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/lit/ - Literature

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943351 No.943351 [Reply] [Original]

I never read Harry Potter until this summer when I did a marathon and read them all in 3 weeks. I honestly think they are great. Of course not very intelligent, but kind of addicting. What does /lit/ think of them? Or are you all too hoity toity to talk about them? I usually am more into sci-fi and stuff, but you just can't be part of my generation without reading those books. pic kinda related.

>> No.943371
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943371

I started with the first like. . . 10 years ago. My highest point of interest was the 4th and 5th, although the 3rd one really captured my attention by dealing with serious matters like torture and wrongful imprisonment.

5 felt kinda wrong to me somehow. Yet right at the same time. 6 was just. . . what the fuck. But it had some very clever bits.

7 was a lot of fanwankery and a rather random book-consuming quest plot. Didn't like the big fight at the end. Epilogue was "meh."

I have a friend who HATES the series. Passionately hates it. She claims the author has no talent, rips off fantasy creatures instead of making her own, and gave in to the fans on the 7th. I tentatively agree with her on that last bit. The heck was Rowling doing exactly?

Pic related. My friend reacts much this way when the books are mentioned.

>> No.943376

They're really crumby novels. The only think Rowling is good at is wish-fulfillment.

>> No.943380
File: 21 KB, 250x242, Lisshockedbyyourfaggotry.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
943380

>>943371
>rips off fantasy creatures instead of making her own

>> No.943388

Harry Potter is a blatent rip off on 1984 works "The Legend of Rah and the Muggles" and "Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly".

>> No.943395

I loved them till The Goblet of Fire. Then they gradually become worse and end with probably the worst book in the series.
Rowling just didn't develope Harry and cast well as teanagers and in last books you can already detect how films and merchandice cought up with her, originally quite pure, world.

>> No.943400

My girlfriend forced me to read them and they were meh.

I like how in the epilogue everyone named there kids after dead people and no one had made any new friends since high school.

>> No.943401

>>943371
nice.

the reason I read them was because a lot of my friends react oppositely, especially one of them. Most of them approve and thought they were great when reading them, but one of them is REALLY into them. I thought the 4th and 5th were the weakest for me and by then I was just going based on pure enjoyment. I had a lot of fun with the 7th because I got sick of the shit they did in Hogwarts, but you can tell by the ending that Rowling just got jaded with the whole process of writing. The ending was kind of exactly what you were expecting. I liked the 6th a lot, and the 3rd too.

>> No.943426

>>943400
the epilogue was very unsatisfying. The last book kinda just wrote itself based on all the other works and the movies.

>> No.943445

I read R-rated Neville/Ginny fanfiction and there is nothing any of you can do to prevent me from continuing to do so. Take that.

>> No.943473

Neville was the bravest character in the series. Last book, all hope lost, running out alone to face Valdy. Other than that, eh.

>> No.943486

I don't care what anyone says, I fucking love them. I grew up with the books, and now that I'm in my twenties they're still some of my favorites.

>> No.943488

>>943351
Reading them all that fast can be sort of dangerous. Some people tend to get really attached to books/series. The characters aren't very complex, but I tended to miss reading them between books.

>> No.943499

Just watch A Very Potter Musical. It's quicker, more entertaining, and the ending doesn't involve any form of camping whatsoever.

>> No.943503

Badly written, with gigantic plotholes, a MILLION times where some new arbitrary magical thing is invented out of thin air to get harry out of some shitty situation. The relationships are retarded and unbelievable. The moral of the story is that if you do no work of your own, and if you are bland, mediocre, and lazy enough, you can also do great things by COMPLETE FUCKING MISTAKE (or by usurping the success of others). Also, half the last book was CAMPING.

>> No.943508

>read harry potter
>actually caring enough to notice plot holes
what's the point man

>> No.943509

They are epic. That's the only way to describe them.

>> No.943519
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943519

>>943509
I'm really not surprised that something that dumb was said by a tripfag.

>> No.943520

>>943509

No nigger, the Iliad is epic. The Divine Comedy is epic. Paradise Lost is epic. Harry Potter is about a useless whiny teenager who goes to school.

