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

Cafe Society
41

Of the books you listed, I’ve only read Fire and Hemlock and A Wizard Of Earthsea, but I’d say that from the standpoint of sheer entertainment value they are not as good as Harry Potter, especially at the younger age levels. They don’t pull the reader along at as fast a pace; they’re not as much sheer fun-for-the-sake-of-fun to read. Nor do they do as good a job at creating the kind of world/setting readers (especially kids) would love to live in and want to keep coming back to. They are, however, deeper, weightier, and more “real.”

So I can understand why Harry Potter has exceeded such books in mass popularity. But my guess is that the Potter phenomenon has led to more readers ard more attention, not less, for those other, better, deeper fantasies than they would otherwise have had.

42

All very good points, too many to quote…

I will never say that it’s wrong to like the Harry Potter books. Everyone has their own taste and I respect that.

Kids love Harry Potter, and you do have to admit that the series has made reading popular again for a generation that spent most of their time watching TV/Playing computer games. I respect that as well.

I stay out of the Harry Potter threads, because I have nothing to add to the discussion. People can talk about Harry Potter all they like. I’m certainly not going to say stop it.

I was completely over the Star Wars ranting and raving too. Sure I like Star Wars, but I wasn’t going to die if I didn’t see it in the cinema on opening week (that was hubby, so I take no blame there G).

What I dislike is the media frenzy. Equipoise was right, it’s the media that my main beef is. But the media only has a story when they’ve got consumers to sell it to.

What I’m sick of is the massive OMG NEWS STORY!!! that happens when someone invariably makes a mistake and sells a few copies of the book a week or so early. I dislike going to a book store, picking up a few fantasy/sci-fi novels and having the checkout staff trying to flog Harry Potter at me (Borders, I’m looking at you right now). I’m sick of being told I’m a massive big meany-poopyhead because I tried reading one of the books a long time ago, didn’t like the writing style and have decided to seek out other books that are more to my tastes.

I just guess I don’t understand why it has to be such a big production. As I said in the OP, it’s not like it’s offering the answer to life, the universe and everything. It’s children’s fantasy. It’s so “big” because the publishers/author know how to play people, and get them wanting it by saying they can’t have it, and by putting a great deal of mystery around what would otherwise just be another book amongst the millions of fantasy stories that are written each year.

If I had kids, would I ban them from reading Harry Potter? Certainly not. But would I be out at midnight, just to try and get a first copy before anyone else? No bloody fear, thanks. They can wait until I get out to the shops next time. They’re not going to die if they don’t have it straight away.

43

This Saturday, all over the world, people will be reading this same book. If I go out to the park this Saturday, or to the library, or to a restaurant, I’ll probably see adults and children with this book, reading it. If I go to a park in a lot of other countries, I’ll see the same thing. And I’ll have my copy with me, too.

There’s an appeal to that kind of shared experience, I think. I like being part of it.

44

Hey. Kids are reading again. This makes me happy.

I quite enjoy the Harry Potter books. I’m looking forward to this one. No, I won’t be in line to get it this weekend, but probably in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I will say this: Give me Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” series over the HP stuff anyday, baby. :smiley: Man, that trilogy is like crack for nerds. CRACK I say. ::: runs off to read the rest of book III :::

45

NO.

I’m also sick of Harry Potter. I’ve seen the movies, I’ve read one of the books, and I hate them all. I fell asleep during the movies, by the way. The books sucked. I hate fantasy. I hate magic. I hate dumbed down, for-kids nonsense. When I was 12 years old one of my favorite books was called “Imagining Hitler.” Another was Kurt Vonnegut’s “Breakfast of Champions.” I’ve always thought and read at an adult level.

I would rather my kids spend all day playing the most violent of video games than ever read Harry Potter books, watch the movies, or give another shilling to J.K. Rowling.

46

I think all the hype is silly too. Part of me wonders how much of it is the kids, and how much is actually the parents. Parents can be nutso sometimes. Remember when they trampled each other to get Cabbage Patch dolls?

For the record, no I’ve never read one of the books and I do not plan to do so. Ever. Fantasy is just not my bag. I also don’t give a rat’s ass about Star Wars, Star Trek, or any of that other junk that people always seem to get their panties in a wad about. (I will admit to watching the Lord of the Rings movies and not hating them. The Hobbit tree houses were pretty sweet.)

47

After seeing the movies, I’ve gotten rather annoyed at the fact that Harry’s Profs go so ga-ga over him because he’s Harry Potter. No because of who he is or what he’s done, just his lineage.

That and how Alan Rickman’s character seems to be turning into some sort of buffoon…

48

(Am I the only one who doesn’t think His Dark Materials are appropriate for kids? At least not the same age group as HP? Too dark and way too morally ambiguous (Who’s the bad guy again? Is he the guy who kills innocent people or the one we’re working with? Both? Neither? Is it GOD? We’ve switched again? Huzzah!) Don’t get me wrong, I love His Dark Materials like I’ve loved nothing since Susan Cooper, but they ain’t kiddie books!)

49

I agree with you about His Dark Materials. My husband and I just read them about two months ago. We’re both dedicated YA and adult fantasy readers. We both thought that HDM was too dark and scary for anyone under 12 at the youngest. I’m not sure I would have even liked them when I was that young. As you said- too morally ambiguous, especially the third book. The damn golden monkey still gives me nighmares.

