June 25, 2003

I Love Hogwarts and Middle Earth
Tiniowien

Alright, Samwise. I agree with you on the movies. The only reason I seen them was because my family insisted on dragging me to them.
But I'll tell you why I can read book after book about the same 'Little Kid with glasses'.
I very much doubt you have only read the LOTR trilogy, and have never seen the movies or read any more books. Would you agree that you simply enjoy being "in" Middle Earth? That is my experience of it. The Harry Potter books are not just about Harry. I would be quite indignant if someone said that LOTR was only about a short little dude with hairy feet. J.K. Rowling, like Tolkien, has also created a very wonderful, believable magical world. This world is partly what entices me to read Harry Potter. And I develop strong sympathy for Harry himself. He acts and thinks the way I would act and think in his situation. Rowling has as much insight into the human pysche as any pyschologist.
In Order of the Phoenix, Harry is a rapidly maturing 15 year old. No longer your 'little kid with glasses'. I strongly suggest any adults who dislike Potter to read Order of the Phoenix, because it is a more adult book. The only snag is that without knowing the previous books the storyline would be hard to follow.
And this is for some people who dislike books where young people are the heros: if children are taught they can do nothing, and will have to wait until adulthood until they can ever make an impact in the world, then they will believe they can do nothing.
I love Books first and foremost, they define who I am, being my first friends. I have read a lot. I love Harry Potter (slightly) more than Lord of the Rings because I enjoy the books more than the movies, and vice-versa. And a note: I read three pages of the first Harry Potter book, and then I was hooked. I honestly don't understand how anyone can't at least enjoy Harry Potter as a simply pleasant book.