Harry Potter Insanity

[idly_enjoys]

I have just re-read the Harry Potter books up to Goblet of Fire, I now have under 2 weeks to read Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, also to see the new film which has just been released. Then obviously I'll have to spend the weekend of July 20th to shut the curtains, switch off all media and read the final book in a weekend reading marathon.

Do you think this is likely to make me go slightly crazy and lose all sense of reality? I do.

[Aschenbach]

No, you've not lost your sense of reality.

Unfortunately, your reality seems to consist of re-reading over-hyped children's books instead of discovering for yourself the talents of Dickens, Camus, Dostoevsky, Woolf, Mishima ,Orwell and so on.

Just because a shop sells limited edition Mars Bars until July 20th you don't have to go and buy 50 of them! Think of your physical (and mental) health.

[idly_enjoys]

I already have a degree in English literature, which means I have four years worth of reading fun/trashy books owed to me.

[pingping]

idly_enjoys - you go and enjoy the books and ignore Aschebach's comments!

there is a time for Dickens, Orwell etc and there is a time for Rowling too!! The more widely-read you are the better I think.

[dove]

Harry Potter books are the best read I have had for years and cannot wait for the final book to come out.
Unfortunately poeple like Aschenbach who does not seem to have read any of these books will not possibly understand how wonderful they are.
Also, for the record, I will only be buying one........ it seems pointless to go and buy 50 of them!!!! ;-)

[spudqueen]

I love Harry Potter and have recently re-read the first six books to reaquaint myself with them. I'm also planning on re-reading (again!) the Half-Blood Prince before the next book comes out. However, at the moment I am reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. The other books I have read recently have been Most Secret by Nevil Shute, Kes, Treasure Island and David Copperfield. So Aschenbach, you can have your cake (or Mars Bar!) and eat it!!

[Aschenbach]

After such a degree I would have thought you would be sick of book deadlines not setting yourself more of them! I can only guess that my fellow graduates need not deign to criticize the literary merit of such books any more than the Mr Men series.

Since it has been queried (apologies for any lack of modesty here) I've read all but 5 of the BBC's Big Read top 100 books (including Copperfield, Treasure Island and Nevil Shute's A Town Called Alice) which will tell you that I am unfortunately not unfamiliar with the, as you concede 'trashy' Harry Potter books.

Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy the final book and further confound my preconceptions by reading many other fine books too. Happy reading.

[Immi666]

Aschenbach - have you ever actually read the Harry Potter books? How can you judge something without reading it? In the first post you called it over-hyped. If you're not reading it just because it's over-hyped, surely that's akin to judging a book by the cover, which I'm sure someone as well-read as you could never do.

[fairkatrina]

I take it Aschenbach you're a Thomas Mann fan? Oh god, homage to a paedophile! (P.S. have you read any Nabokov, he's got a very similar style...). I am a Master's literature student, so I have read plenty of classics, including books by all those you've mentioned (who, I must say, seem to comprise a list of the over-publicised and read-for-the-sake-of-saying-you've-read-them authors). Sometimes the greatest pleasure you can get from reading is by immersing yourself in something totally trashy and not so challenging, and I have recently re-read all my HP books in preperation for the final installment, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

[Aschenbach]

Thanks to all the ladies (admit it) who have come to the defence of the boy magician.

Immi666 - I've read up to GOF to satisfy my own curiosity. For the similar reasons I also bought the Da Vinci Code etc. They're all reasonably fun but I would question my own integrity if I ONLY read these as an adult.

Fairkatrina - my username in fact comes from a cool German sports brand.

Набоков? Конечно я прочитал, а как вы? Хотя, я предпочитал бы читать Таня Гроттер!!!

Dickens, Orwell 'read-for-the-sake of reading them'? Yes, I only wish my friends and collegues were so cheaply impressed.

Anyway I must get back to my PhD thesis now.

[Immi666]

Aschenbach - "They're all reasonably fun but I would question my own integrity if I ONLY read these as an adult. "

When did any of us say that the HP books were the only ones we read?

[idly_enjoys]

I think it's a shame that university warps so many people's sense of your reality so they think only the most pretentious of book choices are worthy - this has happened to many of my friends, unfortunately.

Can I also highly recommend the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder while I'm here, they have changed my life.

[shaneystar2]

I have to admit HP does nothing for me and would not dream of criticising anyone who enjoys them .Each to their own .
I have read an awful lot in my nearly sixty years in this world
including classics and lots of heavy stuff , much of which was totally overhyped but I still get a a lot of enjoyment out of rereading the books which I enjoyed as girl ..things like Little Women ..What Katy Did....Ivanhoe ,Black Beauty and so on.My favourite though is Just William .
What is wrong with reading and rereading something you enjoy ,if it gives you pleasure and is it such a big deal to have read most of top 100 books some of which are also overhyped .I really dislike book snobs .

[idly_enjoys]

Just William are my favourites too, have you read any of Richmal Compton's adult stuff? I haven't been able to get hold of any but I'm curious.

[Goodsoulette]

Insanity over harry potter sounds a bit right. I think ill be intears at the end of the book.

I read Dickens, Camus and Orwell but still enjoy the Potter books. I cannot for the life of me get my head round Lord of thr Rings, very longwinded.

I know someone not to far from here, who passed out during the Matrix, she came round very confused thinking she was infact in the Matrix. Now what kind of egit does that?

[curiosity]

Well, I read the first Harry Potter book in chapters to my then 5 & 6 year old Son & daughter as a bedtime story, after a friend recommended it as a good book, no hype at the time. Now they and their friends, and my nephews, and generally any teenager I'VE met this week, have taken a turn from their normal activities, to re read the HP books they've , go to the film dressed in Hogwarts school uniform ( the 16 year old school leavers that is) Have a day making butter beer and firing questions at each other, and generally getting into Harry Potter mode) They are going to a release party, where apparently they are going to have a sorting ceremony etc, she is worried that someone is going to sabotage the thing and shout out the ending! So no, it would appear that this month your behaviour is normal.

[saxy_jag]

Idly_enjoys, I agree you're a bit of a fool, letting yourself get carried away in the marketing hype. You are a marketing officer's dream come true. I have a reservation placed on the book at the library where I work, but I won't be in until the following Thursday, so I'm just going to have to wait until then. I suppose I could go in and pick it up on Saturday, but I just can't be bothered.

I'll give the boy wizard credit where he's due, he's got many kids reading who wouldn't otherwise. That's about it. The books are increasingly under-edited, the writing style is abysmal, the narrative weak and tedious - and yes, I have read them all. I don't believe in commenting on a book unless I've read it. Thing is, Bloomsbury doesn't have an awful lot of teen fiction in its stable worth reading at the moment, so I guess they're kind of milking HP for all it's worth.

However, Aschenbach, I think you're a snob. What people choose to read for their own pleasure and enjoyment is up to them, and if that's 'trashy' novels, well, it's nothing to do with anyone else. Dickens happens to be my favourite writer, but that doesn't preclude me from reading stuff like The Princess Diaries and the 'Odd' Dean Koontz title - and yes, I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code - great on a long flight when you just want a nice easy read that doesn't challenge you.

Perhaps you should should look at your own reality, step outside of the academic doors into the present day, and have a look at what the real world is doing.

[Aschenbach]

I agree that my initial comment a couple of weeks ago was snobbish and generalized.

Apologies to idly_enjoys, Potter fans and snob haters alike. All points noted.

Let's move on.