The Potterization Of Modern Life

[Small Man Big Horse]

It's a shame that my favourite fantasy hero Thomas Covenant (a raping leper) did not attract such fandom.

I was convinced this was a character you'd created yourself, but lordy, he does actually exist.

[Kane Jones]

Something similar often used to be said about Enid Blyton.  There was a time, decades ago, when some librarians would apparently even refuse to stock her work, thinking it a bad influence, or that those who read her works tended to only read her and no other writers.  History repeating itself to some extent maybe.

My Mum wouldn't let us read Enid Blyton because she said it was badly written.

Regarding Harry Potter, I read the first one and found it pretty boring. It came out when I was 21 mind you, so it wasn't really aimed at me. I preferred books with bad language and killings in them back then. I've since watched all the films as Mrs Jones likes them. I wasn't arsed by them either. I always fall asleep straight after the Christmassy bits.

I am surprised when someone my age raves about HP and wants to visit Harry Potter World or whatever the fuck that studio tour was all about. But then I like Doctor Who and went to the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff so.. Meh, each to their own.

[hewantstolurkatad]

Harry Potter, in terms of getting people into reading, possibly including myself, more than anything else served as a huge antidote to that Enid Blyton type shit.

As a kid, with two decidedly non-reader type parents, and no real sources of information beyond my family and television, books were fucking overwhelming. In the library you just had this walls of Goosebumps and whatever else. Everything seemed to have about 80 books and they ultimately bore little or no connection to each other.
Being able to be told "here are 3 books, there's a fourth coming maybe next year, they're great and the story follows directly from one into the next, there will be a total of 7 and the ending is already written" was a fucking godsend. I can't imagine it was just me who was starved for things with both consequences (I feel like 90s TV was overloaded with procedurals and no real continuity too) and the prospect of an actual clear ending.

Imagine not liking someone because they're into a different aspect of pop culture than you. How old are you lot? About 13? It's the Harry Potter fans who are lucky that you're not interested in them.

Let me tell you something, gloria, I like wrestling a hell of a lot, I'm probably way more into it than most Harry Potter fans are into HP in terms of how thoroughly it's permeated into my mind (and that's a shoot, brother). Being a thing from actual reality that elements of have managed to creep their way as far as the presidency of the United States, I think I've some pretty fair grounding to assume it's a much more interesting topic that Hogwarts, but I can still manage to describe myself without descending into endless wrestling terminology, I'm able to on the spot list out other wider-spanning interests that are heaps more important to me.

Liking Harry Potter is fine, actively branding yourself as "a harry potter fan" and fuck all else is a bit weird.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Being able to be told "here are 3 books, there's a fourth coming maybe next year, they're great and the story follows directly from one into the next, there will be a total of 7 and the ending is already written" was a fucking godsend. I can't imagine it was just me who was starved for things with both consequences

Didn't you know of the Narnia books?

[BlodwynPig]

"fuck you man, it got me into reading...big time...I read nothing else!"

[Sebastian Cobb]

Children should be made to read Patrick Hamilton and  John Williams until they realise the futility of existence.

[BlodwynPig]

They should have access to an extensive library of diverse tomes of all genres.


https://vimeo.com/12932882

[hewantstolurkatad]

Didn't you know of the Narnia books?

Good question! The answer is effectively no. I had read, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and had some awareness there were other books in the series. But as I had no knowledge whatsoever that it was something different to the legion of other series that never ended and probably weren't written by the one person, I'd've just assumed it was another one of those.


As an expansion on my previous point, I think expecting kids to have no trouble jumping into something 50 years old without anything to bridge the gap is expecting a lot regardless.

[Funcrusher]

I was convinced this was a character you'd created yourself, but lordy, he does actually exist.

My dad was a big fan of those in the 80s.

I don't think Serge is over egging this at all. I currently work in higher ed, and it seems that for most students and most staff I work with who are 30 or under Harry Potter seems to be their main cultural touchstone. Which I find fairly depressing.

[Alternative Carpark]

My Mum wouldn't let us read Enid Blyton because she said it was badly written.

