Can someone please explain to me why these books are so popular? Admittedly, I have never read an entire Harry Potter book:

My little cousin was visiting and brought one of them with her (I don't know which one) and I skimmed through it a little. About the only thing I noticed that is worth mentioning is that the writing style was awful, all broken and choppy.

Yet everywhere I go, people of all ages are nose-deep in this series, forsaking the works of Tolkien, Isamov, Atwood, Mitchell, Dickens, and Hemingway that were the classics of yesteryear.

I don't get it...

------------------
Ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant

Well, this post has been up for a few days now, and I find it surprising that nobody has come to the aid of their precious potter... considering the lengthy "Are there any Harry Potter fans out there?" topic.

So I guess I'll just end this by saying that I've never bought into anything merely because of its commercial popularity, and, God help me, neither will my children.

As "imaginative" as JKR is said to be, I'm sure she will never compare with Tolkien, C.S. Lewis or Arthur Ransome, whose books I am saving for my kids. If even they appreciate being brought up in such a way as they learn not to be followers and like something "just because everyone else does", that is enough for me

------------------
Ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant

[This message has been edited by LadyCaitriona (edited 03-23-2001).]

LadyCaitriona, please don't feel bad because you haven't gotten any responses so far. Maybe some people just haven't read your thread yet or maybe it is because they have already placed their opinions in one of the other threads about Harry Potter in this forum before. Here is a list of HP topics and links that might interest you.

Are there any Harry Potter Fans out there? http://www.funtrivia.com/forums/Forum7/HTML/000165.html

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire http://www.funtrivia.com/forums/Forum7/HTML/000177.html

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets http://www.funtrivia.com/forums/Forum7/HTML/000179.html

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone http://www.funtrivia.com/forums/Forum7/HTML/000180.html

Harry Potter: Good or Bad? http://www.funtrivia.com/forums/Forum7/HTML/000186.html

intersting stuff about harry potter http://www.funtrivia.com/forums/Forum7/HTML/000289.html

Ok, "[coming] to the aid of [my] presious potter"...

At first I was VERY skepital about these books. 95% of the time, "fad books" are no good, just passing fads. Because of all the hype around them, I refused to read them. But, not this Christmas, but the year before, my aunt bought me a set of 1-3. I faked enthusiasum and thnaks while thinking, "What in the heck am I going to do with these?"

They sat in a bag in the cornor of my room for a month and a half unyil one weekend, I was sick. I had finished my book, and didn't have another one. I desided to began reading one of the Harry Potter books, for lack of something better to do. WOW! They were great! I finished the first one in a few hours, and began the second. I had to tear myself away in order to sleep that night. I finished two the next day, and started three. My sister went shopping for a homecoming dress that weekend. I sat in the window of Dillards reading HP 3 for several hours.

OK... I'm going to finish now....

Why CAN'T a book be entertaining enough for kids, yet well written enough for adults? How can you make judgements about these books if you haven't even read them? I don't care if you've "skimmed through them a little". OF COURSE if you barely flipped through the books, the "writing style [would have been] awful, all broken and choppy." Hate to sound third grade-ish, but DUH! If you skip aroud, the writing IS going to be broken and choppy.

No offense, but take in to acount the old cliche "Don't judge a book by it's cover." DON'T JUDGE THESE BOOK BY ANYTHING BUT FIRST-HAND READING ACCOUNT. Don't judge it by the cover, the popularity, the appointed reading level, anyone else's opinion... (Including me...I try not to be hypocritical)

So...Pick one up and try them! If you like them, GREAT! If not... then you can come back here and yell at me...okay?

Ok...one more thing...

quote:

---

Yet everywhere I go, people of all ages are nose-deep in this series, forsaking the works of Tolkien, Isamov, Atwood, Mitchell, Dickens, and Hemingway that were the classics of yesteryear.

---

THEY STILL ARE CLASSICS! What's wrong with a bit of new favoratality? Change doesn't have to be a bad thing... only if you make it be.

[This message has been edited by ReanaZ (edited 03-26-2001).]

Ok I'm not saying it's bad to like the books... if you like them because they're good, not just because they're the fad. It's obvious that they're popular - I just want to know WHY, particularly for adults. I find it very surprising that a book nowadays can be entertaining enough for children, yet still be well-written enough for the more mature adults. It's not a very common thing for the time, particularly for "fad books".

(Thanks for the links JoJo, I'll check them out!)

I've just started to read the 1st book, 'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone'. I read the first chapter in which Harry was left outside the Dursley's home. The second chapter was horrendous and wicked. How can anyone treat a child, the way they treated Harry. The child protection services ought to be informed. I'll be surprised if Harry doesn't grow up to be a psychotic, gun toting maniac because of the emotional traumas he has been forced to endure. The fifth novel will probably be titled, 'Harry Potter Goes AWOL with an AK-47'.

