Question re: Deathly Hallows.

[q-spade.livejournal.com]

Good Peoples of DTCL:

Soon Deathly Hallows will be released and the majority of community members will be reading it. Some of us will be at a bookstore at midnight queuing up for a copy, other folks will have it delivered via mail-order, some intrepid souls will seek out the text online the day of release, and others will be haggling with the shady streetcorner bookseller dude for a cheap "fell-off-the truck-YEAH-RIGHT" copy. ;D

Invariably there'll be a reaction post here on DTCL right after the release date (if not the day of) so we can get our love/hate/WTF on, but I was wondering when would be a good time to start recapping the chapters. There's also the matter of spoilage to deal with; not only do different people read at a different pace, but if various countries have alternate release dates then that's also important to keep in mind. DTCL is a global community, after all. :)

What is everyone most comfortable with? Do we want to coordinate so that everyone who wants to recap starts at the same time? Or might that be too overwhelming?

What do you all think?

Comments

[meritjubet.livejournal.com]

A day should be the minimum for the recap I think, I'm not sure about the limits but. No more than a week before a recap? I doubt there would be a time suitable for the entire comm, but maybe the weekend after the release? A couple days to read and think, by then.

[luwanda26.livejournal.com]

I think people should be able to start recapping whenever they want. As long as all recaps are under a cut and labeled for which chapters they cover, I don't think we'll have a problem.

[q-spade.livejournal.com]

It's true that most (if not all) DTCL recappers use LJ-cuts, which makes things much easier. :)

[artystone.livejournal.com]

I'm good either way, if I'm not ready to read the recaps, I'll just hold off until I am. Personally, I'd prefer holding off a while, meritjubet's idea of the following weekend is a good one, considering not everyone will be getting the book at the same time, but putting early ones under a cut is a great alternative--actually it would be a good idea to put all new recaps under a cut anyway, just in case.

I'm planning on spending a good bit of time on LJ the first few days after release (once I've read it, of course!), when are most "mainstream" sites going to start allowing posts again? I haven't kept up-to-date on that. I'm sure there will be lots of great discussions everywhere and TONS of wanktastic wank to enjoy, I like to keep DTCL for last, like a good dessert!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I'm sure there will be lots of great discussions everywhere and TONS of wanktastic wank to enjoy, I like to keep DTCL for last, like a good dessert!

Hadn't realized it till you said it, but I think that's what I've been imagining too!

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

I think the recaps should start after a week. I myself will take about 3 days to read the book, and there will be tons of discussion to read in the first days after.

[teratologist.livejournal.com]

I'll be out of town that weekend, so selfishly I would like to wait a bit, but I'm perfectly capable of reading fast enough to catch up if others would like to start sooner.

[anehan]

How about having general, free discussion in (one or several) reaction posts for a while, and then start recapping? A week's grace has been suggested above, and it sounds quite good.

[ellecain.livejournal.com]

Ooh, seconded. I like the idea of a general reaction post!

[anehan]

The way I envision it is like this: someone will post their reactions, people will comment with their reactions, we'll have 500 comments in the post and nobody can keep up with what's going on. It'll be fun.

[ellecain.livejournal.com]

Sounds good! I need a place where I can flail about and cradle my shattered illusions. :-)

[ellecain.livejournal.com]

I think the best time to start recaps would be after a week or so after the release. Most people will have got the book and read it by then - also I think the first few days will be full of fandom upheaval, discussion and wank.

That said, I'm fine with anything - as long as it's under a cut. If people want to start sooner, that's cool with me.

[merrymelody.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of a reactions post (iirc, we had one at t_s, that went well) for general instant rants, and recaps could be like, at least a week after the US/UK release date? (Not that they'd have to start then, obviously, it's up to the recappers as much as anyone! But a grace period for people who haven't got it - by then they'll have surely found a dl link ;) Speaking of, I hope something comes up asap, I still haven't decided where I'm getting my DH - and the slower readers could be a nice idea, and it's not like discussion couldn't be going on in between. Aside from a reactions post - and a spoiler one, hopefully - if something's awful/exciting enough, there's no stopping posts dedicated to that plot/character as opposed to proper chaptered recaps.)

[ellecain.livejournal.com]

...if something's awful/exciting enough, there's no stopping posts dedicated to that plot/character as opposed to proper chaptered recaps

So we can just have a post dedicated to "That Awesome Plot Twist in Chapter 24" or whatever, without giving away what that plot twist is?

[merrymelody.livejournal.com]

LOL, yeah, pretty much!

[papier.livejournal.com]

As DTCL updates primarily on a Friday anyway, I would've thought there'd be no posts til the following Friday after the release on the 21st.

But anyway - I plan on reading the book all in one day. It's possible I might be on holiday starting from the 22nd (thanks mother) so I probably won't be able to take part in reaction posts. :(

So to round off...no complaints from this corner. I'll finish the book on the 21st. Anything afterwards is good for me.

And therefore, I hope to be discussing Ginny's grueling death with everyone whenever I come back from Italy (seriously mother, damn you).

[anime-babble.livejournal.com]

I vote for a week too. But, as long as people post under a cut, it's fine by me.

[elanor-x.livejournal.com]

I live in Israel. On http://www.steimatzky.co.il/NS_GetProdInfo.asp?prodid=21930397 is written that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - On Sale: July 21st, 2007" , but in practice [at least so was with the sixth book] it takes a bit more than a week (or even 2)... :( I think to wait for a week with recaps is a great idea and second helkamaria's offer to have a general discussion in reaction posts. The only request is to put it under a cut, so that nobody will be accidentally spoiled.
The only spoiler I want to know is the list of chapter titles. Will you post them too, please [only them in that post, without more spoilers]?

[xerox78.livejournal.com]

I'll go with whatever everyone else decides.

But I wouldn't be opposed to having a (locked?) pre-release spoiler thread or two as the other community did a couple of days before HBP was released. I admit it is for selfish reasons, as I will be going out of town early on Friday, 6/20 and won't be back until late Sunday, or even Monday. Even before that, my plan was to get spoiled, and if I liked what I heard, pick the book up, if I didn't, to wait a while. If I hear anything before, and like what I hear, I'll probably pick up a copy somewhere while I'm out of town. Otherwise, I'll probably spend the whole trip wondering what went down either way, or begging my ride to stop at a Kinko's so I can use the internet.

[ackonrad.livejournal.com]

I want to second xerox78's comment. I know I'm selfish and all, but if someone on the community gets to find spoilers, it would be nice to post them in a locked, blacked out post, for us the unfortunate souls who have no idea when they'll manage to get the book at all and when they'll be able to go online. I'm flying to Greece on the 19-th; I'll be living in a small village for almost three months, and while I get that there will be many tourists and some copies of the book will probably be delivered there, I don't know whether I'll manage to get my hands on one or I'll have to wait for a possibility to get to Thessaloniki to buy the book. Also, for the same reasons, it would be nice to wait a week with the recaps, to give us poor devils a little time to find the book at all.