Harry Potter

[CJ Krause]

yup

[windshieldbug]

I'm not saying it's bad stuff

Appearently that's why you weren't considered for the position of pope when it came up...

[Joe Baker]

Am I the only one who has no interest in it whatsoever? I'm not saying it's bad stuff, but I just have no interest...

The thing is, anyone who IS interested is -- like my daughter -- too busy reading the darned thing to look at tubenet.
_______________________________
Joe Baker, who got home at 3:00 this morning to find his daughter on the couch reading her purchased-at-midnight copy of the book.

[Chuck(G)]

I just can't get excited about it...

[windshieldbug]

Was he throwing coins in those threads?

[kegmcnabb]

Hey,

I gotta say, considering what some of y'all have had to say about kids and their lack of education, manners, learning, etc... why would you not think that anything that has children excited about reading is not a GOOD thing?

Granted, the hype machine is insane but so what? Tubenetter's discuss the merits of over-hyped, half-baked movies like Fantastic 4 (not bad, but let's not pretend it was anything better than OK) but dis a well written series of books. Huh!?!

Personally, I haven't read any of the books since I read the first one with my daughter, but I am thrilled with any series that inspires reading loyalty in the Nickolodean/PS2 generation.

Regardless of what you think about Harry Potter, I would think all of us should be thrilled about something that causes children to build reading skill, use their minds and imaginations, and to be more excited about a book, ANY BOOK, than TV,Movies, X-Box or whatever. Hey I like all those things too, but reading is much better for kids (or anybody's) mind.

At my local library, in a town of 9,000, there over 150 children on the waiting list to check the new HP out. Personally, my hat is off to any author that can create that kind of loyalty, even if I am not particularly interested.

Just my $.02

[Joe Baker]

I gotta say, considering what some of y'all have had to say about kids and their lack of education, manners, learning, etc... why would you not think that anything that has children excited about reading is not a GOOD thing?

I whole-heartedly agree. Yesterday was my daughter's 18th birthday. She organized her birthday party around, and claimed a (rare) exemption from curfew for, WAITING IN LINE AT A BOOKSTORE, then came home and READ A BOOK. Yeah, it's a borderline obsession with a lot of kids; but kids that are obsessed with these books would probably just be obsessed with something else if the books weren't there; and there's a WHOLE lot worse stuff for them to be into.
__________________________________
Joe Baker, who hasn't read any of the books, but has enjoyed the movies.

[kegmcnabb]

The thing is, anyone who IS interested is -- like my daughter -- too busy reading the darned thing to look at tubenet.
_______________________________
Joe Baker, who got home at 3:00 this morning to find his daughter on the couch reading her purchased-at-midnight copy of the book.

Good for her

[Mark]

Am I the only one who has no interest in it whatsoever? I'm not saying it's bad stuff, but I just have no interest...

My wife and I have both read all of the books and we enjoyed them. I won't however be standing in line at midnight for any book. I'll wait until Amazon.com can deliver one to my home.

A couple of years ago, Keating Johnson told me he had read all of the Potter books in German. My German isn't that good, but I still consider myself in good company.

[Mark]

troll: I don't let my kids read Harry Potter books because of the Satanic influences.

Is that a full-grown, mountain troll?

[Jeffrey Hicks]

I am finished with it. It was ok. Not the best in the series. I think she mailed it in personally.

[CrappyEuph]

I just finished it (it would have been sooner but for rehearsals and an airport run) and I am happy to admit that I LOVED IT.

All the Harry Potter forums are closed this weekend so I saw the thread and thought I'd extol its virtues on the TubeNet instead.

- Jamie (who is not a high school student)

[The Impaler]

Having read all the previous books (in an attempt to be on an equal discussion level with my 14-year-old cousin who has been reading them since she was 6), I happened upon a cheap copy in Wal-Mart yesterday and went ahead and bought it. Another book to add to my current reads (a biography of Leonard Bernstein and Tolkien's The Silmarillion).

I rather enjoy everything about the books, from the characters and the stories right down to Ms. Rowling's writing style and her wonderful way of developing every single character. However, I do see the smallest need of a disclaimer when small children (and perhaps early teenagers) are reading these books. Believing in the ability to perform magic is a scary thing, even as innocent as it is in this outstanding series of literary achievement. Just one little discussion with a child making sure they understand that it isn't real perhaps is appropriate.

