|
|
|
Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
 Posted - 07/27/2007 : 07:38:13
|
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=87554
Statistics show in the past 10 years, 250 million copies of the Bible have been sold.
12 million copies of Merriam-Webster Dictionary have been sold.
But in one day, 8.3 million copies of the latest Harry Potter book flew off store shelves.
The series, not counting the last book, has sold 325 million copies over 10 years. That's more than the population of the United States. |
I predict that in 20 years no one will be reading Harry Potter anymore.
|
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
|
|
pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 07:41:00 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by Robb
I predict that in 20 years no one will be reading Harry Potter anymore.
|
In 20 years in the US, it'll be illegal to posses items of witchcraft and books of that nature will be burned, along with the readers. |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
|
 |
|
|
HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 07:45:18 [Permalink]
|
In twenty years, it could be nobody in the US will be able to read.
|
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
|
|
|
BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 07:53:35 [Permalink]
|
Man we sure like giving ourselves a little credit dont we...
I agree though, HP is a passing fancy, which wont make many British Lit courses in universities 20 years from now*. The statistics dont show two major facts,
The Bible wasnt released in 7 different books and many households already own Bibles.
*Anti-witchcraft courses at Baptists U's dont count. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
|
|
|
Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2007 : 08:15:00 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
The Bible wasnt released in 7 different books and many households already own Bibles. |
No, but new Bibles get handed out all the time to kids once they're Baptized. Growing up, I'm sure my house had4 or 5 Bibles in it-- some old, and some new.
No, Harry Potter isn't going to eclipse the Bible and I'd wager that in the next ten years, the Bible will out-sell Harry Potter. That said, the whole Potter thing was a pretty amazing publishing phenomenon not likely to be seen any time soon. |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 07/28/2007 : 02:15:31 [Permalink]
|
Just finished reading #7 (have moicy!), and like all other Potterphiles, I wish I were feverisnly waiting on #8.
HP is unique. The entire series reads like a single book and has a lot fewer volumns than most. It's not likely that it'll be assigned for student book reports due to the sheer size of any given segment and the continuity of the whole, but I'll predict that it'll get a lot of wear & tear in creative writing classes at college level, if it's not already.
In the long run, it'll never out-sell the Bible nor any other religious text simply because it asks the reader to suspend disbelief whereas the Bible, et al., insists upon reenforcing belief.
What a ride Rowling has taken us on!
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
|
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 04:30:10 [Permalink]
|
Harry from a Christian perspective: | The views expressed on this page are the opinions of the various authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Christian Broadcasting Network. Leading Christian thinkers have disparate views on the Harry Potter products, and how Christians should respond to them. We have offered several different viewpoints so that you, the reader, can prayerfully decide what is the correct response for your family. |
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 06:25:04 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by filthy
Just finished reading #7 (have moicy!), and like all other Potterphiles, I wish I were feverisnly waiting on #8.
HP is unique. The entire series reads like a single book and has a lot fewer volumns than most. It's not likely that it'll be assigned for student book reports due to the sheer size of any given segment and the continuity of the whole, but I'll predict that it'll get a lot of wear & tear in creative writing classes at college level, if it's not already.
In the long run, it'll never out-sell the Bible nor any other religious text simply because it asks the reader to suspend disbelief whereas the Bible, et al., insists upon reenforcing belief.
What a ride Rowling has taken us on!
|
I, unfortunately, cannot fork over the money necessary to buy the last book, but I'm a patient girl...
Methinks it won't be that easily forgotten. It is quite a ride and maybe, just maybe, it'll enter the halls of children's books for history. At least, I'd like that to happen - it's quite an interesting story, from start to end, and mighty creative. Of course it'll never outsell many classics, religious or not; but Rowling surely deserves it. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
|
|
|
|
GeeMack
SFN Regular
USA
1093 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 12:07:00 [Permalink]
|
Statistics show in the past 10 years, 250 million copies of the Bible have been sold.
12 million copies of Merriam-Webster Dictionary have been sold.
