The Rowling Loathing Thread!

Bartholomew · Oct 10, 2006

The Truth behind House Elf Dobby:

Potter!

We hates it! Yes! Filthy wizardses! We hates it! It has our precious...

Yes... yes, my precious...

---

Seriously. Ixnay on the uthoray atehay eadthrays.

Ad Astra · Oct 10, 2006

Well, she's certainly not my favorite, and I find HP to be overrated, but I don't hate her.

Scarlett_156 · Oct 10, 2006

When the series first started and got popular I thought I would hate it, but after reading the Harry Potter books, I do like them a lot. They are very well-written and entertaining.

On the other hand, however-- someone who brags about literary and personal rejections in a sig deserves all our pity. Or something.

Elektra · Oct 10, 2006

I absolutely hated the first HP book (at a time when it first came out and I was the target audience). Still do. I also despise Harry as a character in more ways than I can mention right now.

And yet I still get sucked into books 3-6. Everything around me disappears. I'm at Hogwarts, and there is evil and magic and wonderful things all around. That's why J.K. Rowling is a billionaire. She takes normal people and puts magic in their lives.

kuatolives · Oct 10, 2006

I read Neil Gaimen's books of magic. I didn't need to read the plaigerized version.

Toothpaste · Oct 10, 2006

Like KayP pointed out, I think this thread was meant as a parody, a plea for us to stop writing hate threads. Sounds good to me. Can we just nip this one in the bud?

blacbird · Oct 10, 2006

J.K. Rowling is maybe the best example I know of a relatively pedestrian prose crafter with a great story to tell. It's easy to find things wrong with her prose. But the story captivated gajillions of people, especially a large number of YAs who might not have read a damthing otherwise. Not a bad achievement, seems to me. I don't begrudge her the money she's made.

caw

Elektra · Oct 10, 2006

She's also done a lot of great things with her fame and fortune--she's always doing stuff for charity and the like.

enchantedfire5 · Oct 10, 2006

I like the movies but not the books. Well in all honesty I never got past the third book.

Bartholomew · Oct 10, 2006

Toothpaste said:
Like KayP pointed out, I think this thread was meant as a parody, a plea for us to stop writing hate threads. Sounds good to me. Can we just nip this one in the bud?

Sí, Tiene razón.

Parody makes the heart grow fonder.

Right?

expatbrat · Oct 10, 2006

Elektra said:
She takes normal people and puts magic in their lives.

I haven't got around to reading the Harry Potter books yet. I saw the first movie with my Ex Boyfriends mother (read: sad, nasty cow) which probably put me off seeing the rest of them for a while. But they are on my to-do-list and I will not knock nor praise until I've read them and formed my own opinions. Which I will do... one day.

If she can put some magic in my life I'm there. Just as soon as I'm done with Africa (currently working my way through all the Wilber Smith books and loving them).

Sunshine13 · Oct 10, 2006

I loved them. And the movies. Nuff said on my two cents.

maestrowork · Oct 10, 2006

I should be so lucky to have an "I hate..." thread named after me and my book(s)....

I am being SARCASTIC!

expatbrat · Oct 10, 2006

Maestro; do we have to read your book first to bash it?

maestrowork · Oct 10, 2006

yes.

and for every bashing post you have to buy another copy.

Alan Yee · Oct 10, 2006

You will know that you are a "real" writer when you start getting hatemail from readers who were offended by / strongly dislike your book. Or, when your books start flamewars on various messageboards.

(Hmmmm, that sounds like a good thread to start...)

Southern_girl29 · Oct 10, 2006

Loved them, loved them, loved them. Both the movies and the books. I can't wait for the seventh book and the next movie.

expatbrat · Oct 10, 2006

maestrowork said:
yes.

and for every bashing post you have to buy another copy.

Is THAT how both the DVC and the bible sold so many copies?

ChaosTitan · Oct 10, 2006

expatbrat said:
Maestro; do we have to read your book first to bash it?

I think this should be the Second Golden Rule: Don't criticize it if you haven't tried it.

I try not to knock on JK Rowling, because I haven't read any of her books. I probably never will, not when there are so many other books I'd rather read, and so few hours in the day.

maestrowork · Oct 10, 2006

expatbrat said:
Is THAT how both the DVC and the bible sold so many copies?

You think?

ORION · Oct 10, 2006

Many people including me love her books. I have no idea why. I read Kafka, Camus and the classics but for pure escapism...nothing beats Steele, Grisham, Brown, or Rowling.
Harry Potter single handedly provoked my high risk high school students to read and that is a good thing.
Hate is such a strong word to use for literature.
I agree with those who say, "If you don't like it...don't read it."
JMHO

aruna · Oct 10, 2006

I read the first two and wasn't captivated. Then again, I don't like magic.

rugcat · Oct 10, 2006

What criteria are you using to judge the Harry Potter books? Don’t forget, they’re kids’ books, not adult works of fiction.

True, they don’t have the magic and depth of, say, The Wind in the Willows. Few books do. True, they don’t have the characterization, scope, or gravitas, of say, Phillip Pullman. But they’re great fun. They’re for KIDS, remember?

As a matter of taste, you may like them or not, but don’t fool yourself that they’re not well written. Some people don’t like fantasy. Period. You can explain to them all you like why they should, but my experience is that people usually either like it or they don’t. End of story. Much like rhubarb.

I don’t think Rowling is a great writer, but I still enjoy her books immensely. Rhubarb - not so much.

RG570 · Oct 10, 2006

I didn't like it that much at all, but I will say that these so-called children's books are far less condescending than, say, Tolkien. I'll giver her much credit for not writing like she's talking down to her audience, which many children's authors seem to do.

Now, rhubarb is another story. Gotta love the rhubarb.

smelling_salts · Oct 11, 2006

I like the books, although some of the magic is a little off. We all know there's no such thing as floo powder.
The rest is pretty much bang on though.

:wag:

J

The Rowling Loathing Thread!

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