she may need to adhere to the student's yearly schedule, she definitely doesn't ahve to utilize the same exact plot devices over and over...

Cried last book, cried even more this book. J.K. Rowling knows how to write!!! As much as I tried to predict things, those two major events just came out of nowhere. And that cave scene... wow. It was unbelievable, so emotional... *sigh*

just got it about a hundred pages in now