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| I Love Sci-Fi/Fantasy Because... |
...of Harry Potter.
I'm of the opinion that Harry Potter is perhaps the greatest story of our generation. It's not that it's deep or profound or groundbreaking. The prose isn't Shakespeare. It's just a captivating story and great entertainment.
What makes it great in my mind is its impact. Thanks to the Harry Potter series, thousands--perhaps millions--of children became readers for the first time. The tale ignited a love of books in a generation attuned primarily to television and Xboxes. A mindset fixated on fast food and instant gratification experienced the pleasure of kicking back with a good set of books.Yes, we all love Harry and Hermione and Ron. We appreciate Dumbledore's wisdom and the allure of phoenixes and time turners and invisibility cloaks. The magic of Hogwarts entices us with its magical settings and spellbinding wonders.
I grew up with a spider who spun words in her web and a lion who saved a child. My Harry, Ron and Hermione were Charlotte, Aslan and Bilbo. They were my imaginary friends. They made me want to read.
I love science fiction and fantasy because of Harry Potter and his friends.
Wow, my pop-culture deficiency is really going to show when I say this, but...I've never read the Harry Potter books, or even seen the movies. And I was even part of the generation that grew up with this series. Um. *hides*
ReplyDeleteI agree, though: this series had a great impact on so many people! It's amazing to realize how big of a phenomenon it became...
I only started reading Harry Potter because everyone else was and I wanted to see what the big deal was. I fell in love with the books pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteReturning visit from A to Z.
Transformed Nonconformist
I came late the party in regards to the Harry Potter craze, but I really enjoy the books and movies.
ReplyDeleteA simple story, but vastly entertaining in a world where you can let your imagination run wild.
Great pic :)
Harry Potter will surely go down as a classic for future generations. I agree that it inspired a love of reading in many who might otherwise have by passed this amazing activity. I am posting a little Harry Potter magic myself later today!
ReplyDeleteI love Harry Potter, but don't even get me started on Dumbledore! He's one of literature's great villains in my opinion. I wrote a post about it once.
ReplyDeletehttp://delightfullyludicrous.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/the-face-of-evil-had-enormous-beard-who.html
Harry makes a good stepping stone into other fantasy and scifi stories.
ReplyDeleteI'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. You're so right about JK's series bringing writing to a new generation and I love that. I love that I can have a deep conversation with a 12 year old about books we're both passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI was about 11 years old when I went to watch the first film. I thought it was going to be horrible. I couldn't be more wrong. I was amazed and I started reading for pleasure. Ron, Hermione and Harry opened the world of books and fantasy to me. It's due to Rowling that I love books and stories, especially fantasy, so much. It's because of her that I am studying literature at uni. And because of her I want to become a writer.
ReplyDeleteYes! Greatest story of our generation, absolutely. It's my favourite book series :)
ReplyDeleteSo true, Harry Potter's impact on the non-readers was downright amazing. I also love that she showed a lot of people that righting books that were more 'commercial' didn't necessarily mean they weren't good books and can stand the test of time.
ReplyDeleteLove Harry Potter and it did help grow a generation of readers. For that alone it was a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter got me reading as well. Excellent books!
ReplyDeleteMy son and I were discussing this on his ride back to school. We decided the first books of the series were most awesome because they were unique in their simplicity. No fancy writing, just good solid story with characters you loved.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a sci fi/high fantasy fan. HP did a great job of pulling in the masses. I'm thrilled to see so many people now share my love of sci fi/fantasy genres that probably wouldn't have otherwise.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is one of my favorite series of all time. JK Rowlings is brilliant at plotting and creating lovable, memorable characters.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I read the first Harry Potter at 14 and have been a fan ever since! It's what solidified my ambition to write children's and YA fiction.
ReplyDeleteYes, Harry Potter is brilliant. I completely agree. Last fall I got to hang out a bit with Cheryl Klein who was the continuity editor for Harry Potter. She is amazing and fantastic and so very very smart. You should check out her book, Second Sight. It is such a great book about writing great stories. AND she mentions Harry Potter and what JK Rowling got right a lot.
ReplyDeleteI've only read the first Harry Potter (which I enjoyed immensely). This is because I've been so busy that the size of Rowling's books always make me say "later when I'm not so busy". That time hasn't arrived yet, alas. But, as a former elementary teacher, I especially have been full of admiration for the way she keeps young kids standing in line for hours to buy big thick books that have a rich vocabulary. Hats off to her for that. And then I love it that she's been such a success given the hardships of the beginning.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare was far too long-winded anyway. Harry Potter was right on the money. I finished them all by shortly after my tenth birthday.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter has been the subject of a few H posts today, and rightfully so! Reading those books inspired me to write again. It wasn't the stories so much as it was the imagination of names and critters. It was so unique and simplistic, and everyone fell in love with it.
ReplyDeleteThey were instant classics.
ReplyDeleteYou got a point there. I knew many who wouldn't grab a book even by mistake, and they actually became readers because of Harry Potter. I mean, very lazy youngsters. That was great to see. All right, it took me 8 years to come to terms with Rowling but I finally read the books too.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is a fantastic series. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI've never read the books although I've seen all of the movies. But I identify with the same characters you did as a kid. (Although maybe a mouse on a motorcycle more than a spider.)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The Harry Potter series turned both boys and girls onto the love of reading. They realized for the first time how adventurous a book can be!
ReplyDeleteYAAAAAAAAAAY! Great topic, Jeff!
ReplyDeleteArgh, now you've made me feel like rereading all the books, but I've got so many others. in my TBR pile!
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