This LJ is a Potter-free zone.

[agilebrit]

I confess: I have never read a Harry Potter book, or seen any of the movies. I know some of the basic storyline and the names of most of the major players through fandom osmosis (the rock I hide beneath is a small one), but it's just... really...

Not quite my genre.

There, I admitted it. I prefer SF to fantasy. Unless it's Pratchett, of course, but Pratchett trumps all. Or urban fantasy, because Butcher is the king of that. Or historical dragon fantasy, because Naomi Novik rocks, despite her overuse of semi-colons. However, her dragons, while (probably) violating the laws of physics on a regular basis, aren't "magical" creatures.

Er. *eyeshift*

But seriously, I tried to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and got totally bogged down (although I loved the movies and finished "The Hobbit" with no problems, go figure). High fantasy is just really hit and miss with me.

This is not everyone's cue to tell me "OMG YOU HAVE TO READ POTTER BECAUSE IT ROCKS SO MUCH." I have a stack of something like a hundred books to go through before I even consider such a thing--and there's new stuff coming out all the time that I'd rather read.

So that's the State of Me, vis a vis Harry Potter. In case anyone cares.

Comments

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

*grin* *conspires to send you book 1 of Potterverse* ; )

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

And I would get around to reading it sometime around the year 2020. *snerk*

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

Sleep-reading osmosis. I'd feed it to you subconsciously. ; )

[lady-moriel.livejournal.com]

We-ell...judging by what I've read of your writing, I'm guessing Harry Potter is a bit more your style than you think it is. Particularly since it's really not high fantasy at all--except for some very basic storyline elements, there's almost no way to compare it to LotR. They're barely in the same category.

Actually, for that matter, I'd say the Harry Potter series is quite a lot more like The Hobbit than it's like the trilogy itself, though seeing as it deals with modern teenagers in a mostly modern world, it's obviously still...different.

But high fantasy, I'd argue, it ain't.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I just look at it and have this massive "shrug" reaction...

Maybe I'm weird.

[calliopes_pen]

I know what you mean--I have never been interested in anything Harry Potter related either. There's too just much madness and hype surrounding it, so I don't care about what happens to whom, who dies, or anything else about it.

[(Anonymous)]

I was pulled in before series got such hype,certainly before the movies...
It was a refreshing break from the real world and so creative...

That's why i hate hype...It sometimes ruins things for people who weren't involved before...

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Don and I read Potter but it's hardly an obsession. The books are decent and have struck a chord with the youth of this generation. Frankly, I'm thrilled with anything that can inspire that many kids to read. That said, you'll hear no evangelizing from me.

I plowed my way through Lord of the Rings in high school, then again when the movies came out. Stick to the movies. Dear God those books are deadly dull. I know they are the foundation stone of modern fantasy but they are also a great cure for insomnia.

Like you, I like a smattering of everything. There's some really good, fun fantasy out there, like Pratchett, that I prefer any day over the dark and dreary.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

I still have to figure out what books I'm taking on our trip. I really want to read "Elantris," by local author Brandon Sanderson (mistborn), but it's a HUGE hardback. Of course, it might make more sense to take that along rather than several paperbacks...

[sunnyd-lite.livejournal.com]

OMG YOU HAVE TO READ POTTER BECAUSE IT ROCKS SO MUCH

Ya, like that's a well reasoned recommendation. I like them. I'm not planning on standing in line at midnight. I think you can live a full and meaningful life without having read them. I think you might enjoy them when the Boy comes closer to book appropriate age.

These be my thoughts, not sure if they're worth the penny.

[baron-waste.livejournal.com]

I'm like you, I've never really been interested in the books - I've read Kipling's Stalky and Co, and I figure that meets my requirements for British boarding school tales. But you ought to watch the movies - they're fun.

I always find the making-of documentaries for these films just as fascinating. You talk about “entrepreneurial capitalism”: The incredible, jaw-dropping amount of labor-intensive work that goes into the crafting of these things is, well, jaw-dropping incredible. And for all the producers know, it will tank at the box office when they're done. They can only do their best.

[You should see the making-of feature on Matrix Reloaded, describing the highway-chase stunt scene. The sheer logistics were simply unbelievable: They built their own section of US freeway, including on-ramps, every detail done to spec from ground-breaking to painting the centerlines. Trained an entire mechanized battalion of drivers and machines dawn to dusk for weeks. Did gigawatts of post-production computing to accomplish the FX… All on the hope that popcorn-chewers in sticky theatres would gape at a fifteen-minute sequence and go Wow.]

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

I didn't read any Potter until last year. I was underwhelmed with the first book, but I continued on. Once I grew to love the characters, the remaining books captured me.

Different strokes for different folks. I'm just glad that there was a series of books that got young people excited to read.

I've tried to read Nora Roberts after hearing people gush about her books. She is a prolific writer, and someone must love her, but I forced myself to read the requisite three books in order to make a decision about a writer, and I have given myself permission to avoid any further contact with her.

Not everything resonates with each of us the same way.

[bullet4fob.livejournal.com]

having just finished the last book i am going to recommend that you do not read the Harry Potter series.