# We owe a great deal to JK Rowling



## RW Bennett (Mar 3, 2011)

There's an excellent essay in the Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304584004576419742308635716.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion. The author's premise is only partly that Harry saved reading. He also discusses the influences on Rowling's writing as well as broader themes of popular literature, especially children's literature through the years. Recommended.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

I know that I owe a lot to Rowling personally-- she's helped keep my kids reading over the years.  We happen to be a reading family anyway, but you can look at the tattered HP books falling apart on our library shelves and know that those books have done their share to keep my kids interested in reading.  The same is true for many, many kids, I'm sure.

And gosh, she's only 45?  I'm going to be 44 this year.  I think I need to step up my game a bit.


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## RW Bennett (Mar 3, 2011)

Right, Ellen-
She was remarkably young, under 30, when she began the HP series.


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## Daniel W. Koch (Aug 14, 2010)

I owe my love for reading, and subsequently writing, to JK Rowling.
Great article, thanks for sharing.


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## PJJones (Apr 5, 2011)

Agreed! I absolutely love her books, and, though my child is too young to read her books, we enjoy watching the first few Potter movies together. I'm saving the books and more haunting movies for when she's older. PJ


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## Doug Lance (Sep 20, 2010)

Do you think if Harry Potter hadn't have been so big, something else would have filled the gap?


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## Daniel W. Koch (Aug 14, 2010)

Doug Lance said:


> Do you think if Harry Potter hadn't have been so big, something else would have filled the gap?


I think that's a really good question. I think Harry Potter was like the Beatles....something unexpected, wildly successful and probably never repeated quite the same way.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

I've yet to read a Harry Potter book, so I can't say Rowling impacted my life.


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

Great article, I just finished reading it myself. It made me all nostalgic for my childhood ... and yeah, any YA writer owes a lot to her for essentially jump-starting the genre.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Don't see how I owe her anything, she managed to make Alan Rickman look absolutely horrendous, not even worth watching!


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## sbaum4853 (May 3, 2010)

Doug Lance said:


> Do you think if Harry Potter hadn't have been so big, something else would have filled the gap?


A fun question. I don't know the answer, but I have watched with interest as so many publishers and authors have tried to recreate Harry Potter without success. The reason the books took off like they did is because they were so damned good. I think over the past ten years, thousands of people have tried to write "the next Harry Potter" and haven't been able to match the quality of her writing, or even come close. Rowling is a remarkable talent. I think humanity gets blessed with someone like her only once in a long while.


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## JeffMariotte (Jun 4, 2011)

I don't think it matters whether or not any writer has read Harry Potter, or likes the books or the movies. Before Rowling and Harry, all we heard about was kids giving up reading for video games. You would never have seen kids lugging around 2-inch thick books, discussing them with passion, rereading them (not to mention the financial boost it gave Scholastic, and therefore lots of other writers). When those kids were finished with Harry, they largely turned to other books, which is why your average YA novel is now considerably heftier than it was pre-Harry. Those kids are growing up, but many of them--maybe most--have held onto that love of reading. They're going to become adults and they'll keep reading (and buying) books, and that's good for every writer (not to mention civilization as a whole). I'm not saying Harry Potter did it all by his lonesome, but he was that Beatle-esque element, in the right place at the right time, and he was more than incidental to the YA boom.

I gladly acknowledge my debt to Rowling, not just for her wonderful books, but for everything she's done for books and writers overall.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I'm not sure I accept the premise that _Harry Potter_ significantly increased the number of long term readers. The this series did encourage x kids to start reading regularly, then that's great. But, what about Oprah - Did she and her book club have a similar long term impact? Did ebook popularity?

There have been quite a few items in the past 20 years that have stimulated interest in reading. We're still a minority but if reading does increase, I think there will be quite a few stimuli involved.


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

I haven't read her books, but I have followed her career with fascination. I've watched interviews with her, and news reports of the midnight release events at bookstores. I think it's great.

As an indie author, I am also thankful that she chose to self-publish the e-book versions of her series.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I don't think Rowling did anything to Alan Rickman, except help him remodel his kitchen.  His Snape is terrific; by turns creepy and hilarious.

