Bit of Ivory

Hee. I loved the interviews on The Leaky Cauldron. They
were simply awesome. Mellie
did a great job of asking the questions we all want to know the answer
to– the shipping questions, of course. I can’t tell you how long I’ve
heard that Chris Columbus is an H/H shipper, which of course concerned
me; if Columbus put H/H into the movies, then all those H/H shippers
would be convinced that it’s the way things are going to turn out.
Because of course JKR agrees with everything they put in the
movie. Anyway, my fears appear to be unfounded. Columbus deliberately
foreshadows the events in GoF. Yay!
I also loved how Daniel managed to put his opinion out there that Ron
and Hermione are going to get together without even being asked. Good
for you, Dan!
I must say, though, that I just can’t understand why people think Chamber
of Secrets is the worst book in the series. It’s my favorite. It’s
got a strong plot, explores some very interesting themes and moral
concerns, has a nice twist ending, a killer climax, and enough comic
relief to balance the darkness (and some scrumptious H/G goodness ).
What’s not to like? In fact, I’ve always expected more from CoS than SS
as a movie, simply because it’s a better book, with a better narrative
structure. I mean, in SS, you’re already 100 pages into the book before
you even get to Hogwarts; whereas in CoS there’s only the smallest bit
of re-hashing of SS before you’re off and running.
So why don’t people like it? Is it because it pales in comparison to Prisoner
of Azkaban or Goblet of Fire? I personally like PoA the
least of all the books thus far– with all the setup JKR gave Sirius,
and the supposed danger Harry was in, the ending was, frankly, a
let-down. Plus Harry was REALLY stupid in that book. He deserved every
feeling of guilt he got for sneaking off to Hogsmeade. And Snape always
makes me so mad in that one; no matter how much people like RJA have convinced me that
Snape may not be the cold-hearted villain I originally percived him as,
Snape better have a darn good reason for his actions in the Shrieking
Shack before I completely trust him. I love GoF, it’s tied for my
favorite actually. But when I need an HP fix I usually grab CoS simply
because it’s shorter. Plus the ending of GoF is such a cliffhanger (of
sorts, there is some resolution but not nearly as much as I’d like)
that it leaves me dissatisfied.
Anyway, I’d sure like to know what you think. Is CoS your least
favorite book? If so, why? Give me some good solid reasons, because
right now it’s totally inexplicable to me.