Why are books likes Harry Potter so inspiring.

I knew they were entertaining, but not inspiring. I guess it’s supposed to show kids to believe in themselves, no matter what.

Have you read them?

yes, asmonet

Well, then I think you could answer it yourself. It tells the story of children who are outcasts for one reason or another who end up being the most important – and even then, it’s not even that they’re special. Just hard workers and good people. And some like Neville are just normal kids who rise to the occasion and succeed despite circumstance. That’s inspiring.

Inspiring? Really?

Its the classic hero myth.

Young innocents, wise mentors, evil doers, mystery.

I guess it depends on your definition of inspiring, but it has the same elements as most mythology.

very good but not inspiring. But that’s my opinion.

They inspired me. I’d say because the characters and situations are so believable.

“They inspired me. I’d say because the characters and situations are so believable.”

That’s just funny, considering the whole magic and wizards and giants and wands and blast-ended skrewts and…stuff in the book. Characters? Sure. Situations? I dunno, man.

It’s the classic story, the classic message. Courage. Which comes from Love. Love love love. I admire J.K. Rowling for sticking to her guns and writing what she wanted to write from the beginning, keeping the message in there, though it may be cliche and “lame” to some, and ending it how she wanted to reflect what she’s held in there throughout the whole story.

@asmonet—What? You mean you’ve never discovered your newest teacher is a werewolf? Tsk. What a boring life you must lead.

J.K. Rowling is a lousy author with no style or special skill. I’m not just saying this because I read grown-up books now—I’ve thought this since third grade when the first Harry Potter book came out. Here’s the thing: she had a GREAT idea for a book series. I mean, really truly amazing and engrossing. Her only downfall is that she isn’t consistently creative in her work. cough, ghost writers cough However, I feel that if she were a better writer, her books would not have succeeded as they have.
What J.K. Rowling did was give us an incredible world to run off to, but by leaving it incomplete she forced all readers (young and old) to fill in the blanks on their own. What makes the Harry Potter series exceptional is the fan fiction [and other further thought/discussion] it has inspired. Whether or not you have read/written any, you are pretty much guaranteed to be creating new adventures in your own head as you read. This is Rowling’s genius (sic): she provided the world, we created the adventure. It has given us a chance to let our imaginations run free.

Huh?
So a writer who created a world in which other’s are free to envision their own adventures has no skill? I’d say that the rules were pretty well established and seemed to stay consistent. I don’t envy anybody who has to compete with movies about their books being made while they are still writing.

@MacBean}; My life is full of the mundane. I should just end it.

/wrists

@shockvalue: I couldn’t disagree more, while I don’t think she’s the best writer in the world, not by a long shot actually, if you read the series you’ll notice the writing ‘grows up’ with the characters. The first book is drastically different from the third, and the third is just as different from the seventh. Your post gave me the impression you hadn’t read the full series. That may be an false assumption on my part but I haven’t met anyone yet—even those who hated the books—who didn’t agree that the series as a whole is pretty complex, well written and well delivered..

I <3 asmonet. I agree completely.

I think Shockvalue truly answered the above question: why the Harry Potter series is inspiring. There’s so much crammed into the books that there’s bound to be something that the reader wants to know more about, sometimes to the point of finding the actual description/scene lacking. (Also, I agree that there have been better children’s book authors than J.K. Rowling – maybe not many who were more ambitious, however.)

@shockvalue, what is your evidence that Rowling used ghost writers?

Totally side with shockvalue. After I read the series, my friends and I got completly sucked into the world of Harry Potter Fanfiction. It’s addictive.