I guess it depends on whether she meant that it outsold the Bible this year or in copies per minute in a given minute or something like that. But outselling the Bible for all time would be pretty unlikely.
So unless this last book will sell 2.2 billion copies this year (and notice the difference between the millions and billions), I doubt it will make up the difference. And that only counts the copies of the Bible sold until 1975.
But that total is in the 265 million copy total. So you might say that it’s the fastest selling book in history in a given hour, but it’s definitely not the bestselling book of all time.
And it even might be the bestselling book over the Bible in any given year, but it seems HIGHLY unlikely.
Given the huge difference in magnitude, I’m guessing that’s why Ellis Dee commented about “Get a grip!”
On preview, I just saw the last post. Please notice the huge difference between sales of the Bible and the next bestselling book–it’s in the billions.
Okay, but eleanor didn’t know that. Two people had to look it up. She said what she said in the context of “for all I know”. No need to go all “bigger than Jesus” on her.
Thank you. Not only that, but saying that it may have outsold the Bible doesn’t mean that it is BETTER than the Bible (although as works of fiction…heheheheheh-- I will go so far as to say that HP has caused much less human anguish than the Bible, but that’s another thread). It’s just a book–those here so opposed to general enjoyment of a phenomenom are the ones who need to get a grip. What is it about this that bugs you so much? Memories of being the only kid who couldn’t have or do X? Resentment that it’s not YOUR birthday/celebration/holiday? Why would anyone be churlish about an innocent pop culture event? (those who think that HP is anything but innocent can go rant to themselve in a corner, but those are few and far between here, thank god).
Popularity does not guarantee quality (hello, Paris Hilton or Bridges of Madison County, anyone?). That was my point–just because there are several threads re HP, doesn’t make this bb The Leaky Cauldron or MuggleNet. IIMO, it reflects the popularity of the book among a varied audience, but especially kids and many of us here have kids.
I’m not trying to be condescending. There are many books in the world, children’s and adult’s alike, that are good, but not everybody and their mother seem to love them to the degree that the HP books are popular. So what makes HP so special when other equally good or even better books aren’t? Technically, it IS a herd mentality, because a lot of people buy into popular things simply because they’re popular.
Note to everyone who says “I read the first book (or saw the first movie), and it was okay, but I don’t see what all the fuss is about”:
The books do get better as you go along. The first couple of books in the series are just fun little kids’ books, but later in the series, the depth and maturity level increase. (Judging the whole series by the first book or two is a little like judging The Lord of the Rings having read only The Hobbit.)
How much better or deeper they get is of course open to debate, as is the degree to which all the hype is justified. But there are numerous reasons for Harry Potter’s appeal and popularity, of which “popularity breeds popularity” is a significant, but certainly not the only, one.
This is simply not true. All of fashion and art is influenced by current cultural tastes. Am I stupid for not still wearing bell bottoms?
I know from experience that things that are hugely popular with the masses are not usually my cup of tea. And frankly the thought of missing one book I might have enjoyed is thoroughly and completely offset by not being associated with grown-ups who dress up like Harry Potter and stand in line all night just to buy a children’s book.
I do think shouting, posting or otherwise spoiling this for those who do enjoy the books is abominable and childish.
I will agree with that. “Better” is a term up for grabs (I think Goblet of Fire is way way too long and I didn’t like Order of the Phoenix the first time I read it, but I’ve come to like it more on subsequent rereading) but overall they get better as the material relating to the outside world becomes more serious. I think Prisoner of Azkaban hits the balance of subject matter and length perfectly. Actually, for me, liking something more when it becomes more serious is common. (I like the second halves of the various Slayers series a lot more than the comic first halves, for instance.)
If there’s anything that needs a sticky, it’s this.
As a person who loves some popular things and some unpopular things, it’s so much nicer loving the popular things. They don’t get canceled/discontinued/remaindered, etc.
I briefly considered posting a sign at work that would clearly state “ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO TAKE THE DAY OFF WORK FOR ANYTHING EVEN VAGUELY RELATED TO HARRY POTTER WILL BE FED TO THE RAVENOUS BUGBLATTER BEAST OF TRAAL.”, before realising that the only other person at work who would get the humour was, in fact, taking the day off to buy and read the latest Harry Potter book. :smack:
(To be fair, it was his rostered day off anyway)
Otherwise, today has been completely Harry Potter-free. No-one else at work reads HP, fortunately for my sanity…
Martini’s Law of Cultural Popularity clearly states “The more popular something is with the general public, the less likely I am to enjoy it”- not because I make a point of disliking popular things, but rather because things which appeal to the [del]peasantry[/del] majority of people tend not to be to my tastes.
I’m quite comfortable with my Elitism, FWIW. The view from up here is great!
It’s certainly true that part of the popularity of Harry Potter is a kind of right-time-right-place snowballing effect. Certainly, I only ever heard of the series in the first placde because it was so popular. BUT, it still has to be good and entertaining, or I wouldn’t read it. After all, there are plenty of insanely popular things that do NOT have equally enthusiastic followings on the dope, ie, The Da Vinci Code.
There are certainly contexts in which I have the same reaction you do, but I think there might be a reversal of that trend when you get to the absolute top ranks of all time popularity. For instance, movies… the biggest box office draw on any given weekend will, likely as not, be some crass dumb comedy or big dumb Jerry Bruckheimer film. But here are the top 30 box office movies of all time, adjusted for inflation:
1 Gone with the Wind
2 Star Wars
3 The Sound of Music
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
5 The Ten Commandments
6 Titanic
7 Jaws
8 Doctor Zhivago
9 The Exorcist
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
11 101 Dalmatians
12 The Empire Strikes Back
13 Ben-Hur
14 Return of the Jedi
15 The Sting
16 Raiders of the Lost Ark
17 Jurassic Park
18 The Graduate
19 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
20 Fantasia
21 The Godfather
22 Forrest Gump
23 Mary Poppins
24 The Lion King
25 Grease
26 Thunderball
27 The Jungle Book
28 Sleeping Beauty
29 Shrek 2
30 Ghostbusters
Now, I certainly don’t claim that those are the 30 best movies of all time. But I do claim that, particularly if you remove the children’s movies, those are movies which are, on average, quite a bit better than average. Those are, on the whole, good entertaining movies. Some of them (Fantasia, The Godfather) are great movies.
Or consider pop music… sure there’s plenty of bad pop music. But the absolute #1 top pop band of all time is pretty clearly The Beatles, which, most people would claim, is a damn good band.
(Of course my argument breaks down when it comes to books… damn you, Dan Brown!)
Which brings us right back to the “OK, they’re reading crap, but at least they’re reading!” position. yeah, it would be nice if they were reading the 2nd-largest selling Living British Author instead of the 1st, but reading is reading. Every hour immersed in a book is an hour that isn’t wasted on something else (this SE whatever you think is Bad.)
Fashion in particular is very ephemeral. A lot of other art is too, but truly great art transcends its original time and place and touches something more universal. What makes something great is highly subjective - one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and all that. But I still maintain that it’s a pretty shallow person whose primary criteria for enjoying something is its popularity.
Cry me a fucking river. Kitten lovers, Bush bashers, and the strongly religious/atheistic don’t keep it to one thread either.
If you have nothing better to do with your time than count message board threads for a series of books in which you have no interest, I can come up with a list.