As far as impacting my life, well I'm not sure she changed my life, but she sure did write books I've enjoyed re-reading multiple times and will again when they come out in e-format.  And yes, I did buy the books at midnight when they came out.  I think the comparison to the Beatles above is rather apropos.  Lightning struck.  Would somebody else have benefited if she didn't come along?  Who knows.  My guess is NO.  The success of Harry Potter was not incidental to the times and some random circumstances.  They helped, but Rowling's own writing is what people flocked to.  Same as with the Beatles.  (A band, incidentally, I think is vastly overrated.   )


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> I'm not sure I accept the premise that _Harry Potter_ significantly increased the number of long term readers. The this series did encourage x kids to start reading regularly, then that's great.


Just speaking for my kids, they were already readers, but Rowling opened up the fantasy genre for them. Before HP, they were reading books I loved as a kid, when the fashion was really historical fiction. We've read, we've watched, we've listened to them on tape on road trips.... Glad the whole shebang is winding down, tho, because I had to hear a lot of whining from the almost-12-year-old about me not letting her go to the midnight show of HP VII, Pt 2.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

CNDudley said:


> Glad the whole shebang is winding down, tho, because I had to hear a lot of whining from the almost-12-year-old about me not letting her go to the midnight show of HP VII, Pt 2.


But Moooooooommmmmmmmm ......


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## HDJensen (Apr 20, 2011)

I'd have to agree. I think Rowling had a huge impact on the reading community, as well as writers in general. Also, the fact that she's self-publishing the Harry Potter e-book is a huge deal. It's an exciting time to be alive. The Harry Potter series is a favorite at our house and I'll always look up to her as a writer and as a successful woman in general. I hope she'll write more in the future. The hubby and I are anxiously awaiting the last film which comes out soon. I guess I should mention what Harry Potter has done for movies as well. It's been a huge franchise in general.


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## ljcharles (Jul 6, 2011)

I think Rowling has had a huge impact on the middle grade and young adult book business. She opened the door for us, as authors, to experiment and share our interpretation of the paranormal with kids. 

Not that anyone has matched her genius, but there have been some very interesting stories as well as a new interest in reading that have followed in her footsteps. 

The beauty of Rowling is in her genuineness in real life. She's not only an author of remarkable talent, but also a role model. 

L. j. Charles


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## Capri142 (Sep 25, 2009)

Well, I did not have Harry Potter growing up but I did have the Happy Hollisters!    "Gee Whiz Pete, do you really think that dad will let us take the boat out by ourselves, Golly!"


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## Zarcero (May 14, 2011)

ilyria_moon said:


> I've yet to read a Harry Potter book, so I can't say Rowling impacted my life.


Ditto. Nor do intend to read any of the books or see the movies. I think the premise of the article is a bit absurd implying the series "saved reading." A bit over the top me thinks. I would rather have children be reading in the great books category so that they can get a better foundation in Western Civilization, as opposed to the fantasy of witches and warlocks (and I guess now vampires).

However, I do congratulate the author on her success.


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

JeffMariotte said:


> I don't think it matters whether or not any writer has read Harry Potter, or likes the books or the movies. Before Rowling and Harry, all we heard about was kids giving up reading for video games. You would never have seen kids lugging around 2-inch thick books, discussing them with passion, rereading them (not to mention the financial boost it gave Scholastic, and therefore lots of other writers). When those kids were finished with Harry, they largely turned to other books, which is why your average YA novel is now considerably heftier than it was pre-Harry. Those kids are growing up, but many of them--maybe most--have held onto that love of reading. They're going to become adults and they'll keep reading (and buying) books, and that's good for every writer (not to mention civilization as a whole). I'm not saying Harry Potter did it all by his lonesome, but he was that Beatle-esque element, in the right place at the right time, and he was more than incidental to the YA boom.
> 
> I gladly acknowledge my debt to Rowling, not just for her wonderful books, but for everything she's done for books and writers overall.


Well said, Jeff. I completely agree.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

"Not since the serial novels of Charles Dickens in the middle of the 19th century had the works of a single author excited such universal and immediate interest. "

I think maybe the writer forgets about other similar phenoms like "Alice in Wonderland," and the Oz books. But anything who gets that many people reading, is a good thing, especially when it gets families reading together.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

I think we are still WAY too close to the HP books to really make this call. If in 80 years the HP books sit alongside LOTR, Narnia, Dickens, Judy Blume, etc as books most every kid reads (willingly or not) then I would agree she forged a cultural milestone. But if 20 years down the road it is just the movies anyone knows (kind of like Oz, Alice in Wonderland, or any number of other temporarily popular books) then her impact will be much reduced, at least as it applies to literacy. We can also track the popularity of "urban fantasy" or whatever category she falls in/created, much like LOTR, imitation is the best form of flattery.

