To be surprised DSs teacher claims Harry Potter are her favourite books?

[bluegreenruby]

She teaches English and I would surely have expected a little more sophistication from someone with an English degree?

@SheWoreBlueVelvet it's subjective!

You're not convincing me, sorry.

I'm 31, have a degree and I fucking LOVE Harry Potter.

Have you read the books OP?

it's like someone with a degree in Music saying their favourite music is Little Mix!

So frigging what if someone with a music degree's favourite music is Little Mix? Cultural snobbery doesn't make you cool or interesting, OP.

Not angry at all OP, just confused why you're surprised that a "children's" book shouldn't be a favourite.

Stop being such a snob.

I'm in my 40s, I love HP and it has been a huge joy to share it with my dc. Dc1 is 11 and lending me his books; they might not be Chinua Achebe but I've read some cracking stories and found some wonderful common ground with him.

And as a nervous new year 6, he came home bubbling with excitement because his new teacher had a copy of his current favourite book on her desk. Books matter.

I'm 45 and HP is much loved... 'always'.

Don't be such a snob.

YABVU to say that HP is a children's book!

Is it me???

Awww OP you are 100% a muggle.

I love Harry potter AND little mix....

So where does that leave me?? 😂

And FYI Harry potter series is defo not a children's book.

I feel a bit sorry for you OP coz you are getting slated. Never badmouth Harry potter you might find yourself banned to Azkaban 🙂

Not strange at all, as far as I'm concerned. They might be professional favourites, rather than personal ones, but even then, HP is great and trust me, with children's lit, they could say an awful lot worse. I teach English and Drama btw. Studied poetry and Old English, have MA in Creative Writing, love HP.

I'm sure that Harry Potter instilled a love of reading into many 30 somethings.

Considering HP books have two theme parks plus the WB studio tour, 8 films, a whole section in Tottenham Court Road primark A shop at kings cross, Merchandise in pretty much every supermarket and toy shop, a Lego range, all dedicated to its success I doubt she is the only one . I could go on.

@Onestep2 You made me chuckle!

Such muggle behaviour from the OP

I usually went with Harry Potter or series of unfortunate events. I think most parents would shit a brick if I confessed it was Sex by Madonna.

I see you've had a good telling off by people... a little harshly perhaps. Perhaps your surprise comes from the fact that, as an English graduate she would have read and studied a great quantity of books that are better written and therefore you perhaps, would assume that she would prefer something of more merit.

I think a favourite book is not really about quality, more about how it personally connects with you and at what time in your life you read it. Harry Potter is exceptional and popular, because it has the ability to make deep connections with people, perhaps that's why people are so savagely defending it.

I don't have a degree (dropped out) so perhaps I'm not the best to offer an opinion, but I love all kinds of books from Harry Potter to Stephen King... it doesn't mean I don't love Nabakov or Murakami.

I'm 36 and have a Law degree. I read all sorts of books for pleasure but my favourite books are the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pulman. 'Kids'/youth books that I first read aged 35....

I also love classical music AND heavy metal (and everything in between). Shock. Horror.

People are allowed to enjoy things they find, er, enjoyable

Ps I type this while sat lounging in my Harry Potter pyjamas and Danger Mouse socks

The first couple books are children's books. Then they get far more complex. But what JKR has always been best at (in the HP Series, in Casual Vacancy, and in the Robert Galbraith books) is a) creating a fully inhabited world and b) sketching the character of a person in a few oblique sentences. Those are skills that very few authors have, particularly in combination. Anyone who doesn't recognize it as real craft is missing the point of it.

Sounds fine to me. Maybe it is and maybe she just can't say she likes 50 shades of grey so she made it up. My son's reception teacher says her favourite book is going on a bear hunt but I expect that's just her favourite book aimed at 4/5 year olds rather than what she likes reading herself.

Can't stand Harry Potter personally and I think that the people who obsess over it and make it into a huge part of their life are missing something in other areas tqbh. But yabu to judge her for saying they're her favourite book. It's bland shite, but it's her bland shite.

I have an English degree and I teach English at a secondary school. I love HP! As a matter of fact I had dismissed them as kids books but at a university interview in 1999 (for an English degree) and i’m ageing myself there...my interviewer asked me if I had read them. I said I hadn’t. He raved about them, so I thought they were worth a go. I fell in love with them. Now I make it a point to read current YA books if I can. How can I talk to my students about books if I don’t keep up to date? I’d go so far as to say the Harry Potters are a modern classic. I’ve derived as much pleasure from reading them as I have from anything else i’ve read. They’re so immersive and very well written. Whatever gets people reading I say!

Most people grow out of this kind of snobbery during their sixth form years when they learn that quoting Thomas Hardy and Proust doesn't make them an intellectual and isn't the equivalent of having a personality.

I'm afraid it also shows a deep lack of understanding of how reading and literature works. You're showing your ignorance.

If she had insisted her favourite was a known classic and hid the truth then I'd be more worried. It's good she openly says that she loves the Harry Potter series as you can be reassured she's not blinkered and prejudice when it comes to choosing which books to teach (if she has a choice).

...also really looking forward to sharing HP with my daughter when she’s old enough. Reading is something I found on my own, not something my parents were terribly interested in. I hope she can find as much joy in books as i’ve been able to.