A question for Potter fans:

[semillama]

Now that the series is over, what are you going to read next?

I'm pretty curious about this. I'm not a Potter fan myself but have enjoyed reading the books. Haven't read the last book yet, and have avoided all the threads on it so as not to spoil it too much for me.

So, what's up next for folks? Will it be another fantasy series, and if so, will it be a young adult series or an adult series (let me hear put in a plug for Tad Williams -read any Tad Williams!)? Or is the Potter series your only foray into fantasy novels?

[Matilda]

1. I've asked myself - what is it about Harry Potter

that is so tantalizing? It's like the gift that keeps on giving.

I couldn't get into Lemony Snicket, or the Philip Pullman books. I
enjoyed reading the "Narnia" series with my children, but haven't read
them since. I haven't tried Charles de Lint, or Tad Williams, and I
probably should.

I do love "The Dark Is Rising" sequence, and have read them all through
twice and will probably read them again some time, but they're very
clear-cut and unambiguous - they end as you expect and leave no puzzling
questions at the end, although quite enthralling to read. The Potter
books on the other hand lend themselves to endless rounds of "what if?"
and "why?", because there are always many possibilities other than the
ones chosen by Rowling. It's fascinating to speculate on the many
different ways the stories could have played out. The ambiguity even
extends to some of the major characters, especially the adults, and
I think that's a part of the appeal - they're more three-dimensional and
real than many characters in children's fiction.

That's the best I can do in answer to a very good question.

[XemaSab]

2. Time for you to go back to Philip Pullman

:D

Pullman has stronger writing skills than Rowling, but you're totally right about HP, it's the gift that keeps on giving. :D

[LWolf]

3. In adult fantasy?

As you can see from previous posts in this forum, I'm a fan of

DeLint
Lackey
McKillip
McCaffrey
Fforde (not classical fantasy, but fun nonetheless)
Norton
Bradley
Gaiman
Lindskold
MacAvoy

And others that I like, but that aren't popping into my brain right now. For those that are still living, I'll be looking out for their newest stuff.

I'm also a fan of ya and even younger fantasy; I'm a teacher, and I read a lot of it. I'll be keeping up with the newest there, too. Some that I'm keeping an eye on in this category include

MacHale's "Pendragon" series
Riordan's "Percy Jackson" books
Tamora Pierce's stuff
Cornelia Funke's "Inkheart" and sequel/s
I'm currently rereading Pullman in prep for the movie coming out, and I was planning to read "The Dark is Rising" series again, but find that one of my students absconded with "over sea, under stone" last year. :grr:

I also just reread "A string in the harp" by Nancy Bond to see if I wanted to put it in the classroom library; I hadn't read that one in 20 years.

Then there are all the books to read outside the fantasy genre; I'm not running out of things to read yet!

[1monster]

4. Suggestions, for starters:

Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series. There are at least thirty books in that series. Or her Chrome Circle series, or her Urban Bard series, any and all of her books... there are many more than those.

Sarah Douglass's Troy series, The Wayfarer Redemption series, Crippled Angel books... and the latest trilogy for which only the first book is currently available, but two prequil books are already out, THRESHOLD, and BEYOND THE HANGING WALL.

Isobel Carmody's Obernewtyn Chronicles.

Katherine Kerr's Deverry series.

Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series.

Relatively new author, Trudi Carnavan's The Black Magician Trilogy is excellent. Her Priestess of the White Trilogy is good, but I liked the Black Magician better.

Andre Norton's WITCH WORLD series.

[Matilda]

5. Some of Marion Zimmer Bradley's books are very good;

"Mists of Avalon" was the first one I read, and it was a great read. Some others she's written
are good, but some have a feeling of just being written in haste to satisfy the market. I think
"Mists of Avalon" was her best, and I recommend it to anyone.

I used to read a lot of Dennis Wheatley when I was much younger, and his books were very exciting to
read, although these days I notice more of a right-wing bias ("Britain and the Empire") that I didn't
really take notice of back then, because that was the Australia that I grew up in.

I generally read more non-fiction, especially biography, and apart from classics like Austen and
James, I don't read a lot of fiction, but I do like good fantasy and metaphysical books.

But there is something special about Harry Potter - so many characters, so many sub-plots, so many
different ways Rowling could have taken the stories - that lends itself to endless speculation and
discussion. I've never read anything in that genre quite as intriguing as the Potter series.

Now I'm waiting for the back-story of Severus Snape.

[XemaSab]

6. I was having a discussion with my friend

and she was arguing that part of the beauty of the series is that it leaves one a lot of room for speculation.

There's something to be said for that.

There's also something to be said for MORE SNAPE. :D

[Matilda]

7. There's a LOT to be said for more Snape!

"I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses" ...

That has to be one of the most erotic phrases ever written.

[XemaSab]

8. Didn't work on Lily though...

:P

[Matilda]

9. And that's another back-story I'd like to see.

What made Lily change her mind about James?

[XemaSab]

10. It may sound a little banal

but I want a scene with Lily, Snape, et al. in Slughorn's class.

