Welcome to the Hogwarts Express! If you're new to the group, this thread should help you sort out who's who in the group, as well as giving helpful hints for posting and other cool stuff. Feel free to post questions and comments here, as well.

Thanks to all of the group members who contributed to our earlier information thread -- I borrowed from several members' posts to come up with the information in the next four posts. While not credited, your input is much appreciated!

Message edited by its author, Apr 19, 2009, 10:43pm.

Okay, the first thing I'm going to tell you about, before we let all of the assorted crazies other members of the group loose on this thread, is how to do special stuff with your posts. You're probably wondering how to make things bold or underlined or italicized, or how to cross them out like I did above.

Actually, those things are all pretty easy -- if you are familiar with using html tags, you already know what to do. If not, don't despair! Just use the following formulas, but take out the spaces:

italics
bold
underlined
crossed out

You can also create

bullet points

or

Paragraphs indented, which is nice for setting quotes apart from the rest of your text

Oh, one final text-editing trick: the non-breaking space. You may have noticed that LT automatically takes out additional spaces between &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp words. However, if you &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp really &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp want &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp spaces between your words, you can type in & nbsp (except without the space between the "&" and the "nbsp") and it will add a space. If you put more than one of those in, put a space in between them.

No doubt you want to try out all of these cool new tricks now! Please don't do it on this thread. We have a practice thread that you can use to perfect your html skills.

Message edited by its author, Apr 15, 2009, 11:30pm.

Okay, so now we know how to do a few html tricks with our text. Very good! Now for links to other websites, which may be a little trickier.

First of all, if you just want to put a link out there, it's easy. Put a space in front of it and a space behind it and it should link. For example, you might put http://www.librarything.com and see what happens. (You will need to put the "http//www." part, or the computer won't know that it has to go out on the internet to look for that page.)

Now, if you want to get fancy (or maybe you have a really long link and you want to be nice and make it short, or embed it in a sentence), you do this:

Put

then put the word you want highlighted

then put but without the spaces.

So, LibraryThing in a sentence, looks like this:

I spend way too much time on LibraryThing for my own good!

That's how to do a link. Now, you may also have noticed that some people put photos in their posts. (we're particularly fond of pictures of

cake.)

Posting pictures is easy! First, find the picture you want to post. It needs to be somewhere on the Internet, not just on your computer. You can use Google image search or some other search engine to find the picture you want to add. Copy the web address of the picture to your clipboard. Then, type in

except without the spaces at either end. (You do want a space between "img" and "src" though!)

Now, if you want to post a picture from your computer, you just have to add a couple of steps. First, you'll need to get the picture from your computer to the Internet, and for that, you'll need to use a photo hosting site, such as flickr or photobucket. Both of these sites will tell you how to upload pictures, and both will provide ways to put them on websites -- you want the one that looks like the "img src" tag we used above.

One last advanced photo-posting trick: Kerian has a clever way of "wrapping" birthday presents, so here's how it's done.

To do this, you combine two of the html tags we've already talked about: the anchor (a href) tag, and the image (img src) tag.

The first thing you need to do is find two images -- the "gift" and the "wrapping." I do this by opening two tabs (besides the LT thread where you want to post the gift).

Let's say I want to use this book stack as a gift:

http://www.ruffcopy.co.uk/book_stack2.jp...

But I want this gift box to show on the thread:

http://www.commercialchristmasornaments....

Here's the formula (as usual, remove spaces and change underscores to spaces):



So, to get the desired result, I would type in the following:





Ta-da! (Click on the gift box to go to the book stack.)

Remember, if you want to practice any of these techniques, we have a practice thread so this one doesn't get too crazy!

Message edited by its author, Apr 16, 2009, 12:18am.

A word of caution about posting pictures: when you post a picture using the method I described above, you are actually linking back to the website where the picture really "lives." Some website owners don't like for you to do that, so they make it so their pictures won't show up (they do this either because they want to protect their intellectual property, or because linking to their pictures uses up a lot of their bandwidth, making their site run slower). So, if you try to post a picture and it doesn't show up, that may be why.

Also, when you're merrily posting pictures, try not to post anything too ginormous, as it makes the entire thread where the big photo is posted hard to navigate.

How do you know if a picture is going to be too big? Well, if you're pulling it from Google Images, the size is listed. My rule of thumb is to not post anything too much over 500x500. Also, if you right-click on the picture and choose "view image" it shows you the picture at actual size. If it takes up your whole screen, it's going to be too big to post here!