>> No.943521

you can look for plotholes and inconsistencies and all that in these books. But once you read them all you realize you are an idiot for doing that. That's obviously not the point. They are fun to read, that's difficult to argue against.

>> No.943523

Fuck the haters. Harry Potter is fucking huge, both in the number of people who love it and the impact it's had on the world. It's perfectly all right to dislike the books, but don't try to say they aren't important.

>> No.943527

>>943523
>Harry Potter is fucking huge, both in the number of people who love it

Yes. So is Twilight. I don't see your point.

>and the impact it's had on the world.

wat. What impact would that be?

>> No.943530

>>943521
>They are fun to read, that's difficult to argue against.

They're not fun to read, because I do not enjoying stuff that is poorly written.

>> No.943529

All y'all Serious Grown-Up Literature Critics need to calm the fuck down. They're kids' books for Christ's sake. They aren't supposed to be deep, intellectual masterpieces of literature. They're fun books about wizards fighting evil and hanging out with dragons. Chill.

>> No.943532

http://hicsuntleones.deviantart.com/#/d2on4cj

>> No.943535

>>943520
>>943519
says who? Fuck off. To each his own. Billions of people apperntly have the same taste as me. All those old works you quoted, you like them becase somone told you to like them. You have been told "these are the classics" "you must read these to have any sort of opinion on literature"

>> No.943541

>>943529

That is wrong, even as an excuse.

The sixth movie was much better than the sixth book, in having a more consistent atmosphere and mood.

The books jumped the shark when they became bricks, aka when JK gained protection from editors.

>> No.943542

>>943527
If you don't recall, kids didn't read in the 90s. HP changed all that. Reading used to be in cool. Now, it's just a part of life. "What are you reading?" is a common a question as "what are you watching?"

>> No.943543

>>943527
>>What impact would that be?

The fact that you'd be hard-pressed to find a child (or an adult, for that matter) alive today who hasn't read the books or seen the films. Harry Potter is fucking everywhere. It made kids who hated books sit down and read. A whole generation of kids grew up with Harry Potter. It's this generation's Lord of the Rings, and if you choose to hate it just because it isn't some serious "intellectual" satire on politics and sociology, then fuck you.

>> No.943548

>>943535
>Billions of people apperntly have the same taste as me.

Twilight fans say the same thing.

>> No.943549

It's a good series. Enjoyable, fun, a great setting / world, likable characters, I really have no major complaints.

The first two books were most obviously targeted at children but still enjoyable, and the last book suffered from dragging in the middle (the camping as others said) as well as probably being two books forced into one, but it was still a lot of fun and expanded on the mythos of the series (yes, pretentious word, I couldn't think of a better one though)

The characters (and the books themselves) aren't incredibly nuanced or 'intellectual' per se, but they're not supposed to be. If Rowling had tried for that, it would have sucked. It's the kind of book you read because it's fun and it totally absorbs you, and it's highly successful at doing that.

>> No.943552

>>943535

I never said that were good, I said they were epic. And they are. And HP is not. Why is your butt in a state of pain over this matter?


>>943542
>If you don't recall, kids didn't read in the 90s

lol no.

>> No.943551

>>943535

>says who
>fuck off
>to each his own

HE'S FIGHTING A WAR ON THREE FRONTS!

>> No.943555

People lined up at bookstores for this shit. Pre release parties, the whole works. When's the last time that happened before Harry Potter?

>> No.943560

>>943520

have you read the Iliad buddy?

I'm not going to diss it because it is extremely interesting, and it's retarded to try to measure something from a completely different time and culture against modern works from a totally different cultural context

HOWEVER, I guarantee you there is 100% more whining in the Iliad than in Harry Potter

>> No.943563

>>943560
i'd rather read harry potter than the iliad. the former is the better moral lesson anyway.

>> No.943566

>>943560

And that is completely irrelevant since the question was one about epicness.

>> No.943571

>>943563

I love you onionring. If only because you make stagolee look like a competent troll. :3

>> No.943573

>>943555
Never, because no fan base is out-pathetic-ed by Harry Potter fans.

