tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post1978835629743120528..comments2024-01-19T13:24:15.734+00:00Comments on ::Acquired Taste: Tim Strettonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-18035284409290118932008-01-20T13:01:00.000+00:002008-01-20T13:01:00.000+00:00The series darkens and deepens as it moves on. The...The series darkens and deepens as it moves on. The first one--or indeed two--are standard, if well-crafted, children's books. It's what the later volumes build on that foundation which makes the series remarkable.Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-13584338184799324802008-01-19T19:35:00.000+00:002008-01-19T19:35:00.000+00:00Rowling can indeed be thanked for creating a new g...Rowling can indeed be thanked for creating a new generation of readers (the one just a little older is a dead loss). <BR/><BR/>But one of the most interesting things to me is how many non-reading adults she has converted.<BR/><BR/>I'm not a big fan of JKR myself--not that I have anything against her. I read the first HP book and enjoyed it, but not so much that I was compelled to pick up the second. (Some folks tell me that judging the HP series by the first book is like judging Tolkein by The Hobbit.) I suspect I'll get around to the series sooner or later, and I suspect I'll enjoy it...but I seem to have this huge stack of other books ready to topple over on me.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-57618427774988575152008-01-18T08:22:00.000+00:002008-01-18T08:22:00.000+00:00The invective the series attracts is astonishing t...The invective the series attracts is astonishing to me. Even if it were rubbish, it would be praiseworthy for attracting so many children to reading. <BR/><BR/>Much of the criticism has to be put down to envy--although it would be nice to think that fellow writers are more generous--and the pervasive desire to bring down that which is exalted.<BR/><BR/>Luckily the books are big enough to shrug off such critics.Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-12295567413240975802008-01-17T18:37:00.000+00:002008-01-17T18:37:00.000+00:00Tim, how fantastic to read such a very positive re...Tim, how fantastic to read such a very positive review of the Harry Potter series (which I love. It's so refreshing when the carpers and criticisers are so rampant. I think you're spot on with the comparison with Dickens and also in pointing out the moral and - dare i say it - messianic vision which is (I agree) far better than Lewis or Tolkein. <BR/>Thank you!Alishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406189984167289987noreply@blogger.com