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Harry Potter Books by J. K. Rowling


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Oh I have no intention of getting rid they were a huge part of my life which I could never let go of. I'm sure I will read them again but when I'm a lot older and am feeling nostalgic :P

 

My thoughts didn't stop me having an absolutely awesome time at The Making of Harry Potter at the Warner Bros Studios in Watford either. I would recommend that everyone go there, it's fantastic!

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Lots of fictional books are meaningless to a degree, but I did enjoy immersing myself in the world that JK Rowling created, and following the events that took place. I will probably read them again at some stage.

 

If you thought they were so silly Maedeh why did you read all seven? I would hae thoughtt that one or two of them woud have let you know whether you liked them or not. :smile:

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I read them when I like fantasy books.but now I don't like them.I know some people that think Harry Potter is the best book and spend a lot of their time to read it for many times and think about it. The majority of my friends likes Harry Potter but I think there are better books to read.for example an Iranian book Man e oo (Its name is a little hard.Its meaning in Persian is a little unclear but I think it means My his or I he or something like that in English.Man in English means I or my and oo means he/she or his/her).It won't translate to English-I'm sure because just an Iranian can feel its beauty-but I think you have some books like that in your own language that is better than Harry Potter. Undoubtedly there is better books and I think it's better to read them.Maybe Harry Potter's book, maybe,are good just for reading one time not repeatedly.

Actually, It's a little hard for me to explain my idea in English.

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I've recently re-read the all of the Harry Potter books and I generally found them to be a better read the second time around (generally because you aren’t waiting half the book to see who is going to die . . .). They aren't the best books ever written, and I strongly suspect I won't re-read them again, but they are good, solid stories and excellent reads for their intended audience.

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Maedeh, I've got to say that although they may not be the greatest books of all time, and undoubtedly there are better out there, it by no means would ever make me hate them. You seem to suggest that reading them is a waste of time, can you elaborate? I mean, I know people that don't like them and hate the fact that others rave about them, but 'wasting your time' seems a little strong to me. What was it you hated about them? Surely you can't hate them solely because you know there are better books?

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I can see why some do hate them.

 

To a point they are quite derivative and although Rowling has done a good job of creating her world some of the characters are rather two-dimensional (Ron being the main culprit for me) and her writing isn't all that great either (it's okay, but it's not that great).

 

Rowling was the right person in the right place with the right story at the right time. The books are good reads, but the amount of media hype and attention they have got is way out of proportion to their value as literary works. If I were an author who had spent years plying my trade as a good children’s writer I think I might feel slightly peeved to have someone come along and get all the rewards.

 

I guess it's the literary equivalent of watching someone jumping a queue!

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But, I think writing a fantasy book isn't very arduous.I said that because I've already tried to write a fantasy story.It was going well, It was easy to write.and it was beautiful.but after that I changed my attitude about them.

Before that I read fantasy books a lot.But one day I thought with my self:"What is my reason for reading these books a lot?just enjoying?is it enough?"after that I

want to have a purpose for my reading.so I started to read some books that shows the society of a country or something that gives me data about the history.

My eyes are a little weak,And maybe it will become weaker.And when I read a lot sometimes I have a headache.Is it rational that I lose my sight because reading and again reading a book just for fun?Isn't it better read something good?(It was just an example, not a reason)

I think Harry Potter is shallow.But (for example) Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has a a variety of Layers.You can read it many times and every time understand a new point.But what about Harry Potter?It's just a story, but nothing else.I can't understand why is it so popular, really I can't!A lot of my friends have tried to persuade me That Harry Potter is perfect, But none of them can be Successful.

I think that Harry Potter is good just for when you are reading it.Not valuable to remember it, debate on it or re-reading it.

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Maedeh,

 

That was well-thought out post - and made me think about what you've expressed.

 

You're right, there are better books than the Harry Potter series, and yes, I can understand reading for more reasons than pleasure.

 

But do you also think that maybe you dislike them so much because they are over-hyped, and not so much for how they are written? Because at one time, even you did enjoy them, right? :)

 

And while you have a fertile imagination, and find creating fantasy easy - many people - me especially - are in awe of how entire worlds are created in the mind and plotted down to entertain.

 

Each book has its place in our mind, and serves its role, at whatever stage we meet it, isn't it?

 

And do take care of your eyes, I think I remember reading you're 13 years old on another thread - that's around the same age I started getting headaches - but luckily correcting my reading positions and habits, helped.

