Comments on: The End of an Era

By: Tova Fries

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Mietserver — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 02:49:49 +0000

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By: Julie P.

Julie P. — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:12:58 +0000

I am in my 50s and don’t have children, but I dearly love these books and the world JKR created. I cried during the last book and during the last movie. There is plenty to love about these stories, regardless of your age.

By: Linda Griffith

Linda Griffith — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:46:25 +0000

Loved your article. I just came back from the movie with my 2 boys (ages 16 and going on 21). The 21 year old started reading the books in grade school and was the same ages as the characters and literally grew up with them. We have always gone to all the movies together along with his best friend who loved the books as well. He begged me to read the books and I remember thinking that I did not want to read childrens books but decided to try it. Of course I was hooked. I was SO emotional about this last movie. To me, it was an end to his childhood (he will turn 21 in 2 weeks)

By: desiderata

desiderata — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:19:51 +0000

I’ve never read the books but like others have said, they are part of the bittersweet memories of my 2 oldest childrens’ childhood. My oldest graduated high school in May and is off to university in a few weeks and my son is going to be a junior in high school. They were very young when they read the first books and we would go to the Harry Potter festival one of our parks had every summer. Taking them to the B&N midnight release parties was a huge treat, since it was always so long past their bedtimes. We were in Rome when the last movie was released and they were trying to find a cinema –forget the Pantheon or Colosseum, the last Harry Potter movie is out today!

By: Corinna

Corinna — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:52:15 +0000

I’ve gotta side with Dick here. When it comes to Harry Potter, I feel like the child in the story ‘The Emporor’s New Clothes’ because I’m completely missing what has everyone else all aflutter. The books never drew me in enough to finish one, and the movies were what I would describe as mildly entertaining.

Harry Potter is…okay. Not amazing, just okay. If I had to line up all my favorite books/movies in order, HP would be far behind hundreds of others.

Sorry, but as was said, different strokes for different folks. HP never grabbed my interest, much less my heart.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:00:47 +0000

I also grew up with the Harry Potter books and characters – 4th grade when the first one came out and 19 when the last one did.

It worked great because I was always close in age to the characters and like other people have mentioned the books grew with me, becoming better written and more mature.

It definitely was not a fashion. I still remember the awe I felt after reading the first book and how depressed I was when it was over. The anticipation every year waiting for the next book to come out. Way better than Christmas.

By now I’ve reread every book multiple times and they feel like old friends. I’ll never be one of the people who dresses up and reads or writes fan fiction, but I still laugh, cry and feel warm inside every time I read one of them. I don’t know what it is about her books that enrapture so many different people, but there is something there. Maybe it’s magic afterall.

By: MarySkl

MarySkl — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:39:33 +0000

I disagree with Dick as well. I have read all of the mentioned fantasy series multiple times. We played our own version Harry Potter and LOTR’s trivia in the car on long trips. That game led my husband to finally pick up the Harry Potter books because he got tired of not knowing what we were talking about. The next Halloween he dressed up as Dumbledore. The imagination that it took to come up with polyjuice potion, thestrals, and a host of other things unique to the world of Harry Potter is really mind-boggling when you think about it. The books grew as the child characters grew and that was reflected in the writing. Judging the entire series on the most juvenile of the books does them an injustice. It brings to mind my experience with Anne Rice’s vampire books. I had just read Stephen King’s “It” when I picked up “Interview With a Vampire.” While I thought Interview was OK, reading it did not inspire me to read more of the Vampire Chronicles or Anne Rice. For YEARS my husband suggested I read more of them and I would smile and say, “some day.” Then he put “The Mummy” in front of me (not a vampire book, but reflective of Anne Rice’s better writing). After reading The Mummy, I picked up the “Vampire Lestat” and ended up reading the rest of the vampire books that week. Then I chewed through her witch books. If my husband had not badgered me and I continued to let my experience with Interview color my perception of Anne Rice as an author, I would have missed out on some wonderful books.

Jane: While the Hobbit was definitely a children’s book, LOTR’s was very adult and for a child (or middle school student), I think it goes down better when read aloud – in fact I think it begs to be read out loud. There is a poetry and cadence to the books that you don’t get when reading silently. I read the entire series aloud to each of my three children when they were 6 or 7, but they were in high school before they read them for themselves. You know what you like but I think judging Tolkein through middle school eyes is not a true verdict. If you ever decide to try them again, let us know if you see the books through a different lens.

By: Jane AAR

Jane AAR — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:12:39 +0000

Well, Dick, I disagee — they’re the modern LOTR or Chronicles. And, if I dare say it, a whole heck of a lot more readable. I tried reading LOTR in middle school and (forgive me if this is sacrilege) found the writing to be dry and convoluted. The stories are wonderful, and I love the movies, but I have no desire whatsoever to pick up one of the books.

They all share a really, really strong world-building by the author. That’s one of the best things about Harry Potter- the universe Rowling created is so detailed, multidimensional, and complex, it’s a character in itself. You can easily get lost in Harry’s world.

By: dick

dick — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:39:45 +0000

Different strokes for diffferent folks, I guess. Having read only the first, I can’t, in good conscience, make further comments, except to say that I don’t think the Harry Potter books are comparable to “Lord of the Rings” or “Chronicles of Narnia.”