Harry Potter!!

obeywan_kenobe

I am probably the only person in the world who thinks like this but dont you think that Harry Potter is over hyped. I admire J K rowling and I enjoy the books but I dont think it deserves the £billions that it makes. Bloomesbury (the publishers) are also milking to as much as it can get by taking advanced orders and selling the books as higher RRPs than the norm.

I am not knocking success but I feel they can over egg the pudding a bit.

Dont get me talking about the films. That boy who plays him will be pensionable before they make the last!!!

nearlyrich

I must confess I haven't read any of the books & I am an avid reader, I started to watch the first film when it came out on DVD and I fell asleep:o.

They have already started winding up the hype for a book which will be released in July you are not alone.

BoltonMinx

I agree that there is a lot of hype surrounding the books and a lot of people have accused her books of being derivitive of the worst witch etc. BUT the main thing is it brings people back to reading and using their imaginations which is great. If the books werent deserving of the hype, people wouldnt continue to buy them. Of course, they wont be to everyone's tastes, but thats life right ?

You dont need to pay full price or even pay at all for the books - use your library or buy 2nd hand as they will flood ebay/charity shops once they've been out a month or so.

The books themselves are gripping - she uses rich descriptive language which I beleive is great for kids developing minds. Much better than blockbusters and T.V IMHO. And no, I dont think she is the best author ever, but she deserves some praise for making reading fun again

BoltonMinx

P.S The films are awful!

Pooky

My 9 year old daughter is a huge "Harry" fan - she's read the books, watched the films and collected the lego. I personally haven't read the books, not my sort of thing, but i've seen the films and although not glued to my seat, they are better than some of the other tatt that's out there.

Children don't read for enjoyment anymore - most of them are stuck playing playstation and computer games and have little or no imagination. JK Rowling has opened up a whole new area for kids and has give that spark that has been missing from kids books for the past few years.

In my eyes Harry Potter and JK Rowling have improved my daughters spelling, her vocabulary and her creative writing skills beyond belief. She now aspires to be a writer when she's older and has already started to compile short stories that she's started to illustrate too.

I'm not saying that these books are entierly responsibly for this but it fired her enthusiasm at the right time and has kept her captivated.

I'm looking forward to buying her the next book when it's released, to watch her devour it and enjoy it will be a pleasure.

nearlyrich

Actually when you mentioned that HP made your children into reading I can't fault it, as I said I am an avid reader and I think it is sad that most children don't read for pleasure. I hadn't really thought about that aspect but it is pretty positive.

I still think it's too early to get them all wound up for a book that is being released in July.

chugalug

My son is 9 and counting down to the next book. It was the HP books that started him reading avidly after the stilted 'learn to read books' they get given at school. How many kids would look at the size of the books and read them on their own if they werent HP. Bring it on I say!! I quite enjoyed the films if you can get past the awful acting on the first one (oh all right, all of them) you get into the story. We bonded!

suki1964

I heard on the news today that the latest HP will have the largest ever first print run of 10.5 million in American history.

I dont think the hype is such a bad thing as its getting children reading. Id rather the hype over a book then the latest mind numbing violent computer game

obeywan_kenobe

It looks like I am one of the few. I must stress again I enjoy the talkie books read by Steven Fry. He put so much depth into the charactors. I just feel that now that we have found the magic that gets children away from the TV and into the written page , the greedy fat cats are going to make as much money out of it as possible. It is my personal view that making excessive profit from children is wrong(A prime example of this is those pokeman cards. I challange anyone who calls that value for money!!)
I think its wise of JK to only write 8 books.

Poppy9

I have to admit I hated the first two films - boring etc. I tried very hard to read the first book too. It started ok but then it just got dull and repetative. My then 8 year old though loved it and over the course of 6 months read all the HP books and has the next one on pre order. There is obviously something simple in the HP books that adults are overlooking. My daughter says they are not the best book she has read but she still loves them. Her favourite books are Angels unlimited. She was reading me a few pages from the first book and I was hooked. I have now read the first 3 in the series and when I finish my David Icke book I will start on the next 3 in her collection. We have bought these books as birthday presents for her friends and they all love them. Well recomended for 9+ girls

Annie Dalton - Angels Unlimited

IvanOpinion

I suppose we all have to remember that the books were written for children. I used to love Enid Blighton books but I would not read them as an adult (I believe that some brain-dead whinger with nothing better to do with their time lodged some complaints about the books), I also liked the Billy Buinter books, but again I would not read them as an adult. For some strange reason though I would still read my collection of 'Asterix The Gaul' stories?

I have not read the books but have seen all the films and thought there were some nifty ideas in the first one, the second was rubbish and the third was OK. I will probably go and see any future films but agree that they are overhyped.

Ivan