I feel a little guilty about not being into the whole Harry Potter phenomenon. After all, I'm a reader, an English teacher, and holder of a degree in English, and it should thrill me to be part of the reading festival that has followed J.K. Rowling's series.
Still, I read the first one, and was just non-plussed by it. It was a nice book, I guess, but it struck me as poor man's Roald Dahl.
I've heard that first book is the least exciting, least complex of the series, but I've still never bothered to continue on it. Plus, I'm so far behind now that it would take me forever to catch up, and I'd just rather read a long Russian novel that I've never read before, like Crime and Punishment, then to read six books in a series years after everyone else has read it. As my teaching career has matured, I've been tempted - one student, in particular, tells me that an English teacher missing out on this phenomenon is just sad - but there's always so much more to read rather than reading something everyone else is already reading. In the last 24 hours, I've devoured 225 pages of Jumpha Lahiri's The Namesake, for example, and it's superb. Now, I have to read it for school, plus write a test for it (hopefully this afternoon), but it would have been a great read even without the requirement.
I must admit, however, that hearing that Rowling has put some school politics, perhaps even veiled criticisms of high stakes testings, into her novels make me tempted to pick them up. But I've got several books staring at me on my shelves as it is (next up: Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin), and picking up Harry Potter just isn't a priority. And perhaps never will be, even though I feel a tad guilty about it. Admittedly, it was pretty cool to be on Rehoboth Beach on Saturday and see tens of people with the book in their hand, mere hours after it was released. But I was happy with my Jumpha Lahiri.
One bonus of not caring that much about the Harry Potter series is that I looked up the spoilers on the internet and didn't mind reading about them. I know how the series ends now. Not that I'll probably see any of the movies or anything, until I have kids myself, but that bit of pop culture knowledge is probably good to have.
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10 comments:
Mark- I've read the namesake. I've even read some Doestoevsky or however it's spelled.... but I sitll say you've got to read the potter! skip the movies, they suck out loud, but you must read the books. and the spoilers I saw on the internet were wrong, so you may not know how it ends.
Interpreter of Maladies is great too. I want her to make more novels based on some of her other short stories in that collection.
Cousin, let me put this into perspective for you... I wore uncomfortable high heels, knee high socks, an itchy skirt, a shirt with a huge collar, a hot black robe, and a choking tie to look like one of the Harry Potter characters. I also stood in line for two hours until midnight and stayed up all night to read the book all the way through. I would never ever do this for anything else... a movie, a concert, a cd, you name it. The series is really good and only got better after the second book. Maybe you should give it another try. It's not just a kids book, after all, most of the thousand people in line for the book at Schulers were 30+. The person who went with me was 38.
"The Blind Assassin" is great -- but you are missing something by not reading Harry Potter.
PS - is your cousin single?
Danielle: I confirmed my spoilers with someone who read it, so I think they're right. I might read them someday.
Victoria: You don't have to tell me about all the crazies that camp out for this book. I just didn't know my cousin was one of them. :) But, seriously, haven't I already given Ms. Rowling enough of my time with one of her books? There's so much else to read! I might someday, but not this summer. But I do definitely know it's not just a kids book. But the movies are kids movies, though.
MS: I do recall your earlier recommendation of "The Blind Assassin." My colleague is thinking of adding it to our curriculum and I've got to read it for school, though I'm sure I'll enjoy it. And, sorry, my cousin is not single (and she's too young for you, sorry).
Amy: I loved "Interpreter of Maladies." It's been a while; was "The Namesake" based on one of those stories?
My brother John had a very hard time reading. He was unable to concentrate. He'd rather play video games or watch fantasy movies.
His English teacher had read the Potter books and though not a fan herself, recommended them to John, knowing his taste in fantasy.
John loved them. He devoured them. Since his teacher's recommendation, he's become an avid reader, mainly of SF and Fantasy books.
And that is the number one reason you should read them.
I'm with you. I couldn't get into HP and there's so much more to read out there. When was it decided that everyone has to like the same thing? Just read what you like.
Seems everyone's a HP evangelist these days.
Her short stories were really her jumping point for "The Namesake." I know that she stuck to similiar themes and conflict, but there is no direct character connection that I can find. Just can't get enough of her.
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