>> No.943578

>>943563

I find them both interesting, and I liked both a lot

but I definitely wouldn't sit down and reread the Iliad to have a good time, whereas Harry Potter is exactly the kind of book for that.

now, cue douches saying "I've read the Iliad 100 times and reading multiple pages of name lists / family tree lists / two-people-fighting-each-other lists is just as interesting each time"

>> No.943581

>>943573
More like, there has been nothing in literature prior to Harry Potter that popularized literature.

>> No.943583

>serious discussion about the merits of harry potter

golly gee i hadn't see one of these threads for about two days it was definitely time for another one

>> No.943582

>>943573

apple fans?

>> No.943585

>>943573
>twilight

>> No.943590

>>943581
you know there was a midnight release party for Breaking Dawn, right?

I guess Twilight is "popularizing literature" like Harry Potter did.

>> No.943591

>>943578
>I love reading badly written stuff that doesn't make any sense, is fraught with deus ex machinae, has no interesting or developing or more than 1D characters

Cool story bro, but what the fuck are you doing on /lit/? Might as well hang out on some fanfic forum where these needs of yours will be more thoroughly satisfied.

>> No.943588

>>943566

I was pointing out that your snobbish contrast between classical crap vs. Harry Potter is fairly subjective, and 'epic' tales like the Iliad contain just as much if not more whining

it was completely relevant

>> No.943593

>>943578
the dudes killing each other is interesting yea. it's like a trading card game. strongest card from this and this region pwning that other card.

still, the difference is that you are forced to write papers on the iliad, so you have to take it srsly when it doesn't really deserve that kind of respect. Unless you are some kind of classics major interested in the historical value of the document.

>>943571
:3

>> No.943595

>>943573
You're joking right? I'm not even going to elaborate on Twilight. Most of Harry Potter's massive fanbase are CHILDREN OR PEOPLE WHO WERE CHILDREN WHEN THEY READ THEM. Are you seriously going to attack kids like that? Twilight on the other hand is targetted to teens, who still manage to act like 5 year olds around it.

>> No.943596

>>943583
HUUURRRRRR!!!!!!
>someone has a different taste in literature than me, therfore it's an invalid thread and worth saging

>> No.943598
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943598

>>943581
>Harry Potter popularized literature

>What's most annoying is when people hail J. K. Rowling as the savior of literature, like we were in a literary dark ages before she came along and made children believe in the power of books once again. The fact of the matter is that Rowling's series hasn't slowed the steady decline in American illiteracy, because the decline has increased. In December 2007, the New Yorker cited polls by the Census Bureau and the National Endowment for the Arts, which stated that in 1982 only 57% of Americans read a work of literature, by 1992 it had dropped to 54%, and in 2002 (two years after The Goblet of Fire was published, well during the Harry Potter craze) it had dropped to 46%. The sudden popularity of Harry Potter is an isolated incident which has failed to make a dent against American illiteracy. It is much more likely that the kids who read Harry Potter are not reading more books in their free time, but browsing facebook, listening to iPods, and texting on their cell phones. It seems as though fans of Harry Potter only like reading if the book has the words "Harry Potter" on the cover.

>> No.943601

I like how everybody thinks they're so original for coming to the realization that Harry Potter contains plot holes. Next thing you'll be saying that Twilight is full of purple prose.

>> No.943612

>>943590
I bet it wasn't world wide packing every single book store in the nation. I remeber the HP book 7 release, Borders was so packed we went to WalMart. There was a line snaking throught the eniter store. They rearanged stuff to prepare for it. And this was WALL MART. There were guys walking from the back with pallets stacked 15 or 20 high with new books, coming to replenish the supply.

>> No.943618

>>943601
lol, this guy is so pathetic, he saved the link so he could sage twice and still has something to say.

>> No.943623

>>943591

>Cool story bro, but what the fuck are you doing on /lit/?

it's a good question, really, and I don't have an answer. I actually enjoy things, and I like talking to people who also enjoy things. People like that seem to be rare on this board - instead, it's a bunch of aspies engaging in verbal dick-measuring contests.

