For 13 years now, I've been hearing about Harry Potter. I've never heard anyone that has actually read the books speak negatively of it; all it seems to get is praise. Until now, I've never had the chance to read it. Well... I've had the chance I suppose, but I've never actually picked it up off of the shelf. It just wasn't something I picked to read when I've had time to read for pleasure.
Being that we were given the assignment to read 10 books of the course of the semester, I chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as the book that will fulfill the Fantasy/Science Fiction portion of the assignment. I figured I'd give it a shot since there's so much said about it. To be honest, before I started it, I didn't think I'd like it as I've never been overly interested in the fantasy genre. Needless to say, I was wrong. I started reading the book last night, and before I went to sleep I was on page 180. Seriously, I can't put this thing down. It's a breeze to read, its very entertaining, and the characters are pretty well developed.
As a social commentary, the book is pretty interesting. The way that the author describes the "real world" and the people in it (muggles, they're called) seems to me to be a direct commentary on the way people lose sight of the magic that could be in their lives if they just looked around a little bit. It's certainly made me look around and appreciate the little "magical" things that're out there.
It's written for a younger audience, but I think that it works just as well as an adult novel. If nothing else, it brings an adult back to their youth, when magic really did exist.
I was curious if the hype of Rowling and Harry would negatively influence your reading. It doesn't seem to have. You're hooked. What I'm curious about Tim is what about Rowling's technique is appealing to you or is it just that she's a rollicking story teller. As for the social commentary, for me the muggle/magic world is one that ends up paling in comparison to the social hierarchies and bureaucratic snafus that become more prevalent later in the series. You can already see some of the good/evil trope that's so popular in this genre (think Star Wars). But, for now, you're liking it, and that's a good thing. Keep me posted.
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