[HPforGrownups] Why do adults read Harry Potter?

[Starling]

No: HPFGUIDX 17167

Hey sabrina!

Well, as a college junior, i know the pain of papers, so good luck getting all your info together.
I have a lot of friends who love HP too, and we just enjoy the fact that it isn't here.  This universe is very intricately created and gives us something to get lost in when the real world is getting too pesky.  
I personally love the sense of fun that pervades this book.  Every time I start to read I get the feeling that JKR had just as much fun writing it as I do reading, which just increases my enjoyment.  

This really isn't "children's literature," as it's usually defined.  ( I worked in a library in high school.  To this day I am dismayed by the pap that we give our children to read.)  These books require thought.  There are a lot of difficult issues dealt with, directly and indirectly.  A lot of the books I grew up reading had were "happily ever after" and they drove me nuts: noone ever gets hurt, mommy and daddy suddenly decide not to get divorced after all, that F on the paper was a mistake and would be fixed right away...blech!
 The books I really love, and reread to this day, like "Little Women" or the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, acknowledged that death occurs, that people don't always get enough to eat, etc.  Bad things happen, and HP doesn't shy away from that.  This "artifical universe" is a lot more realistic than some stories that are supposed to be set in the "house next door."  I use reading as escapism, true, but a story that is nothing but sweetness and light rings false with me.  My world has dark aspects to it, everyone's does.  JKR acknowledges that, instead of ignoring it, and she uses the bittersweet to great effect.  

But I think the real reason I love these books so much is magic. I always thought that being able to use magic would be the coolest thing in the world.  I can't (darned Muggleness! <g>), so I have to let the books do it for me, in the way that only a good book can. 

Abbie, who wishes that more authors wrote books for the kiddie/teenage crowd with such a style that even the grownups could enjoy.  Or maybe more grownups are just finding their inner kid... <g>
starling823 at yahoo.com
69% obsessed with HP and loving it
"Ah, music," Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes.  "A magic beyond all we do here!"
          -HP and the Sorcerer's Stone


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: sabrinarae77 at yahoo.com 
  To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, 19 April, 2001 7:01 PM
  Subject: [HPforGrownups] Why do adults read Harry Potter?


  I am a graduating college senior doing a paper on HP and why adults 
  love the books so much.  I would love your input (those of you who 
  have already, thank you!).  Please reply or email me with why you love 
  them so much, why they are great literature, etc. and include your 
  age.  Thank you so much for your help!

  Sabrina


        Yahoo! Groups Sponsor 
       
       

  _______ADMIN________ADMIN_______ADMIN__________

  From Monday 12th March, all OT (Off-Topic) messages must be posted to the HPFGU-OTChatter YahooGroup, to make it easier for everyone to sort through the messages they want to read and those they don't.

  Therefore...if you want to be able to post and read OT messages, point your cyberbroomstick at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter to join now! For more details, contact the Moderator Team at hpforgrownups-owner at yahoogroups.com.

  (To unsubscribe, send a blank email to hpforgrownups-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com) 

  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]