What should you do if you accidentally post a huge picture? Well, the easiest thing is to just remove it from your post. As you probably have noticed, there's a little pencil symbol in the top right corner of your post. Looks something like this:

If you click on that, you can fix your typos, remove unwanted bulky pictures, and close those pesky font tags that make the whole rest of the thread bold and italic!

The other trick you can use if a photo is too big, is to reduce the size. If a picture is big and you want to shrink it, the code is:



If you use only one or the other (height or width), it'll scale the picture appropriately. 300-400 pixels in the longer dimension is usually about right for this kind of thread.

Now you know how to post, do fun effects with text, add links and pictures, and fix anything that gets out of hand. Guess you're ready to get to know our group, so I'll just add a couple quick group-specific notes and turn it over to them.

Have fun!

Message edited by its author, Apr 16, 2009, 12:28am.

The last thing I'm going to tell you about are a few things that will make it easier to understand us here. Like most web communities, we've come up with a bit of shorthand in our conversations. While we're not particularly l33t, we do have a few abbreviations and such that you'll want to know. Many of them are ones you probably could guess or infer from their context.

LT = LibraryThing
HE = Hogwarts Express

You'll hear us talk a lot about our "TBR"s, or "To-Be-Read" shelf/list/pile/mountain/etc.

You may also see references to "ER"s or "ER" books -- this has nothing to do with a quick trip to the hospital, but is actually referencing LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

Certain group members have a strong appreciation for particularly attractive members of the opposite gender, so you may see references to "HEG"s -- a "Hot English Guy" (or girl, depending on context, though for some reason the former is correct 99.9% of the time). Of course, the English do not hold a monopoly on hotness, so the phrase gets modified for other nationalities from time to time.

We sometimes use "kik" as a substitute for "lol" -- if lol is a laugh, kik is a giggle, or what you get when you try to type lol but your fingers are one space over on your keyboard.

When someone has edited a post, they might type in "ETA" for "Edited to Add" (I've also seen this defined as "Edited to Adjust" -- you get the idea).

And, since this is a Potter-centric group . . .
HP = Harry Potter
JKR = J. K. Rowling
We also abbreviate the book titles:
SS/PS = Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
CoS = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
PoA = Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
GoF = Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
HBP = Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
DH = Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

A word of warning: since it's been over a year since the final book in the series was released, we're not always careful about posting "spoiler" warnings when we talk about things that happen in the books. So, if you haven't read all of the Harry Potter books and you want the ending to be a surprise, tread carefully.

That covers the basics, but if you see something you don't recognize or can't figure out, just ask!

Message edited by its author, May 6, 2009, 6:59pm.

*Looks around*

I seem to have stayed up past everyone's bedtime, putting in explanations.

Oh, you're wondering who I am, exactly? Well, I'm foggidawn, often called foggi. I'm one of the co-"owners" of the Hogwarts Express group, which is a lot less impressive than it sounds. (Kerian is the other co-owner; she'll be around to introduce herself soon.) You can read a little more about me on my profile, but for the sake of the discussion here, I'm a children's librarian, I have one relative (my brother, Espeon200) who posts regularly on HE, my favorite HP book is PoA, my favorite HP characters are Dumbledore and Snape. And I tend to go on and on about things, as evidenced by the first five posts on this thread, but I'm going to stop now.

:-)

Oh foggi, you are wonderful!

Hi all.

I'm LadyN, sometimes referred to as Lady, sometimes N....or other permutations. I'm often not around at the same time as everyone else, since I'm one of the few HE Brits. (That's HE as in Hogwarts Express not Hot English..., but who am I to comment?) However, that doesn't mean I'm not keeping a keen eye on all the goings oni around here...

Lol Foggi, Have you ever written a text book? You should give it a go your explinations are wonderful!!!!

I'm Ms_Bella, It has been shortend to Bella. I don't have any relatives on LT but I hope you all enjoy it here... Don't be afraid to jump right in on discussions even though we can get off topic!

*claps at foggi's tremendous effort*
Very nice foggi!

*sigh* Snape. foggi said Snape. *sigh*

I'm kirbyowns/kirbyjack, but you can just call me kirby. I keep 2 seperate LT accounts so I can keep my school books seperate from my personal books. I guess you can infer from that sentence that I am a teacher. I try to check in before school and after school when I can. Sometimes I'm on here during my lunch time too. Anywho.....

