Sunday 22 July 2007

I've been kind of bemused by so-called Pottermania.

Because I don't understand it. I've never seen anything like it before.

I've never seen people queue up for over fourteen hours for any other series of books before - it's uncanny...

(To put it in perspective, the last time anybody queued up here for a book that wasn't being signed by the author, it was for the preliminary findings of a tribunal investigating planning corruption.)

And it's everywhere.

I was watching the British Open last Sunday and the camera managed to find spectators with copies of the book. Several times. The cynic in me might suggest it was a subtle marketing ploy, but Peter Alliss (a revered British golf commentator for those who don't know) wouldn't be party to something like that...

I haven't read any of the books yet. My nephew, who's ten, got 'Deathly Hallows' on Saturday, and started reading it to his mom, which was a switch, she having read the others to him.

One thing that I do find funny, though, is the so-called 'Adult Edition'; exactly the same book, it seems, except with a more sedate cover.

Now that's a marketing ploy...

2 comments:

Becca said...

Potter is a funny phenomena. I've never seen anything like it before or since it started and I've been working in books for almost 15 years.

I always tell people though it's one of the only over-hyped things that I feel really deserves the hype. I have talked quite a few skeptical people into reading these books and they always...after a slow start at the begining of book one, the set-up takes it's time...fall in love with the series and breeze through all the available books.

And I think the reason people fall in love with these books is the fault of the characters; they are all so damn likeable and interesting.

You should give the books a shot the first two are definitely kids books but after that they get complicated. It's some great reading.

I seriously do not get those adult covers though...how silly.

Captain Incredible said...

Becca - I'm actually looking forward to reading the series, and I'm not bothered about being seen with the 'kids edition', being of course, still a kid at heart...

I guess the popularity is infectious - the movies are the type of stories where you know who the bad guys are (most of the time) and you can cheer for the heroes.

And you don't get so much of that any more...

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