Incidentally, there’s a new edition of Paradise Lost coming up, with introduction and notes by Pullman. It sounds interesting.

Good points, Thudlow. I personally don’t find HP particularly entertaining, and I honestly don’t think I would have been totally in love with them if I’d read them as a kid. I have always been more attracted to weightier fantasy. HP may be more detailed, but it’s never felt as real to me as Earthsea, or Damar, or the England that Will inhabits in TDIR.

/end total hijack

50

There is one good specific reason for the hype about the early release of this particular book that hasn’t been mentioned.

One of the major characters in the book dies. There has been a substantial amount of betting in the legal British books on who this character is. If someone got hold of an early copy and placed a large bet, huge amounts of money would be at stake.

The British take their betting quite seriously. This alone is enough to enforce the release date.

51

As someone who doesn’t get any of his news from television, I’ve been remarkably insulated from the recent HP book phenomenon. I’m not inundated by HP crossover crap (cereal, candy, sodas, etc.) in the supermarket. I’m not inundated by HP commercials (“Buy the book!”) on TV. I’ll see a couple posters in the bookstore, but nothing that’s not easily ignorable.

Certainly every major summer movie has had a ton more visible, harder-to-avoid hype. HP’s been pretty tame by comparison. (Of course, the next movie will be a completely different story)

52

Err - he’s the Boy Who Lived. He defeated Voldemort as an infant. It’s sort of the other way around - Harry’s parents are famous largely because he is their son. And Harry is the youngest Quidditch Seeker at Hogwart’s for a century, and won the Tri-Wizard tournament, etc.

I hope I don’t offend, but I think this might be considered a drawback, not an advantage.

My two Knuts worth.

Regards,
Shodan

53

Read all the books, liked them very much, saw the first and third movies, found them lacking, whatever.

What I don’t understand is, when there’s so much hype about the big release date and there’s a countdown on the national newscasts and everybody’s holding Harry Potter Official Sixth Book Release Parties at midnight on the 16th, etc., how is it that bookstores are mistakenly putting the books on the shelves early? Who are these idiots?

54

I’m okay with the hype. In fact, it kinda tickles me. Like someone above said, it’s the shared experience, and of something positive, rather than a tragedy or disaster.

I read the first four books and about 200 pages of the fifth, and then Rowling’s overuse of adverbs in dialogue started getting to me. I counted 12 over just 3 pages. It’s like I developed an adverb allergy or something.

Did she write like that in the first four books? I’ve given my copies away, so I can’t go look.

55

That’s some pretty funny curmudgeoning.

“Judy Blume wrote well too, but you don’t see adults poring over ‘Freckle Juice’ on the train.”

56

I read Judy Blume’s books as a kid and they were infinitely better reading than any Harry Potter crap. They dealt frankly with real problems that real kids had to face, and contained a lot of humor and enough drama to make them interesting.

I guess I just can’t stand anything that’s supposed to be “whimsical” and “fantastical.” Fuck it all. Give me real life any time.

57

I can tell you now that Harry’s professors don’t go ga-ga over him, and Snape is not a buffon in the next movie. Snape doesn’t have a lot of scenes, but the ones he has are pretty effective.

58

I’ve been an avid reader as soon as I was able to hold a book in my own two hands. In fact, there is an embarrassing home movie of me sitting on my potty while holding a giant picture book, and giving my Dad a look that said, “What the heck are you doing? Leave me alone and let me take care of my business.”

I love the Harry Potter books. I am interested in the characters. I find the multiple layers fascinating, and have to say I enjoy speculating on what will happen in the final two books. I love when I’m poring through a book on mythology or astronomy and have a light bulb moment, when I see a subtle joke or relationship to something in one of her books. I’m taking off work on Friday and my sister and I are going to kick back and enjoy the day. And yes, I’ll be at Barnes & Noble at midnight buying my book–not because I have to be one of the first, but because I’ve waited a few years to get the next installment in the lives of some people I’ve grown to care about.

My love of Harry Potter has led me to some fantasy that I might not have otherwise discovered, because I was never much of a fantasy reader. Since then, I’ve learned to enjoy a genre of literature that I had previously overlooked. Sure, I love His Dark Materials a lot, but I enjoy it on a very different level than Harry Potter. Just because I think the one is good doesn’t automatically mean I think the other one is dreck.

For me, the hype just mirrors the excitement I feel about gettingto read the next book.

59

If all you’ve done is see the movies, and you haven’t read the books, then I don’t think you can comment on that, because in the books, the teachers ARE rather impressed that Harry is there, BECAUSE of who he is (the importance of being the Boy Who Lived) and because his parents were very beloved in the magical community. He looks like his father, and many of the older professors get nostalgic and sentimental when they meet him. Voldemort was to the wizarding world as Hitler was to our world. People can’t even say his name, it’s just You Know Who, or He Who Must Not Be Named. The fact that he was defeated by a boy only a year old, is a mystery and a triumph, so naturally, everyone is going to be fascinated by Harry.

60

I get that. And that’s great…for you.

For me, however, I use books to *escape * from reality. I get enough reality from life, thanks.