Well, I’m glad to see that I’m not alone after all.
I had lunch again today at the sandwich shop. By now I’m up to re-reading The Goblet of Fire, and had it with me at lunch today. When I saw the girl mentioned in the OP, I mentioned to her that I was re-reading the fourth book, and said, “You ought to give these books a try.”
She gave me a look as if to say, You must be kidding, to which I responded, “That’s the same look I gave my sister-in-law a year ago before she got me hooked on the series.”
She smiled at my response, but she did seem interested.
Huh, I didn’t even think there was a stigma attached to them anymore. Shows how clueless I’ve been, I guess. And I saw the movie at a 10:20 PM showing, and the theater was full, with mostly adults and only two kids under 15 in the whole place.
But anyway, unless you’re trying to pick up said sandwich shop girl, read whatever you want! The only things you should be embarrassed about reading in public are comic books, porn, and anything by Bret Easton Ellis.
Yeah, I’m sort of an adult (22 grad student) and i read them all this summer. I had the hard covers and no dust covers (don’t know where the dust covers were, actually…). I read them while the kids from the class I was TAing didn’t come to office hours. Got a lot of reading done, and didn’t feel ashamed at all.
But my girlfriend thought it was pretty silly. Then she saw the previews for the movie and got interested. We went and saw it this weekend (she was up for Thanksgiving) and she liked it a lot. THen we got the book and read it aloud to each other all day Saturday while it was raining outside… Then we started the second one. God, we are such dorks. So anyway, you’re not the only one… Also, I’ve heard that the British versions (or at least the first one) have a larger vocabulary than the American versions. Is this true of the latter volumes, and also will the fifth one be printed in a non-dumbed down format here in the States? If not, I’m oging to have to run over to the British Amazon site…
Tenebras
I started reading them out of encouragement from my family, ready to critique the heck out of them, like I tend to do to most things popular.
Now I’m rereading the whole series, after being sort of jazzed on them again due to the movie. I’m not embarrased at all, despite being around seventeen. It just constantly amazes me how much they improve, despite their enormous popularity and tie-ins.
I must third the nomination of “His Dark Materials”. I got the Amber Spyglass for Christmas, and truly could not put it down. It is one of the best science fiction series I have ever read, and is incredibly unique. A must-read.
I’m 37 with two teenagers in the house. The younger of the two has a tendancy to hold fast to his childhood(Who can blame him?)He talked about the Potter books but Never got much intertest from us Adults…untill…
.I went to the used bookstore and found books 1,2,&4 for a mere $18.So I purchased them for him.At the time I was more interested in reading the remainder of Allan Dean Foster’s SPELLSINGER series I purchased at the same time.But as a voracious reader as I am NO book goes unread for very long so I plunged in.
.What a scream! Next thing you know I’ve ran out and outright STOLE Prisoner of Azcaban from a friend’s Daughter.
Now we have all 4 books,The same print run,and a house full of informed Adults.
.DON"T let anyone bother you about reading Harry. They don’t know what they are missing.Good litature is good litature! I’ve gotten a few smarmy remarks from adult friends when I confessed to reading them.And even my 15 yr old daughter thought me cracked.
. Anything that gets a kid to love reading is OK by me! Now all we need to do is introduce those kids to the Master Wizzard,Gandalf!(upcoming flick to do it for us,get them to read LotR anyhow!)Gandalf could kick Dumbledores butt in a Magik-off
.Read and enjoy! I look forward to making a trip over to FrogTown Books for a used copy of book 5 when IT comes out.
.We havn’t yet seen the movie,but I think the two Adults here are looking more forward to the excursion than the kids.When asked Y I hadnt’t yet seen the movie,my reply was I didn’t want it ruined for me by the Kids! In all reality we are waiting for it to show up at the $3 movie house. It may be a bit of time before THAT happens,but I have my books to keep me company.
>I’d be interested in reading the affore mentioned in this string “Britt” version.Has it truly been “dummed down” for we Americans? Surley no Publisher can be that arrogant,in believing American Children as ignorant as they seem to think.I realise the name of Sorcerrers Stone was changed from Philosphers Stone because of fear of Backlash or suspician of corrution of our youth. HOW Ignorant can one be?It seems that things like this fall straight into the hands of the Bible Thumpers who fear for thier children’s soul.
Someone SEND me that book!
Great reading to All!
