Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings

[Cathy Drolet]

No: HPFGUIDX 108807

This is only my opinion if you're interested in reading the books.

Harry Potter (HP to save myself typing) is by far the easier read for several reasons. Lord of the Rings (LOTR) is set in a completely made up fantasy world, in a completely different, long-ago time.  The language is different, it's older style English, and some Elvish (an invented language, most of which is translated in the books).  The main story of HP starts in 1991.  It is a fantasy world, but it is a magical world within the normal world of the United Kingdom.  The magical world is, for the most part, hidden from the normal world, but you see enough of the normal world to know it is there.  The language, apart from magical words that you will learn the meaning of in the books, is the same language as we speak (apart from some Britishisms like jumper for sweater and fringe meaning bangs).

Professor Tolkien (LOTR) could be a very, very wordy man.  He could take several paragraphs to describe what J.K. Rowling (HP) describes in a few sentences.  I know people who, when re-reading LOTR, don't read any of the descriptive stuff, just jump from dialogue to dialogue.

LOTR is one long book.  My single book edition is 1008 pages not including the Appendices (which are a very good read on their own).  However, it is mostly published as three books called, in reading order: 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers', and 'The Return of the King'.  You cannot read any one of those books and have any idea of the whole story.  (It is sometimes published as seven books, which makes it even worse.  However, I've only ever seen this as a boxed set.)

HP is one long story. It covers the seven years of magical education Harry Potter receives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  However, each year of education has been broken into a single, stand-alone-story, book.  So you could read, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (book three--year three at Hogwarts) and thoroughly enjoy the book without having read the first two or having any plan to read the next four (only two of which are yet published).  

The one big difference, as I see it, is this, and this to me, is why the HP books are a more enjoyable read.  J.K. Rowling is writing seven mystery books all rolled into one big long mystery story.  She drops hints in, say, book one, about something that won't be played out until, possibly, book four.  It's the reader's job to find those hints and figure them out.  She'll put in a red herring (a subject introduced to divert attention from the truth or matter at issue) to make readers think that bit of information is very important, and the reader has to figure out, for themselves, whether or not it is imortant. For example, a wizard named Dedalus Diggle has been seen or spoken of in the books four or five times.  Nothing of any major importance so far.  The question is, is he going to be important to the story in the two remaining books or is he a red herring....someone J.K. Rowling has put in the books to make readers stew and question, making them overlook something very important, when he is really no one? So, you have to pay attention to every word, every phrase, every person in the books no matter how small their part may seem.  (A perfect example is, there was a person mentioned in the fifth chapter of the first HP book.  It appears he is no one special.  Someone just mentioned in passing.  However, along in one of the other books, this person becomes extremely important as the story is played out.)

HP isn't a book like Danielle Steel would write that you sit down, read it, and forget it.  HP makes you think, and wonder, and theorize, and speculate, and sit on the edge of your seat waiting for the next book, so you can see if any of your theories and speculations have been realized.  At least that's my view.  Lots of people read them and never think about them again.  Don't make connections that are meant to be made, don't go chasing red herrings.  Read them like reading the Little House books.  You can read them that way, but you miss a lot of the fun.  Besides, if you're thinking of one for the train, I can get through the first HP book in 8-10 hours reading (217 pages).  The LOTR takes me a good week.  And you can buy the HP books with 'adult' covers, so people don't know you're reading HP books! ;-)

In reading order, then:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (217 pages)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (245 pages)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (311 pages)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (630 pages)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (760 pages)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (not published yet)
Harry Potter and ?

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