# New/Last Harry Potter book to be 1500 pages long??! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116 "2006-09-10T00:54:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/41 "2006-09-12T13:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux] That’s probably 700 pages of **manuscript**. I’m sure one of our published authors on the board can tell you that it translates to about half as many printed book pages. [/QUOTE] One manuscript page (250 words per page of a monospaced (like Courier) font) translates into approximately one printed page. Obviously the final printed product \*can \*vary depending on font size and spacing, but it shouldn’t be half. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/42 "2006-09-12T15:04:54Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] **Zofia** , no Terry Pratchett? [/QUOTE] I got to 15 and quit. And I never really liked Redwall, but so many kids do that I’ll cut it some slack. The first few books were fun. I still can’t believe there’s no love for _The Tombs of Atuan_. Then again, I really liked _Tehanu_, which seems to be pretty universally reviled. Prydain is even better than you remember it, really. Especially the last book. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/43 "2006-09-12T15:06:18Z")
Er, I mean I got to 15 series and quit, not 15 Pratchett books. I haven’t read his recent kids’ books, _Wee Free Men_ and all, but the Johnny books are fantastic. Discworld is appropriate for kids, but older ones than Harry Potter started out with IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/44 "2006-09-12T17:34:49Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] I still can’t believe there’s no love for _The Tombs of Atuan_. [/quote] Count me in. I didn’t like _Tehanu_ either, but I can’t remember why, which means that it wasn’t bad but wasn’t good either. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/45 "2006-09-12T18:00:33Z")
The reason people didn’t like Tehanu is that it was mostly a bunch of musings on women’s domestic life, a lot of cryptic wise woman sayings, and an ending that came out of left field and still doesn’t make a lot of sense to most people. There wasn’t a lot of action, there’s no clear plot or goal and parts of it feel preachy. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/46 "2006-09-12T18:13:36Z")
Jeez, I _was_ using this thread for reading recommendations, but y’all have got me worried now…I’m not sure if I should waste my time on Earthsea if the series is going to end up in the toilet! ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/47 "2006-09-12T19:21:44Z")
[QUOTE=Smokinjbc] It’s _lady_ , and thanks 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yeah, but “You, lady, win the thread,” sounds awkward. I think I’ll try “Ma’am” next, unless that makes you feel too old and/or Southern. [quote=Dung Beetle **Jeez, I was using this thread for reading recommendations, but y’all have got me worried now…I’m not sure if I should waste my time on Earthsea if the series is going to end up in the toilet!** Read the first one (_A Wizard of Earthsea_) for sure, and give _The Tombs of Atuan_ a try. _Atuan_ may be worth reading just so that the third book (I’m drawing a blank here on the name) makes sense. _Tehanu_ you can take or leave. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/48 "2006-09-12T19:24:51Z")
And if a passing mod would fix my coding, I’d be enternally grateful. ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/49 "2006-09-12T19:28:13Z")
Tamora Pierce creates compelling characters and plot lines, but she can’t write as well as Rowling. Not to say that I don’t like Pierce, but she’s just not that great of a writer. And all of her stories are kind of the same. How many female students can fall in love with their much older male tutors before it becomes inevitable that all of them will. Anyone else waiting for this to happen with some of there characters, like Daja. I don’t feel like Rowling repeats herself nearly as much. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/50 "2006-09-12T20:49:31Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Jeez, I _was_ using this thread for reading recommendations, but y’all have got me worried now…I’m not sure if I should waste my time on Earthsea if the series is going to end up in the toilet! [/QUOTE] Well, the last books in the series are sort of not particularly necessary to even know about. I only happen to know Tehanu existed because I came across it in a bookstore. There’s a fifth book I think, and I never read it. Books 1-3 are their own solid trilogy, and all really worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/51 "2006-09-12T20:58:33Z")
All righty then. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116/52 "2006-09-12T23:36:17Z")
Dung Beetle, if you want absolute, utter consistency in quality you’re going to be disappointed. These are books written by human beings, and they generally can’t quite sustain their excellence throughout the series. I think the first three books of the Earthsea series are brilliant. For over a decade, that’s all there was, and it was a surprise to everyone when Le Guin decided to continue the series. I’ve only read the first four books in the series, and while the fourth book is not quite as good, they’re all excellent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-last-harry-potter-book-to-be-1500-pages-long/372116.md?page=2)