Has "Harry Potter" Replaced "42" As The Answer To Everything?

Question

Come on ... no matter what question is asked here, it seems five people have to respond "Harry Potter". What is the best romance mystery? Harry Potter. What is a good non-fiction book to read? Harry Potter. I already read Harry Potter - what else should I read? Read Harry Potter again and wait for the new one. What is the best book on existentialism? Harry Potter. What is the best book on brain surgery? Harry Potter. What is the best book on quantum physics? Harry Potter. Get over it people! They are just seven books in a universe of millions of books. Harry Potter is not the "best" book on anything! They are at best mediocre books with repetitive plots and dull characters.

So here is my question ... Do those of you who write Harry Potter as the answer to every question really believe it or am I missing the joke here? Fair question ... Pax - C

Thank you Modi - it's nice to know that Harry Potter is the best book on brain surgery. Let's hope if you ever need a doctor, he studied some other books.

Catherine dear. Read Les Miserables or Don Quixote. Or even To KIll a Mockingbird and then tell me Harry Potter books aren't mediocre. I would let you read one of mine, but you aren't old enough. Mine aren't mediocre either. Let's put things in their proper perspective here. Harry Potter - a series of seven fantasy books written for kids -- they are hardly War and Peace.

Pirate Lady - they are mediocre because there are so much better fantasy series out there. Zelazny's writing is far superior to JK's. So is Anne Mc Caffrey's, Ray Bradbury's, Harlan Ellison's, Neal Stephenson's, William Gibson's, Louis Carroll's, Poe, Hawthorne, Le Guin, Shirley Jackson, the list goes on and on. JK is not writing classics here. 25 years from now, nobody is going to know who she is. Her books wont stand the test of time. They are the result of an exceptionally good marketing campaign that cost a lot of money and whipped young people into a virtual frenzy. The stories are anything BUT original and even JK knows that. They were based on many other books. This is the modern day version of pulp fiction - hardly literature.

PIrate Lady - have you read much Roald Dahl?

Answer 1

The books are mediocre, but you better not say that to the fans. I got reported for a harmless joke about the second book. I said that the snake was my favorite character. How bad is that, exactly? I'm not exactly an internet troll, or, atleast, I don't think I am.

Answer 2

Okay, this semi-huge monologue isn't really answering your question, but I'd like to express my opinion. I am not one of those people who writes Harry Potter as the answer to every question, and that's simply because I don't like the series. So I want to agree with you to some extent. But at the same time, I think you're being unnecessarily critical. Sure, the Harry Potter books aren't the absolute best books in the world. Neither is Don Quixote, To Kill a Mockingbird, or anything else (except for - maybe - the Bible; but then, that depends on your beliefs/religion). There is no such thing as perfection (other than God, but again... that depends on a person's personal beliefs). And, yes, I have read those books (and in a completely irrevelant side note, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorites, but Don Quixote is slightly above average in my opinion... and I like & believe in the Bible). It's just a matter of personal preference. If a book - ANY book - gets a person to read, then that book deserves respect. Don't forget - reading anything at all is beneficial to the reader, be it a classic novel, the back of a cereal box, or a Harry Potter book. Rowling is accomplishing what all authors should aspire to do - she is introducing a new world to people everywhere (isn't that the real purpose of all books - to open the reader's mind to something he or she wouldn't have otherwise experienced?), sparking imaginations, and inspiring both children and adults through her words. Harry Potter is the best series of books in the world to some people; to you, I, and others, it isn't. So what? Just relax and let the Harry Potter fans be Harry Potter fans. It's not something to get this worked up over.


Sorry if I bored you... I just had to get that out. =)

Answer 3

i do get extremely annoyed at reading "harry potter" every other sentence. but i do think maybe you should lighten up just a tad. there is an infinite number of authors that write infinitely better than jk rowling but for some people the harry potter series are the only books they know. at least they're reading something right. and you have to admit, ever since harry potter became extremely popular fantasy in the young adults section has grown a lot (even though a lot of them are bad imitations). i enjoy those books, but let me say this: never once have i answered a question with harry potter. i was frustrated enough when someone answered one of my questions with harry potter, even though i said i already read it. i wouldn't go so far as to call you a witch, but i would let the harry potter obsessives have their fun. as you said, the whole franchise thingy might die out anyway.

P.S. 42 will always be the ultimate answer

Answer 4

"Mediocre" is in the eye of the beholder.

