Peg Kerr&#39;s Journal

Thanks for the tip. I'm headed over there now.

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That's it? Feh.

Is there anyplace where I can read a paragraph-long plot summary?

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buymeaclue.livejournal.com

lol

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Wasn't the book released this past weekend? Do I have the schedule wrong?

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Nope. It's the movie that came out last week. The book is coming out at midnight this coming Friday (i.e., Friday/Saturday night).

But the problem is that the book has now been shipped and so unscrupulous people who have been able to get their hands on a copy (i.e., I suppose people like bookstore employees) have started to post spoilers to ruin it for fans, just like what happened last time. Some started posting these spoilers on LJ today.

I had the book spoiled for me three days before the last book was available for sale last time. I am determined to not let it happen to me this time.

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jimhines.livejournal.com

Ah ... I wondered about that. I should have realized it had already shipped. Someone posted a link to the last chapter online, and I was trying to figure out how that could possibly be the real chapter.

Jackasses. Besides, anyone who's read the books at all closely knows that Snape turns into Darth Vader, and Dobby is secretly a Smurf.

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moony

Someone on my flist said there's already copies in her Barnes & Noble.

I have to say, I'm REALLY glad I don't work for a bookstore right now.

*sits on her hands*

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Why? Why would you not want to read the book if you had access to it? Is there a benefit to waiting for release date?

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moony

Well, there's the whole getting fired/possible jail time for cracking the pallet before the designated time. But there's also the whole I-want-to-read-it-at-the-same-time-as-my-friends thing, too. Being a part of something like this is, to me, 50% of the fun of Harry Potter.

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Interesting.

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Why would you not want to read the book if you had access to it?

That's quite a bit different from "why wouldn't you want to read the book if you have access to it and then go and ruin the fun for thousands of strangers (who never did anything to hurt you) who only want to read the book the way that it's meant to be read (with the surprise unspoiled)?"

That's what happened last time. Someone posted a photograph of the critical page, with the critical phrase underlined, with no cut tag (so that there was no chance to avoid it: you took in the information with a mere glance), in found_objects, a non-Harry Potter community (so people weren't in the least bit expecting it), days before the book was due to be released, in order to spitefully and deliberately spoil the reading experience for as many people as possible.

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Right. I remember the scan of the critical page. That impressed me: it's one thing to post a spoiler, but it's waaaaay better to post proof. (I'd be even more impressed if someone faked the typeface, layout, and text and posted a fake spoiler page.)

And yes, I understand that the only possible motivation to do this is malice.

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But how do you know if a "spoiler" is real or not? Any idiot can make up a handful of plot points and post them on a webpage somewhere. Real or not? You don't know. (The person who posted a scan of several pages was more clever, of course.) So, if you don't know a spoiler is real, then you don't know if it is a spoiler.

I guess the real problem is that if the spoiler consists of seveal sentences and, as you're reading, you notice that the first few are exactly correct.

Interesting.

In any case, I'd love to hear a plot summary after you've read it. Your plot summary would probably be more interesting than the book itself, since you'll provide context as well as plot.

Good luck staying clean for the week.

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Here's my spoiler:

After some trouble with the irritating Dursleys, Harry arrives at Hogwarts. A new Defense Against the Dark Arts techer causes difficulties for him and his pals, Ron and Hermione. Some new magical objects and magical animals play a role in the looming threat. Quidditch happens, perhaps offstage or not very importantly. Christmas happens. There's a showdown with Voldemort, in which Snape proves ones and for all that he's one of the good guys. Harry triumphs. Somebody important dies, possibly several people. The end.

Someone tell me how I did.

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I should have added: One of McGonnigal and Hagrid dies. One of Ron and Hermione dies. Dumbeldore remains dead, although he still interacts with Harry in the book.

I'm going off to mimic the book's typeface and layout now....

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ascian.livejournal.com

In the days before OotP came out, I was looking at a Somethingawful.com photoshop contest for the most amusing 'Harry Potter and the...' cover 'shop and title.

One of them was entitled 'Harry Potter and the (CHARACTER) DIES!' with a picture of a phoenix for the cover art.

Even though it was a fake spoiler, it was stuck in my head the entire time I was reading. I kept waiting for that specific shoe to drop, and I had difficulty fully enjoying the book because my mind had partitioned off a little section entirely for watching for and analyzing the chances of that character's death.

The only thing I want to be thinking with the turn of each page is 'what happens next?!' not 'was that asshole right?!'

