am I the only one who doesn't get Harry Potter?

[Anonymous]

Love Harry Potter. As much as I love the word building, it's the books' emotional truths that I find so compelling.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't classify the books as great literature. The real value is that they captured the attention of kids and got many kids to read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't classify the books as great literature. The real value is that they captured the attention of kids and got many kids to read.

This +100. The ton of kids standing in line for the latest book was amazing and wonderful. Especially before the movies came.

[Anonymous]

It came out when I was in elementary school. I loved the books, looked forward to every release, and eagerly read them. I imagined myself drinking butterbeer, having a wand, and mixing potions. I even cast pretend spells.

What I don't understand is how rabidly my peers are still into it now that we're adults- even going as far as naming their children Albus and Severus (usually as middle names, thankfully). I have great fondness for my favorite childhood reads, but the level of intensity some people have for it is just weird to me.

[Anonymous]

You're not alone. It's never appealed to me in any way. I haven't read the books or seen any of the movies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't classify the books as great literature. The real value is that they captured the attention of kids and got many kids to read.

This +100. The ton of kids standing in line for the latest book was amazing and wonderful. Especially before the movies came.

My son was 8 when the first one came out and he was a huge fan! He read cover to cover many times and got each new one the day they came out. He was obsessed.

I tried to like them, but they weren't for me as an adult. I even tried with my younger daughter and we both weren't interested.

[Anonymous]

I read them as an adult, after DD started reading them. They are not my genre at all, so I wasn't prepared to like them as much as I did. They may be written for kids, but in my opinion, they are pretty well-written. At the time, I was also trying to read 50 Shades of Grey, and I couldn't make it through that one, it was so badly written.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I never could read it either. I took my kid sister to see the movies, some of which were okay and others less so.

I was a literature major with a PhD so I am wondering if that may have something to do with it.

You are correct, the books are not particularly well written. But there is clearly something gripping enough to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of millions.

What book do you find particularly well written? Great Expectations? Huck Finn? Grapes of Wrath?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I never could read it either. I took my kid sister to see the movies, some of which were okay and others less so.

I was a literature major with a PhD so I am wondering if that may have something to do with it.

You are correct, the books are not particularly well written. But there is clearly something gripping enough to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of millions.

What book do you find particularly well written? Great Expectations? Huck Finn? Grapes of Wrath?

NP here. Her writing was not bad or jarring, it was just for children. Beautifully written for me is Fitzgerald. She's no Fitzgerald, but she doesn't need to be. People also forget that the talent of editors makes a huge difference too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really liked it (still do), and I read the books as an adult, but before I had kids. And I am a reader who doesn't mind heavy lifting, reads the classics regularly, and reads in multiple languages. I didn't have issues with the writing, and the imaginative world captured me completely.

Ditto. They came out when I was in my mid-twenties - LOVED them. The first one is written much more simplistically. But, don't we all want to be the picked on kid who gets to go live in a castle and learn magic?

I'm the same age but the imaginative world did not capture me as Tolkien did when I was a child. Or Narnia, or Star Wars. I guess I had been exposed to tons of imaginative worlds by then and it all felt a bit childish (like the term "muggle" FFS). But it was fantastic for kids to have as their first imaginative world and I can see why it hit its (kid) target so well. I'm still not sure why adults LOVE it. But I'm not sure why adults go to Disney without kids! And as a grownup I absolutely love the imagination of China Mieville, Ted Chiang, Paolo Bacigalupi, and tons of other fantastical authors! I just have grown-up tastes now and things like a muggle and a butter-beer are more for kids. That's OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It came out when I was in elementary school. I loved the books, looked forward to every release, and eagerly read them. I imagined myself drinking butterbeer, having a wand, and mixing potions. I even cast pretend spells.

What I don't understand is how rabidly my peers are still into it now that we're adults- even going as far as naming their children Albus and Severus (usually as middle names, thankfully). I have great fondness for my favorite childhood reads, but the level of intensity some people have for it is just weird to me.

+100

You're not alone, OP.

[Anonymous]

They do get better though. A lot better. Still, I would have preferred an adult version based on the series. Wouldn't that have been neat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They do get better though. A lot better. Still, I would have preferred an adult version based on the series. Wouldn't that have been neat?

Lev Grossman, the Magicians

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They do get better though. A lot better. Still, I would have preferred an adult version based on the series. Wouldn't that have been neat?

Lev Grossman, the Magicians

also the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They do get better though. A lot better. Still, I would have preferred an adult version based on the series. Wouldn't that have been neat?

Lev Grossman, the Magicians

I liked the Lev Grossman books but for me they were a poor imitation of HP. I love it - I read them as a young adult, when they came out, and although the writing is simple, it is not simplistic; it is for children but it is not childish. The plot and the characters are well-developed. I don't think it makes sense to compare it to Fitzgerald or Steinbeck - it's a completely different genre and style.