>> No.943621

>>943598
Anybody hailing JKR as a saviour of literature is very much exaggerating. She got lucky with the books, especially the first ones, and after a while they just sort of wrote themselves. The thing that people who argue against Harry Potter don't understand is that nobody can really argue against it logically. I don't think anybody can say its very complex, the world she creates is right and perfect, or that it has intriguing themes or anything. They are enjoyable, and very much. You can compare them to stuff like Twilight and Inheritance, but the fact of the matter is that more people enjoy them which obviously means that at some level they are better written. Many people might be turned off by the writing, but most aren't. I find that you can be really into intellectual and more praised literature, but still get into HP.

>> No.943625

>>943598
>december 2007
>after the last HP book came out

>> No.943629

>>943623

So not liking bad lit makes you an aspie now. Good to know. I'll be sure to inform my doctor.

>> No.943632

>>943629

don't bother. there's no cure for your personality.

also my e-dick is biggest

>> No.943639

>>943632
>>943632

Emma Watson here, you just won the right to fuck me!

>> No.943643
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943643

>You can compare them to stuff like Twilight and Inheritance, but the fact of the matter is that more people enjoy them which obviously means that at some level they are better written.

You do know Twilight and Inheritance are popular and have a dedicated fan base that enjoys reading them, right?

Can you Harry Potter fags defend your series without referring to how popular it is? This is supposed to be literary discussion, not a popular contest. Popular does not necessarily mean good.

>> No.943657

>>943643
no shit they have a fanbase, but are you honestly going to say that Parry Hotter's isn't the biggest? And yeah, at some level when you are talking about something like Harry Potter that has almost no literary depth to discuss, it pretty much boils down to popularity when comparing it other similar franchises.

>> No.943661

>>943643
Cons:
>plot holes
>flat and outright stupid characters
>formulaic story telling
>wish-fulfillment bullshit
>deus-ex-machinas
>baby tier prose

Pros:
>it's popular and made lots of $$$!
>it's popular and made lots of $$$!
>it's really popular!
>it made lots of $$$!

>> No.943700

>>943591
>deus ex machinae
>>943661
>deus-ex-machinas

The plural is dei ex machina you illiterate plebeians.

>> No.943711

>>943700
why don't you go pronounce Caeser with a hard K, you faggot?

>> No.943714

>>943661
and yet all those cons amount to nothing when a child ten years ago read it.

>> No.943732

>>943714
yet it amounts to everything when that child who read it ten years ago tries to convince me that Harry Potter is good literature

>> No.943742

i don't see why you guys are so mad over a popular children's book.

>> No.943747

>>943732
i would disagree with anybody who says its good literature. Nobody in their right mind would say that is good literature.

>> No.943760

>>943742
heh true dat. this is the pretentious lit forum tho

>> No.943773

>>943742
this is 4chan. go to any board and you will people mad all over the place.

>> No.943806

I enjoy them. The subtle humour, allusions to Greek mythology,and our own world, the moral issues raised. I particulary loved snapes development as a character.
Ok they're not great literature, but I feel like children will be reading them for hundreds of years to come.

I for one cried like a bitch when I read deathly Hallows.

Haters gonna hate.

>> No.943821

I was just thinking that if voldemort looked like he did in the second film. I would have wanted him to win... so hawt

>> No.943850

>>943806
no manly tears from me, but the more I think about Snape, the sadder I get.

>> No.943868

>>943445
Ginny/tom riddle for me

>> No.943908

It was weird reading them for me because i read books 1-6 after I saw the movies. I guess I enjoyed book 7 alot because I hadn't seen the movie before.

>> No.943927

>>943520

Double nigger, the Illiad is about some guys who killed each other. And a guy ran from a river. Who are you to define an epic? Stupid cunt.

>> No.943977

>>943530

>poorly written

Explain yourself. You're so glib, you're like a dickless wonder.

>> No.944449

the whole deathly hallows thing in the last one was kinda dumb. it was just shoved in there because she needed something new for the title.

>> No.944579
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944579

>>943351
>addicting