Read (or Reread) Harry Potter discussion

Let's do this! We'll talk here about how we want this group set up and figure out rules to make sure others who join know that this is not a roleplay group; that this group is for discussing the books as we read them. Let me know if y'all want to be mods and I can add you!

Vishakha→ Well I can try to start a group, but I haven't done this before so not sure what all comes in the responsibilities. Any tips?

Well, suppose we do decide to start a group

-when should we start?
-how much time will each book of the series need?

Ria→ RE: amount of time necessary for each HP book
Well, we had two months for each of the ASoIaF books, but the smallest one of those is over 700 pages. The HP books are:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone - 223
Harry Potter and the Chamber of the Secrets - 251
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 317
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 636
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 766
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince - 607
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 831
I've got the Bloomsbury edition, the print is larger than that for ASoIaF and my seventh book is smaller in size than the other six, but you get the point. So, I would suggest starting with 2-4 weeks for the first three books and then we can double the time for the others? But I guess that's if we read with the same speed/intensity as we do Martin's books. But then again, the HP books are much "lighter" than ASoIaF, so they'll be easier to handle, I think. Way fewer characters and plot going on.

Alex→ I would recommend organizing your threads in the same manner as this group with each chapter designated. It keeps it better organized. Also, I would at least give a month to read each book. Not everyone starts reading at the right time and it gives people a chance to finish up other books. If it helps have a few moderators to keep up with the threads. Having a few moderators helps with creating the threads and topics, so you don't feel overwhelmed. If it goes well you won't have to interact a lot because others will keep the discussion going.

I think my last suggestion is not to overlap so much with GOT books. I understand we have 2 more books to read. If you are a good reader and can read multiple books at once, more power to you, but don't make yourself too overwhelmed. I know me and Leslie made a group for the Hobbit and LofR series which starts in October. It seems like good place to start because Dance of Dragons is the last book. If you all want to start earlier, sweet, but take in consideration of the other books you are reading.

OR maybe make a rule that you one read x amount of chapters a day to keep everyone on the same pace. It would be hard to keep track of others, but you wont exhaust yourself.

Understandable. That's my concern as well-this overlapping with the other group reads we all have planned. We all want to finish of the Game of Thrones books and many of us are going to be doing the Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit. I think I'll have everyone kind of say when they want to start and see if we can all come to a general consensus.

TO DO/DECIDE

1. when to start
2. how long to give each book
3. rules (if any) for new members
4. should we include the new play/script Harry Potter and the Cursed Child


Feel free to share your thoughts on the above list!
If you have any additional suggestions, let me know!

Do you know how to put the chapters in order? It was one of the things that confused me while working on threads.

I do! Just finished book one and will probably get the next few books done today as well.

Brianna wrote: "I do! Just finished book one and will probably get the next few books done today as well."

Cool cool. If you need any help just ask. If I think of anything else I will mention it. Otherwise I am sure there are tons of polls and fun things to do with Harry Potter.

I'm good for right now. I love setting up threads and I'm off today so I should be able to get a lot done. As soon as that changes I will definitely let you know! :)

lol. Cool cool. well have fun!

As far as the time frame I was thinking maybe a week per every hundred pages (ish)? That averages out to 14-20 pages a day so I think that could be doable for even those who are slower readers/busier/have other books going at the same time.

So with the page numbers provided by Ria it would break down to:
Sorcerer's Stone→ 2 weeks
Chamber of Secrets→ 2 weeks
Prisoner of Azkaban→ 3 weeks
Goblet of Fire→ 6 weeks
Order of the Phoenix→ 7 weeks
Half-Blood Prince→ 6 weeks
Deathly Hallows→ 8 weeks

for a total of approx. 8.5 months

Is that reasonable you guys think?

It is reasonable.

I think we should let the ASoIaF books finish, I too am interested in Hobbit/LotR books so yeah so many series together might be overwhelming.

Personally, I'd prefer giving a month to the starting books, because when I joined the GoT book group I was already late and just to get myself started took a bit of time. So I think initially, when people are still joining or getting ready to start we would wanna give them some time. Sometimes I have some books to finish in a month which I start in last week so it's not too much pressure.

Thanks for putting this together. I look forward to reading with you guys.

One thing people can do especially in the beginning is when you post a comment ( no spoilers of course) is have people check off the box that will make the comment show up in their feed. That way their friendswill see that ther is a group for HP. I think that is how we ended up with a lot of people in the ASOIAF group.

Yeah, I already have a few requests from people not in the ASOIAF to join. I'm going to start letting them in as soon as all the threads are set up.

NOICE

Hey, everyone! Thanks for setting this up, Brianna!
I agree with Alex that we should maybe give a bit more time than is actually necessary, so that everyone can keep on track without feeling frustrated when they've started later and everyone else is already two books ahead, or something like that. Plus, if it's not too cramped, there'll be enough time to read other books as well and it won't get suffocating.
Btw, can someone please give me a link to the Hobbit/LotR group? I'd love to read those, too.

