I’ve never much liked the idea that there is an American version of Harry Potter. Are you seriously telling me that kids can’t figure out from context (or even a glossary) that a jumper is a sweater? Or a dressing gown is a bathrobe? Or a pot plant is what we call a potted plant? And if it’s so important to have these changes, why did they skip the one where Rowling refers to Ron’s nose as a pecker? Did they just miss it? Was someone having a laugh by letting it through?
Anyway, because I prefer to read it the way she wrote it, I have made it a habit to order the British version from the UK. This time, I was traveling on the day HP was released, so I did buy the American version and read that first. Then I sold it on ebay. My British version arrived last week and my plan was to read it again, but more slowly. I started on Saturday afternoon, spent all day yesterday laying around reading it, and finished it off this morning. I definitely read it slower, and I did pick up more things, some that explained a few things I’d sort of zoomed over, but what I found surprising is that it kept me just as engaged as the first time and I couldn’t put it down this time either. How many books that you just read two weeks ago can you say that about?
I finished a couple of hours ago and you know, I feel kind of sad that it’s all over. I don’t see any reason for Rowling to write any more HP books, but I wouldn’t mind if she wrote about Hogwarts again. It might be kind of cool if she wrote about Hogwarts a long time ago, maybe when it was first starting. One can hope!
Will you miss Hogwarts?
Yeah i dont see why they change words when publishing british books in america. They don’t do it the other way around. Like the catcher in the rye for example – is full of american slang but it doesnt matter because thats how it was originally written, the reader can figure out what it means. It makes no sense whatsoever to change things, its a british book; it should be kept british.