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I think you're being pretty harsh on Harry Potter, Maedeh. As Bree said, it might be easy for you to write a fantasy story, but it's not easy for everyone, otherwise we would all be hugely successful authors, right? Have you tried to have your fantasy story published?

 

I also don't think that reading for fun is a good enough reason to criticise the books. Why is reading for fun a bad thing?

 

Mostly, though, I take exception to this point:

 

I think Harry Potter is shallow.But (for example) Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has a a variety of Layers.You can read it many times and every time understand a new point.But what about Harry Potter?It's just a story, but nothing else.

 

If you think that the HP books are shallow and 'just a story' with no layers, then I believe you have missed the point completely. The books have many layers. I won't go into them because they've been discussed endlessly on the internet. You have obviously already made up your mind, but I hope that you'll give them another chance when you're a bit older and can perhaps read them afresh.

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I wasn't one of those kids who started to love reading because of Harry Potter, because I've loved reading books ever since I could read, basically. But some friends of mine who generally didn't like to read did enjoy this series tremendously.

 

I read the first book when I was 10, and remember my parents getting the first two for St Nicholas and the third and fourth for Easter. Those were published by the time we got into it. For GoF, OotP, HBP and DH we had to wait until they were published, and I remember fondly how we would pre-order them and then have them delivered at 6AM on a Saturday morning as part of that service.

 

I've always enjoyed the books. Sure, there have always been storylines I wasn't particularly interested in, and some character deaths seemed very pointless to me, and sometimes I wished Rowling had focused more on another aspect of the story - but overall, I loved them. There wasn't really one character I could completely identify with, but I could find elements of myself in different characters: the original shyness of Neville Longbottom, who later turns into a leader when times are rough, the academic eagerness of Hermione Granger, the imagination of Luna Lovegood, the complete obsession of Oliver Wood, etc.

 

I know J.K. Rowling was influenced by many other works, but I think in this day and age it's so hard to write something completely original. It's almost impossible not to be influenced if you're an avid reader yourself. It doesn't really bother me, though, because in the end her world, while taking aspects from other worlds, as a whole is quite unique. I think what makes it so appealing is that mix of an alternate universe and the world as we know it. The fact that Harry doesn't know anything about wizards and magic and gradually has to discover was certainly a smart move, as we discover the magic world with him. As the books continued, I found the sole POV a limitation and while I understood why Rowling kept to it, I often wished to have read about certain events from another POV.

 

I grew up with Harry Potter and have read all the books once, and some twice, not counting the languages in which I read them together. I don't re-read them every year, but it's really nice to just pick one up if it's been a few years, and I still enjoy them.

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I love this series so much! I have read and re-read and loved them even more. In fact I was missing reading it so I went and got The Prisoner of Azkaban from the library again.

These books will never get old for me, no matter how much old I get he he. :smile:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I loved all of the Harry Potter books and I must say that the movies were brilliant and were how I imagined they would be. The first book is my favorite. Even to this day I love reading it and watching the movie with the kids. There is just something magical that sparks your imagination and even at my age and being an author myself that I love how it is so captivating.

 

I love this series so much! I have read and re-read and loved them even more. In fact I was missing reading it so I went and got The Prisoner of Azkaban from the library again.

These books will never get old for me, no matter how much old I get he he. :smile:

 

I agree with you there.

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Know what you mean, Robin. The first book tends to get swept aside in the tide of the others, but I think it's best, too.

 

It introduces us to the magic of Hogwarts, and the new life awaiting Harry, and us. I was mesmerised by the Hogwarts of the film - what a spectacular job they did of bringing it to life - and never tire of seeing it again.

 

Keep enjoying both books and films - us adults deserve a bit of magic in our lives, too. ;)

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I have watched all of the movies and have enjoyed them very much. The only Harry Potter book that I felt lacked was Order of the Phoenix, I just felt it dragged out for too long and I got bored. Although the movie was ok, it's my least favorite of the series.

 

I wish there were more series with the Harry Potter, maybe from another point of view like Hermione Granger.

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I heard her on the radio yesterday morning and she said that she hasn't ruled out going back to the Harry Potter world, but only if she gets a fantastic idea for a new story, not just to go back and draw out characters or threads of plots from the existing books to carry on with stories for the sake of it.

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I heard her on the radio yesterday morning and she said that she hasn't ruled out going back to the Harry Potter world, but only if she gets a fantastic idea for a new story, not just to go back and draw out characters or threads of plots from the existing books to carry on with stories for the sake of it.

 

Well it's not like she needs the money, so hopefully she'll stick to that principle.

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