I made a poll so everyone can vote on how long they want to read each book! It'll be open for a week so get your votes in!

poll can be found here

Ria wrote: "Hey, everyone! Thanks for setting this up, Brianna!
I agree with Alex that we should maybe give a bit more time than is actually necessary, so that everyone can keep on track without feeling frustr..."

I think it is still a secret group. Leslie, did we decide to open it up or do we still have it as a secret? I can't remember what we did.

Are we going to read The Tales of Beedle the Bard? It's a really short one, I think, and is mentioned in HP and the Deathly Hallows. I've also seen Quiddich Throughout the Ages in the bookstores, I think, but don't really know how many of the books mentioned in the HP series have actually been written/released. Oh, and someone asked somewhere if we should read the Cursed Child - I vote yes (I'll be reading it anyway).

We can definitely add that if you guys all want to. I've never read them so maybe I should. lol
I'll make a poll to see about adding the additional books (Tales of Beedle the Bard/Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them/Quidditch Through the Ages/The Cursed Child) to the line up!

The poll for the other books will go live tomorrow!

There is still a few days for the first poll about how long to give each book so get your vote in!

When is everyone wanting to start? Those of us in the Game of Thrones read-a-long will be done at the end of October, but I'm not sure how many of us want to wait until November to start. If people want to start making recommendations and here in about a week I'll make a poll for us to vote on!

When is the LotR group starting? Does anyone have a link to it?

About the new books, really I'm not worried about those because my guilt keeps eating at me to finish the Potter books first, for me it doesn't really matter. I wouldn't commit on the new books now though.

Irrespective of the LotR group, I think September or mid-August might be a good time to start? Although I would prefer October after the ASoIaF, not really sure if I can do two fantasy series together. But I'm up for trying to start in Aug-Sep.

I suggest we finish the Dance of Dragons first. Martin's books are way more complicated and difficult to follow than HP books. I suggest we start around October 1st-15th so as to give some time to others who might want to join. I know for one thing I have been looking for a group like this for 6 months. There's nothing. So I guess, like me many people will be lloking forward to something like this.

Brianna I am interested in becoming a mod, though it scares me for some silly reason. I will definitely need your help cause I have zero experience on this but I'll do my best! I have already read the books and I know the story very well so even if I stay behind with my reading I'll be able to comment and follow the discussion.

Regarding the books which accompany the HP series: I've read the Tales of Beetle the Bard and Fantastic beasts and where to find them. We don't really need to worry about these at the moment. The tales of Bettle the Bard can be useful while reading the final book, so no worries here and Fantastic beast is something like a guide, an A-Z list of all the beasts appearing in the series and how they can be defeated. But I could easily provide you with this info or you could simply google the name of the beast. Like ASOIAF I am sure there is a Harry Potter Wiki or something like this!

Brianna whatever you need let me know! I'll do my best!

I will be opening up the group later this evening. I will send the link to LOfR to this group and the gOT group.

Alex Farrand wrote: "I will be opening up the group later this evening. I will send the link to LOfR to this group and the gOT group."

YEAAAAAAH!

Also I used to be a member of one of these role play groups..Trust me they are booooooring...

Brianna wrote: "As far as the time frame I was thinking maybe a week per every hundred pages (ish)? That averages out to 14-20 pages a day so I think that could be doable for even those who are slower readers/busi..."

That seems perfectly manageable to me!

One concern people have had is falling behind and not being able to discuss the books. I fully intend on leaving the discussions open for a few months after the planned start/end date and if someone wants to start discussing again, I'll gladly open them up.

Brianna wrote: "One concern people have had is falling behind and not being able to discuss the books. I fully intend on leaving the discussions open for a few months after the planned start/end date and if someon..."

Great!

So far the time frame suggestions for when we start have been:


August/September
October (mid October was mentioned a few times)
November (after A Dance with Dragons finishes)

If there are any other suggestions or concerns, keep them coming! I'll be setting up that poll early next week and want all the options available. :)

Thanks Brianna and Lena (and of course everyone else who has helped) putting this all together. Great job guys!

The poll results are in and it looks like we will spend 4 weeks for the shorter books (1-3) and 8 weeks for the longer (4-7).

So far the vote for including the other books set in the wizarding world is tied!

Did we decided on a start date? Did I miss that?

We haven't yet. People have been submitting their suggestions and I'm planning on making a poll either today or tomorrow.

Gotcha gotcha. Cool beans.

Vote HERE on when you want to start this read-a-long!

(keep in mind I will keep the threads for discussion open for a few months after the planned finish date so if you can't start when we plan to it's fine and if I need to re-open them I will!)

Don't forget to vote on when you want to start this read-a-long!!!! Voting ends July 31st @ 11:59pm MST!

Just over an hour until the poll closes on when we're going to start the read-a-long!!