I don’t like the Harry Potter books.
It’s not like I’m judging without due cause; I have previously attempted to read the books. Although my Potter fanatic friends think my attempt was measly, I hold on to the fact that Harry Potter is one of the few books where I’ve had to break my unwritten rule of reading. My rule to “never put down a novel before finishing it, regardless of how rubbish it seems.”
I honestly tried to read Harry Potter. I picked up the book with all intentions to read it from start to finish. Nevertheless, before I had reached the end, I had lost the will to live. I felt like I was trudging through mud. Novels are meant to capture your imagination, transport you to an alternate dimension and swallow you up in the ins and outs of their world. Harry Potter never did this for me.
(At this point, while I was drafting this blog up in chemistry, my friend Maryam decided to infiltrate my notes with this:
“Harry Potter is awesome – shuddup! He took me on the Hogwarts’ Express and now I have lots of cool wizard and witches as friends AND Ron is my best friend ever!
I battled Voldermort with Harry and Snape and Dumbledore made me cry – there’s something WRONG with YOU!”
Thank you for your concern Maryam. It has been noted…)
It’s not that I don’t like the magical genre. I love the Inheritance Cycle (i.e. Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and whatever book is to follow) but the whole plot and style of writing in Harry Potter just bores me. Maybe one day I’ll attempt to read them again… but I doubt it. No matter how much Terrie bugs me to.
However, there is one thing that I appreciate Harry Potter for:
Doctor Who, Series 3, Episode 2 – “The Shakespeare Code”
In this, Shakespeare is trying to get rid of a load of Carrionites (witch like aliens) who are trying to enter earth through this portal and what word does Martha suggest? “Expelliarmus!” The power of words!
(You may also note my random question on my blog’s profile is:
What spells can you cast with magic markers?
With the answer:
Expelimarkus!
Expelliarmus is my single, lone indulgence in the Harry Potter world...)
And yes, I know this is going to be an automatic fail Terrie, but I'm sorry, what else did you expect?!
I think you are reading Harry Potter in a way biased from the beginning. If anyone TRIES not to like something, you can guarantee that they won't.
ReplyDeleteNow, I completely respect your opinion, and I in no way wish to 'hate' on you- in fact I vaguely know you in real life (to the extent of being a friend of yours on Facebook,) but I cannot respect an opinion which is has a very weak foundation.
As any reader of the full set of books will tell you, JK Rowling is an incredibly talented writer. Her work is engaging, beautifully descriptive, and contains many vibrant and original characters. Rowling also attacks many topics that are often skirted round by other authors- for example, she takes the idea of death, and is not afraid to write about their being an after life, something you as a Christian, I feel sure will agree that anything which provokes people to think about life after death must surely be good.
If you do take the HP series on a purely shallow and 'I'm not going to enjoy this, I am reading this so I can say, oh look, I have proved my friends wrong, because I will nitpick out little things' then I can't read this without making a comment. I hope I have not offended you, I just couldn't let this go, being a diehard fan myself!
Thanks for posting your opinion, I hope you'll try to read HP again with a more open mind, and perhaps then you can discover there is a reason why obsessed people like myself exist!
Again, I hope to have not offended you :)
I'd just like to say that part of my biasnessed is because I once tried reading it with an open mind when I was in year six and didn't really enjoy it much then. I can understand why people are obsessed about it, I have an obsession with Doctor Who! It's just that Harry Potter isn't my cuppa tea and I just wanted to share my view that deviates from the majority!
ReplyDeleteI'd rather not read it again, not because I don't want to "discover there is a reason why obsessed people like [you] exist" but in the same way that someone doesn't fancy taking another bite of a food they're not fond of. No offence is taken and I hope you don't take offence in me saying I'd rather not everyone moan at me for not liking Harry Potter.
On another note, thankyou for reading my blog! Although, I'm curious as to who you are! Which fb friend?! I find it really odd to think that people who I don't talk to regularly would be reading my blog and amazed that anyone I haven't bugged has actually read it! Thankyou, for both your reading and your opinion! :)
That's fair enough- I just thought I'd give you my opinion... do you mind if I don't tell you who I am, it would be a little awkward for me. I'm afraid I'm not an avid reader of your blog, I just happened to see you posting a link to it on facebook, and the mentioning of the words Harry Potter had me intrigued!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm sure blogging is a great habit to get into, I admire you for putting your writings up here =)
I have to agree with the comment by your anonymous fb friend :P as a friend of Hannah i feel i can be at least slightly diggy. I really loved Harry potter. Took me a long while to get round to reading it - when at least book 4 was out I started! Its so gripping and you cannot put it down! Unlike no other series has got me that! Now to work out here Anonymous is :P An easterer?
ReplyDeleteWhat's an easterer? :S
ReplyDeleteSomeone who goes on/has been on the Easter Camps run by Forest Fold Chapel. So I'm guessing you're not someone who's been on one!
ReplyDeleteOh OK. :)
ReplyDelete