You gotta measure snark like that on a logarithmic scale. :D

[Reader Rabbit]

11. Lois McMaster Bujold

The Vorkosigan Series (space opera, great characters)

The Chalion Series (fantasy, great characters)

[lazarus]

12. re-reading Covenant

The Covenant series by Donaldson. Book Two of the Final Chronicles comes out soon, so I'm catching up. Plus I got a literary analysis book on the first two Chronicles (by W.A. Senior) for my birthday, so I'm reading that.

I also intend to read another birthday present, the hardcover British version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I want to see how much Americanisation they did to the language.

And I've read the books Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Fun!

[radfringe]

13. your question assumes

that people who like Harry Potter only read 1 book every year or so

I've read Tad Williams - not bad, his earlier work was better

[semillama]

14. No, actually, it doesn't assume that at all.

I don't see where you read that into the question I asked. Perhaps my question reminded you of an accusation leveled by others at Potter fans, but it's certainly not one I would level. Please note that of three people (including me) on the "Robert Jordan Has Died" thread, the OP is a fairly prolific poster about the Potter series as well. So, obviously, that would be a faulty assumption for me to make, and note that I didn't make that assumption. I can see where the level of frenzy that surrounded the release of each entry in the series could give the impression that a fan actually doesn't read anything else. I would love to see that level of excitement about other fantasy novels to be sure.

I don't assume anything about Potter fans, but I do observe that many of the Potter fans I've talked to IRL have in fact never read any other novels in the fantasy genre, and I wonder if the series will serve as a gateway to the genre for anyone. So it's interesting to me as someone who enjoys the fantasy genre immensely to see what effect Harry Potter has had in gathering new readers. It's also interesting to see what adult readers might turn to after a series such as Potter finishes - will it be more traditionaly adult-oriented fantasy novels (such as Williams, Jordan, Martin, Brooks, Hobb, etc), or will it be more young adult fantasy (Eragon series, Narnia, Redwall, Dark is Rising).

I have to say that my personal gateway to fantasy novels was The Hobbit, when I was 8 or so. after finishing that, i went straight to the Lord of the Rings. Although I did read some traditional young adult fantasy as a young adult (Narnia, Chronicles of Prydain), I read Fritz Leiber, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Anne McCaffery, Joel Silverberg, Michael Moorcook and other authors more frequently - actually moving more into sci-fi novels as a teen, going through nearly the entire Heinlein catalog, most of Asimov, The first three Dune books, Brin, and so on and so forth. But if I were 8 right now, the gateway would almost certainly have been Potter, and I'm not sure I would have moved on so quickly to adult sci fi and fantasy, perhaps between 1980 and today there's been a huge development of the young adult book market, especially in fantasy.

[Matilda]

17. I figured you were only talking about the realm of Fantasy,

and not assuming none of us could read anything else!

I'm surprised there is so much adult fantasy out there that I was totally
unaware of, and I really must try out some other authors.

Apart from "Lord of the Rings", which surely most people have read at
some time, I came to fantasy literature through choosing books to read
with my children. We always did the bedtime stories, and I bought the
Narnia books and later the Dark Is Rising for my daughter. I later
re-read the whole "Dark Is Rising" sequence for my own pleasure, and
still think it's one of the best young adult series around.

Harry Potter I bought for my son, who is not a reader, and he loved the
first book. I read it for myself, and I was hooked. I bought all the
others for myself more than for him. He stopped reading them, but I
continued to the end.

I've never got as totally involved in any other fantasy series as I have
in Potter though - there's so much in them, so many ways the stories
could have gone, so many possible endings.

Is it really over? Remember, we've had no funeral for Snape, and
anything could have happened after the trio left the Shrieking Shack.
Arthur Conan Doyle was forced to bring Moriarty back from the dead in the
Sherlock Holmes stories - will J.K. Rowling also be forced to bring back
Snape?

[XemaSab]

19. The more I read DH the more I enjoy it.

:)

[Matilda]

21. I'm currently reading the series for the third time,

and I'm up to GoF. When I get to DH, it will only be the second time
around, although I read from the Forbidden Forest chapter to the end
a second time to get it clearer in my mind.

There are so many little bits of information in the early books that can
easily be forgotten, but they come back later - that's one of the things
I enjoy about the books. Nothing is unimportant, however trivial it may
seem at the time.

[jgraz]

15. What else? Harry Potter!

I'm reading it to my girlfriend now. ;)

[opiate69]

16. Just read the first 2 in the "Queen of the Orcs" series..

pretty interesting series so far..
http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Orcs-Kings-Property/dp/0345496507/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/104-2712429-9619936?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190948668&sr=8-3

[semillama]

18. That's an interesting concept.

May have to check that out myself one of these days.

I'm actually rading Pynchon's "V." right now. It's a pretty insane book.

[opiate69]

20. Yeah..the Orc culture he developed is very interesting..

I'll have to look for "V" though.. sounds like something I'd get into.