I think the movies are what will really kill her books, sadly enough. They are good enough and comprehensive enough that you can watch them and get most of the good stuff out of Rowling, her rather poor plotting and lackluster writing flair is pushed aside and her best quality, the names and ideas, shine through. So kids interested in HP will watch the films and possibly the books get forgotten/marginalized. I'm sure in 10-15 years there will be another HP series on film or TV retreading the series again, unless she starts allowing expanded universe fiction, so the books may get an occasional shot in the arm.


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## James Bagshawe (Jun 29, 2011)

Let's not forget that Harry was rejected all over town before she finally found an agent willing to take her on. A whole bunch of objections to the elitist nature of the story and so forth. It's not as if people were falling over themselves to get on board the Hogwart's Express, not at the beginning.

NB - I enjoyed the series as it was perfectly pitched, age-wise, to my niece.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

JeffMariotte said:


> I don't think it matters whether or not any writer has read Harry Potter, or likes the books or the movies. Before Rowling and Harry, all we heard about was kids giving up reading for video games. You would never have seen kids lugging around 2-inch thick books, discussing them with passion, rereading them (not to mention the financial boost it gave Scholastic, and therefore lots of other writers). When those kids were finished with Harry, they largely turned to other books, which is why your average YA novel is now considerably heftier than it was pre-Harry. Those kids are growing up, but many of them--maybe most--have held onto that love of reading. They're going to become adults and they'll keep reading (and buying) books, and that's good for every writer (not to mention civilization as a whole). I'm not saying Harry Potter did it all by his lonesome, but he was that Beatle-esque element, in the right place at the right time, and he was more than incidental to the YA boom.
> 
> I gladly acknowledge my debt to Rowling, not just for her wonderful books, but for everything she's done for books and writers overall.


I hadn't heard of Harry Potter until Book 4. And then it was about how these kids were fighting to get copies of the book. Staying up until midnight to get a copy of the newest release, staying up all night reading it.. Better than fighting over Nikes and iPods I say.  So I had to read them to see what the excitement was. And yes, I enjoyed them. 

Has the series made a long-term difference? I agree with Jason, we're too close to make that call. I can say, that the kids that came in our libraries kept coming back and reading other books. Will they continue in HS, college and beyond? Only time will tell. And I do agree that the success of HP is what started the YA fantasy bandwagon. Fantasy has always been my favorite genre, especially anything magical or supernatural. I had to explain to a co-worker yesterday that I was into vampires long before Edward, or even Buffy for that matter.


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## Christy Hayes (Jan 21, 2011)

JK Rowling made it cool to read and that's the kind of peer pressure I can get behind.  My now 14 year old son read the series and loved it when he was 10 and has continued to read.  I don't know for certain, but I feel pretty confident that his love of reading was bolstered by the HP series.


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## Samuel Thews (Jul 12, 2011)

mom133d (aka Liz) said:


> And I do agree that the success of HP is what started the YA fantasy bandwagon. Fantasy has always been my favorite genre, especially anything magical or supernatural. I had to explain to a co-worker yesterday that I was into vampires long before Edward, or even Buffy for that matter.


To me this is where Rowling had the greatest impact (at least for my reading). I had always read fantasy but very little in the way of MG/YA until her 4th book was coming out and I could not ignore the pleas from my mother (an elementary English/Art teacher) to read them any longer. I didn't want to and thought they would be silly, kiddy books. But they weren't, at least not to me. Is she the best writer? Depends on how you define it, but likely not, but there is no denying her books captured the imagination of young, old and everything in between unlike anything I have seen in my life time. And now I plow through the MG/YA fantasy section and have for several years. I simply love the tone, stories and creativity that I find in MG/YA fantasy novels and I wonder would we have the longer novels like Bartimaeus if she had not paved the way.

I don't know if she saved reading as the article trumpets, but she certainly blew latch off the door for that genre.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

I love her, for many reasons.  I read all her books to my sons, but it wasn't only my boys who got hooked on the stories in her magical world.  