But in one day, 8.3 million copies of the latest Harry Potter book flew off store shelves. |
Comparing sales of a dictionary to those of a couple popular works of fiction seems a little out of place. But okay, I guess I get it.
|
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 13:09:29 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by GeeMack
Statistics show in the past 10 years, 250 million copies of the Bible have been sold.
12 million copies of Merriam-Webster Dictionary have been sold.
But in one day, 8.3 million copies of the latest Harry Potter book flew off store shelves. |
Comparing sales of a dictionary to those of a couple popular works of fiction seems a little out of place. But okay, I guess I get it.
|
Surely you can't mean that you've never read the dictionary for kicks?
It ain't Harry and it ain't the Bible, but it's a fun read never the less. The stuff a kid can learn from Webster's Unabridged! It's a lot more informative than the other two.
Then, if the inquisitive, little wretch could get his/her hands on something like this, his/her mom would soon have to wash his/her nasty mouth out with Octogon. Before the Internet, there used to be a print edition. Dunno about now.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 15:46:30 [Permalink]
|
I think it is great and all that there is this long series of novels that appeals to so many children and hopefully is turning more kids onto the joy of reading and literature.
But I gotta say, I'm annoyed by all the adult fans. All my friends in their late 20's through mid-50's are reading this stinkin' book and all abuzz about it, excitedly posting about it on their blogs. My brother and his girlfriend - who are highly intelligent Shakespearean actors - bought each other friggin' wands for x-mas and then insisted on watching all the movies.
And sorry, filthy, but I gotta disagree with you on the whole "unique" factor. If you meant it is unique in its popularity, I agree. But I don't see how the story, characters, or writing style are especially unique. I'm on a SF, Fantasy, and Horror workshop and I read stuff written by people that is as good or better than HP all the time.
There are tons and tons of "midlist" books on the shelves that are by most literary standards just as good as HP, and if they had been lucky enough to receive the elusive hype that the HP series had, people would be just as eager to read them. I just finished Octavia Butler's "Wild Seed", the first in a series of four books. Now that was an extremely well-written and unique page-turner!
And then there are all the great books that never even get published because it is so difficult to get published, and many a good writer is not a good self-promoter. And it is as hard to get an agent as it is to find a publisher.
I am happy for Rowling. But HP is a kids'/adolescents' series. It was written as such, and I just don't understand what in the writing style, plot, or characters is so impressive that so many adults are squealing over this stuff. I really do suspect that a big part of it is the hype. The wonderful, beautiful, hype which allows us to partake in an action along with millions of other individuals, and then feel this great sense of sharing and togetherness. Something they all know they can talk about together at a party or work or on the phone. Maybe I'm just moody for feeling left out?
Meh. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
|
|
|
|
Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 16:30:41 [Permalink]
|
Originally posted by marfknox
I think it is great and all that there is this long series of novels that appeals to so many children and hopefully is turning more kids onto the joy of reading and literature.
But I gotta say, I'm annoyed by all the adult fans. All my friends in their late 20's through mid-50's are reading this stinkin' book and all abuzz about it, excitedly posting about it on their blogs. My brother and his girlfriend - who are highly intelligent Shakespearean actors - bought each other friggin' wands for x-mas and then insisted on watching all the movies.
And sorry, filthy, but I gotta disagree with you on the whole "unique" factor. If you meant it is unique in its popularity, I agree. But I don't see how the story, characters, or writing style are especially unique. I'm on a SF, Fantasy, and Horror workshop and I read stuff written by people that is as good or better than HP all the time.
There are tons and tons of "midlist" books on the shelves that are by most literary standards just as good as HP, and if they had been lucky enough to receive the elusive hype that the HP series had, people would be just as eager to read them. I just finished Octavia Butler's "Wild Seed", the first in a series of four books. Now that was an extremely well-written and unique page-turner!
And then there are all the great books that never even get published because it is so difficult to get published, and many a good writer is not a good self-promoter. And it is as hard to get an agent as it is to find a publisher.
I am happy for Rowling. But HP is a kids'/adolescents' series. It was written as such, and I just don't understand what in the writing style, plot, or characters is so impressive that so many adults are squealing over this stuff. I really do suspect that a big part of it is the hype. The wonderful, beautiful, hype which allows us to partake in an action along with millions of other individuals, and then feel this great sense of sharing and togetherness. Something they all know they can talk about together at a party or work or on the phone. Maybe I'm just moody for feeling left out?
