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	phosfate 2003-03-22 12:07 am UTC (link)
	And somebody used the phrase "writing from the archetype," so we're already near the Campbell Invocation Tipping Point. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	nita 2003-03-22 03:08 am UTC (link)
	Q.E.D.! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	phosfate 2003-03-22 05:34 am UTC (link)
	Or "As any fool can see." (Reply to this)(Parent)

	singe 2003-03-22 12:22 am UTC (link)
	I've never been so traumatized! My poor inbox... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	bohicamouse 2003-03-22 05:29 am UTC (link)
	I knew I recognized the name from somewhere--I'd seen you around here, that's why. You know, until I saw your fire icon on LJ, I thought your name was "singe" as in the French word for monkey. Heh. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: singe 2003-03-22 05:39 am UTC (link)
	'Singe' means monkey?! WWAAHAHAAHA!!! That's too good! Thank you for telling me! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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lasayla, 2003-03-22 05:06 pm UTC

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singe, 2003-03-22 06:06 pm UTC

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lasayla, 2003-03-23 08:11 am UTC

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singe, 2003-03-23 08:30 pm UTC

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dine, 2003-03-22 10:53 pm UTC

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singe, 2003-03-22 11:10 pm UTC

	oxydosic 2003-03-22 12:26 am UTC (link)
	Okay i'm putting my neck on the block here, but... Does anybody else NOT see why people think JKR is such a tremendous author? I mean, i'm a Harry Potter fan, but...i don't think her writing style is all that noteworthy. I realize it's a book primarily for kids, but... Am i making any sense here? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	phosfate 2003-03-22 12:37 am UTC (link)
	Naw, s'fair. But she improves a great deal as she goes along. She's the AntiRice. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sajasma 2003-03-22 01:11 am UTC (link)
	Hee! What a marvelous analogy. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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sajasma, 2003-03-22 07:10 pm UTC

	hugsnkisses 2003-03-22 12:39 am UTC (link)
	Harry is like the gateway drug (or something...) since we see the world through his eyes, learn to explore with him, he doesn't need that much of a character. This is especially shown in the films where Ron and Hermione are acted so much better. Because there's more character there to work with. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	nita 2003-03-22 12:43 am UTC (link)
	She's better than 90% of the children's writers out there. Which, sadly, says lot about the quality of kids books. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	embla 2003-03-22 01:07 am UTC (link)
	>She's better than 90% of the children's writers out there. >Which, sadly, says lot about the quality of kids books. I don't agree with that. I have read many, many, MANY books as a kid and then for my kids, and as literature a lot them are way much better than the Harry Potter books. I think Harry Potter is the ultimate hype. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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sajasma, 2003-03-22 01:14 am UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 02:53 am UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 03:00 am UTC

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ymfaery, 2003-03-22 10:35 am UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 08:30 pm UTC

	cimorene111 2003-03-22 03:52 am UTC (link)
	i disagree as well. or rather, i think she's not nearly in the 90th percentile as far as the quality of writing, but her idea was interesting and original enough to put it above a large number of them. they're more fun to read, certainly, well-written or not. (Reply to this)(Parent)

I hear you!

embla
2003-03-22 12:55 am UTC (link)

Oh, I agree with you. Completely. As a grown-up I think JKR is an utterly, utterly boring writer. I mean, I like the characters and the story is all right I guess. But to be quite honest it's the films that do the trick. Right? Or to be more specific; Alan Rickman :o) I read the first book and then I couldn't be bothered with the rest.

And while I'm out here, putting my neck on the block as well; does any body else have problems with reading Tolkien without falling asleep? I open the book and........ yawn.

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	Re: I hear you! singe 2003-03-22 01:03 am UTC (link)
	Tolkien...the problem there is the over-poetic men he has running about. Aragorn is dull as shit except for that one shining moment on the river when he shrieks "EVERYTHING I DO GOES WRONG!!" (I'm paraphrasing.) But the Hobbits are wunnerful. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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mirabellawotr, 2003-03-22 01:43 am UTC

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pradaloz, 2003-03-22 03:44 am UTC

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singe, 2003-03-22 03:53 am UTC

	Re: I hear you! sagralisse 2003-03-22 03:09 am UTC (link)
	Tolkien's prose isn't the best, but the mythology rawks. I've read LOTR more than a dozen times and new connections still pop out at me every time. If he had Stephen Donaldson's way with words... it'd be like the anti-Ring. You'd read it and die of joy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: I hear you!

cesare
2003-03-22 03:53 am UTC (link)

It's not really fair to judge the HP books by the first one. The first two are standard children's books distinguished only by a light, deft touch and a wealth of humorous, charming re-invention of familiar material.

