What is it that makes Harry Potter so popular?
I mean, personally, I dont really like the books. I dislike Rowling's writing style, and her subject matter usually makes me cringe. When I read any of them, it reminded me of Roald Dahl, who was a good children's author, but would probably make my brain explode if I tried to read it today.
And it is not as though this was the first series of books to be written about a kid who finds out he has amazing powers greater than that of other mortals. I'm not trying to say the books shouldnt be successful, because if the public loves them, more power to Rowling. Frankly, I'm happy to see so many people get hyped into reading like this.
But what I cannot fathom is what makes the books so popular, especially when the subject matter is far to the outside of what the majority of the public reads (IE, fantasy fiction).
Any ideas?
Compare it to The Da Vinci Code vs Foucault's Pendulum. The former is pretty blunt and poorly told, but it is interesting enough and easy to read. The latter is deeper, but far harder to read for the average reader. There's no question why the former was more popular in the first place and why that popularity kept growing. Talonus fucked around with this message on 07-21-2007 at 07:45 AM.
So of course it's going to be popular to the general public. 
The UPS guy should be bringing my copy of book 7 to the door any time now. Mwahahaha.
No-one, I think, would say that it's the pinnacle of literary art (there really IS no one pinnacle of literary art) but there is a lot going for the series as a whole even if it isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
But no, seriously. Here's an amazing concept. People possess opinions! And what do you know, they differ from one person to the other. Novel concept, isn't it? Trying to dissect other people's thoughts when yours are inherently tinged with subjectivity is a waste of mind.
I can tell you why I like the series personally. Sure, there are plenty of cliché fantasy books about your average Joe who finds out he has extraordinary powers. What makes this one special is how Rowling brings up tiny details into her world. It's not typical high fantasy where average Joe discovers his powers and wields them at an epic scale in order to save the world from a terrible menace. It's about a bunch of average joes who use their powers for intricate details ranging from moving photographs and ever-changing flavored beans to traveling through fireplaces or carrying howling letters by owl mail. This application to details of daily life is what makes the series much easier to relate to for myself and probably for many others. Asha'man fucked around with this message on 07-21-2007 at 10:48 PM.
What? It's as good a theory as any other.
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Peanut butter ass Shaq Callalron booooze lime pole over bench lick:
Maybe it's the highly addictive, psychoactive chemicals lacing each page of the books?What? It's as good a theory as any other.
Looking at AP photos from Potter Parties I'd have to say this theory is a great deal more sound than the popular "it's good writing" theory
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Verily, Asha'man doth proclaim:
Clearly such a book is a threat to Christianty.
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Mr. Parcelan had this to say about pies:
Is Asha'man gay[ ] Yes
[ ] No
"Don't want to sound like a fanboy, but I am with you. I'll buy it for sure, it's just a matter of for how long I will be playing it..."
- Silvast, Battle.net forums
It's an easy, fun read. Finished the last one in under 10 hours, and it seems to me she decided to draw a lot of inspiration from messianic stories and Holocaust sources for the majority of it. The whole something for everyone angle, because in the end? JK Rowling just wanted buckets of cash.
*shrug*
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Peanut butter ass Shaq Xyrra booooze lime pole over bench lick:
and it seems to me she decided to draw a lot of inspiration from messianic stories and Holocaust sources for the majority of it.
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Maradon! obviously shouldn't have said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_Journey
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Greenliting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_Journey
Doesn't account for specific similarities 
It's no mystery that if you generalize your definitions enough, eventually you'll encompass everything.
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Maradon! impressed everyone with:
Doesn't account for specific similarities
no actually monomyth does account for almost every major plot point in both
the image macro ignores a few things as well for generalization (notably the resolution of the relationships in both)
As for the books themselves, I like them because they're an engaging read. They have good characters who learn and grow, and a well-fleshed out world that gives the feeling of really being part of it, like Asha said. When I read them, I care about the characters. I had tears in my eyes when Sirius and Dumbledore died, having to set each respective book aside for a moment to take it in. And I got misty a few places in 7. I also cheered along with the good guys when things went right and was angry when they had things to be angry about.
And the subject matter matures along with the series. The first book is a book about an 11 year old coming to a new place and school, making new friends and enemies and even facing a little danger. But it's all on the scale of danger for an 11 year old. By 7, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are 17 and recognized as of age, their problems, both with Voldemort and personal issues, have progressed far past those of a mere 11 year old and they're confronted with some rather serious events.
Also, one of my favorite things about her writing style is the way she can just mention something in a previous book, such as Harry talking to the snake in the zoo, which becomes a major facet of another later book. You get a kind of "aha!" feeling when you realize that what you thought was an offhand piece of flavor text turns out to be incredibly important.
I've read all but 7 multiple times and I've never gotten bored through any re-read, even though I knew full well what the story was. When I finished 7, I had the same feeling as when I finished FFIX, Xenogears or Lunar: Silver Star Story. I was sorry it was over and I wanted more. I wasn't ready to leave that world yet, and it's saddening to think that there very well could be nothing else written about that world but what has been put out.
So I think the reason the books are so popular is that from the first, they provide a satisfying, fulfilling read that makes you greedy for more. Lyinar Ka`Bael fucked around with this message on 07-26-2007 at 10:49 PM.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
It reminds me of when Goosebumps came out in my generation. HUGE success, we loved those books and enjoyed reading them, even though they were pretty terrible.. Teachers and parents of course encouraged and promoted the books, anything to get us into reading.