I recently heard her Harvard commencement speech from a couple of years ago (you can access it on you tube), and it's one of the best speeches I ever heard.  What a talented woman, and apparently still a shy and modest one.

Julia


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I think there is a flash in the pan every twenty years or so that takes off into mega mass popularity.  Star Wars was like that.  Joseph Campbell claimed it was the mythic roots tingling our brains (or something along those lines.)  But when you stop to think about it, Star Wars was rather simple and banal.  Harry Potter is like that too: nothing special, but it gives culture a shared story to gel around and bind us.  The fact that Harry Potter has become a shared culture icon is enough for most people to enjoy his story.

How or why cultures need shared popular stories, films, or music is something for the psychologists to explain.


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

Geemont said:


> I think there is a flash in the pan every twenty years or so that takes off into mega mass popularity. Star Wars was like that. Joseph Campbell claimed it was the mythic roots tingling our brains (or something along those lines.) But when you stop to think about it, Star Wars was rather simple and banal. Harry Potter is like that too: nothing special, but it gives culture a shared story to gel around and bind us. The fact that Harry Potter has become a shared culture icon is enough for most people to enjoy his story.
> 
> How or why cultures need shared popular stories, films, or music is something for the psychologists to explain.


With nearly half a billion copies in print in 67 languages, I tend to think that the Harry Potter books are more trans-cultural in nature. (Of course, in a sense, _all_ books are about shared culture. As soon as two people read the same book and begin to exchange opinions and ideas stemming from what they've read, a sub-culture is created.)


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

I read a lot as a kid, but then for years prior to the HP series, I had stopped making time to read regularly. HP reminded me of my love of books and got me back into the routine of reading before bed (and staying up too late!), and then to making time to read during my day, so for that it has definitely made a huge difference in my life.

But then I also know lots of HP fans who have pretty much read _only_ HP over the last decade or so.

N


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

We owe, maybe, but she's been paid pretty well.


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## That one girl (Apr 12, 2011)

Samuel Thews said:


> And now I plow through the MG/YA fantasy section and have for several years. I simply love the tone, stories and creativity that I find in MG/YA fantasy novels and I wonder would we have the longer novels like Bartimaeus if she had not paved the way.
> 
> I don't know if she saved reading as the article trumpets, but she certainly blew latch off the door for that genre.


I totally agree with this, Samuel. I always loved fantasy as a kid, but I grew away from it as an adult until the fourth HP book came out. I think Rowling's greatest contribution to MG/YA literature was creating a story that brought children and adult readers together.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

We like to imagine that there once was a time when kids spent all their time reading the world's great books. But there really wasn't. They read the popular books. And even those books that are now thought of as great classics weren't always that highly thought of. You want kids to read the classics? First they must love to read. They are a big step up from the Goosebumps books, and people were happy their kids were reading those.

Every now and then a book comes along that is really fresh and changes everything. LOTR changed fantasy forever, and the Harry Potter has also transformed fantasy. The Harry Potter books have been around for 14 years, and seem to have significant staying power. I would guess that LOTR will still be read a longer than Harry Potter (If there's one book of the 20th century that might be read 500 years from now, it's LOTR), but it shows no sign of fading.

If even one person buys your book because Harry Potter turned them on to reading, then you haven't escaped Rowling's influence.


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## Victoria J (Jul 5, 2011)

I think she's turned many young people's attention back to the fun that can be had for reading books. Always a good think in my opinion. The HP craze also drew my attention back to fantasy and science fiction. I had gotten away from it for some years, choosing to read historical fiction and non-fiction only.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

QuantumIguana said:


> We like to imagine that there once was a time when kids spent all their time reading the world's great books. But there really wasn't. They read the popular books. And even those books that are now thought of as great classics weren't always that highly thought of. You want kids to read the classics? First they must love to read. They are a big step up from the Goosebumps books, and people were happy their kids were reading those.
> 
> Every now and then a book comes along that is really fresh and changes everything. LOTR changed fantasy forever, and the Harry Potter has also transformed fantasy. The Harry Potter books have been around for 14 years, and seem to have significant staying power. I would guess that LOTR will still be read a longer than Harry Potter (If there's one book of the 20th century that might be read 500 years from now, it's LOTR), but it shows no sign of fading.
> 
> If even one person buys your book because Harry Potter turned them on to reading, then you haven't escaped Rowling's influence.


