Harry Potter: sales exceed 250 million books - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

I, Brian · 17th November 2003, 06:01 PM

Funny to think that it was only a few years ago that JK Rowling was a single mum on benefits.

Must have been very hard adapting to her success, though - sudden fame and riches is not something I envy. Seems she's handled it okay, though.

Anyway - apparently, sales of Harry Potter books have now exceeded 250 million:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...ts/3277539.stm

excerpt:

Quote:

Worldwide sales of the five Harry Potter books have reached the 250 million mark.

Author JK Rowling's agent, Christopher Little, confirmed the figure on Monday - and revealed Rowling had begun work on the sixth Potter adventure.

The series has been sold in more than 200 countries and translated into 60 languages from Hindi to Ancient Greek.

The fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, sold 1.78 million copies on its first day in the UK alone.

Mr Little issued a statement via Potter publisher Bloomsbury saying the series had "entered the history books yet again" with a "record-breaking, unprecedented number of worldwide sales" of 250 million. Teachers and publishers acknowledge that the Potter books have been instrumental in turning more children on to reading.

Foxbat · 17th November 2003, 06:57 PM

All that can be said to that number of books is WOW!

Not bad from a writer who ( according to the panel of BBC 'experts' on the Big Read) can't write.
She's getting kids reading and enjoying the magic of the written word once more and that is, in itself, priceless.

dwndrgn · 17th November 2003, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxbat

All that can be said to that number of books is WOW!

Not bad from a writer who ( according to the panel of BBC 'experts' on the Big Read) can't write.
She's getting kids reading and enjoying the magic of the written word once more and that is, in itself, priceless.

Too right! Whether she can or can't isn't really an issue unless she starts using such poor language that kids don't learn to speak properly (of which I see no evidence whatsoever). Enjoying reading is one of the best and easiest ways to improve learning on all fronts. If a child likes to read that child has a much better chance of doing well in all subjects.

knivesout · 18th November 2003, 09:21 AM

I'm not a huge fan, but I don't believe, as many do, that the Harry Potter craze is a media and marketing fuelled phenomenon. Perhaps by now it is, but I've read that the craze actually started as a word of mouth thing among parents, librarians, teachers and of course children in the UK. It was only later on that all the hype got attached to the books.

I only hope that the children who read Rowlings books also go on to discover other excellent children's literature, and keep the habit even when they grow up. If that happens, it will have been worth the torment of watching 9 year old Harry Potter fans prance around in pointy hats and long robes!

Incognito · 18th November 2003, 11:01 AM

I've personally put the JK Rolwing thing down to a sort of "chaos" effect - of being in precisely the right place at precisely the right time with precisely the right content.

I haven't actually read Harry Potter - but from what I've heard, a lot of the concepts are not particularly unique - so it doesn't seem to be conceptually ground-breaking. Maybe she has a special way of putting the pieces together?

She's certainly done a massive service to reading, though - one of my other half's close friends is married to a truck driver who has only ever read three books in his life - the first thre Harry Potter books.

He read them while laid up ill a while back. I think he'd waiting until he's ill again to catch up on the others. He loves the series, though, and refuses to read anything else.

knivesout · 19th November 2003, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognito

I've personally put the JK Rolwing thing down to a sort of "chaos" effect - of being in precisely the right place at precisely the right time with precisely the right content.

I think that's pretty much the case, too.

She does write fairly well, but no, I didn't find anything very original in her books. Shades of Earthsea, anyone?

Still, I've decided to hope that at least one of every ten (OK, 100) ppl who read Harry Potter move on to explore other stuff, too.

littlemissattitude · 19th November 2003, 06:44 PM

Personally, based on only having read the first and part of the second Potter books (I fully intend to finish it, but my Mom got sick right in the middle of my reading it, and I never got back to it), I think what Rowling does so well is to create characters that are vivid and that the reader cares about. I know, if I don't care about what happens to the characters in a story, I don't have any incentive to carry on reading.

And I, too, have seen that most kids who get turned on by Harry go on to explore other books.

dwndrgn · 19th November 2003, 07:14 PM

Well I've read all of them and I still go on to other books...oh, you meant kids

.

Anyway, LittleMiss is right. If the characters are realistic enough and the reader cares about what happens next, it doesn't really matter if there are any eartshaking new ideas and concepts in the story. I also think that she includes a lot of elements that are just plain fun; things that kids think are really cool, or just plain nifty (my friend Elias (age 7 now) who got me hooked on the books by asking me to read some to him thought the *shoot can't remember the word for the cool binocular type things that showed the action up close and also could speed up or slow it down* anyway, he thought they were so cool he mentioned them at least five times the next day.

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17th November 2003, 06:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
Foxbat Haggis Connoisseur Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2,519	All that can be said to that number of books is WOW! Not bad from a writer who ( according to the panel of BBC 'experts' on the Big Read) can't write. She's getting kids reading and enjoying the magic of the written word once more and that is, in itself, priceless.

18th November 2003, 09:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
knivesout cheap,flashy little crook Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,999	I'm not a huge fan, but I don't believe, as many do, that the Harry Potter craze is a media and marketing fuelled phenomenon. Perhaps by now it is, but I've read that the craze actually started as a word of mouth thing among parents, librarians, teachers and of course children in the UK. It was only later on that all the hype got attached to the books. I only hope that the children who read Rowlings books also go on to discover other excellent children's literature, and keep the habit even when they grow up. If that happens, it will have been worth the torment of watching 9 year old Harry Potter fans prance around in pointy hats and long robes!

18th November 2003, 11:01 AM	#5 (permalink)
Incognito going spare! Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 163	I've personally put the JK Rolwing thing down to a sort of "chaos" effect - of being in precisely the right place at precisely the right time with precisely the right content. I haven't actually read Harry Potter - but from what I've heard, a lot of the concepts are not particularly unique - so it doesn't seem to be conceptually ground-breaking. Maybe she has a special way of putting the pieces together? She's certainly done a massive service to reading, though - one of my other half's close friends is married to a truck driver who has only ever read three books in his life - the first thre Harry Potter books. He read them while laid up ill a while back. I think he'd waiting until he's ill again to catch up on the others. He loves the series, though, and refuses to read anything else.

19th November 2003, 06:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
littlemissattitude Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 3,406 Blog Entries: 9	Personally, based on only having read the first and part of the second Potter books (I fully intend to finish it, but my Mom got sick right in the middle of my reading it, and I never got back to it), I think what Rowling does so well is to create characters that are vivid and that the reader cares about. I know, if I don't care about what happens to the characters in a story, I don't have any incentive to carry on reading. And I, too, have seen that most kids who get turned on by Harry go on to explore other books.

19th November 2003, 07:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
dwndrgn Fierce Vowelless One Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,670	Well I've read all of them and I still go on to other books...oh, you meant kids . Anyway, LittleMiss is right. If the characters are realistic enough and the reader cares about what happens next, it doesn't really matter if there are any eartshaking new ideas and concepts in the story. I also think that she includes a lot of elements that are just plain fun; things that kids think are really cool, or just plain nifty (my friend Elias (age 7 now) who got me hooked on the books by asking me to read some to him thought the shoot can't remember the word for the cool binocular type things that showed the action up close and also could speed up or slow it down anyway, he thought they were so cool he mentioned them at least five times the next day.