Next!

thanks foggi - dixie works fine i guess it's cool with me or DK works but that makes me think of my mom's WOW game death knight whatever you wanna call me is fine

Hello newbies!

I'm biblioholic29, which even I hate to type, so people around here just call me bib. I have relatives galore which occasionally pop up here on the HE. My sister Mandy2 (or Mandy) is around most often and our other sister hollybeee (or holly) pops in every so often. Also our dad Mutumbo (emphasis added) has recently started posting occasionally. We're still working on a nickname for him.

I have a job that is occasionally super busy and often slow as molasses, so I can generally be counted on to post throughout the work day and maybe a little on the evenings and weekends. And to follow foggi's lead my favorite HP book is OotP (my least favorite HP movie is OotP) and my favorite character is....ummmmm....all the Weasleys....even Percy.

Wow, bib, this must have taken forever! I even learned a couple of things. 8)

Hello, I'm MEM... um ... I'm a Libra and I don't have an actual favorite HP character. I loved them all. um....I have two point three kids...and I have a mother, pollysmith, that gets on here, too, but I don't like to claim her. 8)

I'm littlegeek, often called simply LG. I used to spend more time here, but I pop in from time to time especially when we're discussing books or tv shows. PoA is my favorite HP book and movie. oh, and btw, I hated THE BOOK. (Did you explain that one, foggi?)

edited for bad html

Message edited by its author, Apr 16, 2009, 11:58am.

Oh yeah, and I'm also known for posting redheads into the HEG threads. So sue me.

Oh, and I'm a knitter and I post my projects in the Craft Corner threads. And my memory isn't what it used to be.

KIK lg.

I'll do the honors for The Book. There are many people here with strong feelings about Twilight, both positive and negative. When I first started reading it, I was hesitant and started calling it The Book instead of by it's title. Things snowballed from there so:
The Book=Twilight
The Next Book=New Moon (I think, I don't even know the order of the middle books!)
The Book After Next=Eclipse
The Last Book=Breaking Dawn and
His Book=for Midnight Sun.

The last one is particularly important as Stephenie Meyer has said she won't finish it until people stop talking about it. :)

Hello and welcome to the Newcomers!

I am Renald128 but everyone calls me Ron (my real name is Ronald so it figures) or Ren around here. My favorite HP book is Deathly Hallows and my favorite characters are Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. And I don't have any strong feelings about The Book although I have read them.

Welcome newcomers!

I'm jugglingpaynes, but everyone calls me crazy. I mean JP. They just think I'm crazy. :o) I am the one who is easily sidetracked, likes to have a good laugh, and yes, I really do juggle. I also draw comics and homeschool. My oldest is another LT HEer, catbastet. But I'll let her speak for herself.

And me. She tends to do my editing.

Hello and welcome all newcomers! I'm 06nwingert. The 06 is the year I graduated high school (as a general rule, I use the year I graduated high school or the year I will graduate college as part of my user names/passwords for various internet sites that require said information; it makes everything a lot easier). The n is the first letter of my first name (Nathan) and wingert is my last name. People call me wing, or Nathan (though they haven't done that yet, but are allowed to). I work at a library, and, by extension, read all the time. I'm attempting to become a published author. My favorite HP book is OotP, which happens to be my favorite movie.

I'm catbastet, crazy's daughter. Most everybody calls me cat. My favorite HP book is probably either Prisoner of Azcaban or Deathly Hallows. I like art, knitting, reading (obviously), and twisting into yoga positions. I do a great impression of a pretzel.

I hate doing these things *looks around hoping someone else will be chosen*.

I'm MsDonna aka MsD. My favourite HP book is The Philosopher's Stone and my favourite HP movie would be Prisoner of Azcaban. See the 'u' in favourite? That means I'm from a country where we usually try to use the queen's English.

I'm MrAndrew's wife, or is he my husband? I take no responsibility for any images posted by MrA, or anything said by him.

> 14

Wow, where on earth did you find that picture of the young Bill Gates? He looks almost human!

I'm Pollysmith, MEM_82 's mother and love to embarress her...er...I mean I love to comment. I'm here almost daily at some point. My favorite Hp book is SS/PS
and is also my favorite movie thus far of the series.

I am MrAndrew, a robot from the planet plotznic. You may call me MrA or 10110101101. You will all be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Have a nice day.

