Am I the only person in the world who is sick of Harry Potter...

Cafe Society
#1

Or does one of these threads crop up every time a book comes out?

I just can’t believe all the… well… crap surrounding this release. It’s not the second coming of Jesus Christ. It’s not the answer to life, the universe and how to get perfectly flat abs in 48 hours or your money back. It’s a book. Children’s fantasy.

OMGODZORS, someone sold a copy early! Time for TEH LAWYARS! Million dollar lawsuit time. People read the sacred text before the mystic date.

I just can’t help but feel slightly annoyed by the obvious shilling surrounding the ‘secrecy’. You can’t have it until I SAY SO! I have TEH POWAR OVER YOUR READINGS!

Quick. Come at midnight. Buy it now! Line up for hours! First to read it, I teh winnar!

I’ll concede it’s great that the book has raised the literacy levels of kids all over the world, they want to keep up with their friends and read the book and talk about it. That’s brilliant. But the rest of it, I can completely live without. The way people talk about it, you’d think their heads would melt if they didn’t get to be the first on their block to have it own it read it.

And the next person to tell me I have to read it, it’s the best book in the world, is going to get a fist in the face. I mean it.

#2

You have to read it, it’s the best book in the world.

:wink:

#3

No offense, but have you even read any of the books? Just curious.

#4

Am I the only person in the world who is sick of the quaint misspelling of the word “the” as “teh” when mocking other people?

#5

Actualy, many expected-to-be-popular books have a strict do-not-sell-before date – called a “laydown date” – and it is a big deal if bookstores violate it. They can get fined.

#6

Nope. Though it is required in the phrase, “teh intarweb,” I have to say.

I’ve read the first four Harry Potter books; I bought them all at once some time around the release of the 5th in hardcover. I found them enjoyable tales, not too deep but not too shallow either. I waited for the 5th to be released in paperback, eventually bought it some time later, and haven’t even cracked the cover. I’ll get around to it. I can understand being fans over the book but the whole super-secrecy thing of it is irritating. Plenty of other books do just fine in the stores without this embargo process.

I understand the laydown date too - hell, CDs, DVDs, and computer games have them - but companies still send out review copies of those.

#7

I tried to with one of the earlier ones, and I still can’t see what’s getting people into a frothing, pants-wetting frenzy. There’s a ton of other books I’d much rather read, that I actually like. I just don’t like Harry Potter, I don’t like the writing style. Diffr’nt strokes and all that.

I’m just quite frustrated with the gigantic orgasm that the world seems to go through every time a new one comes out. It’s marketing, and clever marketing at that. But to see so many people fall for it hook, line and sinker? For some reason, it really just gets my hackles up.

Also:

It’s punching time :wink:

And on preview:

I’ve never seen so much of a brou-ha-ha when others have been violated, though. There’s been news reports about a store in the US that’s released 14 copies early by accident, and how about it’s such a tragedy that the buyers are being put under gag orders and being bribed with special autographs in order to get them not to talk. That seems kinda ridiculous to me. Sure, fine the stores for selling it early. But to make news out of it?

#8

I’m looking forward to the book, I’ll freely admit. I love them. I’m even going out a midnight to buy it (because there is free food and I like seeing all the little kids get excited and dressed up).

I don’t really see all the hype you’re whining about, though. I see two threads involving HP6, one as a “what do you think will happen” thing and another that is just “hey, I’m really excited, let’s talk about it”. I could have missed some, but I’m not especially looking for them. There was some talk about the leak, and as Hello Again said, there are strict fines for releasing a book before it’s laydown date. The books in question here were stolen if I recall correctly, and that made it a bigger deal.

#9

I’ve been on your side of the fence before, I never got too excited about Star Wars, so I know what you feel like.

Part of the reason it’s such a big deal is that JKR had upped the restrictions for the lay-down dates and required inspections of distributors facilities to ensure the security of the book. So since JKR has made such a big deal out of it, the news can too.