I agree on HP and the world's greatest books (to be read by children?) completely. They sure ain't gonna be reading "Moby Dick." (Nor LOTR come to think of it. Those are not kids' books. Maybe "The Hobbit.") When I was a kid I loved "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "In Search of the Castaways." But I'm exceptional like that.  There was no HP around back then.


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## WrongTale (Feb 16, 2011)

DYB said:


> When I was a kid I loved "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "In Search of the Castaways." But I'm exceptional like that.  There was no HP around back then.


No, you're not. They were among my favourite books in teen years. But I really loved Verne and Dumas then


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

People weren't reading the classics in the old days, they were reading the "Penny Dreadfuls". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful Not that I am saying that HP is the equivalent of the penny dreadfuls, it's far better than most of the stuff available for kids. One of the few works aimed at children that adults routinely enjoy.


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## Dr. Laurence Brown (Jun 23, 2011)

In a limited sense- yes. A whole generation became readers of the seven Harry Potter books, but instead of cracking spine of a new book, they opt to reread the HP series.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2011)

Lifetime is airing a bio of her tonight (biodrama) and I am totally tuning in.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

The other thing about Jk Rowling and the HP books is that many parents and kids read them TOGETHER.  I know my older daughter and I did.  The books we bought are "first editions" and we treasure them and will pass them down because of it.  There haven't been too many really good books (meaning good quality stories and well-written) written that both adults and kids can enjoy.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I have to vigorously disagree that people who got turned onto reading by reading Harry Potter don't read other books.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

The downside I think is that the HP example seems to be when the NY pubs and bookstore chains began to consider any book that did not sell millions of copies a failure. Backlists disappeared from store shelves and series went unfinished because they didn't catch on in the same way. 

I could be totally wrong about that....but it just seems that way.


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## Jordan Parkes (Jul 16, 2011)

Well not so much, publishers are happy with anything that sells decently. The book market still isn't what it was.
Harry Potter definitely had an impact on younger readers maybe even segueing Stephanie Myers success! Anything that gets people into reading and off *SNOOKI *TV is great!


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## emilyward (Mar 5, 2011)

I don't know much about the publishing world in the 90s or if kids read before HP (I know I did and I was 13 when I read my first HP book, the Prisoner of Azkaban), but I know that something about the books really hit people. I have a lot of friends who are sad (including me!) that the series is REALLY over now. It was a huge part of a lot of childhoods. I think it speaks volumes that her books could speak to so many people across all kinds of cultures. Okay, the actual writing isn't a literary achievement (I blame my overuse of adverbs on the Sorcerer's Stone), but it was the characters and their struggles and morals that stuck with people.



jason10mm said:


> I think the movies are what will really kill her books, sadly enough. They are good enough and comprehensive enough that you can watch them and get most of the good stuff out of Rowling, her rather poor plotting and lackluster writing flair is pushed aside and her best quality, the names and ideas, shine through. So kids interested in HP will watch the films and possibly the books get forgotten/marginalized. I'm sure in 10-15 years there will be another HP series on film or TV retreading the series again, unless she starts allowing expanded universe fiction, so the books may get an occasional shot in the arm.


Really Oh man, I thought most of the films were shallow and flat -- until Deathly Hallows, I loved Part 1 and 2. And 1 and 2 are all right because the plot isn't very complex; the films create a very magical, simple world. Although I loved 3-6 when they came out because of the excitement of seeing everything on screen, I look back on them and I couldn't really care less. Then again, I'm a huge fan of the books, and I don't know what the films are like for someone who has never read the books. My husband likes them, but I don't know if he's just saying that to appease me!


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

Dr. Laurence Brown said:


> In a limited sense- yes. A whole generation became readers of the seven Harry Potter books, but instead of cracking spine of a new book, they opt to reread the HP series.


I'm not sure I agree. My son got hooked on reading HP, and he still loves the books and movies. But he branched out after JK Rowling fired his imagination. Now he reads _everything_.


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## Guest (Jul 20, 2011)

The kids who went batty over Harry were readers to start, and became more avid. The kids who picked Harry up as a first time interest in literature-- even if they never read anything else (and I think that's an oddity), at least they read SOMETHING.