#24: *sigh* If you give away all of our secrets, no one will want to join.

Wow Foggi! Nice work!

This is me getting JP back on track. ;)

I'm lefty33, usually just lefty. Yes I am left-handed. My favorite HP book is OotP. I work in special needs for children with severe and profound disabilities at the junior/senior high school level. I also do alterations and custom sewing. If there is time at the end of the day after all that, I love to knit, write, run, quilt, learn a new language ... things like that. Oh, and I read constantly.

My sister Mindylou182 (Mindy) posts often. My brother bigmikeyt, husband boilerbum, and RL friend bdevil4 don't post often but are on LT.

Ah-hahahahaha! "boilerbum"!

So, you are saying he has a hot butt?

*snicker* lefty said "bum".

#27 and 28 are a demonstration of why assimilation is annoying.

Hey there!

I'm picolina, often referred to as pico, pic (although that gets confusing since you can call pictures pics), pi (apparently pronounced 3.14159265). Ummm, my fave HP book is OotP, and my least fave HP movie is GoF. I love reading, LTing, biking, running, and um, ya. You can learn more bout me on my profile.

Have fun!

Message edited by its author, Apr 16, 2009, 10:11pm.

24- I don't know, that seems kind of long. Can I call you 101 for short?

No! That's a rude word!

Oops. I'm so embarrassed now!

I accept your apology, 110101.

I'm so sorry I've not been here! I've been so busy with work and whatnot. A few updates about myself:

I went to London a few weeks ago AND:

1) Saw Les Miserables!!!! So good, as usual.

2) Saw Wicked (all time favorite musical!!!!) AND guess who I saw there? RUPERT!!!! THE Rupert...the Weasely! But only for a second, because security rescued him from the mob of girls surrounding him. And no, I was not part of the mob, but the one walking down the stairs as he came out of the throng.

3) Saw performance of "A Winter's Tale", put on by RSC in Stratford-Upon-Avon!!!!!!! From second row, no less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now an official fan of Shakespeare.

So anyway, that's the biggest thing that's happened with me. Now I'm off to catch up with all of you!

*Thank you SOOOO much for this info. thread foggi!*

That is so COOL, AR!

I was thinking of all you guys over there...you would have loved it!!!!

Did I mention the organ recital at Westminster?
And the piano and violin recital at St. Martin's in the Fields??

So much cool stuff! Original writing of Shakespeare...and I bought a photocopy of the first folio of Romeo and Juliet. COOLEST book I now own.

> 24 (not 14 lol - thanks for that #40)

You are clearly neither American nor related to the Borg. If you were, you would know that "resistance is feudal" :-)

(a sentiment that applies equally to Bill Gates though haha #14)

Message edited by its author, Apr 17, 2009, 5:51am.

#39 >14+10

>#39: You will be aspirated.

i am dixiekoala or dixie tho you can acall me DK but my name is renee...whatever floats your boat...okay so i hav no family on this site i am on here because it looked cool and all you people are soo funny and random my favorite book is the SS (cuz thats how it all began) and my fav movie is GoF (i like the Dragon) my favorite character is Draco Malfoy (big snaps for Tom Felton). And i love The Book and all its series.
i love art i draw and paint i crochet and i write music. Music is like my life! i play piano, clarinet, saxophone.and i am learning to play guitar. I am also i member of my high schools color guard and marching/concert/jazz bands. Thats about it!

Message edited by its author, Apr 17, 2009, 9:10am.

Turning off the bold.

Hi DK ! Hope you feel at home here.

#43 i forgot how i had to go look

#44 thanks

#45: People forget to turn off their bold and italics all the time around here. The next person by will usually just throw in a post and do it for them, which is what I was doing. Don't sweat it!

Thanks bib

#38 - AR - Welcome to London! (Sorry it's late, but if people don't say their coming, it's hard to greet in time! ;-) I could have met you for coffee!!) Glad you had a great time.

Message edited by its author, Apr 17, 2009, 9:21am.

You will be assimilated slobbered on.

OMG! Is he a Borg-oi? A Labra-Borg? An Assimil-sation? Whatever, if he turns those headlamp eyes on me, I'm going to surrender, right away!

it's cute koala bear just like me 8)



sorry practiceing picture post thingymajigs

^.,.^

Tid: That's a rare species of the Welshie-Borg. Everytime he looks that way to me I have to surrender too. It usually ends in giggles and kisses though.

