matt_doyle

So, my sister-in-law, dragon_of_doom , alerted me that there's a Harry Potter Readalong going on from September through December, and I thought that I'd take part.  You know, in a methodical, organized fashion so typical of my endeavors. 

This last weekend I read both Sorcerer's Stone and Deathly Hallows, sometimes both in the same sitting, alternating chapters.  Oops.

A four-month readalong is a strange thing for me, given that I can read even the weightier volumes in the series in six hours and that, being unemployed, I have time enough to do so.  So I think what I want to do as I re-read the series (probably about once a month or so?) is take a variety of different looks at it.  One of the things I noticed during my simul-read this weekend is just how many shout-outs or callbacks to Sorcerer's Stone are in Deathly Hallows.  The two books are tied very closely together -- perhaps moreso than any two successive volumes in the series.

As I go back and readthrough again, I think I'm going to begin by looking at three things:

1) Untold stories I want to hear.  There are a lot of them, ranging from worldbuilding I'm curious about to characters I'd love to see more of, to off-stage events which appear just as compelling as what's foregrounded.  Many or even most of these will have fanfic written for them, of course, and if I call out something like that and you've read the fic, please link me!

Alternately, perhaps you and I, oh fiendslist, will be inspired to write more fuic.  Whichever.

2) Hidden connections.  Gringotts in SS as foreshadowing for Gringotts in DH is perhaps the most obvious example, but I want to strip this series down to the skeleton, and see how neat all that substructure looks.  What was obviously pasted on late in the game?  What seems clearly foreordained since the beginning?  What linkages, themes, resonances, and what have you stand out?

3) Worldbuilding and its ramifications.  JKR is not known for stunning consistency in this area, especially where math is concerned, but all the most fascinating fannish essays I have seen are ones which extrapolate the unseen parts of the Wizarding World from the parts we do see, and then explain how they might work in a fashion which is canonically consistent.  I'll write some of thee essays myself, or link to the more definitive ones I have read when they seem relevant.

I'll probably do no more than one or two posts a week on the issue, but Harry Potter has been such a big part of my life for so long, I'm sure it can keep me busy.

That'll be the first essay, sometime later: Harry Potter and me.