I Like Harry Potter
Where on earth does this sniffiness come from, in regard to other people's reading matter?
It's not just taste. Many many people don't enjoy Shakespeare or Joyce, but would still nod approvingly to find somebody reading it.
But there's a really common attitude that there's something reprehensible about enjoying JK Rowling or Dan Brown. As though some crime were being committed. If you were to ask the sniffers, they'd probably tell you said crime was the destruction of literature, the implication being that for every copy of HP sold a copy of Ulysses is pulped. Which is nonsense.
For what it's worth, I like weird art, high art, inaccessible art, popular art, soap operas, modern jazz... and I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code and I love Harry Potter.
I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code because I enjoyed trying to solve the puzzles and I was carried along by the fast pace and the cliffhangers and, quite simply, I wanted to know what would happen next. Yes, it was badly written. Yes, the tendency to unnecessary exposition was annoying. But it was a ripping yarn, and I enjoyed it. I rarely find fiction to be perfect - there's normally something annoying about most stuff I read, but there'd not be much left if I refused to read anything imperfect.
The Harry Potter books are better than Dan Brown, but they're comparable in one sense: They're not great literature - in the sense that each paragraph is not perfectly composed, but they're fucking good stories. And good writing isn't just about a million subtle metaphors - it's about the content, too.
We may disagree about that. But so what?
What really annoys me is this idea that people should be castigated for what they read, and the suggestion that reading should always be about Improving Your Mind. Why? Why can't it be escapism, leisure, entertainment? Why should one person dictate what another should read, or presume to judge them as being inferior on that basis?
And the one that ticks me off more than anything is when people refuse to read or consume something because it's popular. What? Lots of people like it, therefore it must be rubbish? You're only interested in something if it marks you out as being the member of some kind of elite? You don't want to be associated with The Great Unwashed? What?
Well, anyway. I'm getting back to my Harry Potter.
___
It's not just taste. Many many people don't enjoy Shakespeare or Joyce, but would still nod approvingly to find somebody reading it.
But there's a really common attitude that there's something reprehensible about enjoying JK Rowling or Dan Brown. As though some crime were being committed. If you were to ask the sniffers, they'd probably tell you said crime was the destruction of literature, the implication being that for every copy of HP sold a copy of Ulysses is pulped. Which is nonsense.
For what it's worth, I like weird art, high art, inaccessible art, popular art, soap operas, modern jazz... and I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code and I love Harry Potter.
I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code because I enjoyed trying to solve the puzzles and I was carried along by the fast pace and the cliffhangers and, quite simply, I wanted to know what would happen next. Yes, it was badly written. Yes, the tendency to unnecessary exposition was annoying. But it was a ripping yarn, and I enjoyed it. I rarely find fiction to be perfect - there's normally something annoying about most stuff I read, but there'd not be much left if I refused to read anything imperfect.
The Harry Potter books are better than Dan Brown, but they're comparable in one sense: They're not great literature - in the sense that each paragraph is not perfectly composed, but they're fucking good stories. And good writing isn't just about a million subtle metaphors - it's about the content, too.
We may disagree about that. But so what?
What really annoys me is this idea that people should be castigated for what they read, and the suggestion that reading should always be about Improving Your Mind. Why? Why can't it be escapism, leisure, entertainment? Why should one person dictate what another should read, or presume to judge them as being inferior on that basis?
And the one that ticks me off more than anything is when people refuse to read or consume something because it's popular. What? Lots of people like it, therefore it must be rubbish? You're only interested in something if it marks you out as being the member of some kind of elite? You don't want to be associated with The Great Unwashed? What?
Well, anyway. I'm getting back to my Harry Potter.
___
Labels: Culture
4 Comments:
I read The DaVinci Code long before all the hype or the movie and can honestly say I didn' like it. And I've never read any Harry Potter. My kids have read them dozens of times each and I assume they will with the last book as well. But I never judge someone for what they read. I'm just glad they're reading, especially if they're under 30. Kudos to JK for making a generation of readers.
Hallelujah!
I read Angels and Demons before the Da Vinci code hype-machine (and consequenly the Dan Brown bashers) rolled in, and I loved it. For precisely the reasons you've stated above. The ending is preposterous but the puzzles and codes along the way kept me turning the pages. the same went for the Da Vinci code.
I've brought HP in to work with me - despite it being such a weighty volume. Just have to read it every spare moment I get (having only managed to obtain my copy on Sunday afternoon).
Too right! I love Harry Potter and thoroughly enjoyed the Da Vinci Code. *And* (wait for it) I have a doctorate in LitRA-CHA.
This type of attitude is so pervasive, and normally so disingenuous. I mean, it's ok to say "not my taste," but make a moral issue out of it.... Phhffft.
I wholeheartedly agree (sorry, you don't know me but I was compelled to write!!)
I enjoyed Dan Brown very much - not bowled over by the style or anything, but totally gripped by the story. As for HP - I am a die hard fan, and think its fantastic that so many people enjoy it. I hate when people feel the urge to look down their noses at something as being "less than". Personal taste is exactly that and screw everyone else!!
Becca :)
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