------------------
YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK. GOODBYE.

Reana, nobody is "yelling at you". I didn't say that I'd skipped through the book like a lollygagging jackrabbit; I read some paragraphs throughout the book to see if it was interesting, and to my taste. I don't like to read books where the writing is disjointed with erroneous grammar and sentence structure (a.k.a.: "broken and choppy") because it's not as good as it COULD be, and that irritates me. As for Harry Potter - after skimming, I really didn't feel that the book was good enough.

The avoided, and intended, issue of this thread is: I want people who have read the books and enjoyed them to tell me what they like about them, not just the FACT that they like them! I am not trying to convince people that these particular books should or should not be read, nor am I saying that my tastes in authors should apply to everyone; I am merely asking for people who have read and enjoyed Harry Potter books to tell me WHAT they like about them - I am curious.

quote:

---

What's wrong with a bit of new favoratality?

---

Favoratality is not a word; did you perhaps mean "favouritism"?

ScottD - Your post, though a little off-topic... LOL

[This message has been edited by LadyCaitriona (edited 03-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by LadyCaitriona (edited 03-26-2001).]

Okay, my last post was a bit tipsy... sorry. It's a brain-chemical thing. I NEED MY CHOCOLATE!!!

Okay, anyway..

Interesting idea Scott! That would be a cute story...

I am not sure exactly "why" I enjoy the books, I just found myself glued to them!!

I do read a lot of fantasy and science fiction though, and I suppose you must have some interest in these genres in order to appreciate the storylines. It has been a while since read a "teen" level book and I suppose I was just pleasantly surprised to find a set of books where the characters and plots were interesting (predictable good guys and bad guys) plus with some good imagination and sense of humour thrown in as well.

I do agree that to skim is not the best way to judge a story, but I also appreciate that these books are not for everybody.

Happy Reading!!

The reason I enjoyed the books was because of the sense of imagination. I loved the names. I know that sounds silly but how can anyone not smile when they read Dudley Dursley?? LOL And there is a real mystery to them too. You are never quite sure what is going to be around the next corner.

As the for the ''child abuse'' issue. Who can read Dickens and say it is great literature and then say HP is child abuse? It is made quite clear in HP that this is not the way to treat a child. If it were glorified then it would be bad. And HP triumphs over it and is a good person. And need I say all children think they are abused wheter they are or not?? LOL

And I think another attraction is that thye are something the child and parent can truly enjoy together. And the length of the books makes the child reach. And as JKR has explained if you start reading the books when you are 7 or 8 and read one a year you will mature with HP. My grandson who is 7 1/2 read them with his parents and loved every minute of it!!

Hope that explains my point.

CG

My daughter who is 10 has read all 4 books, so I finally decided that I needed to understand what the attraction is. I read the first one and loved it! Now I have read them all and am waiting for the 5th!! I believe that they are wonderfully written, (including the British dialect which perhaps made it appear choppy to someone who is only skimming) with universal themes that appeal to all ages...friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, good vs. evil, and it has so much excitement and very clever plot twists that I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy them. Please read the first one and you might see how they expand your imagination and enforce some very noble concepts, such as loyalty, trust, and the value of friendship. Let us know after you read one.

------------------
"It's never too late...just do it!"

In regards to Harry Potter.....My grandaughter just turned 13 in March. I have been getting her the HP books since they first came out. She loves them. The last book was 700+ pages long. she started reading it when she was with me on vacation last July at about 2 pm on a Wed. She finished it at about 12 noon on Sat. That's better speed reading than I can accomplish and I am an avid reader. Jessi has been reading since before she started school. Her first love was the scary/sci-fi series that was out for kids a few years ago and I can't recall the name of them right now. (Oldtimers disease)lol. She had read some Stephen King and Dean R Koontz. I also enjoy reading these authors and am a big sci-fan reader. I feel that anything that will bring kids away from the tv and video games and back to books is wonderful and HP seems to be doing that.Our kids are smarter than we give them credit for. They realize that this is just for fun reading and not real life.And maybe reading about how some children are mistreated by their parents/guardians etc. will help them appreciate the fact that they have parents that care.

I loved all four Harry books. I can't wait for the movie (7 more months, 7 more months!). For me the books are a way of losing myself in another world and remembering when I was a child all the adventures that i wanted to have. I wanted to have a dragon as a pet, fly on a magic carpet, marry a prince and be a female pirate. Not in that order. You get to be a kid again and revisit those old forgotten fantasies. Check out the harrypotter.com website.

Why I like them? gee I never stopped to think why exactly...Don't look a gift horse in the mouth...