And since so many people are excited about the book, they want to keep the news coming. I’m not saying the people who read the book are the majority, but it is a large market share.

shrug

#10

What’s the harm here? People like getting involved in things. Part of the fun of the new book coming out is that there will be thousands of other people also really excited about it lining up at midnight and having Harry Potter parties and all. I personally enjoy the books, and I’m excited about the next book coming out, but I’m not going to be there at midnight. Like you said, different strokes.

#11

I’m not here to bash the series (I’ve only seen the films) but I do have a question for the people that love it so.
When I’m in a huge bookstore like Barnes & Noble and I see shelves and shelves of kids novels, many of which are fantasy, I’m inclined to ask what made this particular series stand out from all the thousands of other books out there?
Surely there has to be some other decent writers out there who’ve created more interesting worlds and characters than JKR.
Was it just that a few kids liked the series and suddenly it became the next big thing by word of mouth?
What was it that made these books rise to the top of all the other stuff already out there?

#12

The OP and Joel Stein, whoever he is.

#13

I don’t hate the Harry Potter stuff, it’s just not on my radar at all.

#14

from today’s Onion

Report: Unreleased Harry Potter Book More Secure Than U.S. Trains

#15

Sierra Indigo:
Ahh, I too was once I Harry hater. I said all those things. Then I read the first one and shut up. But I still thought, well, honestly, maybe these things are a little overblown. Then I read 2, followed by 3, 4, and 5 in the span of about two weeks. All I’m saying is that I’ve met basically zero people who have given the books a full chance without the “Everyone likes this so I’m gonna hate it” mentality (which, if I must point out, is still letting other people tell you what to think, just, in this instance, it’s contrarian)—zero people who haven’t at least enjoyed them.

#16

To judge from this thread: YES!

:smiley:

(Excitedly awaiting the release date, even though it means interrupting the camping trip to run into town and pick it up so we can snuggle in the tent and read it at bedtime!)

#17

No, actually there aren’t. Why would you say “surely”? Is it inconcievable to you that JKR’s works are the best?

But, to answer your main questions:

The HP books are truly astounding. This woman has done what very few others have ever been able to do successfully: she planned and wrote (is writing) an enormous 7 volume series, following a single character not just through episodes in his life, but through 7 solid years. There is political intrigue, tangled plotlines that aren’t revealed until several books after the first inkling of them is introduced, and enough whimsey in them to make people chuckle (the herbology instructor is named Sprout, the particularly unpleasant woman is named Umbradge, for examples).

I saw the first 2 films before I ever picked up one of the novels. I was impressed with what I found. The fact that I was impressed impressed me even more; I am a voracious reader who owns several thousand books and I am on first name basis with 5 of my local librarians. I’ve read a lot of books, and JKR has consistently impressed me with these books.

Another impressive thing, and one that undoubtedly helps the audience stay put, is the fact that the tone of the books and the subject matter has changed over the course of the series. The first book is fairly short (309 pages, hardcover), and very light reading. Anyone over the age of 9 should be able to get through it in a few days at the most. By the 5th book, it is huge (870 pages, hardcover) and the subject matter is very dark (politics, totalitarianism, rebellion, secret societies). The books grow up as Harry Potter grows up, and as his audience grows up.

I know the hype has gotten to you, but I have to say, this series rivals and/or exceeds almost anything I can think of. Narnia is about the only thing that really comes to mind that comes close.

If you liked Piers Anthony’s Xanth novels, HP has elements that will remind you of those stories. If you liked any of the kids detective series (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Three Investogators, Encyclopedia Brown, The Great Brain, etc.) the HP books have elements of those. If you grew up reading Roald Dahl, HP has that dark morality play. If you grew up reading Judy Bloom, the books explore the difficulties of remaining true to oneself, true to one’s friends, and true to one’s family.

Wow, now I’m gushing :smiley: But really, I never expected myself to be as fond of these books when I began reading them. Like I said, the fact that I am impressed impresses the hell out of me.

#18

Nope. And yes, I’ve read all of them so far.

#19

From “being wild about Harry” to “Harry who?” is within the normal range of human emotions. Hating Harry shows some underlying neurosis or psychosis. Go see some quack! :dubious:

#20

Every two years is too much for you to handle? I successfully ignore all the StarWars hullaballoo, and that’s about on the same schedule.