Guilty Pleasures revisited (confessional)

[fyffer]

Well, six days ago I started reading Watership Down. (A kids book about bunnies) Finished reading it two days ago. couldn't put the book down.

My current signature is from it.

Amen to that! I read, and re-read this many times, and only in my adult years. I was very excited for the "sequel" when it finally came out in the last decade or so (anyone remember the title?). Anyway, it sucked big time. Very disappointing.

[fyffer]

We're currently replacing our US versions with copies from the Canadian publisher (so book 1 is correctly titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; none of this "Sorcerer's Stone" crap).

I'm with you there, Slude. We've got a U.S. version, and one I later ordered from Waterstones.com so it would have the not Dumbed-down-for-Yanks title.
(Not to mention I've also got Harry Potter a l'Ecole des Sorciers, and several other french editions from Amazon.fr.
If you want to get picky about changes being made for a particular audience--don't read it in French, where Snape becomes Rogue, and Hogwarts becomes Poudlard. And that's just the beginning.)

OK, now I'm confused. I am pretty new to all things HP, but the first book was originally "HP and the Philosopher's Stone"? They really did a global-search-and-replace for "Philosopher's" -> "Sorceror's" ??
I don't get it.

[emmline]

OK, now I'm confused. I am pretty new to all things HP, but the first book was originally "HP and the Philosopher's Stone"? They really did a global-search-and-replace for "Philosopher's" -> "Sorceror's" ??
I don't get it.

Well, I don't get it either, but here's what happened:
The book was originally published by Bloomsbury, in the UK, under the Philosopher's Stone title. The Philosopher's stone being an actual pre-existing object of legend. Rowling incorporated quite a lot of folklore and legend in the stories, with her own twist.
Presumably, the U.S. publisher decided an American audience would relate better to the word Sorcerer. Maybe whoever made the decision felt that kids who'd never heard of the Philosopher's Stone would grasp more easily that this is a book about magic with the new title.


(typo)

[jsluder]

OK, now I'm confused. I am pretty new to all things HP, but the first book was originally "HP and the Philosopher's Stone"? They really did a global-search-and-replace for "Philosopher's" -> "Sorceror's" ??
I don't get it.

Well, I don't get it either, but here's what happened:
The book was originally published by Bloomsbury, in the UK, under the Philosopher's Stone title. The Philosopher's stone being an actual pre-existing object of legend. Rowling incorporated quite a lot of folklore and legend in the stories, with her own twist.
Presumably, the U.S. publisher decided an American audience would relate better to the word Sorcerer. Maybe whomever made the decision felt that kids who'd never heard of the Philosopher's Stone would grasp more easily that this is a book about magic with the new title.

Philosopher/sorcerer wasn't the only thing that changed. For a more complete listing, go here: The Harry Potter Lexicon: Differences

[The Weekenders]

I sometimes look at the Politics and Other Controversial Topics forum. But usually only when someone at work says "Never mind, things could be worse."

Yeah, yer right. It makes me feel cheap and dirty as well as guilty. Nyuk.

[feadogin]

I like watching "Project Runway" Maybe, just that I am so fasionably or somthing...or more likely I just like to watch Heidi.
"Auf Wiedersehen"

The only shows I ever watch on TV are Project Runway & What Not to Wear, and I am the least fashionable person I know!

J.

[Jennie]

Sometimes I get out sheet music and play recorders, late at night.
Sometimes with friends!

And I read the funnies before I even finish the front page.

Jennie

[jsluder]

And I read the funnies before I even finish the front page.

I read the funnies instead of the front page.

[fearfaoin]

Philosopher/sorcerer wasn't the only thing that changed. For a more complete listing, go here: The Harry Potter Lexicon: Differences

This is the specific page for the Philosopher's Stone. Some of the
changes make sense (few American children would know what
Sellotape is [though this destroys the pun that is "Spellotape"]), but
most just tend to reduce the Britishness of the prose.

Edit:
The funny thing is they leave some really obscure (at least to me)
Britishisms in there, e.g. when Hagrid tells Rosmerta "Ta", which I later
found out was slang for "Thanks". The only other place I've seen this
is in a travel book's Glossary of British->American English.

[cowtime]

Well, six days ago I started reading Watership Down. (A kids book about bunnies) Finished reading it two days ago. couldn't put the book down.

My current signature is from it.

Amen to that! I read, and re-read this many times, and only in my adult years. I was very excited for the "sequel" when it finally came out in the last decade or so (anyone remember the title?). Anyway, it sucked big time. Very disappointing.

I first read that book as an adult, and it never occured to me that it would be even considered as a children's book.I even had a French Lop that I named "Silflay".

While I do love it, my favorite by him is the "Plague Dogs". Snitter, Rowf and the Tod are great.

[izzarina]

I sometimes look at the Politics and Other Controversial Topics forum.

And here I had such a high opinion of you. Anyone who sometimes looks at that forum must be mad....except Weeks, but that's only because he and I were born on the same day

[izzarina]

I like to play Green Day on my whistle sometimes. Does that count?

[lixnaw]

[Lambchop]

This is the specific page for the Philosopher's Stone. Some of the
changes make sense (few American children would know what
Sellotape is [though this destroys the pun that is "Spellotape"]), but
most just tend to reduce the Britishness of the prose.

You can still work it out in American . . .

cellophane tape => cello tape + magic spell => Spellotape

Until this thread, I had no idea Scotch Tape was called Sellotape in the UK, but I still got a pun of sorts. Maybe not the right one, but a good one nonetheless.

[I.D.10-t]

It makes you wonder how much translations of works take liberty with the translation of jokes. When A Clockwork Orange first came to the United States, they chopped out the entire last chapter. Does this happen to books going to the UK? Or is just that the American publishers assume that US readers cannot be made uncomfortable with other styles of writing? I wouldn’t be surprised if at one time they tried to redub Dr. Who? to make it more understandable for the unwashed masses.

Edit for spelling