2007-04-10 21:19:34 · 41 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
It is all a matter of opinion.
Harry Potter is interesting and fun, but ultimately not as deep as The Lord of the Rings. If you are looking for an easier read, and one that doesn't require a lot of foreknowledge, then Harry Potter is certainly the way to go.
I would recommend Potter to anyone under sixteen over Lord of the Rings.
Above sixteen, it would depend on your reading level. I tried to read Tolkien in high school, and even as an honor roll student in accelerated English classes, I had a tough time with it. But now, I really like Lord of the Rings, and I love Tolkien for having been able to wholly create his own world.
There are thousands of unpublished pages by Tolkien about Middle Earth and he put a lot of work into creating a very real world. Potter isn't a world of its own, it is our world with magic in it.
I'm not even really sure that a book like Harry Potter could have become so popular if it weren't for Tolkien's work. Dungeons and Dragons, Dragon Lance, Terry Brooks, Eragon and many other series owe their existence to Tolkien's work.
So, personally, I prefer Lord of the Rings. But that doesn't take anything away from Rowling's achievement of getting millions of children to enjoy reading again with Harry Potter.
2007-04-10 21:52:59 · answer #1 · answered by Mr. B 4 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter
2007-04-15 19:50:14 · answer #2 · answered by Vatsal S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The two books belong to 2 different genres. Although both are fantasy-tales, they can not really be compared.
Harry Potter is a story about an ordinary boy with whom we all identify. We understand his trouble with biased teachers, too much homework, asking out girls and so on. Also, although Rowling's world is imaginary and magical, it has distinct parallels with our own world. We are familiar with the ideas of a ministry, a hospital, a shopping street and world cups. I feel that the true comparison of the Harry Potter books should be not with Lord of the Rings but with Enid Blyton's school stories. But yes, Harry Potter has certain parallels with the Lord of the Rings too...the idea of a Dark Lord, (but then I believe almost every fantasy story has a Dark Lord or a wicked witch), Peter Pettigrew can be compared with Gollum, Frodo with Harry, Gandalf with Dumbledore...but these similarities are really very subtle.
Lord of the Rings is almost a modern mythology. We can perhaps imagine that there is a platform 9&3/4 somewhere at King's Cross, hidden to us muggles, but we have no idea where Middle Earth is. If you've read The Silmarion, you would know about the valars- the gods who protect the universe, and their servants the maiars. The time-frame is huge. The Lord of the Rings happens in the 2nd Age of Middle Earth- the age of the elves and end with the beginning of the 3rd Age- the age of men. Throughout the book, there are constant references to the events that happened in the 1st Age- age of the wizards(told in The Silmarion). Tolkien invented new languages, scripts and maps for his Middle Earth stories. The book is certainly more researched than Harry Potter, which would fall more under the light-reading category.
If Harry Potter appeals to us by adding magic to our familiar world, Lord of the Rings fascinates the readers by evoking a sense of the remote. Both are well-written, both have parts of humour and pathos, wonderful characters, and both uphold certain values like courage, friendship, loyalty, love and goodness. It really depends on your personal inclinations and preferences to decide which is better. I can only tell you this, to read Lord of the Rings, you need much more patience and concentration.
Your question was in the "Books & Authors" category, so I don't think you had the movies in mind, but I believe the Ring movies are much better adaptations. The Harry Potter movies leave too many things out...and consequently they often lose the feel of the books.
2007-04-11 17:19:11 · answer #3 · answered by Ruchira 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I prefer to read Harry Potter because I just can't into Lord of the Rings. Most people will tell you though if you like Harry Potter then you'll like Lord of the Rings, but LOTR was written for a whole different generation. Harry Potter is more this generation and most can relate to Harry, being ostricized and having a few very close friends and people being envious because you have certain talents that they don't. It's much easier to relate to Harry than with Frodo, mostly because Harry is on a quest that he began, while with Frodo, he was given this quest, he didn't have to go, he felt obligated.
That's just my thought. The new Harry Potter comes out in July!!!! I'm excited!!!! The last book, oh God, what am I going to read now???
2007-04-11 02:51:49 · answer #4 · answered by Treasure 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is of course harry potter...because harry potter is something very imaginative and no one else could have done it.But lord of the rings is a book where if u think for a while, u can imagine a story, at least close to lord of the rings....harry potter is full of magic but not that kiddish`geeboomba`....its something really different..people of all ages can read..from the age of 6.But lord odfthe rings cannot be read by a 6 year old kid.harry potter can be appreciated by a small kids too...
2007-04-11 05:51:52 · answer #5 · answered by anisha 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I haven't read or watched Lord of the Rings but i LOVE Harry Potter!!!
2007-04-18 01:57:11 · answer #6 · answered by Gracielugabby 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think more kids will enjoy Harry Potter and the older ones will appreciate Lord of The Rings :P
2007-04-11 00:18:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
That is a very tough question. I honestly don't know if I can name which one is better. Lord of the Rings has more detail it seems, but Harry Potter has more adventure.
Hard question...
2007-04-18 05:28:08 · answer #8 · answered by Becca 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lord of the Rings, Without A Doubt!!!
The plot is so much more in depth, the characters are so realistic and moving, it is just so much better!
Bud don't get me wrong, i love Harry Potter!
2007-04-18 03:28:25 · answer #9 · answered by orchestra_chick07 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter, hands down!
2007-04-14 00:24:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