Awww

Hello to our newbies! I'm Kerian but sometimes called K. I have an unpredictable work schedule so sometimes I'm here a lot and other times I miss this place as it will feel like days since I've been here. I might be here very late LT time (which is running on Eastern Standard Time) because I'm on the west coast of the US. I can't pick a favorite HP book and character but I can tell you my least favorite book is CoS and my least favorite character is that oh-so-obvious Voldemort. (Who has that mysterious ticking noise in mind? ;)

#42 --> Welcome, dixiekoala! :)

foggidawn here, posting under the group owner account. When you see someone posting with this login name, it is either Kerian or foggidawn. We use this account when we want to make changes to the information on the group homepage, the movie watch thread, or any "official" announcements (these are pretty rare -- you won't see a lot of posts from "Hogwarts_Express").

Just wanted to let everyone know that I went ahead and linked this thread to the group homepage in place of the old one. I (posting as foggidawn, of course) also made a couple of updates to the first few posts.

Welcome, newcomers!

I have a confession to make.

I post here because there are a lot of cool threads, discussions, games etc, and I'm an incurable rabbiter.

(Patience, I haven't reached the confession yet)

The fact is ... (mumbles, gazing down towards feet) ... erm ... I actually don't like ... (looks out of window and refuses to meet the gaze of group owner) ... Harry Potter ... (runs away in confusion, expecting to hear a thunderclap behind and the sound of galloping horses).

Who's Harry Potter?

Tid, that took a lot of courage and for that you are still welcome here. Prehaps we can cure your incomprehensible dislike of HP! just kidding. Of course you are still welcome to post!

OMG ! I made that confession, waited for the thunderbolt ... next thing I knew when I came to refresh the Talk pages :

"Sorry, we're down - We''ll be back in a few minutes"

I withdraw my confession !! I love Harry Potter !!! I don't want this power !!!!

Well, you all seem very kind, so if you can forgive me for bringing LT down ...

*sounding like her mother* have you actually read the HP books Tid? I put off reading them for years and I was always secretly snarky about adults I saw reading the books. Finally a co-worker who I respect convinced me to read PS and I was hooked. Lucky for me it was when HBP had already been published so I didn't have to wait too long for Deathly Hallows.

MsD- I refused to read them until the 4th book came out. I finally gave up my little fit and decided to try one. I picked up the 4th book first from the library. Read through it. Three days later I was back at the library picking up the first 3.

> 61

I did try, but I couldn't get on with her style of writing (this is such a subjective thing, I know). Compared to Philip Pullman or most of my favourite authors, she makes me wince a bit. But, (though I've never finished a HP) I have to say that her story-telling seems awesome - I guess for me it's the "Isaac Asimov syndrome" : fantastic stories, just can't get on with the prose!

It might be worthwhile try again at a later. I was like that with The Shipping News but I can honestly say it is now one of my favourite books of all time.

#57/63: So long as you've given them a try and you don't start any "I hate Harry" threads (which unfortunately occurs occasionally) you're cool with us! We do have a lot going on here that isn't Harry related at all and I'm glad you're having fun with it!

> 65

Thanks! And no, I wouldn't dare, I'd be lynched haha.

Tid: Have you been watching the movies? Not that they are an accurate depiction of the real HP story but a little HP is still HP. Don't worry if you haven't seen the movies we won't hold that against you either. We're glad you like it here and that you feel you can fit in even if you are not a fan!

Message edited by its author, Apr 20, 2009, 10:05am.

Actually, I should try a movie, you're right. And they would be light relief after Lord Of The Rings. Mind, I haven't even seen the Golden Compass yet! (Perhaps that should be my strategy? WATCH HP, and READ PP).

Frankly, I know a number of people who didn't like the first HP, but continued and ended up enjoying it by the end. Also, sometimes your mood at the time you read a particular book can affect your opinion about it.

And really, you shouldn't be worried about us. We all have such diverse likes and dislikes here. We don't mind if someone doesn't enjoy HP, we just get curious as to why. So always be prepared to explain!

JP is right i am NOT a huge fan of the first 2 HP books but i stuck with it and i love the rest i havn't seen the Golden Compass but i love the book though the subtle knife confused me a lil well ALOT i never finished it.... should I?

I personally didn't like the movie of The Golden Compass but I loved the books. They're one of my fave series, other than HP. I think you should try to finish The Subtle Knife dix, it was confusing, but I just really loved how Pullman pulled it all together at the end.

