Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Whistle while I work

This morning has been work, work and some more work. Nothing but work. Well, for five minutes my clients can whistle while I take time off work.

Sorry, there are a lot of repetitions of the word 'work' in that last statement. At least I have the sentence structure to write a Harry Potter book.

Okay, let's get serious for a minute.

I don't have a problem with Harry Potter per se, but I do seem to be befuddled about the amount of adults reading it. This includes members of my immediate family. With so many great books out there, what drives people to purchase a book for children? I just can't figure it out.

I read a quote recently that said JK Rowling didn't get published for her writing but because of the concept she had. Now, I don't want this to sound like sour grapes - I wish Ms Rowling all the best and if I had a similar idea I would love to be in her position - but if concepts are all it takes to sell books, then reading is a dying art form.

So, if you're an adult and love Harry Potter, I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you love it. Please be intelligent - ranting at my opinion will only go to prove my (subtle) point.

purplesimon out..

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Commenting on Rowling's writing style is a little hard for me - I read the books in English, which isn't my first language, and I don't think this allows me to properly judge a style yet. As for the why's... I picked them a few years ago when I did have a 3 to 4 hours long commute every day and needed something to read in the train, that wouldn't make my head feel more like a balloon than it already was (well, alright, I made the effort to read them in the original text, at least).

I wouldn't say that I love the HP series (I reserve this word for other books); however, they were enjoyable. Not the best read in the world, for sure, nor the most serious, instructing or whatever... simply what I wanted at that time: easy enjoyment.

In a way, though, I think I also wanted to have a look at them for the sake of it. They were indeed books I'd have loved reading when I was 10 or 12.

purplesime said...

Thanks Yzabel,
I can't argue with that, really. However, if you had that long a commute, each day, surely you exhausted the whole series of Potter books in a fortnight (as a maximum?).

I read the first one - I had to, otherwise I couldn't form an opinion on it - and it took me about an hour and a half. After that I really didn't want to read anymore.

That's not to say that "intelligent" books haven't bored me. Lolita was one I found both difficult to read and badly written (they go hand-in-hand).

However, why are adults reading these Potter bookes? I can't grasp it. Your comment, while great, still doesn't help me answer that question.

Is everyone just looking for an escape to their childhood?

I await more comments.