But it's in the third book that the series really takes off, IMO. JKR's style may be simple, but she's good at plot mechanics and once she starts cranking up the tension, she can really produce a gripping yarn.

What I love about the HP books is that they get more sophisticated and complex as the characters get older. By book four, it's no longer clear exactly who are the good guys, whose motives can be trusted, or what is the right thing to do. I'm really looking forward to the fifth book. If her track record up to now can be trusted, JKR will make this one the most gripping and textured story yet.

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lulinda, 2003-03-22 09:50 am UTC

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cmikhailovic, 2003-03-22 03:12 pm UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 08:47 pm UTC

defenestrate
2003-03-22 10:30 pm UTC (link)

I'm almost done with FotR. I found it to be like reading a history book, not a novel. There's little action, unlike JKR whose style is very straight forward and crisp (the proper words are eluding me...). He includes a lot of little things, quirks and habits of the characters, that one doesn't always consider. Also, from watching the apendicies of the extended movie, one of the speakers commented that Tolkien didn't really have a set plot. I can see that reading the book.

It also irks me that whenever a character gets bored they start singng...

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	singe 2003-03-22 12:59 am UTC (link)
	Her style is very picturesque and action-oriented. People are excited about her mainly because she's easy to read. The plot moves FAST and you care about the characters. My sister is not an avid reader but she zipped through the whopper that was 'Goblet of Fire' easily. She's not Shakespeare, she's just good and that's enough for me. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hugsnkisses 2003-03-22 01:03 am UTC (link)
	waits for someone to come along and start wanking about how JK is the bestest best author evar* and how we don't appricate her brilliance* ... is so jaded (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

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hugsnkisses, 2003-03-22 01:06 am UTC

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someone, 2003-03-22 02:06 am UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 03:07 am UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 08:52 pm UTC

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nita, 2003-03-22 11:45 pm UTC

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sajasma, 2003-03-23 12:07 am UTC

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singe, 2003-03-23 02:53 am UTC

ragnarok
2003-03-22 04:26 pm UTC (link)

I'm going to agree with the rest on this one. No, she's not the end-all be-all of literature, but she's made reading accessible for a lot of kids.

I work in a pediatrics office, and I still remember being utterly awed that these kids were coming in a few summers ago with this fucking enormous book, and having it halfway done. And these were kids who I wasn't even aware could read, not just the geeks. Which accounts for the hype, really. I mean, who (religious weirdos notwithstanding) would want to discourage kids from reading a book where the hero stands up for his friends, embraces those who are different, and values courage and honor?

Personally, I'm just hoping that it sends kids looking for other books, so they can stumble across the aforementioned Narnia Chronicles, or my personal favorite, The Prydain Chronicles. I just finished reading the "Book of Three" to my fiance, and I'd really forgotten how much I loved those books.

And whoa, that all sounded really pretentious, but hey, at least I didn't invoke Campbell!

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kyuuketsukirui, 2003-03-22 11:01 pm UTC

	hugsnkisses 2003-03-22 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Damnit wouldn't it be better if Harry, Ron and Hermione dropped acid, drank each others blood, and had kinky tantric sex? There is only one word (repeated twice!) which can answer this. You all know what that is. JUSTINHARRY 4 EVA!!!1111 (Reply to this)

	lm 2003-03-22 09:10 am UTC (link)
	Damnit wouldn't it be better if Harry, Ron and Hermione dropped acid, drank each others blood, and had kinky tantric sex? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yes. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	oxydosic 2003-03-22 03:04 pm UTC (link)
	I'd pay to read about THAT. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2003-03-22 12:07 pm UTC (link)
	How dare you?! HARRY4DRACO4EVA 11111111111! (Reply to this)