harry potter- WHY?!

[geedogg]

does anyone read anything other than harry potter? i thinks it quite a sorry state that this is an art and literature page but every other question is about harry potter? in fact there's only 5 questions out of the twenty on this page that aren't about harry potter. whats going on people? is it a sad reflection of our society and culture (dumbed- down, pop and reality tv obsessed)that so many adults read what is fundamentally a children's book?

[Jocasta]

I read 20 pges of Harry Potter and stopped, I couldn't read any further because it's for kids. and that's it! No offense to any adult that read the books but I have say it's not for me....total bunkum .sh)te, kiddies cr)ap...that's my opinion..and before you say I'm a tw:at I have read and enjoyed Crime and Punishment ok!

[sft42]

The fact that they are kids books isn't enough of a reason to despise them (the best book I have read in a while was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery) but simply because they are plagarised trash.

They are neither art nor literature and should be bypassed for any of numerous authors who have better grasps of tempo, style and prose in their writings.

[kags]

Here here! I have elsewhere expressed my concern that these books are being revered as great works of literature. They are not. I read the first 4 books out loud to my son, and they are very, very poorly written, they are not original and I do not believe they are teaching children to appreciate good writing. We started on the 5th book and neither of us could stand it after about 4 chapters. We then went on to read the Narnia books, which are in a completely different league. If you have read any of Pullman's books for children, you would agree that adults should be able to read and appreciate children's books, but not the trump that Rowling produces.

[Moonhead]

I absolutely love the Harry books and my pet hate is people who refuse to give them the credit they're due when they havent even read them! Book 1 does indeed start very simply Jocosta, no doubt to get children interested in the first place, but as the books progress, so does the depth of the writing. Yes, of course these books are primarily for children, but then so are a lot of books that people read every day - The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were initially children's books! Also aside from anything else, the Potter books are personally responisble for getting a lot of children interesed in reading again, so dont they deserve praise if only for that reason?? Please people, can we just take these books as they are: a great children's story that is appealing to adults too. Thanks, rant over.

[MrIxolite]

I don't have a problem with the books themselves, rather the plague of inane "questions" that have flooded this category that are based on musings and things that haven't even been written about yet.

[Pinotage]

We know from previous experiences that these questions feed on them selves - they appear in searches and drive more people with an interest to ask even more. Think infantigo, wingwalking and yukka for instance.

If Answerbank had any savvy they'd open a new Harry Pottercategory - there's obviously a lot of interest - and advertise related merchandise on that page.

[AB EDITOR]

Very good thought Pinotage

[inferno]

I agree that the fact they are written for children does not mean they cannot have a more universal appeal. A modern example of this is the Philip Pullman series "His Dark Materials". This is wonderfully written with complex characters and challenging ideas about science, religion, relationships, authority, power, and the development of cultures. The Harry Potter books do not fit in this category - they are full of stereotypes, two dimensional characters and cliched plots. Having said that, it is great that they are bringing the pleasure of reading to more children, but this hype is ridiculous. I also find it depressing that so many adults are such ardent fans. Call me a litery snob - and I'll be proud to agree!

[Moog]

Perhaps along with the all NEW Quizzes section we should have a Children's books section for people to discuss HP til their heart's content?

[vittoria]

To the question does anyone read anything other than Harry Potter I can answer that I have a stack of books to read for the summer none of which is Harry Potter. I did read the first four and I may, sometime, read the fifth one, but there are a lot of other books on my list too.

[geedogg]

Thank for the response ppl. I would just like clarify that i don't think there's anything wrong in children reading them, as one person said its got children interested in reading which has to be commended. the problem i have is that adults read them. should know better, and read better books.

[Bubble]

I agree with moonhead...i hate it when people refuse to give them the credit they deserve when they haven't even read them. Obviously not EVERYONE is going to like them. What's wrong with reading children's books anyways??? Children's books are often better than adult books!!! I once had a teacher who only read children's books because they liked them way better. The beginning of the first Harry Potter book is a bit dull, but most books are dull at the beginning. And besides, that info needed to be in the book somewhere!!!! Also, the reason there is an overload of Harry Potter questions is because the title of the sixth book has been released and everyone is sooooooooo excited!!! The questions will die down soon!!!

[LeMarchand]

Although I'm one of the people who has already indicated my distaste for the huge number of so-called "questions" on HP here, I have read (and enjoyed) all the books, and am looking forward to the next one. Just because they are aimed at children doesn't make them bad (as someone mentioned about Philip Pullman), and I agree that they are derivative, but they are great fun! However, I haven't felt the urge to clutter a Q&A site with my musings on future developements in the series (in fact, I rarely discuss the books on the forums I visit). If I did want to discuss the books, I'd do so on a discussion board. BTW, I am more than old enough to be Harry's dad and recent reading has included "Five Past Midnight in Bhopal" (about the Bhopal disaster - heartbreaking), "Midwinter of the Spirit" (horror/procedural - v. good) a bunch of unproduced scripts for the "Crusade" and "Firefly" TV series (quite interesting), an unproduced script for "The Last Man on Earth" (a bit disappointing, but would make an interesting movie), "The Da Vinci Code" (preposterous but fun) and "The Lonely Dead" (the author needs to decide whether he wants to go into "Twilight Zone" territory instead of just skirting it's edges).

[Tster221221]

look, i'm 13 and i read harry potter but i also read adult books. well at least books aimed at the older generation. i am going to read the davinci code as so as my dad finishes it. i think adults should read this book just to enjoy the fantasy of harry potter like a child. so if you didn't give harry potter a chance because it is a children's book rethink the reason not to. maybe you dont want to get in touch with your inerchild, use that as your reason not to read it. my opinion is that all adults should get in touch with that part of themselfs. but thats just me. if you take my advice and read them i hope you enjoy them. if you don't i think your stubborn, well that is if you don't read them just because they are a childern's book. byez for now

[lizw]

I like Harry Potter books but when I was younger I read a series of books by Susan Cooper called The Dark is Rising - they were fantastic, brilliantly written and quite sinister and frightning. My Dad was an addict of them too. Has anyone else read these? I also agree with sft42 - The Little Prince is superb, heartbraking and uplifting at the same time. I wonder if the rose did survive...

[MikeMikeMike]

I've never read any of them and I think they're rubbish.

[Jamie Lewis]

I prefered Peter and Jane Book 1. There's a dog in it called Pat and Peter and Jane get a ball down from a tree. Harry Pothead's never done that!

[Tster221221]

Jamie Lewis, well actually harry did geet a rememberall down from a tree in the first book luv ya ::muah::

[Jamie Lewis]

Well we know where Rowling robbed that idea from then don't we!

[Tster221221]

i think we all have dicided that not everyone likes harry potter. some of us do and some don't. everyone is intitled to their opinion. some ppl say that adults shouldn't enjoy children books. others say that u should like them for the writing and how well it got kids reading. but even though we have different opinions can't we all just get along?? be nice to other ppl. be happy. hugs and kisses!!!!