I read it before anyone else because a lot of British schools get their year 8s (12-13 year olds) to read a selection of books shortlisted for the Carnagie Medal and then vote for their favourite. HP didn't even win, which does back up the idea that there are some that only read it because it's popular.
Another thing I discussed with a friend who has read all the books is that she was mildly annoyed by The fact the story ends with "And they all had ginger BAYBEEEEZZ and lived happily ever after." with no mention of what anyone did with their careers etc. Which seems like a spectacuarly lazy way to end such en enormous story. leckzilla! fucked around with this message on 07-27-2007 at 06:11 AM.
That said, the popularity seems to be in the everyday details it encompasses, as others have said, along with the fact that everything from characters to writing style and vocabulary slowly mature as the series continues. The themes get darker and angstier as the characters and primary audience get into puberty and all that.
Basically, it's done in such a way that the target audience can relate and continue relating as everything involved grows parallel one another.
"Don't want to sound like a fanboy, but I am with you. I'll buy it for sure, it's just a matter of for how long I will be playing it..."
- Silvast, Battle.net forums
quote:
Stalwart Steve had this to say about Duck Tales:
Perhaps now people can become obsessed with Animorphs and name their children Jake, Cassie, Marco, Rachel, and Tobias
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
"Don't want to sound like a fanboy, but I am with you. I'll buy it for sure, it's just a matter of for how long I will be playing it..."
- Silvast, Battle.net forums
The fuck is a Yerk?
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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ACES! Another post by Maradon!:
picture suggesting that Harry Potter was ripped off of Star Wars
Even if it was, JKR made a good job of changing the Star Wars story so much that it appeared to be an entirely different story that the vast majority of readers would not be able to see a similarity between.
OBTW, in the first instance of "Uncle and Aunt" in the image, it is referring to the Dursleys; in the second, it is referring to the "Potters".
I'm not by any means an HP fanboi, but I just think it is a little ridiculous to suggest that JKR somehow plagiarized the plot of Star Wars, especially since the Star Wars plot wasn't particularly unique or new.
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This insanity brought to you by Stalwart Steve:
Perhaps now people can become obsessed with Animorphs and name their children Jake, Cassie, Marco, Rachel, and Tobias
I named my dog Tobias for those goddamn books. True story.
"Don't want to sound like a fanboy, but I am with you. I'll buy it for sure, it's just a matter of for how long I will be playing it..."
- Silvast, Battle.net forums
"Don't want to sound like a fanboy, but I am with you. I'll buy it for sure, it's just a matter of for how long I will be playing it..."
- Silvast, Battle.net forums
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Karnaj had this to say about Jimmy Carter:
That always bothered me about that mission. I also got really pissed off at that building you could just barely see on the other side of the lake behind the dam, but that you could never visit. Fuckers.
In an early version of the game, you used to be able to take a boat out there and get some random crap.
An alien kinda-centaur Andalite prince gives these human kids the ability to morph into any kind of biological creature they touch before he dies so they can fight the Yeerks, an alien parasite race that latches onto people's brains. They are trying to conquer Earth in order to have enough host bodies to launch a final attack against the Andalites. Lazzay fucked around with this message on 07-27-2007 at 10:29 PM.
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leckzilla! had this to say about Knight Rider:
I read the first Harry Potter book about ten years ago before the craze picked up. Now i'm not trying to sound like i'm OLD SKOOL or that I was a 12 year old genius but I didn't find it particuarly challenging. It was far too easy a read for me personally even at 12.I read it before anyone else because a lot of British schools get their year 8s (12-13 year olds) to read a selection of books shortlisted for the Carnagie Medal and then vote for their favourite. HP didn't even win, which does back up the idea that there are some that only read it because it's popular.
Another thing I discussed with a friend who has read all the books is that she was mildly annoyed by The fact the story ends with "And they all had ginger BAYBEEEEZZ and lived happily ever after." with no mention of what anyone did with their careers etc. Which seems like a spectacuarly lazy way to end such en enormous story.
Actually she's commented on that. Her original ending was detailed it even had all the names of all children that were born to the Weasley clan in those 19 years, but she felt it was like she was trying to cram too much in. So she changed it to a more poetic, sentimental ending. She's been quoted as saying that an encyclopedia of all things Harry Potter may be a potential item in the future, once she's had time for a good break. Apparently Dean has a very interesting backstory, which there wasn't really time to fit into the series. I was a bit disappointed in the ending myself until I read that news story
I also encountered HP before it became the huge sensation it was. My book club had a little blurb about it, sounded interesting, read it and I was hooked and looking for more. I can't remember how long after that that it exploded onto the scene here. I never imagined when I first read it that it would make the splash it did, even though I found it delightful. But I'm glad it did. Lyinar Ka`Bael fucked around with this message on 07-28-2007 at 03:04 AM.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
I'm not saying she shouldn't have written about families and so on but it seemed like it was the focal point.
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Vallo said this about your mom:
Which reminds me, I hate Laurell K Hamilton for what she created in the minds of weird teenage girls when I was in high school.
I hate her for completely and spectacularly fucking up and over the anita blake novels after Obsidian Butterfly. Seriously, it is downright EPIC what she did to that damn series. And then continuing it further and further into realms of previously unexplored crap.
I made it two novels past Obsidian then just threw them both out and swore off the series forever 
