to not understand why adults find harry potter so good?

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I never really got into harry potter but people told me I was missing out so I have watched all 7 films in the name of research

I still can't understand why it made it so big when there are better fantasy films and books aimed at the children and teenager market?

I certainly don't understand the attraction to adults, I found them very dull and formulaic

if you are a fan - what is it I'm not getting? if you compare them to narnia, or his dark materials, or hitchhikers guide or Asimov then there is no comparison. I much prefer Pratchett or Iain m banks or gainman

am I the wrong age - I was about 18 when the first book came out

I didn't know what all the fuss about Harry Potter was about until I started reading the books whilst abroad and struggling to find something lighthearted to read.

When not reading nonfiction, I like reading for pleasure and escapism. HP fits this perfectly. But I also find the books really satisfying. It's hard to explain but they sort of "hit the sweet spot" for me. I mean, things like the character of Snape... the way he was bullied by HP's dad and secretly loved HP's mum... and gave the ultimate sacrifice for the forces of good. It showed a complexity of character and an understanding I have rarely encountered even in adult fiction. HP's dad was a 'popular' person and unthinkingly bullied someone who was a loner - he is overall a "goodie" in the books but I like that touch.

Also stuff like the fringe newspaper - the Quibbler - that turns out to be the one place reporting the truth when everything's been taken over by Voldermort's followers. The books near the end are a bit of a political education in general IMHO!

I know JK Rowling has suffered depression and there are elements of the books that show that, especially the "dementors". I've still never found a better description of depression than the way those creatures are described. I guess JKR has a really similar worldview to me, so everything fits so satisfyingly into place. Hmm maybe there are two types of people in the world - love/hate HP!

OP, you'll hate this once in the depths of depression and struggling with flashbacks I imagined I was casting a spell (Patronus!) to keep the nasty stuff at bay, and as a psychological technique it helped .

The only exception to my love of HP is the very last bit where they're all older and married and their children are going to Hogwarts. I don't dislkie the ending, just it doesn't sit quite right after the perfection (IMO) of the reast.

Element- I think you summed that up brilliantly. It really is that "grey" quality of the characters that brings it to life. The characters are flawed and human and the way the books explore morality and good and evil is actually really nuanced for a children's book. It's what makes them so special IMO. Rowling's character building and the meticulous way those books were planned and executed make them magic. It more than makes up for the sometimes clunky prose.

Fuzzy in that case I apologise.

Windchime - I read the Harry Potter books because I enjoy them - I find them fun and entertaining. That's one of the main reasons that I read anything, to be honest. Reading is a hugely pleasurable activity for me, and if I find an author or book or series I enjoy, I will re-read them often.

I read for information too, to learn about history or people or whatever, but the main reason I read is pleasure - isn't that true for most readers?

I don't think there is any book, author or series that is universally popular - I'm just glad there have been, and are, so many authors out there, writing books for our delectation and delight. It doesn't matter if I don't like a particular book - there are bound to be some people who do like it, and if it gives them pleasure, that's what matters.

It does upset me when people look down on other people for their choice of literature - it seems like a form of academic or literary snobbery to trumpet one's disdain for popular fiction like HP. There are plenty of books I do not enjoy - do I judge those who do like them? No. I am just glad that there is such a huge range of fiction and non-fiction available, that there is something for every reader to enjoy!

I would add, IMO the books get better as they go on too, I guess that's a lot to do with how the characters are revealed as things progress. The generation that grew up alongside the books would have found the complexity and subject matter growing up alongside them.

It is very easy to look at style and dismiss it as 'badly written,' and far far less easy to look at a novel ( as a whole baggy wonderful creature) and see it's craft in many layers on a macro level.

YY, agree with that completely. JKR does have faults (and so I'm sure do loads of more respected adult fiction writers). But she does also have really strong points, too. And it's not as if there are set rules with fiction, is it? There's no formula for a good book or even a good, well written sentence. Even when people attempt to measure what's good and what's not - with literary prizes and the like - they're hopelessly caught up in the moment, and the hype of it all. That's why people rave about certain books, which fifty or even ten years later seem embarrassingly bad.

Oh, and it does matter what narrative does, because the thread is full of people implying (or outright saying) that if you read HP you must be dim.

I like the books purely because they're fun and as a fantasy fan it's actually nice to read books where female characters have roles other than eye candy and love interest, Sir Terry's books are also good in that regard.

The Books are amazing. Ive yet to see the films as the first few where a disappointment as it didnt include important harry potter stuff. No mention about the letters to harry when he lived under the stairs for example. Yabu as if you read the books you realise why they sooo good. I personally dont understand the discworld series so each to their own.

I personally dont understand the discworld series so each to their own.

londonrach I understand why you don't like/ get discworld. it's a commentary on other fantasy books and the earlier ones especially have lots of in jokes.

I have read the early potters (about half an hour each) and didn't get what was so good either. yes they are readible but not the most amazing thing ever - hence the reason I didn't read the rest of the series. if I begin to watch a series on TV and the first couple of episodes don't grab me I'm not likely to watch to the end of the series

I was about 18 when the books first came out. I really enjoyed them, but have sometimes struggled to pin point why, because they are not very original at all

I think it's the detail of the characterisation and the relationships between the characters, and the little social observations, that are really good.