[Betsy the Quilter]

Isn't it hilarious? I feel compelled to paraphrase Mark Twain:

I don't know if the Amazon complaint boards are populated by smart people who are putting us on, or imbeciles who really mean it.

~robin

That's how I feel about the fools they have on Jaywalking on the Tonight Show.

Betsy

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Robin, I certainly agree with you about things being "worth something someday."  Maybe if you want to leave something for your great-great-grandchildren to have something of value, and that's only if everyone else throws theirs out, it might be a good philosophy.  Of course, that rarely happens, and as you say, we won't be around to see it.

The last I checked, my Ginny doll (with original headband and tons of original clothes) was only worth $75, and that's because the redheads are rare. 

If I bought the CE, it would be to put a beautiful book on display.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy my standard edition. 

 

[robin.goodfellow]

The last I checked, my Ginny doll (with original headband and tons of original clothes) was only worth $75, and that's because the redheads are rare.

You have an original Ginny? Cool! I like the Ginny dolls, myself. But I bet for $75, you wouldn't part with yours. I mean, that's a nice return, but it couldn't replace your....idk, childhood memories, maybe? Mom has a Shirley Temple doll that she feels the same way about. The $100 she could maybe sell it for would be a scarce replacement for a doll she's had forever. And honestly, for something to bring in big dollars, it pretty much has to be in unplayed with condition still in a box that hasn't seen daylight in nearly a century. And what's the fun in that? (Barbie collectors think I am a complete heathen b/c I take mine out of the boxes. But why have something if you can't enjoy it? Also, I still like to play with dolls. So nyah.) But many people don't realize that. I had a woman crying in the store one night, trying to get us to pay her $1000 for her original Barbie. She said she really needed the money, and she was sure that her doll was worth that much. While I certainly sympathized with her, I was still obligated to point out that the doll had no shoes, and her original ponytail had been cut off (wow, I can't believe how many kids get to play with scissors and dolls at the same time.), and she appeared to be wearing a Malibu Barbie bathing suit. So, indeed, while collectors guides do say that original Barbies can be worth a mint, condition is everything. I was quite gratified to hear an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow say much the same thing one night in appraising a Barbie collection. It still didn't stop people from bringing their dolls in, but at least we could quote experts.

Also, I have found that CE books read just as well as any other edition (book collectors pretty much think I'm a heathen too. I read my first editions.).

 

[Gertie Kindle]

You have an original Ginny? Cool! I like the Ginny dolls, myself. But I bet for $75, you wouldn't part with yours. I mean, that's a nice return, but it couldn't replace your....idk, childhood memories, maybe?

Mine is over 50 years old. I got the second edition for my daughters. They are completely different. The only thing they have in common is they are 8" dolls.

You're right. I wouldn't part with my Ginny for anything.

Mom has a Shirley Temple doll that she feels the same way about. The $100 she could maybe sell it for would be a scarce replacement for a doll she's had forever. And honestly, for something to bring in big dollars, it pretty much has to be in unplayed with condition still in a box that hasn't seen daylight in nearly a century. And what's the fun in that? (Barbie collectors think I am a complete heathen b/c I take mine out of the boxes. But why have something if you can't enjoy it? Also, I still like to play with dolls. So nyah.) But many people don't realize that. I had a woman crying in the store one night, trying to get us to pay her $1000 for her original Barbie. She said she really needed the money, and she was sure that her doll was worth that much. While I certainly sympathized with her, I was still obligated to point out that the doll had no shoes, and her original ponytail had been cut off (wow, I can't believe how many kids get to play with scissors and dolls at the same time.), and she appeared to be wearing a Malibu Barbie bathing suit. So, indeed, while collectors guides do say that original Barbies can be worth a mint, condition is everything. I was quite gratified to hear an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow say much the same thing one night in appraising a Barbie collection. It still didn't stop people from bringing their dolls in, but at least we could quote experts.

I watch Cash in the Attic (BBCA) a lot, and even 200 year old rare dolls don't seem to bring in much.

Also, I have found that CE books read just as well as any other edition (book collectors pretty much think I'm a heathen too. I read my first editions.).

I've only got one first edition, Men of Albemarle by Inglis Fletcher. I got it used on Amazon Marketplace. I really doubt it's worth anything.

As for my HP books, I buy the hardbacks because I want the book as soon as it comes out. I have the paperbacks for rereads. Easier to handle.

 

[Susan M]

I have the paperbacks for rereads. Easier to handle.

It sure would be nice to have them in Kindle version for rereads - much easier to handle.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

It sure would be nice to have them in Kindle version for rereads - much easier to handle.

Yeah, but we all know JKR's thinking on that. Too bad she doesn't realize that she would have more control over e-book distribution if she allowed authorized publication.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I wrote to RDR Publishing about the possibility of the HP Lexicon book being published on Kindle.  Here's his reply:

Thanks for your note.  We will definitely look into this.  The book itself will ship right after the first of the year and after we've met all the demand we will certainly look into Kindle, something we are doing for other books.  Take care.

Roger Rapoport

I asked him to let me know as they Kindleize books.  Some of their list looks intriguing. 

 

[Guest]

We have the trade PB editions, simply because that's the format in which we somehow ended up with the first three, and LR wanted them all to match.  For later editions, we actually sold our HB copies to get the trade PB's.

In retrospect, looking at how tattered some of them have gotten from LR''s incessant re-reading of them, this was probably a mistake.

 

[Guest]

Yes, they are getting quite battered. I have even had to doctor a couple when the spine broke from the weight.

If only, JK would see the light. Then, I could re-read to my heart's content without doing any damage to the book.