That being said, kudos to Ms. Rowling for her past successes (struggling single mom to richest woman in Britain) and for her latest one!

[Doug@GT]

I do see the smallest need of a disclaimer when small children (and perhaps early teenagers) are reading these books. Believing in the ability to perform magic is a scary thing, even as innocent as it is in this outstanding series of literary achievement. Just one little discussion with a child making sure they understand that it isn't real perhaps is appropriate.

I think par tof te joy of being akid is the ability to believe that the stuff we read about is real. Magic, space aliens, tesseracts, Oompa-Loompas, magic wardrobes, hobbits, neverland, etc.

We're making kids grow up way too fast nowadays.

I was a kid when it was still ok to believe in fantasies when you're little. I can assure all the worried grown-ups out there that it has no lasting effects. We're smart enough to figure out that it isn't real eventually.

Doug "who has only seen one of the movies, and enjoyed it more due to the company than the story, and hasn't read the books--just not interested"

[ThomasDodd]

I hate this book, it's movies, and it's games.

The movies are OK, and I don't know a thing about the games.

But you are wrong on the books. By your own admission below, you have only read two chapters of one book from the middle of the series. Not a good position to make a judgement from. Then again, we wouldn't expect much more from you.

All child jibber and nonsense.

Go back and read you postes. Talk about childish jibberish and nonsesical.

I like more adult like "fiction" books/storys. Lord of The Rings, War of The Worlds, and Star Wars

So you've read LOTR? All of it?
I find that hard to belive.

[ThomasDodd]

I personally haven't read the books, but the impression I get from those who have is that these books are just as much for adults as they are for children. Maybe somebody else can comment on this.

They read well with lots of charecter development. An getting any one to read 800+ page book is quite an accomplishment, let alone a 10 year old.

This may not be the case for the movies as I have only seen the first one, but it is common knowledge that few movies are able to portray a book in its true form.

True to form, the movies leave out most of the character development, and modify the plot to a great degree. If it get somone interested in reading the book, great, but the movies are lacking in the way most movies are.

[ThomasDodd]

I wish I'd found a book/series that got me into reading when I was my son's age when he discovered Harry.

He had startd the first book just befroe his 7th birthday. He languished for a few nmonths, getting thriough the first 2 or 3 chapters. Then the movie was due for release, and he read the rest in a few days, so he could go see the movie opening week end (Since he had started the book, he had to finish it before I would pay for him to see the movie)
He had read all the first 4 by the time book 5 was released, and read it in a few days. Thta was the 800+ page one.

Myself, at that age I hated to reading anything. It was 6th grade when I found "The Resturant at the End of the Universe." Still not sure why I read it, but I did and that was the start of me enjoying reading. Took a while to get past Sci-Fi, but I owe it all to that one book.

I've read all 5 Potter books, and will read this one soon. It not a bad story, and being able tio discus a book with you child is worth more than 10x the cost (time or money). There aren't many books he'll read that I find interesting, but the Potter book are. The are easy to read, with well developed characters and an intricate plot. Much better that most "kids" books, with shallow un interest, undeveloped characters, and simple plot lines.

[TMurphy]

I agree with Thomas, I decided to read the previous books, just to understand what my kid brother was talking about half the time. I was stunned at how well written they are. The characters are very well developed (the benefit of having a series in which to develop them, no doubt), and perhaps best of all, as the kids who read the books when they first started being released age, so do the kids in the book. As the kids in the book mature, so do the events in their lives--things get more serious, the older they get. There's no adolescent time warp going on; Harry and his friends are growing up, and dealing with more responsibility as they do. Very well done.

[Doug@GT]

It was 6th grade when I found "The Resturant at the End of the Universe." Still not sure why I read it, but I did and that was the start of me enjoying reading. Took a while to get past Sci-Fi, but I owe it all to that one book.

6th grade? Wow. I didn't discover Douglas Adams until High School...


I grew up on great fiction like Madeline L'engle's Time series. *Those* were interesting books. I'm re-reading them right now.

On a similar note, did anyone else enjoy Louis Sachar's books when you were young? Kind of like Douglas Adams, but for kids and not in space.

D

[Lew]

I have read one of the Harry Potter books, but it wasn't my cup of tea. This is from someone who spent much of his youth reading fantasy and Sci Fi, starting with Assimov, Bradbury, and Clarke. If these books have gotten children away from the computer or TV long enough to read something, then I think that they have done a service.