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Harry Potter.

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Dandy_GO

Dandy_GO

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I read the first one not long after it first came out - before the hysteria over the series really set in. I thought it was a decent enough read. I was a child. I read the second and, as a 12 year old, found it held my attention, but regarded it as far from a challenging read, despite its considerable length (for a book aimed at children).
Since then, I have grown to loathe the books, or, more specifically, the constant hype and media attention they recieve. Why is it that I can't go a day without hearing about Harry ****ing Potter 100 times? I couldn't give a shit! The release of the new Harry Potter book has seemingly recieved more media attention than the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, which saw the loss of 230,000 people.
I want to know what the appeal is. I went and attempted to re-read the first book and could not bring myself to see it as anything but a needlessly long, but otherwise bog-standard, childrens book. In the last few days, Jono Coleman, an annoying radio and television personality, accidently gave away the ending on live tv, leading viewers to call for his head. Sunrise management have left it up to the public to decide whether he keeps his job, and many are demanding that he be fired.
I have no affection for Coleman, but who the **** calls for a person to be fired over ANY book, let alone a book written for children about a child wizard.
I really don't want to sound like a snob. I can fully appreciate that any book which can capture your imagination has value, and that not every book has to be Dostoevsky to be worth reading. I don't believe things that do not appeal to my particular taste, or are aimed at younger audiences are useless books, and appreciate that others can enjoy them. I still love reading Spot books, for instance. What I do not understand, however, is how these books can deserve the incredible amount of hype they've recieved. Why do I have to hear about these shit books so often? Why are 5 through to 105 year olds obsessing over a series which is, from my particular point of view, no incredible literary feat to the incredible extent that people are calling for a man's head for spoiling it? If somebody told me that by the end of the book, I'd see Spot run, run Spot run, I wouldn't demand they be fired. The closest cultural comparison to this shit I can think of is Scientology. It is getting beyond a joke.
Nobody is happier than me that Rowling is taking her gazillion dollars and sitting on her so called laurels.
 
Because its a book that has it all. People have waited years to find out the ending and that idiot blurted it out. What a fool.

Its not the hardest book to read, but thats what makes it so great, you don't have to be a book worm to enjoy it. Thats why J.K is now richer then the Queen.
 

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ThePeckers said:
Because its a book that has it all. People have waited years to find out the ending and that idiot blurted it out. What a fool.

Its not the hardest book to read, but thats what makes it so great, you don't have to be a book worm to enjoy it. Thats why J.K is now richer then the Queen.
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There are millions of books which are enjoyable and enriching, yet easy to read, and thousands of these are nearly identical to Harry Potter. Rowling couldn't even get it published originally (not that this means much, if you consider that Kennedy Toole had just one book ever published for this very reason, whereas Ginger Spice has as least two to her name) as nobody expected it to be the incredible success it has been. It's snowballed for some inexplicable reason. I wish I knew why. I'd get rich simply by writing a fairly average book.
 
It's what she writting about that has so many people obssesd by it! hell I'm one of them I've read them all! and I'm a person that generally doesn't like reading but for some reason I could read Harry Potter all day!

The whole magical world thing it's something that most children wish they had ( the ability to produce magic) and the descriptive analysis she give is amazing!

Your entilted to your own opinons but for alot of people / children it changed there lives Kids actually started to read....for enjoyment before reading was uncool and no offences for Nerds since Harry Potter came out it's almost uncool not to read it!

At Uni I walked into the lectrure theater there were about 50 odd people in there and 40 of them were reading Harry Potter the exact same book and it was Statistics analysis lecture!!

What can I say JK Rowling has a gift and good on her for using it to make a shit load of money she deserves it!
 
You know what i find annoying about harry potter...

That its written to be running alongside the real world.

A gun is a far better weapon than a wand. What on earth is the point of all these fairies prancing about with wands shooting pink flowers at eachother, when all i need is a handgun, and a full clip.
 
Dandy_GO said:
There are millions of books which are enjoyable and enriching, yet easy to read, and thousands of these are nearly identical to Harry Potter. Rowling couldn't even get it published originally (not that this means much, if you consider that Kennedy Toole had just one book ever published for this very reason, whereas Ginger Spice has as least two to her name) as nobody expected it to be the incredible success it has been. It's snowballed for some inexplicable reason. I wish I knew why. I'd get rich simply by writing a fairly average book.
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i think your being overly harsh -Whilst the story is aimed at Children its like the simpsons really, aimed a children with adults in mind.
i started reading the books in my 20's just to understand the hype. Whilst i have read lots of Fantasy novels (no not pr0n :D) these books I find exceptionally easy to read yet still manage to develop strong story line and characters without really getting too bogged down which means people who don't like reading can enjoy it but those who enjoy reading (like me) can also enjoy it.

anyway - its not the worst nor the best piece of fiction I have ever read, but in terms of a series with holding power it is up there.

Personally anything that encourages reading is a good thing in my eyes :thumbsu:
 
I'm with Cappy. It is very well written and has some great plot twists and turns with enough to satisfy kids and their parents.

I resisted reading the books until well into the series and then got my hands on the first one. I have read all of the series now.

What sets them apart from many others is that she has taken myths and legends that are around and given them a new twist. Her character development is excellent for 'children's' books, people that start off as 'good' are shown to have flaws and be unlikeable at times and those that appear to be 'bad' are not necessarily so either.

