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"Big Read Final tonight"

Well i think its pretty obvious that Lord of The Rings will win.

Against the power of Mordor, there can be no victory.

> No. HDM aren't classic. They're just new.

Erm, but so are the Harry Potter books.

> In 50 years, I'd bet Harry
> Potter will be held as classics, and HDM will be as Thomas Covenants
> Chronicles are to LotR.

Well, I guess we would have to see. But I disagree totally. I find the whole Dust / original sin / war against god / multiple universes thing to be far superior and literate than HP's "Kid goes to wizard school" thing. Just my opinion though.

Classic books, especially kids books, should be possible to be read on different levels. In HDM, you can read it as a straight adventure, but they offer far, far more than a simple story. HP started to explore territory like that with the mudbloods, and the wizard factions wanting what is basically racial purity, but veered well away into safer waters with the last book which is basically government influences on education.

Heh, Thomas Covenant “The tales of the whinging leper”. Read these years ago, and am currently onto book four of his “Gap” series. Quite good, if extremely bleak SF.

Pandaemonium wrote:
> Stryke wrote:
> This feels like the umpteenth time I've said this, but the Harry
> Potter books have inspired so many children worldwide to read again.
> Do you think Dark Materials, which is poor compared to Harry Potter,
>
> ?!?!?!?!?!??!?!? You are joking right? Right? Please say you are.

--

No. HDM aren't classic. They're just new. In 50 years, I'd bet Harry Potter will be held as classics, and HDM will be as Thomas Covenants Chronicles are to LotR.

Cyclone wrote:
> But 1984 (and Great Expectations) is just. Brilliant.

Fully agree. One of my favourite books. I must have read it a good dozen times now. A book that has had such an effect on the collective conciouness (Room 101, Big Brother) has to be celebrated.

Anything that gets kids to read should be encouraged, and HP is the equivalent of a training tricycle. One they are happy with the safe and stable, more advanced titles should be brought out.

Strangely, I’ve never read Dickens at all. Might have to get hold of some of his work.

I liked Roald Dahl, just not Enid 'lets enjoy a really fake adventure' Blyton.

Ransome used the kids imaginations.

Although Malcom Saville was a bit Blyton-esque, but not so stupid half the time.

I was always quite partial to 'The Fantastic Mister Fox'
by roald dahl.

of course, I was a kid when I last read that.

or 'The enormous Crocodile'

hmmmmmm

*fumes*

I know that, it's my opinion.

His Dark Materials has also had a huge imapct on reading, albeit not in the same way. But it's also actually good :)

Harry Potter simply annoys me in this context - that it came higher than 1984. True, it has 'woken kids up to reading' (F**king stupid kids), and yes Dahl and Blyton (urg, I hated those books - Arthur Ransome was wwwwaaaay better) are classics and use similar styles.

But 1984 (and Great Expectations) is just. Brilliant.

Stryke wrote:
> This feels like the umpteenth time I've said this, but the Harry
> Potter books have inspired so many children worldwide to read again.
> Do you think Dark Materials, which is poor compared to Harry Potter,

?!?!?!?!?!??!?!? You are joking right? Right? Please say you are.

> would even have registered if Potter had never been written? Dahl and
> Blyton had equally stupid names in their books. Doesn't mean their
> works aren't classics.

Very true. I've read all the Harry Potter books and all were entertaining enough (apart from the last one, that *sucked*) but to be considered a "classic". Never.

They are fun and irrelevant, but hardly the stuff of classics. Not to mention it’s basically a retread of “The Worst Witch” and Neil Gaimans “The Books Of Magic”

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1563890828/ (space) ref=sib_dp_pt/102-6470906-1740116#reader-link

Check out the similarity to Harry Potter here. Spooky.

This feels like the umpteenth time I've said this, but the Harry Potter books have inspired so many children worldwide to read again. Do you think Dark Materials, which is poor compared to Harry Potter, would even have registered if Potter had never been written? Dahl and Blyton had equally stupid names in their books. Doesn't mean their works aren't classics.

HDM 3rd? ooo, unexpected.

1984 came 8th. Harry Potter came 5th.

Even if it is a 'favourite book' how can some cliched, stupid stupid kid wizard who *shock!* is a 'chosen one' and eats stupid named food because it's 'funny' beat the pure chilling brilliance of 1984???!!!

*fumes*

Cyclone wrote:
> 1984 - 8
> Catch 22 - 11
> Pride & Prejudice - 2
> Great Expectations - 17
> His Dark Materials - 3
> come?