I guess because they are enchanting. I was sucked into the story with in the first few chapteres. It intriged my imagination. Imagining the charaters was fun, but challenging. The plot is complicated, but understandable. I can't wait to find out what happens next. And they are long enough so have a good lenghty foundation and a good lenghty plot, and a good lenghty climax, and a good lenghty resolution. Most books that have good potental are rushed or at least parts of them are. The Harry Potter books are. Also, JK does not sugarcoat. There are good guys and bad guys. No one in the book is perfect. The most of the wizard communty are or want to be slaveowners (house-elves). There are evil people, and people to defeat the evil people. People die, people heal. The story doesn't always end hunky-dory every thing is picture perfect. They are realistic, yet completely fanstasy. And that make a fab story.

If ou can understand any of the above jibberish, congrats. Welcome to my mind.....

[ 04-14-2001: Message edited by: ReanaZ ]

Why I like them? gee I never stopped to think why exactly...Don't look a gift horse in the mouth...

I guess because they are enchanting. I was sucked into the story with in the first few chapteres. It intriged my imagination. Imagining the charaters was fun, but challenging. The plot is complicated, but understandable. I can't wait to find out what happens next. And they are long enough so have a good lenghty foundation and a good lenghty plot, and a good lenghty climax, and a good lenghty resolution. Most books that have good potental are rushed or at least parts of them are. The Harry Potter books are. Also, JK does not sugarcoat. There are good guys and bad guys. No one in the book is perfect. The most of the wizard communty are or want to be slaveowners (house-elves). There are evil people, and people to defeat the evil people. People die, people heal. The story doesn't always end hunky-dory every thing is picture perfect. They are realistic, yet completely fanstasy. And that make a fab story.

If ou can understand any of the above jibberish, congrats. Welcome to my mind.....

lenghty

Thanks for your posts, everyone. I feel better now It is heartening to know that its popularity is founded on something of real value, and not just "because everyone else likes it".

Wow. That's a first.

Hey, I'm a devil's advocate, not a b*tch. If you guys can give good reasons for liking HP, I'm not gonna say "You're wrong!!!" without reading them, now, am I?

Who knows? In 2 decades I might even like the books!! (That's the length of time it took people to convince me to give Lord of the Rings a try. It's kinda interesting, but a VERY slow read.)

Just to add my pennys worth.

My sister sent My son the first book to read, and he could not be bothered. He was only 7 at the time.

I decided I would read it, and was hooked.

The story flowed, the situations were believable (if you discount the magic), and I found them well written.

I convinced my son he needed to read the book, and he was hooked once he started.

I also convinced my wife, an English teacher, to read them.
She was impressed with the writing and convinced others in her department to read them.

My son has now gained an interest in the Lord of The Rings, so something good has definitely come out of the process. Quite apart from the fact that he is reading in the first place.

LadyC,

I do hope you will give Harry, Ron and Hermione a chance.

Just get comfortable, open the book, and be prepared to enter that world that appeared through the wardrobe, or the land of middle earth.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised

Just too add my penny's worth too. I think that you probably didn't like it because it might have been the 2nd, 3rd or 4th book. I feel it's really no use if you don't start from the first book and carry on with the next ones sequentially.

quote:

---

Yet everywhere I go, people of all ages are nose-deep in this series, forsaking the works of Tolkien, Isamov, Atwood, Mitchell, Dickens, and Hemingway that were the classics of yesteryear.

---

Yup, you're absolutely right there. I think Harry Potter is just a passing phase. Not that they aren't good, there's a flow, humor and thrill about them that absolutely fascinating. But anyway, JKR means them to be a series of 7 books, each concerned with one year at school. I guess after all the books are out, they will be read for some time and then left. Nothing can replace Tolkien, Isamov, Dickens, Austen, Bronte, Mitchell and even P. G. Wodehouse and Conan Doyle, for that matter. Those are what you can call evergreen classics. People won't stop reading Potter, I suppose, but the mass enthusiasm won't be the same. Harry Potter is not, I repeat, NOT a classic, but it's not a fad either.
At the same time, I recommend you read the books, starting from the first. I bet you'll enjoy it. Happy reading!

OK, LadyC--here's why I enjoyed all the books (and I'm of legal age, even if I don't always ACT it!). They're written with such good humor and originality that they hold my interest. For example, whoever would've imagined a poltergeist named "PEEVES"? It makes me grin just thinking of him! The enjoyment is in the details of language and physical "props" such as paintings which guard entries and need passwords.

IMHO--they certainly have a strong moral sense and could easily lead to discussions between parents and children about the choices Harry, Hermione and friends must make.

Nobody said they are great literature, but anything which gets children reading with such interest is obviously good on some level.

My suggestion would be to give them another try and suspend cynicism...just go for the fun of it!

I wasn't being sarcastic. it least towards you anyway. I was just making a provoked poke at socity and fads. When I said "That's a first", I meant it's a first something is liked for it's value, not its popularity.

Just had to correct that. I wasn't trying to insult you, LC!