*** Official *** I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books thread

[spamuell]

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with authors like hesse, how could you waste your time reading some british whore's kid stories?

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They're really fun to read and they're not without insight. You can make this argument about anything anyway. "With authors like Hesse, how could you waste your time playing poker/posting on 2+2/watching tv/whatever?" Because it's fun and the two aren't mutually exclusive.

[Sheriff Fatman]

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I refuse to read Harry Potter as a protest to these comparisons, because I know they shouldn't be made for a book that is primarily aimed at children.

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Out of the series, only the first 2 books are what could easily be described as 'children's books'. The simplest evidence of this is the actual size of the books concerned. However, the plotline and writing style has darkened significantly from book 3 onwards, probably as it became obvious to the author that there were just as many (if not more) adult readers of these books than children.

This was very apparent to me last night when I went to the shop at midnight to buy it. There were a small number of children (mainly teenagers) waiting. The rest were adults, of varying ages, most of whom were buying the book for themselves, not for their kids.

To touch on Spamuell's point, I've seen many people deriding others for reading them but I don't know of anyone who's not enjoyed them once they've actually started to read them. I resisted them for many years, thinking along the same lines as many who have posted in this thread. However, I'm glad I was finally talked around.

As for comparisons to LOTR, this is where opinion differs wildly. I know many fans of both books and the only common theme seems to be that they have a strong opinion on this issue one way or the other. I think much of it has to do with which of the series they got into first.

I gave up on LOTR as an 11 year-old child, and only returned to read the whole series as a result of the film releases. I first read the Potter books as a direct consequence of (reluctantly) seeing the first film on its release. Personally, I'm firmly in the Potter camp but I know many who equally adamantly favour LOTR and their reasons for doing so make perfect sense to me.

Sheriff

[The once and future king]

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No. I don't get it.

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Think man think, what kind of fellow does spend alot of time in Soho. (Bars not clip joints).

[EliteNinja]

Haven't read the Harry Potter books either.

I've read BEATRIX Potter.

[pokertonbear1]

I am an English Lit major and usually have what I suppose you would classify as sophisticated, developed literary taste. Yet, I've read all the book including the sixth and enjoyed them tremendously. Before you go casting stones you should give them a try, and may I ask what your favorite book is?

[YourFoxyGrandma]

I read the first one, but only because it was required of me in 9th grade english. It was pretty good, but I don't really read much, so that's where I stopped.

Also, I made the mistake of swinging by Barnes and Noble for some coffee on Friday night. The place was the most crowded I've ever seen any bookstore. The overwhelming majority of people were wearing Harry Potter glasses and capes, waving wands around, and talking in British accents.

There's something very wrong with the people of this country.

[Sponger15SB]

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Does this mean there is something wrong with me?

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It just means you have a normal life

[Matt Flynn]

Hey spend your free time however you like. Potter raises net happiness and gets kids reading, so it's good in my book. But definitely not required reading. In fact I cannot think of a single book that should be required reading (sorry Jesus bot). On the other hand, if you have not seen Jaws you suck.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

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I don't understand why grown men enjoy these books or movies.

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The books are good. Why does it matter to you that they were originally intended for kids?