Why is Harry Potter so popular?

[Thadlerian]

I'll see if I can write you a coherent response later tonight.

[Allanon]

you cant take the movies for that good a reference, because although they're good, books are far better than films.

as with all good books HP enables you to enter hogwarts and get a sense of being there with the characters. no, the writing is not all that compliocated but why does it have to be to be a good book, its written well its exciting and not just for kids. there are a lot of concepts words and writing in these books that children wont understand and they are in there for adults. its escapism. if you like to read good interesting books you should read HP.

[Thadlerian]

Originally Posted by Allanon

you cant take the movies for that good a reference, because although they're good, books are far better than films.

as with all good books HP enables you to enter hogwarts and get a sense of being there with the characters. no, the writing is not all that compliocated but why does it have to be to be a good book, its written well its exciting and not just for kids. there are a lot of concepts words and writing in these books that children wont understand and they are in there for adults. its escapism. if you like to read good interesting books you should read HP.

Allanon got the point down rather well here. There's nothing to add, except capitalisation.

[Alia]

Movies and books are two different forms of telling the same story. They will always differ one way or another. I love the Potter books, but the 3rd movie of the books, turned me off slightly to the whole Potter experience. I do have to say, I'm glad that I read the book.

Thadlerian... be nice... I personally hate the shift key on my keyboard. It never seems to work half the time and I envy Allanon who gave up on his.

[Allanon]

i didnt know i had a shift key! hehe.

what does it do anyway?

[Marky Lazer]

Shift things.

[FantasyHeart]

Well I think it is the idea that in the midst of our logical world there is this place where magic and thrilling adventure really exists.. I think thats why the story drags people into its Fantasy ride.

[Rosemary]

It's a different kind of adventure story for the children and I think helps to keep 'childhood' alive. Many children don't seem to have a 'childhood' anymore and this is one way of giving them at least some of it.

For me, I enjoyed it...reading a new author and also as an escape from this sometimes rotten 'real world'.....

[Adasunshine]

Pure and utter escapism. It's that simple.

I read Harry Potter and get completely lost in Hogwarts and the magical world and after reading for a while, I am often surprised to find myself in the "real world" and am always disappointed that Hogwarts doesn't actually exist.

And this coming from a 25 year old mother of 2! Sad but true!!!!

Oh how I'd love my boys to go to Hogwarts....

xx

[Rosemary]

Wouldn't you want to go as well Ada? I know I would

[weaveworld]

I like Harry Potter because of as many people have mentioned - its pure escapism (hope I spelt that right), I mean think about it, how cool would it be going to Hogwarts, learning spells, meeting ghosts, etc. Its just really good story telling and as we all know now, just not for kids.

[dwndrgn]

Just a reminder for those HP fans here in the States - the DVD version of HP#4 The Goblet of Fire will be out tomorrow.

[ladyflorange]

I don't know... I like it because I can completely loose myself in it. The most successful books for me are those that take me out of reality for a while. While I'm reading Harry Potter I just forget about everything else. I read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in 4 hours without putting it down once,and when I finished I was completely surprised to realise that my back ached and my eyes had gone blurry. To me, that's a great book. Also, like other people have said, you can kind of relate to the situations they get into, and if it's not something that you could relate to, it's something that you are interested by, or wish would happen to you.

[ladyflorange]

[quote=Allanon]you cant take the movies for that good a reference, because although they're good, books are far better than films.
quote]

I agree! The books are much, much better. I have a friend who refuses to read the books because she doesn't like the look of the films (she's never actually seen one) which I think is just ridiculous, but the books are far more magical. Having said that, I still rush to see the films as soon as they come out

[hermi-nomi]

I might already have posted on this thread, but ... oh what the heck
When I was at Uni alot of my mates badgered me to read Potter. As always when faced with a phenomenum, I backed away from it. Then, me and my mate when to see Philosopher's Stone which intrigued me enough to finally succum to the books. I've never looked back. I bought the first two books and was starving with hunger for more as I hunted high and low for cheap copies of book 3 and 4. Then my mate borrowed the books off me and she was hooked. Our mate thought we were abit strange, but on a flight to Belgium he saw the second film and got sucked into the whole thing too

The books started as escapism for me too. The situations and circumstances of the stories, no matter how improbable are nevertheless believable. E.g we know owls exist. We know people used to write with quills. Therefore these things are all the more easier to imagine and become part of. In recent years, as I joined the Potter fandom, I have become embroiled in the theories, speculations and conspiracies surrounding the stories. What with all the speculation and the everyday-ness of the stories circumstances (e.g we know there are moterbikes, why shouldn' they fly?) the phenomenum of Potter will continue for a very very long time. It is these things which I think make the series so endearing to so many people.