Harry Potter: It’s Not Just For Brits Anymore

Okay, so it never was just for Great Britain,
but the power of this weird little phenomenon just
continues to amaze me. Not only are J.K. Rowling’s books
best-sellers in just about every English-speaking country
on the planet, but now they’re best-sellers
in Japan
as well. Hey, at least it’s not Pokemon…

8 replies on “Harry Potter: It’s Not Just For Brits Anymore”

  1. Excellent…

    I’ve read all four Harry Potter books and they truly are excellent works of fantasy. Hats off to J.K. Rowling for doing something that our schools can’t: Get kids to read.

    For you grown-ups out there, go ahead and pick them up. They are quick reads, but lots of fun. And you can discuss them with your kids (GASP! Adult-Child communication?).

  2. I’m so jealous.
    The girls and I, between us, own all four of the books thus far, AND the

    really neat “Quidditch Through The Ages” and “Fantastic Beasts And Where

    To Find Them.” (If you’ve not read the latter two, get your sorry arse

    down to the bookstore already. They’re four bucks each, and absolutely

    hilarious. Not to mention they’re non-profit books, raising money for a

    good cause.)

    In fact, we own multiple copies of the first book, for the express purpose

    of lending them out.

    I still haven’t been able to read “Goblet of Fire,” though — that one’s

    been on loan for something like three months. (Hey, Suzanne! Get off the

    couch and bring that book back!) sigh. Maybe I’ll get to read it before

    the fifth book is out…

  3. not for me…
    i haven’t read so much as the back cover of a harry potter book and have no intention of starting ;)

  4. Re: not for me
    This kind of attitude irritates me greatly. People who dismiss the Harry Potter books simply because they’re “kids books”. I could just as easily dismiss the works of Tolkien as such as well — where else would you find little people, elves, and dragons but in a kids’ book? Harry Potter is more than just a “kids’ book”. It’s a fantasy fairy tale. The last time a book was this well written for all ages was “The Wizard of Oz” or “Alice in Wonderland”. I work in a bookstore and have people of all ages asking for the Harry Potter books. And don’t give me any crap about intelligent people not liking them, because every single one of my friends also love the Harry Potter books. And our idea of light reading is Keroauc, Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, George Orwell, and JD Salinger. So why don’t you put your superiority aside and give them a shot. And this goes for all of you out there too!

  5. Should adults read harry potter books?
    I saw a TV debate shortly after the books got really big in the UK between the 2 sides of the ‘Should adults read Harry Potter books’ argument. There was an author and a random tv personality on each side. In each case the authors said that the books were good, but one said that they thought they were definately childrens books, the other that they were books that were at a level that everyone would like.

    The tv (lack of) personalities were scary. They were militant: The ‘adults should read them’ almost thought it should be enforced and that all adults MUST read them, and she got really annoyed about it. The ‘adults shouldn’t read them’ practically thought it should be an imprisonable offense…

    I haven;t read them – friends of mine have said they’re good, and i may read them sometime, but at the moment they’re not my cup of tea: i;m reading a bunch of hard sf at the mo – so I don’t know if they are pitched at a level that some adults should find insulting, but I don;t understand how these books have sparked so much argument even if they are.

    As for slagging someone for saying that they haven;t as much as read the back of the books, and have decided not to read them, I haven;t as much as read the back of a barbara cartland novel, but i’m sure as hell not going to spend my time reading one.

    • Re: Should adults read harry potter books?
      I’d love to know more about this. Do you have the channel? program? People who were on it? Anything. I’d love to know…

  6. Wait a minute!
    i didn’t say anything about them being for kids. i said they don’t interest me, and, well… it’s the truth.

    what irritates me greatly is people who jump to conclusions when someone doesn’t share their opinion :-)

  7. a good read
    I have found the Harry Potter books to be a very good read. I have read the four books twice now and each time it took me less than a week. They are enjoyable to read and make for very interesting conversations and debates over what certain things mean or what is going to happen. I will admit that the books are kind of targeted at children but some of the storyline seems to place emphasis on the adult perspective as well. and besides reading these books is a lot of fun especially if you have a really good imagination

Comments are closed.