David Harris: Harry Potter

Harry Potter summaries - Chapter 10 posted

Mon, 18 Jul 2005 01:51:44 GMT

The chapter 10 summary of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is up now. See the chapter index to read it.

Harry Potter summaries - Chapters 1-9 posted

Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:44:33 GMT

The first Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince chapter summaries are up now. See the chapter index to read them.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince chapter summaries

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 21:30:23 GMT

I finally had a chance to read Book 6 this morning and will start to post chapter summaries a little later today.

Harry Potter Chapter Summaries

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 20:06:36 GMT

Lots of people are visiting this site again to read the Harry Potter chapter summaries of book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. You'll soon notice that I never quite finished them and didn't upload the last few chapters. I will really try to do that soon and then work on summaries for book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Until then, take a look at the Book 5 summaries.

Harry Potter fan fiction site nominated for Webby Award

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 03:07:31 GMT

Those of you visiting here for the chapter summaries for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book 5 in the HP series) will probably be interested to know that the HP fan fiction site fictionalley.org has been nominated for a Webby Award in the section "Best Community Site". They have a people's choice voting section so you know what to do if you want them to win...

Harry Potter and my interviews mentioned on Media Watch

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:21:27 GMT

Media Watch is an Australian program that is somewhat like an ombudsman but doesn't have anything except public pressure to help fix errors in the media. In the episode just aired, they covered the Harry Potter controversy and looked at how the lawsuits were flying and how media establishments ignored them in general, feeling they have no basis.

My interview on ABC radio, in which I showed reluctance to reveal any plot details due to the fear of lawsuits, was excerpted.

Media Watch (watch the episode or read the transcript)

More Harry Potter chapter summaries

Mon, 07 Jul 2003 03:58:23 GMT

Just added:

Chapter 28: Snape’s Worst Memory

Chapter 29: Career Advice

Chapter 30: Grawp

The rest of the Harry Potter summaries

Wed, 02 Jul 2003 07:30:09 GMT

I'm getting lots of email asking for the rest of the summaries...

Sorry I haven't finished putting them up yet but I am in a very busy time at work and have almost none left for anything not directly work-related. However, the summaries should appear soon. I hope to finish them off on the July 4-6 weekend... fingers crossed!

The 'evils' of Harry Potter

Fri, 27 Jun 2003 22:37:11 GMT

I have been astounded that some segments of the community have conducted campaigns against the Harry Potter books claiming they condone evilness, are a step toward satan worship, etc. Clearly these people have never read the books. One comment I received today shows that the anti-HP movement is still in force, even though I hadn't heard much from them lately:

I just want to say thanks! My mum won't let me read the HP books anymore (she's really religious and thinks that I'll turn demonic and worship Satan or something by reading the books) so it's really helpful to me that I found a site where I can at least know what's going on so I won't have to get the book by other sources...Thanks again!!!:)

Vidi Herrera • 6/27/03; 10:28:55 AM

I am interested in what you think about this. How can it possibly be that people truly believe the Harry Potter books are anti-religious? Can anybody provide me with example quotes to support that argument? My view is that the books actually promote morality and goodness quite strongly so I am bewildered by the contrary argument...

Also, how do we reconcile the Christian right attacks on Harry Potter when even the Vatican has come out in praise of the books for "teaching children the difference between good and evil"?

Legal action on pre-release reviews

Thu, 26 Jun 2003 02:57:39 GMT

I heard stories today that Scholastic are looking at taking legal against USA Today for printing their review of HP5 in their Friday issue when the embargo lasted until the Friday night. The review didn't give much away but was clearly written by somebody who had read the whole book. (And seeing as I had spoken with that journalist prior to the review, I know for sure that she had read the book... don't ask me how she got the book and I won't have to tell you any lies :) )

New Chapter Summary Index to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Wed, 25 Jun 2003 02:54:17 GMT

I have reorganised the chapter summaries so it is easier to get to the chapter you want. See the new index to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix chapter summaries.

The Chapter 26 summary has been added
The Chapter 27 summary has been added

Googleslut of the century

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 22:50:06 GMT

Jan Haugland over at Secular Blasphemy has named me "googleslut of the century" (in the nicest way, of course) for my temporary re-assignment of my blog...

More Harry Potter Chapter Summaries

Mon, 23 Jun 2003 03:11:23 GMT

I am supplying Harry Potter 5 spoilers, chapter summaries and more information. Find out who dies in Harry Potter 5, who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is and what happened to Hagrid over the summer.

Start here if you haven't read the first summaries:
Harry Potter 5 - Summary of Chapters 1-5

The newly added summaries:

Harry Potter 5 - Summary of Chapters 16-20

Harry Potter 5 - Summary of Chapters 21-25

More Harry Potter radio mentions

Sun, 22 Jun 2003 19:01:53 GMT

There is another mention of my pre-release reading on ABC Radio at a broadcast from the Australian release of the book (5 hours before the US release).

http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/stories/s884974.htm

(The first of the three radio pieces discusses my previous chats with them at about the 8 minute mark.)

