In this article from the Independent, Jonathan Myerson
criticizes the many grown-ups who are reading Harry Potter these days.
Myerson classifies these grown-ups Harry Potter lovers into three categories:
Never-Readers, for whom Harry Potter is the first book they have read in eons,
Occasional Readers, who have been convinced by the hype to make Harry
Potter one of the few books they\’ll read this year, and Regular Readers, for whom
Harry Potter is just one of many books.
Myerson heaps scorn on these adults, but what I find most offensive is not his
opinion of Harry Potter in particular (I\’m not a great fan), but his attitude toward
children\’s books in general.
In this article from the Independent, Jonathan Myerson
criticizes the many grown-ups who are reading Harry Potter these days.
Myerson classifies these grown-ups Harry Potter lovers into three categories:
Never-Readers, for whom Harry Potter is the first book they have read in eons,
Occasional Readers, who have been convinced by the hype to make Harry
Potter one of the few books they\’ll read this year, and Regular Readers, for whom
Harry Potter is just one of many books.
Myerson heaps scorn on these adults, but what I find most offensive is not his
opinion of Harry Potter in particular (I\’m not a great fan), but his attitude toward
children\’s books in general.
He apparently believes that children\’s books are for children and adult books
are for adults, period.
\”When I read a novel, I look to it to tell me some truths about human life –
the truths that non-fiction cannot reach… I expect my life to be enlarged, however
slightly, by the experience of reading something fictional. I cannot hope to come
closer to any of these truths through a children\’s novel…\”
Myerson cannot have read many children\’s novels, because the best of them
are full of life-enriching truths.
\”To read a children\’s book is not escapism – it\’s evasion, it\’s retreat, it\’s
surrender,\”Myerson confidently declares. I think he\’s the one who\’s missing
out.
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