If there's one thing the world of literature suffers from, it's a lack of excitement when something happens. Unlike movie previews for 'Star Wars,' which are often more exciting than the actual film, or video games like 'Halo 2' that gamers order weeks in advance, books just don't command much public interest when they come out.
There is an exception that proves the rule however, and that exception takes the form of a teenage wizard in round glasses. In only a few years, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has become the most entrancing and anticipated series of books in the world, getting more attention than some elections and generating profits most authors barely dream of.
Just this year, 'Half-Blood Prince' beat the Hollywood box office with more than $100 million of sales after just 24 hours of release. And it's not just Ms. Rowling making a profit off this attention: According to the publishing research company Simba International, fantasy and sci-fi books have seen an 8.5 percent sales increase in the last five years, nearly double the increase all other genres have seen.
I admit I've never been a big Harry Potter fan, partially because my allegiance has belonged to 'Lord of the Rings' for years, and I just can't bring myself to trade my beloved Shire for Hogwarts. Also, I do the bulk of my reading when I can catch a spare minute during the day, and my overcoat pockets weren't designed with a 700-page hardcover book in mind.
However, with some time on my hands over Thanksgiving break I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about, so I paged through a few of the books and viewed a few of the films. Sadly, I didn't have time to read through all of them (Thanksgiving is never long enough for anything but eating), but what I saw convinced me that my earlier excuses have only kept me from getting into some fantastic books.
For starters, while Harry Potter is written as a children's book, it isn't intended just for children'??the atmosphere of dragons, spiders, unicorns and werewolves is familiar to any fan of horror and fantasy, and can easily be appreciated by adult fans. The books also get darker as the years progress, showing that Rowling understands her audience is growing up in between books and is ready to experience adult fear and death.
Rowling's work also has a lighter side, with that classic British sense of humor, a sardonic wit that can go over your head the first time and leave you cackling the second. Her supporting characters, like the gentle giant Hagrid and the prankster Weasley twins, all have unique traits and actions that make them stand out, and leave readers disappointed when they don't show up after a few chapters.
But Rowling's greatest strength in the Harry Potter series is the fact that she has made it an actual series, with characters that actually develop from book to book. By tracking a single group of characters over seven years moving through years of school, Rowling isn't just writing a series'she's showing readers how a group of people grow up, and illustrating that even when they have to deal with basilisks and wands their growing pains are very real.
It's that blend of humanity and fiction that have made Harry Potter books so beloved all over the world'and have helped expand the world of fantasy to heights 'Lord of the Rings' gave it in the 1960's. While I haven't had a chance to seriously crack into the books yet, I applaud Rowling for what she's contributed to the field of literature, and I've hopped on the bandwagon of those curious to see how her saga ends.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have at least 4,200 pages to start reading and little motivation to stop. I hope my professors understand good literature takes precedence over finals.