I guess as long as it comes together in the end i will be okay thanks pico i will try as soon as my school stuff slows down

You need to try and finish The Subtle Knife as that sets the scene for The Amber Spyglass. But if it's too hard-going, you could just dive straight in to the third book - no-one is going to know! (Actually, I liked Subtle Knife best of the three).

*keeps quiet and says nothing about how dull she fond Amber Spyglass, apart from the very last page, and that she wishes the whole thing had been condensed into 2 books, not 3*

Yes, The Subtle Knife was my favourite of the three too Tid.

#74: I'm getting mixed messages here. Was it dull, or are you fond of it? :o)

Sorry, I wasn't very clear was I!

Of the 3 books in the series, I enjoyed The Subtle Knife the most. I found The Amber Spyglass to be long-winded and unnecessary for the most part, although the conclusion was lovely.

I have various issues with the series and am not a huge fan, but I think my biggest problem is with Pullman himself, who I just can't take to.

eta - I've just spotted the typo to which you are referring, JP! Doh!

Message edited by its author, Apr 21, 2009, 12:17pm.

Lady N I know what you mean. I adored the Golden Compass for making a tough little girl the hero but then he minimizes her later in the series.

He uses uses a religion of sort and mythologizes it for his series but he resents it and openly speaks against it in his public appearances and I don't think you get to use the magical to attack the magical.

I am glad I read the books but Pullman has more that is frustrating about him as an author.

#77 - In addition to which, I'm uncomfortable with how impressed he seems to be with his own intelligence. I think Phillp Pullman's biggest fan is Phillip Pullman, and to me it comes across in his writing.

But please, this is not a personal attack on anyone who enjoys his books - it is merely my own opinion, and not a criticism of anyone who does not share it.

#76-78 -- You both put that so much better than I ever could. I'm glad "His Dark Materials" is a series that so many enjoy, but Pullman's attitude toward so many things spoils it for me . . . and I felt that, as I went into the series, the plot grew less important, and the ideology of the author grew more important.

76-79: I couldn't agree more. I'm happy to have read it, as I don't believe in declaring an opinion on something until you've actually experienced it. However, I had the same problems as many of you have mentioned and will likely not pick it up again.

And since is the info thread, obviously we're all a bit nutty, but occasionally in-depth literary discussions breakout unexpectedly!

I felt the Golden Compass was the best of the series and I quite enjoyed it. I thought the end sucked and didn't fit with the rest of the series, more like Pullman had this end he wanted and finally just said "OK enough I'll just MAKE this happen".

ETA :
readafew is a troglodyte that lurks in the HE and periodically spews non sequiturs and semi useful bits of trivia. Like "readafew" can be type correctly with one hand on the qwerty keyboard.

Message edited by its author, Apr 21, 2009, 2:31pm.

I know I've said this before, but I had a hard time getting through The Golden Compass because it didn't seem to gell together for me. I didn't pick up the 2nd book for that reason.

#80 - "And since is the info thread, obviously we're all a bit nutty, but occasionally in-depth literary discussions breakout unexpectedly!"

I did feel a bit bad when I realised the Dark Materials discussion had hijacked the info thread, but then I thought well, no, it's par for the course really - best the newbies get used to it as soon as possible! :-D

I personally liked The Amber Spyglass the most, but I agree with all of you. The ending was completely unrelated to The Golden Compass and as foggi said, as the books went on, the plot grew kinda unimportant, and we could sense more what Pullman really wanted to show when he was writing his books.

But personally, I kinda ignore those facts, and the fantasy and plot of the books makes them great for me.

*Apologizes to everyone for getting the thread off-track again. Oh-well!*

Sorry, but I'm going to take the thread off track for about 30 seconds. I LOVE The Amber Spyglass. It's my favorite book in the trilogy. The ending was both unexpected and expected. Pullman took John Milton's Paradise Lost and expanding it to fit into his world. If you've ever read that, the ending to Amber Spyglass is expected. However, what happened to some of the characters was unexpected.

Ok, the threads back on track now.

Re: Pullman, I never bothered to read the final book. I didn't like the way he stuck a boy in the second book and then made Lyra into a dumb female.

aww no, never dumb - just becoming an adolescent

oh wait ...

86 > yes that was disheartening. If I remember it gets worse in the last book.

Gee, now I won't read the books