please empty your brain below
"I remain one of the few people on the planet never to have read a Harry Potter book" and also never to have seen a Harry Potter film.

Amateur magicians, all of them

Blue Witch | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 9:09 a.m. | #

Three cheers to DG for not haveing read any of the books. Parenting duties alone have caused me to read two...

I hope to enjoy this film more than the first two, having not read the book beforehand.

NiC | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 9:09 a.m. | #

Funny, I bumped into that filming crew that night too. A bystander told us what all the fuss was about: the new Harry Potter movie. We were on our way to a club in London Bridge and I may not have looked completely out of place as an extra. On second thoughts, no, not a good idea for a family friendly movie.

Ms Tytania | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 9:52 a.m. | #

I've read the first two over-hyped books by That Woman and refuse to read another one, and neither do I have any intention of going to see the movies. The books are totally derivative of much that's gone before them, with hardly an original idea between them, and are, at best, adequately written. OK, you can say that it's brought kids and grown-ups back to reading, but there is so much better stuff around. And don't even start me on a rant about those grown-ups so insecure in themselves that they won't be seen dead reading a children's edition HP, but must read the one with the "adult" cover instead.

I'll go away now and have a nice cup of tea and a lie-down.

Nigel | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 10:24 a.m. | #

There are a hell of a lot of 'show copies' of the books sitting, unread past the first few pages, on kids' bookshelves.

Owning a Harry Potter in the first few hours/days after publication is like having a David Beckham autograph.

I'm not convinced that they have brought a lot of kids back to reading. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that they have served to demonstrate that you don't actually need to make an effort to read books, as all will be provided in a passively consumable form by the great entertainment gods of film/DVD within just a couple of months.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 10:49 a.m. | #

I'm Harry Potter mad, and any naysayers can swallow my wand. I saw 3 yesterday and it's a corker. Those two Titans belonged to Sullivan Buses (perhaps one of the ONLY operators who didn't turn out on the 8 on Friday!) and the Knight Bus was a composite of three RTs bought from preserved stock. The mobile footage was filmed in Hedge Lane in Palmers Green.

Matt | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 7:22 p.m. | #

And my wand, I forgot to mention - broad Yorkshire oak, twelve inches, slight curve in the middle with a bright pink end.

Matt | Homepage | 09.06.04 - 9:49 p.m. | #

I really daren't ask...

diamond geezer | Homepage | 10.06.04 - 12:21 a.m. | #

I can't fire a stag out of it though, it'd end up like Ron's!!

Matt | Homepage | 10.06.04 - 1:04 a.m. | #

I'm no fan of these books either Witchy but they were a big help in getting our eldest into reading.

NiC | Homepage | 10.06.04 - 8:38 a.m. | #

Harry Potter IS utterly over-hyped, but it's a fun, enjoyable read. It's the literary equivalent of a cadbury's chocolate roll - it's not particularly nutritious, but it won't do you any harm unless that's ALL you eat.

Also, a LOT of very excellent books are "derivative." The Lord of the Rings is quite derivative. It all depends on how much you happen to know about the source material for the story. To many (viz. young children), HP is not "derivative" (yet) and it might lead them to other, earlier works on the same theme once they get a little older.

The trick to being "derivative" is to make something new and interesting from the source material and I think Rowling does that with the HP series. Also, there's PLENTY in there that ISN'T at all derivative - there is much that is unique and original. It IS for children, though, so the books purposefully adhere to a formula story arc: The School Year. This is one very useful way to get readers (children) to identify with the story, characters, and themes.

Anyway, I think it's top.

Magpie | Homepage | 10.06.04 - 2:33 p.m. | #











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