Thursday, July 26, 2007

Pottersville




I have never seen so many people reading the same book. The closest I've seen was when many folks were reading Motherless Brooklyn on the subway. This is a whole other level, though. On the subway, at work, on the Long Island Railroad, adults not only do not hide their engrossment in children's literature, but flaunt it.

I have staunchly resisted reading the Potter books, as I resist most trends. Generally, I find the taste of the masses to be not only not my taste, but flat-out terrible. (See Chuck & Larry, Beyonce, and Tom Clancy, W., for instance.) I think, though, I will start reading the Potter books, beginning with number one. I have been turned, not by the release of the new book, but by the Goblet of Fire movie, which played on HBO ceaselessly for a while. It's really enjoyable.

Sometimes the masses are right, I guess. (See the Beatles, for instance.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I relate. I am usually quite a few years behind everyone else in appreciating certain musical groups.

I remember as a kid hating what I considered the utterly moronic buffoonery of Jerry Lewis. But years later, I saw one of his goofy skits and somehow "got it." Cracked me up.

As for Potter, though, I think I'll pass for now... though as an adult I did get a kick out of T.H. White's The sword in the stone about Merlin, Morgan le Fey? and King Arthur.--Scribe29

La Misma said...

I'm with you on the Potter trend. I don't like fantasy, so I just can't get into the books or the movies. Lord of the Rings, same. Do not like air, either. Or breathing.

Why don't you join the human race?

Ha ha! A rather labored joke is attempted here. I really wanted to tell you a) I've sent you a Scrabble invite to your verizon account and b) you said you'd watch my movie.

La Misma said...

Sorry for the churlish tone. Three terribly heavy work days in a row, is the cause. Scrabble would be fun though, huh? C'mon, play with me.

vacuous said...

I know too many people who are eagerly reading the latest Potter installment. I went to the bookstore this past Saturday and the place was mobbed with people. Everyone was picking up their reserved copies, and I saw them literally wheeling in crates of the damn books. Did you know that J.K. Rowling is a billionaire?

Anyway, I just wrote a post on my site which mentions Harry Potter and even Lord of the Rings, and then I came over to this site to find those two subjects touched on. Talk about synchronicity.

Anonymous said...

What's shakin. Hope you don't mind the cross-posting of comments..but I hope you are doing okay with work, school, life in general and are recovering from your "jumping". That was seriously f'd up. Enough of the chit chat.

As for Potter, and speaking as one of the converted, it's enough to say that sometimes the masses get it right. To call them children's literature is to say that fantasy, escapism and creativity lie in the realm of minds younger than ours. If it is, then count me in - 'cus the stories rock...and as usual the movies suck all the joy and content out that the true mass media can't digest. Hope you enjoy the series.

Peace out.

beckett said...

Brunfus: I am fine. It was Glen who suffered the jumping. He's okay. I suspect he will be posting again soon with an update.

Now that the semester is going, I doubt I'll get to read any Potter for some time, especially as I am still in the middle of Against the Day, which is both very good and very long.

Hope all is well with you and yours.