Strong Verbs Are Just Better

Mr Stuart Thompson informed me, disparagingly, that Harry Potter was not literature. People keep telling me that it's "not well written", and I just don't understand it- ok, you never find yourself wordless at the beauty of JK's prose, but I, for one, am reduced to a giggling mess by her turns of phrase, and isn't that just as good? *IN TWO WEEKS TIME I will complete this paragraph with an example from HP7, but for now, i dare not put so much as a word into the public domain*

Moreover, I just have this feeling that "literature" isn't the point. Something fun and inspiring and captivating is. It's not, as Stuart impugns, about "popularism". The difference between HP and Dan Brown isn't that HP has more readers. How many people, after reading Dan Brown, feel inspired? Feel that their lives are somehow improved? Feel in any way moved to make their world a better place?

Here, I will quote from "Old English in New York":

One final note: As I was getting ready to head to bed Saturday evening, my younger sister, GMH, who had been reading the book all day too, knocked on my door.

"I'm glad we've been expelled from Hogwarts, Kate."

I was confused, and asked her why.

"Because now we can stop worrying about Harry's world, and start fixing our own."

The only thing Dan Brown moves anyone to is hatred of the Church- and I don't think that is in fact the majority of his readers, or even his intention.

So, without further ado, I beg you to read "Old English In New York's" analysis of the social value of Harry Potter. I quote again: But it seems to me they're part of a tradition of narratives written that argue there is still hope. And maybe it's the childish part of me -- but when such distinctions are made, I hope the lessons of Harry Potter do remain: That choices matter more than talents. That every living thing deserves respect. That people can change, and are often more than what they seem. That sacrifices made for love -- real love, whatever that is -- are worth something. That that same love can "save" people, help them become more humane, help them recognize that we have so much to love each other for.