Newspaper article about my Harry Potter pre-release copy

Sat, 21 Jun 2003 08:11:21 GMT

The Courier Mail in Queensland, Australia, printed an article about my find of the Harry Potter book pre-release. The journalist caught up with me the other day while I was in the pub so it was a strange kind of interview. However, there are some fun quotes.

I haven't found the article in a publicly accessible place online but I'll post a link here if I do find it.

Harry Potter 5 - Detailed Plot Summary

Sat, 21 Jun 2003 07:49:59 GMT

The following summary is written based on my reading of the book in the week before release but has not been posted online until after the embargo has lifted. (The timestamp on the post indicates when I put this entry on my computer, not when I uploaded it to the web.)

Harry Potter 5 - Summary of Chapters 1-5

Harry Potter 5 - Summary of Chapters 6-10

Harry Potter 5 - Summary of Chapters 11-15

I'll add the other chapter summaries in the next day, I just don't have time to post them at the moment.

Finished reading Harry Potter 5

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 07:55:38 GMT

Well, I just made it to the end of Harry Potter 5... and I'm still not going to reveal any specific details but it's quite a whirlwind ride.

Once again, the book seems to be rushed to a conclusion and there are many unanswered questions, but we already know there are at least two more books to go...

Did I just say at least? Am I implying that the story has been nicely set up for books beyond number 7? Hmmmm.....

Why is there an embargo on Harry Potter 5?

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 05:00:56 GMT

In an earlier post, I suggested reasons why bookstore owners might want to break an embargo on the release date.

I thought I should get back to the topic and explain why the embargo is actually important. Essentially, the embargo helps small and independent bookstores. When a bestseller is released, distributors typically deliver books to the largest stores first. If there is no embargo, those stores can get the books on the shelves before the independents have even received their copies - and those smaller stores may have to wait days before they get their copies, by which time, the market could be considerably reduced. Even more damage can be done by customers going to the independents asking for the books and not being able to buy them. Those customers then get the impression that independents simply can't stock the books the customers want to buy. This loss of faith in the independents is catastrophic for their business.

After considerable lobbying, independents have been able to secure embargoes to prevent the larger stores gaining a competitive advantage purely due to their size and the preference of distributors to deal with large quantities.

So the embargo really is a big deal. Independent bookstores are one of the last bastions of good and diverse literature and do need to be protected. (I'm not saying all large bookstores are evil - just that by their nature, they are unable to stock many of the titles that discerning readers may find valuable.)

I spoke with some independent bookstore owners today and they are very disappointed with the independent that sold me my copy of HP5 - they think that bookkeeper should have known better and is doing the industry a disservice.

As such, I am sticking to my guns in not revealing the location of the bookstore that sold me the copy and I am also not revealing specific plot elements.

British interviews

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 04:51:47 GMT

Just chatted with a couple of British media organisations - they are very interested and want to know about the plot but have decided they won't risk printing/broadcasting anything because of the lawsuits flying around...

The secret is safe a little longer...

Newspaper interview

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 04:23:28 GMT

I was at the pub after work this evening and happened to look at my mobile phone to notice I had missed half a dozen calls. They turned out to be (along with three emails) from a journalist who had heard one of my radio interviews and wanted to talk about the book. We chatted for a while - me slurring my words - her finding it all very amusing.

The best quote from the article is likely to be that I would have finished reading the book except that I went to the pub... But both she and I are Australian and I used to write for her newspaper so I don't really mind that story getting out. My parents and grandmother will find it amusing, no doubt.

For those in Australia, check tomorrow's Courier Mail for the article.

Third and fourth radio interviews online

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 17:35:16 GMT

A twelve minute interview with ABC Brisbane: http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/stories/s883106.htm

An excerpt to listen to and a transcript on PM, Australia's top current affairs radio program!
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s883898.htm

Halfway Harry Potter

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 07:07:46 GMT

Halfway and going strong...

Harry Potter 5 - the third radio interview

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 06:31:53 GMT

Just finished a fifteen minute interview with an Australian radio station. Once again, I refused to give any spoilers but had a good chat about various things.

As it happens, my first radio interview can be heard online at: http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/stories/s883106.htm

(Despite what the teaser on that site says, I don't reveal anything about the plot.)

[Update: The first interview has been replaced by the longer 12 minute third interview at the same link.]

What I will and won't say about Harry Potter

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 04:07:06 GMT

Don't ask me for any plot details, spoilers, quotes or anything like that. I'm going to respect the embargo on specific details of the story and all my comments are based on impressions I get from reading the book rather than being specific reports on the details. (This is primarily because I am hearing about lawsuits being filed, etc.)

More Harry Potter interviews

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 04:03:33 GMT

Just done another radio interview - for ABC Radio Newcastle this time... and in two hours I have another lined up with ABC Radio Brisbane... busy times... and I've only had a chance to read the frist 300 pages amongst everything else.