Meh.
|
Well, I'm not in North America, so I'm pretty out of the hype. To me, what makes it so unique is that it is utterly without pretensions. The characters are normal people, they're normal kids, in an unusual situation - besides, it's not sword-and-sorcery Tolkien-lookalike style, which I dislike immensely (maybe because I'm not too hot for Tolkien, but anyway). It's also fun, silly fun. I found the appeal on the sheer simplicity of it. But then, my literary taste shuns anything more lavish, anyway. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
|
|
|
|
pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 16:47:38 [Permalink]
|
| Well, I've never read any of the books (nor will I) and I saw one of the movies (Prison of Ubekistan or whatever) and it was not particularly interesting...must be something wrong with me. |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
|
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 17:14:34 [Permalink]
|
| And sorry, filthy, but I gotta disagree with you on the whole "unique" factor. If you meant it is unique in its popularity, I agree. But I don't see how the story, characters, or writing style are especially unique. I'm on a SF, Fantasy, and Horror workshop and I read stuff written by people that is as good or better than HP all the time. |
I meant 'unique' in that the story flows from one book to the next with scarcly a pause. I've read a lot of series but never one that smooth. And I think the yarn itself is pretty damned good and well told, although all this wizard & wichcraft stuff isn't at all my bag.
I think that the first couple of books were mainly for children and Rowling didn't really hit her stride until #3. From there, it got dark and the adults were invited in.
I probably won't read another book in the genre until Rowling writes her next one, whatever it might be.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 17:38:08 [Permalink]
|
Siberia wrote: | Well, I'm not in North America, so I'm pretty out of the hype. |
Dunno about Brazil, but the hype extends far beyond North America. When I taught in South Korea, all the kids were reading Korean translations of Harry Potter and it was easy to find bootleg copies of it for sale in southeast Asia. This is not true of any other book in that genre.
| To me, what makes it so unique is that it is utterly without pretensions. The characters are normal people, they're normal kids, in an unusual situation |
Any quality speculative novel has main characters who are essentially "normal" humans in weird situations. I don't think that is a unique trait. And as far as I can tell, HP has just as many frills and dramatic legends and heroes and villains as most fantasy novels.
| It's also fun, silly fun. I found the appeal on the sheer simplicity of it. |
A friend of mine who has an extremely stressful job dealing with abandoned, sick, and abused animals said something similar. She said that reading HP helped her relax because of the black/white struggle between good and evil, which is so unlike the frustrating reality of life.
filthy wrote: | And I think the yarn itself is pretty damned good and well told, although all this wizard & wichcraft stuff isn't at all my bag. |
There's definitely a craft to it. And unfortunately, IMHO a lot of established genre writers put out a lot of crap once they have a name and can get pretty much anything they write published. I read William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition" a couple years ago and was shocked by how boring and pointless it seemed, and how utterly indulgent and meandering the writing style had become. The wizard and witchcraft stuff isn't my thing either, which is probably a lot of my disinterest in HP. I like SF better. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
|
| Edited by - marfknox on 07/28/2007 17:38:41 |
|
|
|
marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2007 : 17:46:52 [Permalink]
|
OK, I think this might be why HP is so popular: because it fits a formula for being popularized. The characters are generic enough that they are relatable to almost anyone. The set-up and character dynamics are easy to understand and familiar (an orphaned boy with cruel guardians who turns out to have special powers - gee, sort of like "Matilda" and a million other YA books? - the student nemesis, the generational conflicts - Harry and his friends mirror his parents and their friends when they were in school, and on and on) , but mixed and matched well enough to not seem cliche. And it is written well enough to allow readers to enter into the scenes and keep interest in the plot, chapter by chapter. From there, it just happened to be noticed by the right people at the right time, and voila - the biggest fantasy hit since Lord of the Rings.
Edited to add: I'm not saying this is easy to do or that someone could plan for their novel to be hyped this much. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
|
| Edited by - marfknox on 07/28/2007 17:48:01 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Harry more popular than Jesus?
