Books I Loathed discussion

I don't exactly hate Harry Potter. In fact, I might even consider myself a fan. Sort of. I mean, I enjoyed the books...somewhat. But there are some SERIOUS technical problems with it, and sometimes I feel that Harry Potter is praised more for its appeal to children and its fulfillment of the MOST BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF ANY BOOK than for being actually stylistically good. For example, people might praise it for "every character has their own storyline?" Uh...isn't that what all books are supposed to have (technically)? People praise it for "characters that have depth." Well, I may be the only one, but I'd say that if an author doesn't have characters with depth, s/he is a pretty bad author. The trick with characters isn't particularly for them to have depth--that's a requirement, for me. It's to make them interesting and unique to set them apart from other average books.

I find that Rowling writes sympathetic characters, but they don't stand out in literature--or even YA--as a whole. I found her plotting to be haphazard and forced along by plot devices, and her prose to be stylistically empty and just...lacking. She has imagination, but she doesn't have the skill to harness and execute that imagination accordingly and I felt that HP suffered because of it. The Deathly Hallows, while an adequate book, is embarrassingly bad for someone of Rowling's experience as an author, in my opinion.

I dunno. Am I the only one? Sometimes I feel so alone in my objections to this series...

Jocelyn wrote: "I don't exactly hate Harry Potter. In fact, I might even consider myself a fan. Sort of. I mean, I enjoyed the books...somewhat. But there are some SERIOUS technical problems with it, and sometimes..."

I know I tried to read the first volume and couldn't hack it. It creeped me out. Sick sense of life.

book just didn't appeal to me, just like LOTR

I feel like she's just very overrated. People love the books because they're part of their childhood, so they overlook any and all flaws with it. Criticizing Harry Potter for a lot of people would be destroying the magic of their childhood and admitting something they cared so deeply about was flawed, I guess. (That's not a criticism of the fans, I'm like that with other book series I read as a kid and only realised as an adult weren't actually all that good...)

I completely missed the HP boat - I was an avid fantasy fan who was already reading adult-level books by the time HP came out, so I turned my nose up at it with a pretentiousness only 10-year-old snobs can achieve - so I don't have any comforting nostalgia to coast me through the books. They're unreadable to me.

Anyway you're not alone, I don't care for Rowling or the HP series at all.

Jocelyn wrote: "I don't exactly hate Harry Potter. In fact, I might even consider myself a fan. Sort of. I mean, I enjoyed the books...somewhat. But there are some SERIOUS technical problems with it, and sometimes..."

How could you?

black lamb wrote: "I feel like she's just very overrated. People love the books because they're part of their childhood, so they overlook any and all flaws with it. Criticizing Harry Potter for a lot of people would ..."

I finished Lord of the Rings, Emma, and the Hobbit by the third grade. It is not that abnormal to be reading high-level novels by a young age.

Bellatrix wrote: "black lamb wrote: "I feel like she's just very overrated. People love the books because they're part of their childhood, so they overlook any and all flaws with it. Criticizing Harry Potter for a l..."

Well, yes. Hence me referring to my 10-year-old self as a "pretentious snob". I thought I was a genius and that children's books were "beneath" me.

I think she is a good writer but not nearly as good as people say.

I think people often confuse "popular" writers with "good" writers. JK, like Stephanie Meyer, lacks finesse and technique. She's got a good story line, but no skill to back it up. But she appeals to kids, and I guess authors that appeal to the mass children's market are few and far between.

J.K Rowling isn't an amazing or revolutionary writer when it comes to her technique but I just love the books. They're fun and easy to read and the plot just captivated me right from the beginning. It might be a children's book in many eyes but I'm 16 and probably a teen by niw yet I still thoroughly enjoy the Harry Potter books. Call me nostalgic but I think they're brilliant!

Although Harry Potter is my favourite series of all time, and it will always have a very special place in my heart, I definitely agree that there are many flaws to it, just like any other book or series. JK Rowling is very popular, but not the best. I adore the plot and the world has always captivated me, but the more and more times I re-read the books the more flaws and mistakes I find.

Love "Potter" do not like the two books she's written for adults. I just don't care for her character development or lack there of with her adult works. I read every genre so it's not "Oh, it's not sci-fi/fantasy/sword and sorcery so I didn't like it" it really is the work itself. Thankfully, there are plenty of books out there and I don't have to read anything I don't want to anymore. :)

I did like The crime novel she wrote but found the other one boring.

I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's?) Stone as my daughter's class were reading it when she was about ten (four years ago) and she loved it. The story was ok, very easy to get into, but I never felt the desire to read another one. My daughter, however, followed the tale to the very end. My nine-year-old son enjoys the films (which I personally find truly terrible). I guess it's an age thing? Saying that, I tried both of Rowling's newer works and found those to be somewhat childish as well, despite the cuss words and adult themes. I think it will be hard for her to ever really 'move on' from Harry Potter, but if she makes my kids happy, I'm happy.

I don't HATE Harry Potter per se, but I'm not a big fan either. Rowling seems like she is a lovely woman in real life and I have nothing against her as a person. I just never got into the Potter books, or the movies.

Yes, Rowling is not an amazing writer, and her books are targetted at a certain audience and some aspects of the plot or lore can come across as silly but compared to some of the so called plotlines penned by YA authors, her books are coherent, clever, and charming. I guess it's a series you either read at the right age or have an affiliation with or not. Personally I much prefer the books to the movies, which are riddled with failings.

I actually did NOT grow up with the HP series, but I still loved it very much and I hold it close to my heart. I read it when I was 15, (last year) so the HP train was far gone already. So I can say that HP is still really enjoyable and IMO, a great read for those even if you didn't grow up with them. I think the BEST thing about HP, something almost no other book series is, is a great and huge community. Being able to socialize with others about books you enjoyed is such a big influence as to how much you like the series, and I find the HP community has me appreciate HP even more. :)

HAAAAAATE ROWLING!!! I HAAAAATE HARRY POTTER TOO!!