Harry Potter - My Take

[ambition_def]

You might want to try the A Song of Ice and Fire series if you haven't yet...especially the first three

Excellent suggestion, Ann.

Nothing quite as dark and WTF as George Martin's epics.

[handiacefailure]

I know I am in the minority here, but I liked all 7 of the books and was in my 40s when I read them. No niggers that I recall of, but it took place in England which is probably why I liked the books. Casual Vacancy, JR's book for adults that came out last year is another story, very boring and after reading 1/3rd of it, I said enough and haven't looked at it since (also got bad reviews on Amazon)

My nephew enjoyed the books a lot but they were written for people his age.

My nephew and I were just talking about these books the other night. Some people tried banning the books from the school systems library. He is pissed they have a problem with Harry Potter books being available for checkout (and I have to admit that as a result of wanting to read those books, it encouraged him to read other books after) yet he is being REQUIRED to read to kill a mockingbird. I can't believe the schools still require kids to read that garbage. The book is 50 years old, 50 years ago if a nigger would have raped a white girl he would have been hung the second he was caught, no small town lawyer in the south would have ever thought about defnding a nigger 50 years ago for free on a charge of raping a white girl. I am proud that my nephew is smart enough to realize what bullshit that book is.

If I had kids in Jr and Sr high, I would have no problems with the school systems library carrying the Harry Potter books or for that matter having the books as part of a classroom circulium for reading. I would be pissed if my kid was REQUIRED to read To Kill a Mockingbird and have to take tests and write a report on it.

[Lady Bastille]

You might want to try the A Song of Ice and Fire series if you haven't yet...especially the first three

I have that series...gorgeous! Hail the Khaleesi!

[Lady Bastille]

I know I am in the minority here, but I liked all 7 of the books and was in my 40s when I read them. No niggers that I recall of, but it took place in England which is probably why I liked the books. Casual Vacancy, JR's book for adults that came out last year is another story, very boring and after reading 1/3rd of it, I said enough and haven't looked at it since (also got bad reviews on Amazon)

My nephew enjoyed the books a lot but they were written for people his age.

My nephew and I were just talking about these books the other night. Some people tried banning the books from the school systems library. He is pissed they have a problem with Harry Potter books being available for checkout (and I have to admit that as a result of wanting to read those books, it encouraged him to read other books after) yet he is being REQUIRED to read to kill a mockingbird. I can't believe the schools still require kids to read that garbage. The book is 50 years old, 50 years ago if a nigger would have raped a white girl he would have been hung the second he was caught, no small town lawyer in the south would have ever thought about defnding a nigger 50 years ago for free on a charge of raping a white girl. I am proud that my nephew is smart enough to realize what bullshit that book is.

If I had kids in Jr and Sr high, I would have no problems with the school systems library carrying the Harry Potter books or for that matter having the books as part of a classroom circulium for reading. I would be pissed if my kid was REQUIRED to read To Kill a Mockingbird and have to take tests and write a report on it.

In that case, HP is better than TKaM because the latter involves race baiting and white guilt. It's a multicultural book and those ones irritate the Hell out of me.

[MineEvolved]

Stephen King for me. The pure, straight up, uncontested MASTER of his craft. He's so bad assed, he can bash his own fan base.

I remember reading the restored, complete 'The Stand'......in the foreward, he mildly bitches about stupid obsessive fans.....'they contact me and ask me, 'whatever happened to Fran and Stu?', as though they wrote me from time to time'.......how many authors do you know of that can get away with that shit?

Awesome.

[Lady Bastille]

Stephen King for me. The pure, straight up, uncontested MASTER of his craft. He's so bad assed, he can bash his own fan base.

I remember reading the restored, complete 'The Stand'......in the foreward, he mildly bitches about stupid obsessive fans.....'they contact me and ask me, 'whatever happened to Fran and Stu?', as though they wrote me from time to time'.......how many authors do you know of that can get away with that shit?

Awesome.

King is the Man. Obsessive fans are the worst and I really appreciate an author who can lay down the law ;)

[handiacefailure]

In that case, HP is better than TKaM because the latter involves race baiting and white guilt. It's a multicultural book and those ones irritate the Hell out of me.

Those kind of books irriate the hell out of me as well and should never be required reading in school.

[SC Anemia]

Stephen King for me. The pure, straight up, uncontested MASTER of his craft.

A big King fan myself. I read "The Stand" in paperback in 1980. All 3 inches of it. Loved the "Bachman books" equally well.

Harry Potter, not so much. Never read a word. And I'm good with that. In fact, I'm more than good with that. Never read any "Twilight" crap either. I'm not a pre-pubescent teenage girl. I once had a step-daughter that did but I hated that bitch anyway.

[Miss Ann]

I read some of these kids books and watch some of the movies to keep up with what my daughter's into... though I couldn't make it through a chapter of Twilight. Think I'd prefer a day of water boarding to reading that drivel.

I have to say Harry Potter is very much like Star Wars, I can see why it's commercially successful as this is a story that resonates with a modern audience. Plus the invented world is a huge lure of these stories. I can't say that it's better than the stuff I used to read as a kid, but I can say it does what it sets out to do (hero's journey in a fantasy world).

The one distinction elevating the Harry Potter series in my mind is the character of Snape. I thought he was a well written character and not as generically good or evil as the others. I even liked the actor that played him in the movies. You had all these whimsical and magical things going on, even the ghosts were all whimsy and wonder, then you had this one guy who was just plain old pissed off and hated them all

[Coon Tasty]

I read "The Stand" in paperback in 1980.
.

That was unquestionably his greatest work. "It" is a close second and "The Talisman" (co-written with Peter Straub) is also incredible.