Yeah, that was another reason.  Although I don't think Rowling and Blyton's stuff directly intersects in terms of audiences, to be fair, as the latter's material was probably aimed at a slightly younger age group.

[Dr Rock]

Harry Potter, in terms of getting people into reading, possibly including myself, more than anything else served as a huge antidote to that Enid Blyton type shit.

As a kid, with two decidedly non-reader type parents, and no real sources of information beyond my family and television, books were fucking overwhelming. In the library you just had this walls of Goosebumps and whatever else. Everything seemed to have about 80 books and they ultimately bore little or no connection to each other.

I suppose this was a time when Marvel comics, or comics that aren't The Beano weren't as widely available as they were in the 70s and 80s. That was what I had a ready supply of after exhausting the local library of any fiction I might like (Dr Who novels and Danny Dunn mostly. And I read Enid Blyton too). Or maybe you prefered boy wizards to superheroes.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Enid Blyton: only read Noddy.  Although I'd given up on them by age seven, my Noddy clock with a picture of he and Big Ears against a rural town setting on the face was a prized possession when I was 8 to 9.  Noddy's head used to nod the seconds.  One day his head actually turned upside down, for some reason, and remained so as I was at a loss how to correct that.  Crucially, Noddy still nodded, though.

[Dusty Gozongas]

Working in a bookshop[...]

A proper bookshop, or one of those Waterstones type ones?

If it's the latter, Harry Potter spin-offs isn't the main reason you should be getting annoyed.

[Sin Agog]

I'd say J.K Rowling is one in a long line of a certain type of children's author which begins with E. Nesbit, and no one since has been as cool as Nesbit was.  Aside from the books actually still holding up, she was just a wicked, totally free-spirited person, who helped cement British socialism by founding the Fabian society and promoting socialism everywhere she went.  Nice to see Rowling's keeping the candle burning by...going on anti-Corbyn rants at the drop of a hat.  "Hewwo, Ms. Rowlings! My name is Susi but my friends in my class call me Sue. You're my biggest hero ever! You're soooooo inspiring. Will you sign my copy of Goblet of Fire for me?"  "Of course I will, Sue.  Here you go."  "Thank you ever so much, Ms. Rowlings!  By the way, who is Jewemy Corbin and why must I 'stop him now before he singlehandedly brings down the entire British economy'?"

[Phoenix Lazarus]

A proper bookshop, or one of those Waterstones type ones?

If it's the latter, Harry Potter spin-offs isn't the main reason you should be getting annoyed

What's the beef with Waterstones?

[Phil_A]

My dad was a big fan of those in the 80s.

I managed to read the first three Thomas Covenant books last Summer. Fucking hell, they were a bit grim. Definitely pre-empted Game Of Thrones in terms of ruthlessly slaughtering supporting characters.

I also like how the second trilogy begins with everything the character achieved in the previous one being rendered completely and utterly meaningless.

[Zetetic]

I don't think congenital disabilities are ever mentioned.

Other than being a muggle or a squib of course.

The vast majority of the plot is somewhat about the largely heritable nature of being born with or without certain abilities.

[Zetetic]

With that in mind, it's quite distasteful that many obituaries of Nelson Mandela opened, of course, with the claim that he was a "real-life Harry Potter".

[Serge]

A proper bookshop, or one of those Waterstones type ones?

If it's the latter, Harry Potter spin-offs isn't the main reason you should be getting annoyed.

A proper bookshop that's called Waterstones. Not sure why you'd think they're not proper bookshops.

[BlodwynPig]

I managed to read the first three Thomas Covenant books last Summer. Fucking hell, they were a bit grim. Definitely pre-empted Game Of Thrones in terms of ruthlessly slaughtering supporting characters.

I also like how the second trilogy begins with everything the character achieved in the previous one being rendered completely and utterly meaningless.

Just wait until you read the final trilogy!! Its dense stuff at times.