I had a younger brother who hated reading.  I gave him James Herriot so he could do a short story report in 4th grade.  He was converted forever by Cedric the farting boxer... and still steals books from me.  In fact, I buy him books for his birthday every year.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

Ah...James Herriot.  I gobbled those up in school, too.


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## AnnetteL (Jul 14, 2010)

ilyria_moon said:


> I've yet to read a Harry Potter book, so I can't say Rowling impacted my life.


Rowling has impacted an entire generation (and then some) of readers. Just like anything that shifts culture, if you're a reader or a writer, you've been impacted in some way, even if you haven't read the books or seen the movie.

Reminds me of a friend of mine from the 90s who'd never seen a Seinfeld episode but more than once used phrases from the show, totally unwittingly. HP has impacted the culture in bigger ways than Seinfeld.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I think Rowling and Potter had a profound impact on pop culture and youth reading (and adult reading!), but it would be premature to try to guess what sort of wide-ranging impact this has had on our global society. 

We're at such a transformative crossroads right now. Digital books, cloud media, young artist super-stars, comic book movies, the collapse of printed book stores. Potter has been a powerful variable, but just one among many. It may take decades to clearly define what impact Rowling alone had.


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## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

I like the Potter series, I was recalling those days in the 50's - If I told the nuns I was reading harry Potter I would be on the way to meet my maker, the beating would have been epic.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

JeffMariotte said:


> I don't think it matters whether or not any writer has read Harry Potter, or likes the books or the movies. Before Rowling and Harry, all we heard about was kids giving up reading for video games. *You would never have seen kids lugging around 2-inch thick books, discussing them with passion, rereading them* (not to mention the financial boost it gave Scholastic, and therefore lots of other writers). When those kids were finished with Harry, they largely turned to other books, which is why your average YA novel is now considerably heftier than it was pre-Harry. Those kids are growing up, but many of them--maybe most--have held onto that love of reading. They're going to become adults and they'll keep reading (and buying) books, and that's good for every writer (not to mention civilization as a whole). I'm not saying Harry Potter did it all by his lonesome, but he was that Beatle-esque element, in the right place at the right time, and he was more than incidental to the YA boom.
> 
> I gladly acknowledge my debt to Rowling, not just for her wonderful books, but for everything she's done for books and writers overall.


That's not true. Perhaps in your neck of the woods, but here, children have always been avid readers of hefty tomes. Then again, parents are a lot more hands on here and eager to get children into the elite schools, so they make sure their children have a wide and varied childhood, rather than plonking them in front of electronic entertainment.


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## Scribejohn (Jul 2, 2011)

ilyria_moon said:


> That's not true. Perhaps in your neck of the woods, but here, children have always been avid readers of hefty tomes. Then again, parents are a lot more hands on here and eager to get children into the elite schools, so they make sure their children have a wide and varied childhood, rather than plonking them in front of electronic entertainment.


I think this comment I made earlier about the 'read-through' rate on books sits well here, because it also tackles the issue of books vs computer games. Sure, you can buy kids books with that aim, but how many of them will actually get read??...

I remember hearing from a friend with two daughters in the 9-12 age range at the time that the Harry Potter books were at their height. He said that they received several Potter books over successive Christmas's from aunts, uncles and grandparents, who didn't want to buy them (say) computer games - they wanted to buy something which (in their eyes) might help their education and reading rather than impede it.

One of them read a couple of books and then lost interest, the other hated the series and the books were left unread. It makes you wonder, by extension, how many unwanted HP Christmas and birthday present book there might be out there?? ..

But you're right in that before HP there were a number of other authors aiming at a kid or YA audience. Terry Pratchett (with whom I shared an editor years ago, Richard Evans) is one shining example... and then of course way back we have the Tolkein 'Lord of the Rings' series.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

_posts here in the Book Corner that mention books you've written, are writing, or mean to write, will be edited to remove such self-promotion. _


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

I think we owe a lot to JK Rowling because it created a love of reading again, especially among kids. Rowling gave us plots and characters that also interested parents. It's probably one of the few book series that has prompted dinner time discussions about books! I know so many parents and kids who read together. Our family still goes to see the movies together after all this time, and my youngest is now 16-1/2!

Debra


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