Favorite Book

[Bryant]

if you think the harry potter books are so bad, then why are they such a sensation. the world hasn't seen one of these book crazes since when? if they're that bad, why are there midnight parties for every book in the series, new york times #1 seller for weeks. If its that bad, why is it translated into so many languages and are best sellers around the world. she is a great author who has captured millions of people's imagination. just by saying the Harry Potter series is bad, doesn't make these books bad. we read books for fun sometimes you know. it doesn't all have to be serious.

[aphoticruby]

if you think the harry potter books are so bad, then why are they such a sensation. the world hasn't seen one of these book crazes since when? if they're that bad, why are there midnight parties for every book in the series, new york times #1 seller for weeks. If its that bad, why is it translated into so many languages and are best sellers around the world. she is a great author who has captured millions of people's imagination. just by saying the Harry Potter series is bad, doesn't make these books bad. we read books for fun sometimes you know. it doesn't all have to be serious.

I have explained why the are bad. Hundreds of years of literary critique has set the standard by which to judge the value of writing. Inventive themes and metaphors, depth of story, and original insight are just some of the metrics used to evaluate the quality of a work. Again, just because something is popular doesn't make it good. Yes, she has sold incredibly well, however that is only a measure of her capital success not her literary success. While the Harry Potter series is the best selling series, it is only slightly above the sales of Choose Your Own Adventure, Sweet Valley High, and Goosebumps. The best selling in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is over 10 million sales behind The DaVinci Code which has been a kudzu scourge on American writing.

1. The Brethren by John Grisham
2. The Mark: The Beast Rules the World by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
3. The Bear and the Dragon by Tom Clancy
4. The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
5. The Last Precinct (novel) by Patricia Cornwell
6. Journey by Danielle Steel
7. The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
8. Roses Are Red by James Patterson
9. Cradle and All by James Patterson
10. The House on Hope Street by Danielle Steel

There isn't a legitimate title on that list! Here, let's look at the best selling books of 1922, the year that Ulysses (generally considered the most important book in Modern literature by literary scholars, and frequently selected as the best written book of all time) was published:

1. If Winter Comes A.S.M. Hutchinson
2. The Sheik Edith M. Hull
3. Gentle Julia Booth Tarkington
4. The Head of the House of Coombe Frances Hodgson Burnett
5. Simon Called Peter Robert Keable
6. The Breaking Point Mary Roberts Rinehart
7. This Freedom A.S.M. Hutchinson
8. Maria Chapdelaine Louis Hémon
9. To the Last Man Zane Grey
10. Babbitt Sinclair Lewis

With information like that I find it hard to believe that people equate popularity with quality.

[aphoticruby]

For single authors, Danielle Steele has sold between 80 and 200 million more books than Rowling. Jackie Collins has sold about the same number of books as Rowling. Barbra Cartland has almost double the total number of sales. The best selling list is also populated by the likes of Dean Koontz and Robert Ludlum.

[rocketman1555]

i need to add Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings to my list

aphoticruby, don't bash books just because u don't like them and they don't agree with literary critique, it does not matter what the critics say. a person should like a book because they like it, not because literary critique says its good or bad, so please stop bashing others favorite books, you've said your opinion and others can look at it and decide for themselves, please stop bashing other people's opinions, a person's favorite book is their opinion, not somebody elses, so please don't say their opinion is wrong

[aphoticruby]

please stop bashing other people's opinions, a person's favorite book is their opinion, not somebody elses, so please don't say their opinion is wrong

If you read what I posted you would see that I didn't say that their opinion of what their "favorite" book was was wrong, but rather questioned that the books they liked were worth reading. People can like whatever they want, but that doesn't make the books good or worth reading. As gneissisnice said, people will come to this thread and possibly choose to read something from the list simply because someone else liked it. That is a dangerous path of disinformation. I felt that it was my duty to inform prospective readers of what lies before them, lest they end up wasting time reading something. Anyone who has taken an introductory psychology course would be able to tell you about Solomon Asch and his conformity paradigm. With that in mind, it concerns me that not only would someone read Harry Potter because of the recommendations, but then proceed to "like" it and spread that idea to others. Western culture is fighting for its identity, so to dilute it with the works of inferior minds is to give up the fight and surrender to mediocrity. I want to live in a world verdant with intellectual thought, so to that end I feel it is my responsibility to combat the intrusion of lesser works.

[rocketman1555]

it concerns me that not only would someone read Harry Potter because of the recommendations, but then proceed to "like" it and spread that idea to others. Western culture is fighting for its identity, so to dilute it with the works of inferior minds is to give up the fight and surrender to mediocrity. I want to live in a world verdant with intellectual thought, so to that end I feel it is my responsibility to combat the intrusion of lesser works.

i started this thread so i could find some suggestions of things to read, and some people like stuff because others say they do, some people don't, people have different opinions and can form their own opinion, and i would suggest you read chapter 36 of Wizard's First Rule on page 564 in my copy, or find out what wizard's first rule is, because telling someone that a book is bad can also lead them to believe the book is bad as can telling them a book is good can lead them to think a book is good, so your plan to live in a world filled with intellectual thought is being ended by you doing this.

[Mr. Cool]

So aphoticruby doesn't like Harry Potter books. So what? I don't really care. I wasn't trying to convince you to like them aphoticruby, I was just giving my opinions. I think it best to close the argument now.

[rocketman1555]

good idea

[aphoticruby]

i started this thread so i could find some suggestions of things to read, and some people like stuff because others say they do, some people don't, people have different opinions and can form their own opinion, and i would suggest you read chapter 36 of Wizard's First Rule on page 564 in my copy, or find out what wizard's first rule is, because telling someone that a book is bad can also lead them to believe the book is bad as can telling them a book is good can lead them to think a book is good, so your plan to live in a world filled with intellectual thought is being ended by you doing this.

I am not simply telling them that it is bad, I am explaining the reason for my rationale. I would hope that they would read my explanation for WHY it is a terribly written series and not read it because of the strength of my evaluation, not simply accept it by fiat. Now, you are free to explain why you think it is worth reading, but so far all that I have gotten are totally specious arguments about popularity, etc.

[Mr. Cool]

i started this thread so i could find some suggestions of things to read, and some people like stuff because others say they do, some people don't, people have different opinions and can form their own opinion, and i would suggest you read chapter 36 of Wizard's First Rule on page 564 in my copy, or find out what wizard's first rule is, because telling someone that a book is bad can also lead them to believe the book is bad as can telling them a book is good can lead them to think a book is good, so your plan to live in a world filled with intellectual thought is being ended by you doing this.

I am not simply telling them that it is bad, I am explaining the reason for my rationale. I would hope that they would read my explanation for WHY it is a terribly written series and not read it because of the strength of my evaluation, not simply accept it by fiat. Now, you are free to explain why you think it is worth reading, but so far all that I have gotten are totally specious arguments about popularity, etc.

Once again, I think it best to close the argument. Thank you.