06.11.08
Harry Pfft!r
I have my reasons for not surfing along with millions as these Harry Potter billows sweep many minds off their footings. To summarize my explanation when asked why, I simply reply, “I can and should yield myself over to better books.” (I’m weird. I know. I get that a lot.)
Whenever I ask in return for a sensible answer as to why Harry Potter is so popular, I never get any… until I read A.S. Byatt’s article, and I must say that I have never heard a more proper response to my query than this. As it turns out, this has been around for five years but it was obviously drowned by a fiercer majority.
The Link: Harry
Potter and the Childish Adult
http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-byatt110703.htm
When this article surfaced in the New York Times, a Mr. Taylor described it as “upfront in its snobbishness,” but A. S. Byatt was also applauded by the Guardian’s Fay Weldon by saying, “She is absolutely right that it is not
what the poets hoped for, but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable,
everyday, useful prose.” Weldon added that she found the sight of
adults reading the Potter series troubling, and supplemented that “Byatt does have a point in everything she says but at the same time she sounds like a bit of a spoilsport. She is being a party pooper but then the party pooper is often right.”
You may say I’m a party pooper… But I’m not the only one.
*Sings in the tune of Imagine*
Prince Alarming said,
June 11, 2008 at 6:10 pm
ahahaha i remeber reading potter 3 and sir J told me ‘its not worth my time’ . . . the reason why i read it is because everyones reading it . . . but i cant help reading Rowling without comparing her with Tolkien kay murag similar man ug mga characters . . . what was the link about anyway? ahaha
Miracle ♪♫ said,
June 11, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Sir J’s right. haha
Well, that was very unlike you to go with the flow. =P
The picture above signifies how “everybody” reads HP - even Darth Vader. hehe
I can’t compare Rowling to Tolkien coz I don’t read Tolkien either… but if I were to choose between the two, I’d definitely go for Tolkien.
The link? it’s about… um… Harry Potter and the Childish Adult =P
Karlo said,
September 28, 2008 at 6:05 am
Harry Potter does have its merits. I’ve read Books 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5! I wish I have more time so I can read the last two books in the series. I swear it’s not just childish riff-raff as Benjamin H. Barton writes in “Harry Potter and the Half-crazed Bureaucracy”. :)
Miracle ♪♫ said,
September 28, 2008 at 7:16 am
Karlo, I’d like to acknowledge you for declaring that you think otherwise. hehe =) Being the bookworm that you are, I must at least consider your opinion about Harry Potter’s literary calibre. However, I am still convinced that I can yield myself over to better books.
Karlo said,
September 29, 2008 at 11:23 pm
As Schopenhauer wrote:
=)
Miracle ♪♫ said,
September 30, 2008 at 8:40 am
Hmmm… thanks for that, Karlo. =)
sopraninigabi said,
May 18, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Hehe it used to be the Harry Potter craze… now it’s the Twilight series craze.
As a teacher, I’m glad of anything that would prompt teenagers to read when they normally wouldn’t dream of picking up books in the first place. There’s some good in HP and TL, I believe :)
Miracle ♪♫ said,
May 19, 2009 at 6:52 am
You have a point, Gabi. But I am still led to think that whenever I see kids/teens reading books like that, it is the older readers who have failed to expose the younger generation to “real” books. My approach is to tell them that there are more wonderful books to read, and most importantly, supply or suggest better alternatives. It doesn’t work all the time, but I’ve seen great results.
In Harry Potter’s case, I cannot approve of wizardry and witchcraft being called good. I’ve had this instinct since childhood however. A question to my parents after watching The Wizard of Oz: There is a good witch?! haha =P