 

[Leslie]

All the Amazon boards lately seem to be populated with the whiners and complainers. I have a feeling that the moderators over there have given up and unless someone really goes over the edge they just let it ride. I'm so happy to be here with sane happy people.

They don't even have moderators which is why it can get so tiresome over there. Same with IMDb (for those who like to discuss movies).

Thanks for the recap, Robin!

L

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Yes, they are getting quite battered. I have even had to doctor a couple when the spine broke from the weight.

If only, JK would see the light. Then, I could re-read to my heart's content without doing any damage to the book.

Maybe that's her plan. As we continually reread, we have to buy new books.

I've been holding off since I want to read SS with the kids in my book club, and I don't want to read HBP before the movie comes out so I won't be disappointed.

 

[Leslie]

Yes, they are getting quite battered. I have even had to doctor a couple when the spine broke from the weight.

If only, JK would see the light. Then, I could re-read to my heart's content without doing any damage to the book.

Really. I don't know how much I've spent on multiple copies of all the HP books, plus the CDs. And I'd buy the whole series again if I could get it for my Kindle.

L

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Really. I don't know how much I've spent on multiple copies of all the HP books, plus the CDs. And I'd buy the whole series again if I could get it for my Kindle.

L

You and me both, except for the CD's. I keep buying SS and giving it to kids to read. JKR keeps coming up with different excuses as to why she won't allow the books to be digitized, but I think, based on a lot of her actions, it's just a matter of control with her.

 

[iamc]

I ordered both.
The collectors edition was an EVENT just to open, and well worth the $100. I love the details in every part of it.

The standard copy is what I will actually read....although I wouldn't have ordered that one if JKR would loosen up. If it were on my Kindle, I would have already started reading it.

 

[chobitz]

I got the collectors edition also. It is beyond beautiful, well worth the money. If its an author I like I will buy the collectors edition. I also bought King's latest book as the collectors version , it came with a dvd.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Here's an interesting idea from the L.A. Times.


What to do onscreen with J.K. Rowling's 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'
01:46 PM PT, Dec 16 2008

Bard It's already become the fastest-selling book of the year, so it's no surprise to hear that Warner Bros. is interested in making a movie out of J.K. Rowling's latest book, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a collection of fables set in the (pre-"Harry Potter") world of wizards and muggles Rowling knows best.

The titular Beedle the Bard wrote five tales, each accompanied with commentary from Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' now-late headmaster who met his end in the penultimate "Potter" novel, "The Half-Blood Prince."

For those, like myself, who've already zipped through the vignettes more than once, it's hard to imagine crafting a single movie out of any or all of them, however much we'd like to indulge in another big-screen adaptation of Rowling's magical characters. Each story exists separately from the other, and each averages 10 pages (in a double-spaced, large-font-ed-children's-book way).

Though the author packs "Tales" densely with the sort of attention to detail that brought the wizarding world -- with its quidditch, house elves, horcruxes, and dementors, etc. -- to life, each story is little more than a morality tale told in a few pages (spoilers start now): "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" warns against the evils of prejudice in a story about a wizard whose negligence of his neighboring muggles manifests into one horrid pest of a pot. "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" concerns a trio of sisters searching for a magical fountain to cure life's troubles, but find that the right attitude is the best cure. "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," which would surely frighten young children, tells the story of a literally heartless warlock whose vanity ends in tragedy. "The Tale of Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump" cautions against the disregard for the laws of magic. And "The Tale of the Three Brothers," Dumbledore's favorite of the five, teaches that trying to cheat death will always result in disappointment. Throughout, Dumbledore peppers the narratives with backstory, personal asides and a rather saucy sense of humor.

So what to do with the Bard's tales? How best to bring them to life? A few suggestions:

Make a "Potter" prequel using Dumbledore's commentary. We follow a new batch of wizards and muggles in the 17th century, when anti-Muggle sentiment was growing and the witch hunts for pro-Muggle wizards began. We've already got the era's "fruity epithets" from Dumbledore: "mudwallower," "dunglicker," and "scumsucker" and a lead villain in Brutus Malfoy, a distant relative of Draco, who's mentioned as a vocal opponent of the non-magical. It could be darker, to be sure, but we'd get to see how and why the magical world went into self-concealment.

Expand "The Warlock's Hairy Heart" -- and don't fuss with the ending. The darkest of the stories is also the most ripe for fleshing out into a two-hour movie, should Rowling be interested in picking the unconventional fairy tale back up. We'd need to see the Warlock before he decided to stow away his heart, lest we watch the selfish wretch for two hours straight, it'd be kind of gory, and without a happy ending. But there are directors who know a thing or two about dark fantasies. ("Pan's Labyrinth" anyone? Looking at you, Guillermo del Toro.)

Ask Rowling to write a few more fables and spin off an animated TV series. Think "Wallace & Gromit." Think "Creature Comforts." So much said in just 12-15 minute episodes. The same could be said for the Bard's cautionary tales. Also, while the "Harry Potter" movies were able to pull off dazzling feats of magic using special effects, wouldn't Rowling's shorts be just as adaptable -- if not more so -- using CGI animation or claymation or hand-drawn cartoons? Kids, not to mention their parents, would be grateful for the addition to children's TV lineup.

Make the greatest "Harry Potter" DVD extras ever. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" doesn't come out until July, and there are two more films after that (remember "Deathly Hallows" was split into two), so there is plenty of time to whip up five shorts as DVD features. Live-action, animated, it doesn't matter as long as they're there. And hey, Pixar gives us fun shorts all the time without us even asking.

Other ideas and suggestions? Leave a comment below. Between us, we can figure a way to bring these stories to the screen.

-- Denise Martin