I have to give a shout-out to Harry Potter

[XemaSab]

It's really changed the way I read books and see movies.

I'm a lot more analytical now than I was before, and I'm more willing to explore and play with ideas outside the standard plot.

For example, I saw The Ring last week, and at the end, when Rachel decides she needs to have Aiden copy the tape, what if she's wrong? What if her conclusions about what saved her are wrong? If she's wrong, what else can we learn from the plot that might pose an alternate scenario? Are there scenes "missing"? Is there any significance to the fact that Rachel, Aiden and Noah all have Old Testament-style names? Are there pieces that don't fit directly into the main narrative that could tell another story?

I'm probably stretching beyond the intent of the screenwriter here in this example, but I've been doing that more and more with books and movies since I got into the old HP.

Usually, if a character is wrong or is lying in a book or movie it's stated in the narrative and is a point on which the entire plot hangs, but not so HP. Yet. :D

:toast: to JK for opening windows that were never open before!!!

[hickman1937]

1. The books have started you thinking beyond the printed word,

and drawing your own conclusions about how reality would play out. Read on my fellow DUer. Some authors are very very good. They are few and far between though.

[XemaSab]

2. I've been a pretty fiendish reader

pretty much my whole life, and I've read books before that had plots that you could flip around and play with, but not to this extent.

Do you have any suggestions for "favorites"?

[hickman1937]

3. No. My explorations into the great world of books

came to a screeching halt 13 years ago when I got divorced and my income dropped. I'm very cautious about my choices now. Lois McMaster Bujold, Martha Grimes etc. Every dollar must produce quality.

[XemaSab]

4. I hear ya

I'm picky about what I like, but I read so fast that even if a book sucks I'll still finish it.

[Zookeeper]

5. At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I will point out...

that libraries are free (although ours offer the latest books immediately for 50 cents a day).

I also find good used books at thrift stores for less than $3.00, although the choices lean toward bestseller types.