I think it's particularly important that a large proportion of the books are sold, not at bookstores, but at normal supermarkets.
#HARRY POTTER BOOK 1 7 HARDCOVER MOVIE#
They print very large numbers of copies, and they work together with movie studios, game companies and merchandisers to cross-promote them. First, the publishers are aggressively using economies of scale and deals with third parties. So why is everyone reading it, and why, before that, was everyone reading Potter? As I said, I think it's primarily about the marketing, though I wish I was more sure about the details. Even though Twilight may not be quite as bad as is sometimes made out - I'm one of many people who have tried to defend it - there's no way it deserves this level of attention. This is an absurd and unnatural state of affairs. On Goodreads, nearly half of the top 50 reviews are of Twilight books. At one point, the four volumes occupied the top four spots in the New York Times bestseller list. I think it's uncontroversial that Potter, in terms of literary quality, is better than Twilight, but Twilight has been even more successful.
#HARRY POTTER BOOK 1 7 HARDCOVER SERIES#
Before Potter, there was no YA series of dubious merit that absolutely everyone read. Twilight clearly follows Potter I've had several discussions about what preceded Potter, and the answer, everyone seems to agree, is that there was no earlier success story of this kind. Both series have enjoyed a level of success which is utterly disproportionate to their quality, and which is also unprecedented in literary history. About 10 years ago, it seems to me, some clever people figured out a new marketing strategy, which they first applied to Potter when that came to an end, the same methods were used for Twilight. Rowling seems like a nice person - if someone's going to scoop the literary Powerball jackpot, why not her? What I very strongly object to is the way the books have been marketed. The early Potter books are cute and entertaining, and J.K. Here it is.Īs I said to D, it's not the books or the author. In the end, I said I would write a review summarising my objections to the series as a whole.
D expressed surprise that I could call Deathly Hallows boring, when I'd given five stars to Madame Bovary and Animal Farm, both of which he considered far duller. What was wrong with it? I offered various structural criticisms: the ending is abrupt and unconvincing, the subplot with the Horcruxes has not been adequately foreshadowed in the earlier volumes, and the book as a whole is overlong and boring. (view spoiler) [I got into an argument the other day with an articulate 17 year old Harry Potter fan - let's call him D - who wanted to know why I was being so nasty in my review of Deathly Hallows. If you are a person easily offended by negative comments about Harry Potter and still decide to click it, then you have only yourself to blame. I would like to offer my apologies to these unfortunate people, who had every right to expect better service from Goodreads.īut, despite the above, I have decided on mature consideration that I will attempt an experiment: I am reinstating the original review, hiding the dangerous and inflammatory content inside a spoiler tag. I would like to offer my apologies to these I had removed this review, which violates Article 2 of the Terms of Use: You agree not to post User Content that: (i) may create a risk of harm, loss, physical or mental injury, emotional distress, death, disability, disfigurement, or physical or mental illness to you, to any other person, or to any animal.Looking at the comment thread, it is abundantly clear that the review not only may, but indeed has caused emotional distress to several Potter fans. I had removed this review, which violates Article 2 of the Terms of Use: You agree not to post User Content that: (i) may create a risk of harm, loss, physical or mental injury, emotional distress, death, disability, disfigurement, or physical or mental illness to you, to any other person, or to any animal.Looking at the comment thread, it is abundantly clear that the review not only may, but indeed has caused emotional distress to several Potter fans.