I think I have a pretty good sense of what makes for good fantasy. I have twice won the World Fantasy Award. I have won a Stoker and a couple of Nebula Awards, too, and I hope that counts as some sort of credential for recognizing quality. And I will agree that by many measures there are quite a few writers out there better than Rowling. Jane Yolen was writing excellent fantasy for decades before Rowling got started, and even published a novel about kids at a boarding school for wizards.

However, I think it's unfair to say that Harry Potter is the product of slick marketing. The book was published in the expectation that it might be a modest success, but the publisher did not at all expect it to be The Next Big Thing. Serious promotional money wasn't spent on the book until word of mouth on playgrounds and among adults was creating tremendous you-gotta-read-this buzz.

Rowling spins a good yarn. She does so in a way that appeals to both children and adults. There are books that really are mediocre wonders of marketing, such as "The Secret," but Rowling has great skill as an accessible storyteller.

I understand the frustration of seeing work that doesn't seem outstanding getting so much attention. But in dissing the Potter books as mediocre, I think you miss out on the opportunity to learn from them what has made them so extraordinarily appealing. Yes, herd mentality is definitely part of any massive success. Everyone want to listen to the music, read the books, see the movies that everyone else is talking about. Cream doesn't always rise to the top. There have been plenty of books as good as the Harry Potter series that didn't emerge from the crowd and create buzz. But stories don't sustain the interest of millions of readers by being mediocre, either. Rowling is doing a lot right.

Answer 5

Harry Potter is as Harry Potter does. It is a bit of a disconcerting phenomena isn't it? It is sort of a forewarning, or after-warning if you look at the rest of modern media and marketing, of what the world is consuming - and craving.

Some people say that the blockbuster (Jaws and Star Wars are examples that comes up) ruined the movie industry. Did Harry potter ruin the publishing industry. - I still think not. The industry has gained many new readers old and new. This forum, I dare to say, would have 20-30% less participants if it weren’t for good old Harry.

Yes, it is VERY annoying to see "Harry Potter" ALL THE TIME. Sadly we have to put up with it, but happily we now have a chance to educate!

So - keep up the excellent work Pax - C! We are all listening.

42 is still the answer!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Look, I think that Harry Potter is a great series, and since the book and movie are releasing this month people are all hyped up about it. Besides don't say such bad stuff about the book, it took J.K. a long time to write them. How would you like it if someone said that about your books? Besides, millions of people like it so it can't be that bad. And it also gives people of all ages something to read and to discuss. Because of Harry Potter the amount of reading has gone up. If you write on a book "If you like Harry Potter we recomend this" people will read it. It isn't bad.

Answer 7

Harry potter is not the best book in the world, but I think it's good enough to keep me and many others entertained. But writing "Harry Potter" to every answer is just dumb.
You have a point there, though. There are many other books far better.

Answer 8

HP is a very entertaining story, and while the writing doesn't rival Tolkien, the story is very original and can't be considered mediocre.
All things considered however, its silly for people to answer Harry Potter all the time.
If you are attempting to convince HP fans to read other things every once in a while it is probably best if you don't insult their favorite book.
Granted, perhaps I'm being hypocritical when I say you shouldn't blatantly insult HP when trying to tell fans about other books, because I find myself going on rants about how horrible the Inheritance series of books is when I meet a fan of that so....
What is your reasoning that HP is mediocre, by the way?

EDIT: ***What books are the Harry Potter books based on, pray tell? Also, people that read Harry Potter now will most likely introduce the books to their kids, so it is safe to say that the books will stand the test of time. ***

EDIT2: ***Yeah, I read Roald Dahl books all the time when I was a kid. However, I don't recall anything incredibly like Harry Potter. Sure some of the humor is the same, and they are both fantasy, but it's nothing like Paolini's plagiarism of Tolkien.***

Answer 9

It does seem a little dull that "Books and Authors" is so dominated by Harry Potter both in people's answers and in their endless questions about the series, but hey, at least people are reading. The HP's (I gave up after book 4.. they took too long to come out and I stopped caring) give almost everyone a sense of what it's like to be able to discuss a book you've read with another person (and that's like you've shared hours and hours of the same experiences)... and hopefully after they're done obsessing over these books they'll start reading other ones instead of turning on the TV.

Answer 10

I would not count it, I would rather declare it as a blurry remark. Fantasy should stay with fantasy & legends with Legends.

Now, its an era of Harry Potter but in the following years, there will come other icons & it will just go on like Marianne of France.

Answer 11

You can't compare Harry Potter and To Kill a Mockingbird. If you do, yes Harry Potter is mediocre at best, but if you compare it to other young adult fantasy books, it is better than mediocre.