I actually prefer his Gap Cycle space series. Its immense. I haven't read it since I was in my late teens or early twenties, so it may be just youthful wonder - but the characterization and plotting is unlike anything i've ever read. Should have been made into a movie but I think financing fell by the wayside - it would probably look shit now (all CGI and moody actors ruining the subtlety)

[BlodwynPig]

With that in mind, it's quite distasteful that many obituaries of Nelson Mandela opened, of course, with the claim that he was a "real-life Harry Potter".

The Bible, John Chapter 20 Verse 31 "Then did Jesu' turn his face toward the well, whereupon his father, the Lord God Saviour of Earth, did say 'Verily, my son, you are much like that Harry Potter, albeit not as popular. Go forth and spread the word...you are second best to the Magic Boy Harry'. With that, Jesu' did throw himself desolately into the well and was saved only by some sniggering man servants who enjoyed his despair and wished it continue indefinitely."

[hewantstolurkatad]

I suppose this was a time when Marvel comics, or comics that aren't The Beano weren't as widely available as they were in the 70s and 80s. That was what I had a ready supply of after exhausting the local library of any fiction I might like (Dr Who novels and Danny Dunn mostly. And I read Enid Blyton too). Or maybe you prefered boy wizards to superheroes.

I grew up in rural Ireland, even if I occasionally had knew where to find the shops that sold your Spider Mans and whatnot (Dublin, in my case), it would've been maybe twice a year tops. Honestly have no clue how available Marvel et al were in Ireland at the time.

Can't imagine it was that much better for people living in towns that aren't cities. There may have been some options but you'd still be depending on a friend or older sibling to know where to go to find them. Beyond that, I imagine people like me who find the whole process of reading a struggle a lot of the time would need someone who's already big into comics to help be guided past the initially intimidating range of options.


I didn't really care about the premise, I just wanted something that was good and had an ending. Knowing absolutely nothing about those Doctor Who books, I imagine they were fluffy loads of garbage, which is probably fine if you're someone who reads tons without a bother but if you've absolutely no discipline with reading that kind of thing is profoundly unrewarding and the prevalence of those brand type things probably done a lot to drive most kids away from books.
It seems like the kind of thing where, after television and video games came around, book publishers gradually focused on draining the wallets of the 20% of kids that are heavy readers in exchange for sacrificing whatever potential sales they may get from the rest.

[Kane Jones]

A proper bookshop that's called Waterstones. Not sure why you'd think they're not proper bookshops.

You know, proper. Like Ottakar's.

[Sebastian Cobb]

It is to bookshops what ourprice was to record shops.

[spamwangler]

I still can't believe it started in 1997...it seems much more recent. I mean, the 90s were a cultural high point and the 00s were the low point.

It's a shame that my favourite fantasy hero Thomas Covenant (a raping leper) did not attract such fandom.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT I've been trying to figure out who that fantasy leper book i read as a teenager was by for years! thanks for that!


i don't remember him doing a rape tho - I'm i going to have a bad time if i read them again?

[Kane Jones]

It is to bookshops what ourprice was to record shops.

I live in a town with no record shops and one book shop (it's a Waterstones). My record shops are called Bleep, Boomkat, Cherry Red etc. although we have a decent second hand record shop called Discovery that does a good line in Space Rock. There obviously are independent book shops, but not in North Devon.

EDIT; there is a second hand book shop actually. Thomas dragged me into it last time he visited.

[BlodwynPig]

It is to bookshops what ourprice was to record shops.

Our Price used to be decent in the early 90s. Ozric Tentacles on vinyl ffs.

[BlodwynPig]

although we have a decent second hand record shop called Discovery that does a good line in Space Rock.

you're telling me this now!

[Catalogue Trousers]

[tag]Modern Life Is Quidditch[/tag]

[Golden E. Pump]

I think most Marvel films aren't boring. I think all Harry Potter films are boring. I think Potter films are much more samey than Marvel films too, even though Marvel films are sometimes a bit formulaic - and I much prefer that formula. Also I am 100% right about this. The end.

I don't care how many pages have passed, this is the correct answer. Except most Marvel films are boring...