Harry Potter
quote:
Originally posted by SadGeezer:
Ah yes, but would it be as popular. It’s one of the most popular series of childrens books in the world! And I thought the movie was pretty good.
While popularity is never a good barometer for quality, you’re absolutely right, Sad. Rowling is poised to become the *first* billionaire author. The very first. Ever. And she freakin’ deserves every last penny of it. J.K. Rowling wrote her books as a single mom, on the dole, while working as a waitress to support her baby. Her books did, and continue to do well because they don’t pander to their audience. They *understand* children, their thought processes, their instincts, what captures their imagination, better than just about any other books out there. And she has, by not treating kids like idiots while providing them with densely-packed and imaginative fiction, introduced more children to the joys of reading than just about any author you could possibly name. Sure, DT may look down upon her books because her works aren’t particularly “literary” enough, but she has done what a more “respected” author quite probably could not: got childrens’ noses in books. They are more likely to move on to something DT might find more “acceptable” than other children, whose idea of quality entertainment is sitting in front of the TV or playing their X-Box.
More power to her, I say. I may not think the movie is the best thing in the world, but I hope that it continues to rake in the dough, and that her books continue to fly off the shelves with its help.
–Aleck