Even fake spoilers spoil things in their own way. That's why I never give 'joke spoilers' unless they're truly blatantly jokes (my favourite is Harry finding the last of the Horcruxes, and then he comes to an amicable agreement with Voldemort so they can keep going for another seven books), and I never let people tell me what they think is going on in a mysterious movie.

Those dangerous days are back again. I'm almost tempted to just unplug the internet and hook it back up once I've read book 7. Good luck to us all. Wands at the ready; people about to spoil are the one case where avada kedavra is actually forgivable.

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Interesting. Makes sense, especially because it was visual as well as verbal.

On the other hand, I've been hearing Book 7 speculations for as long as it has been the next book. Maybe the solution is to read all the spoilers, so the overlapping effects of them all nullifies their cumulative effect.

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cakmpls.livejournal.com

Your reaction and mine appear to be identical. (Doesn't surprise me; probably doesn't surprise you.)

(Except that I didn't make it over to the harrypooter LJ before LJ suspended it. Rats.)

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Call me if you want to know what it said, although I don't promise that I'll remember properly.

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I can't imagine why anyone would want to do this? I mean, what's the bennie?

Also, I'm now thinking that I should'a made my trip to North Dakota this week, if only to be around my brother's family for the book release. The local B&N had a costume party for the last book's release and my sister-in-law went as Prof. Mcgogogalanahan (sp??), Jeff went as Hagrid, Charlie went as Harry & Cole went as what's'is name, Harry's owl. Jeff & the boys all won first place.

Me, I'm waiting for the new Agatha Christie...

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"I can't imagine why anyone would want to do this? I mean, what's the bennie?"

Surely you can imagine it. It's malice, pure malice. And it's highly leveraged malice. You can ruin the fun of thousands, maybe millions, of people -- without actually causing physical harm.

You might not want to do this. But certainly you can imagine that someone would get their rocks off this way.

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Oh, I understand the malice, but it seems pretty... I dunno, "unproductive". You don't get to 'see' the other person' reaction--other than maybe a posted comment. Which I suppose would be enough for some, but I think enough people would know that foaming at the mouth is exactly what "malice-doer" wants.

This makes me think of that quote of Plato's: "People is dumb."

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"Me, I'm waiting for the new Agatha Christie..."

The narrator did it.

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Oh thanks. I've now spit-took all over the computer. :-)

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ascian.livejournal.com

Pure schadenfreude, probably motivated by a faux-counterculture hatred of Harry Potter and its fans simply because it's a popular phenomenon.

If people are willing to strap bombs to themselves in order to kill dozens of innocents, I don't have to stretch my mind to picture people willing to ruin a popular story for its fans.

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I guess another line of Plato's is apt for these people: "Aw gwan kid. Yer givin' me a headache."

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bethynyc.livejournal.com

Thanks for the heads-up!

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Aja's already posted quite a big section of the book on her LJ. Scanning it. She got it off 4chan, I believe.

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Oooo. Neat.

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Aja, meaning

bookshop? Good heavens. It's under a cut tag?

I really resent her doing so, frankly. I'm not going over there to look.

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Yes, it's under a cut tag and yeah, I agree with you.

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If she's re-posting pics of the actual book before the release date, she could be sued. And frankly, I think she should be.

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Supposedly, yes, they're actual pages from the book. But, you know, it's Aja. I think what she's doing is like selling the book early, you know?

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That, to me, as the holder of copyrights, is unforgiveable. *defriends her*

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I agree completely. I don't have copyrights, but, to me, it violates the spirit of everything JKR would want the book experience to be.

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And there's one friendship ended.

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Note/warning (this goes to Aja's entry re: the scan, although you don't actually see any of the book: you have to request to go onto the spoiler filter).

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Re. your reply to her:
Nicely put, Peg but you know what? She ain't gonna get it, and she never will. She thinks what she's doing is no worse than downloading mp3's illegally (which I have never done).

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I told her to delete it. She has apparently defriended me and friends locked it.

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*rolls eyes*

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Good grief, you're right. She certainly doesn't get it at all, along with, apparently, most of her friends list.

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Gee, fawning syncophants much?

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Well, sure, Peg. Isn't that the reason you're doing it? It's certainly the reason why I commented.

News flash: Ain't no such thing as a BNF anymore, not really, and Aja certainly isn't one. But she loooooooooves to play the "poor, poor pitiful me" card. One reason I defriended her years ago is that she absolutely refuses to realize that her consequences have actions. She thinks intent is the only incriminating factor. Tell that to the guy convicted of murder because he robbed an old man who then had a fatal heart attack.

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