Plus that so many kids are now reading not only her books but discovering others can only be a good thing
 

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fryingpan said:
i dont understand how people can read huge books, feel like i'm wasting time/my life and could be doing much more stimulating things.
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You do realise they have invented things called bookmarks so that you can actually stop reading at times and then come back and read it again later from that spot? :p
 
My problem lies in that I can't bring myself to recognise that it IS particularly amazing, or at least amazing enough to deserve the attention it is recieving. There is a whole fantasy genre within childrens fiction filled with books which the Harry Potter series are almost carbon copies of. They too explore a similar setting and themes, have similarly archetypal characters whom develop throughout the story, and stimulate young minds, yet don't recieve the attention of Harry Potter. The Chronicles of Narnia is well known example. These books have recently regained the popularity they once enjoyed, but I doubt they would have done so had Harry Potter mania not set in (and Hollywood executives not wanted to profit from it). Granted, Narnia have enjoyed much popularity in the past, but it is a series which is far from alone in being at least on par with Harry Potter in every literary element, and similar in setting and theme. From what I've read of it, Harry Potter could be considered almost formulaic in almost every literary element. I'm not an incredibly keen reader, but I have read widely enough to believe that none of the points listed in this thread are anomalous to Harry Potter.
I do appreciate that getting youngsters (and oldies too) to read is certainly a good thing, but this constant coverage of Paris Hiltonesque proportions has been bugging me for some time now.
I feel like there has to be something more to it than simply "it's a good series which appeals to the imagination". I'm beginning to wonder whether it's a matter of timing. To compare it to film, Tarantino seems to be a master of timing. He released Kill Bill, a remarkably unoriginal film to the extent that it can't be considered anything more than a homage, around the time when interest in Asian cultures seemed to be at a high point in the West - with the onset of the anime craze etc. It became a very popular film, even though there was very little that could be considered groundbreaking about it. Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction could be looked at in the same way. Was Rowling simply lucky that she published her book at the right time? I'm beginning to wonder.
For the record, I'm not bagging anyone for liking the books. I fully appreciate that we all have different tastes. I'm just trying to understand why Harry Potter warrants such hype to the extent that people become highly enraged at the premature revelation of its ending. I suppose it's not a question which ends with Harry Potter; Crazy Frog hit number 1 on the music charts in several countries. How? I wish I knew. I'd be rolling in cash.
 
Dandy_GO said:
My problem lies in that I can't bring myself to recognise that it IS particularly amazing, or at least amazing enough to deserve the attention it is recieving. There is a whole fantasy genre within childrens fiction filled with books which the Harry Potter series are almost carbon copies of. They too explore a similar setting and themes, have similarly archetypal characters whom develop throughout the story, and stimulate young minds, yet don't recieve the attention of Harry Potter. The Chronicles of Narnia is well known example. These books have recently regained the popularity they once enjoyed, but I doubt they would have done so had Harry Potter mania not set in (and Hollywood executives not wanted to profit from it). Granted, Narnia have enjoyed much popularity in the past, but it is a series which is far from alone in being at least on par with Harry Potter in every literary element, and similar in setting and theme. From what I've read of it, the Harry Potter could be considered almost formulaic in almost every literary element. I'm not an incredibly keen reader, but I have read widely enough to believe that none of the points listed in this thread are anomalous to Harry Potter.
I do appreciate that getting youngsters (and oldies too) to read is certainly a good thing, but this constant coverage of Paris Hiltonesque proportions has been bugging me for some time now.
I feel like there has to be something more to it than simply "it's a good series which appeals to the imagination". I'm beginning to wonder whether it's a matter of timing. To compare it to film, Tarantino seems to be a master of timing. He released Kill Bill, a remarkably unoriginal film to the extent that it can't be considered anything more than a homage, around the time when interest in Asian cultures seemed to be at a high point in the West - with the onset of the anime craze etc. It became a very popular film, even though there was very little that could be considered groundbreaking about it. Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction could be looked at in the same way. Was Rowling simply lucky that she published her book at the right time? I'm beginning to wonder.
For the record, I'm not bagging anyone for liking the books. I fully appreciate that we all have different tastes. I'm just trying to understand why Harry Potter is warrants such hype to the extent that people become highly enraged at the premature revelation of its ending. I suppose it's not a question which ends with Harry Potter; Crazy Frog hit number 1 on the music charts in several countries. How? I wish I knew. I'd be rolling in cash.
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I think the timing is important. but on the fantasy Genre - the majority of books & films are a similar or re-hashed ideas but if you look at any genre its the same, especially horror and detective books.
 
fryingpan said:
no... like actually doing something better.. like playing sport, hanging out with mates, drinking, living life? hell even working is better than reading a book.
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i don;t know i think giving your brain some work isn't always a bad thing, i love all those things too, read books before bed :thumbsu:
 

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Harry Potter is a great book. Not because of her writing ability in particular, but more because of her ideas. She creates a vivid background (in simple and blunt words) and also makes sure the details of each individual characters are well known by the reader. This helps readers empathise with those characters and therefore find more enjoyment in reading it.

If you have read all of the books, you would feel as if you know who Harry Potter or another main character is, maybe not in yourself but a friend or relative. Just minor qualities that make you understand and engage with them.

The story line and plot is also quite brilliant and the way she connects the smallest bits of information together towards the end is fantastic.

This sort of stuff is what makes it such an enjoyable book for not only children by adults as well. You rarely find books that can create the same amount of entertainment in such a wide audience. Lord Of The Rings is a similar book, however it is clearly targeted towards older readers and therefore it makes it harder for children to read it.

I think she has done wanders to make younger children read books. Its a pity that as yet, no-one else has had this sort of publicity to create something similar.

She and her books have my respect.

Also for the AP, JK Rowling attempted to publish her first book for many many years, however she was not picked up by any of the major companies until bloomsbry (then a pretty small company) decided to give her a go. It is not as if she timed the release perfectly. She has been writing the Potter books (from my knowledge for 17 years). So give it a rest.
 
harry potter stories are so far fetched. i mean , i can buy the fact that magic exists, maybe even unicorns, but have you ever seen a ginger kid with two mates ?
 

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