27, no kids. Huge fan of the books. I got into the series sometime around November 1999 after seeing a man my father’s age reading the first book on a plane ride. They were just getting really popular, and I decided to give them a try.
My mom has also read my copies (first two books), but she’s a teacher, so that’s not that strange. You know, you’ve given me an idea. She’s going to be in the hospital for quite some time when she gets out of ICU, and because her ribs and pelvic bones are broken, she’s probably going to be almost immobile for some time. I bet she would like to finish reading the books.
I’ve just started reading Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone this week.
I love it.
I didn’t think I would. Just from all the hubbub and now the media blitz, that really turns me off. (Turn ons: rainbows, puppies and making love behind a waterfall.)
Told my husband that the book is very good. He looked at me and (with a grin) said, “It’s just sucking you into witchcraft.”
God, I hope so, I have enough black in my wardrobe for the job. It’s such a slimming color.
BTW, I’m 35, with two kids. And I have no problems whatsoever reading kids books in public. I have several Dr. Suess sweatshirts and socks that I wear that always gains the attention of a little one. [puffing out my chest] I know most of the **Cat In the Hat ** by heart, and if you want to steal the show, recite that. Shakespeare is overrated. Suess is the best poet of the last 100 years. No Cliff’s Notes needed for Suess.
Have read the entire series twice, each time inside of a week. Some friends had gotten the Tzeroling the first book as a Christmas present last year, and she didn’t seem to interested in it - a little long for her age at the time. So I picked it up… and didn’t put it down until I’d finished, two hours later. The next time I found myself in a bookstore I picked up the rest of the series and didn’t put those down either unless I really, really had to (even grownups gotta have bedtimes.)
Now I’m reading Sorcerer’s Stone to the Tzeroling, who’s following along quite nicely and is just as eager to find out what happens next as I was the first time. I don’t think I want to see the movie, seeing as how all the movies from books I’ve seen were sorely disappointing; nor do I think I’ll be standing in line when No. 5 comes out (Sure, I say that now…)
I have plenty to read on my commute (Twelve Chairs in the original Russian, Clausewitz’ On War) so I don’t lug Harry around with me, but there is absolutely no shame in enjoying the read wherever and whenever you feel like it.
clayton_e, I had you pegged as a cynical wanker before this, but your post to this thread confirms it. Anyone who can’t get into good children’s lit even for the sheer enjoyment of reading is destined to be unhappy for the rest of his or her natural life. I pity you.
[sub]tacks on a as an afterthought, even tho’ it’s not really sincere[/sub]
37, and started on the series on the recommendation of a friend, when the third book had just come out. Of course, I read fantasy books anyway, so I would have found it myself eventually. I loved the plot and characters the first time around, and the wordplay and puns the second time around. Saw the movie on the first morning, with a 40-something co-worker.
I do have a kid who is too young to read them himself, but he wants to see the movie now. If he’s interested, maybe he’ll be able to read them by himself soon! (hope hope)
Just got my sister and brother-in-law hooked (both in their 40’s)
And I read anything I like in public! CS Lewis got it right…I don’t have to worry that people will think I’m a little kid with gray hairs just because I’m reading “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens” or anything else.
No, no, Rincewind is the “Wizzard”. Wrong book series. (And speaking of addictive reading, I see heaps of adults brazenly reading the Discworld series in public too. Have they no decency?)
I’m not privy to the reasoning behind changing “Philosopher’s Stone” to “Sorceror’s Stone” (although you’d think if Bible-thumpers were the issue, they’d have left the original title). I know some Britishisms were changed to the American equivalents (biscuits --> cookies, etc.) that would be less confusing to young American readers, but “dumbing down”? I’m not so sure.
I think, based on various articles and reviews I’ve read regarding both the book and the movie, the title was changed for us Murrkins because the phrase “Philosopher’s Stone” doesn’t have the same recognition value over here that it does in the UK. The US doesn’t have the history of alchemy that the UK does (mainly because alchemy had pretty much faded out as an acceptably mainstream scientific discipline by the birth of Newton) so we wouldn’t know that the Philosopher’s Stone was a goal of those men of knowledge who dabbled in the Dark Arts.
Or something like that.
“Dumbing down”? Maybe, since the US title of the book won’t cause anyone to actually go to their library to figure out what philosophers have to do with sorcery, but it’s not something anyone should lose any sleep over. IMO.
as an afterthought, even tho’ it’s not really sincere[/sub]