Book Nerds Unite discussion

This is basically the same thing as the previous topic I created, Do You Support The Maze Runner?

I totally get that. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much for sharing, Mary! I totally agree! :)

Mary wrote: "I think that when you look at a universe like Harry Potter, you see how something made by one person can turn into something belonging to millions of people. I don’t support J. K. Rowling, but I su..."

I completely agree with you. The way that I cope with J.K. Rowling's transphobia and still buying merch/books is I donate money to help trans people so that even if some of my money is going to JKR, I'm also helping trans people with my money. I find transition funds for trans people or posts saying that they need help with finding safe living spaces and I send money directly to them to help.

Thats a really cool idea!

I try to push past all of JKR's transphobia because I really enjoy her books, but her opinion about trans people is terrible. If we are just talking the books, Harry Potter is amazing. I would do anything to go to Hogwarts and meet the people I grew up reading about but I do not support JKR.

I don't like JKR as a person, but i love her as a autor. I never buy books so i didn't buy her books.

I agree with Mary!

Of course

See, this is the complicated books. Lets just say I love the fantasy (the fiction), the writing, Do I like her. no. But like, do I like the characters in the book, of course

Yes!

I think we’re all in agreement that we don’t support JK, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like the books. Even if the person is not very great, she can still create great stuff.

I don't like Harry Potter. I don't like the whole show magic as good thing. I'm a Christian so I believe that magic isn't a good thing, it's a corrupting thing, so I don't like that aspect. I read a little and I didn't like the writing style either so

I don't really know much about the author tbh, so I don't know if I like her, but I really like the books. I like the way they've been written, plus the plot.

i never read the books because my mom doesnt believe in witches and wizards

no, i do not support hp
i haven't read the books but i enjoyed the movies
i just don't like jkr

My opinion on her doesn’t effect my opinion on her books but I’m not going to support ger through buying books. I do think its important though to recognize some that there are problematic themes in her books and I think the controversy regarding her has prompted discussion about a lot of those things.

I like Harry Potter very much. I read the books when I was 10 and they were my first fantasy books that weren’t for children specifically. I don’t really have an opinion on JKR, because I don’t know a lot about her. I just know that there were some scandals, but not really what they were about.
So I try to separate the book from the author as I do with every person. I try to separate their work from their person or private life, so I do that with Harry Potter too.
But the books are great! They’re a masterpiece of fiction from my point of view.

I used to be obsessed with Harry Potter, until I found that out. I don’t like her at all as a person, but as a writer…..

I’ve been trying to keep myself from ever reading her books or watching the movies because I know I will be over obsessed again,

Also, the Cursed Child was horrible.

Question for the mods: Are Mary's comments hidden or deleted?

Brienne wrote: "I used to be obsessed with Harry Potter, until I found that out. I don’t like her at all as a person, but as a writer…..

I’ve been trying to keep myself from ever reading her books or watching th..."

Regardless of how people feel about JKR, I feel like everyone collectively doesn't like The Cursed Child. lol XD

I feel that TCC on its own isn't necessarily bad, but in terms of the HP universe, it's an extreme disservice.

violetderey wrote: "Question for the mods: Are Mary's comments hidden or deleted?"

Hi Violet!

Good catch! I'm not sure why Mary's comments aren't showing up. My best guess is that her account was deleted, along with all of her comments.

However, that's also something I don't get, because normally the comment is just attributed to "[deleted member]." So, I guess, maybe they were deleted or reported?

I'm honestly not sure anymore, but I know that we mods try not to delete comments to encourage free speech. :)

Hope this helps/made sense! :)

I love them with all my heart.

I love Harry Potter and I don't care about the author and what she does because I don't like judging a book by the author.

I don't know. I loved the first 5 books but it became much more redundant after JK just started killing everyone off. And at the end of the day, sometimes HP is overrated.

if you dont support hp i dont know if we can be friends.

I love Harry Potter. I've re-watched the movies over and over. I've read the books and want to go on all the tours. And here's the big one I'm obsessed with the Fan Fiction right now. It's enjoyable, it's fun.

Hi, everyone! Sorry if I am late to join this discussion.

Anyways, to answer your question, I am glad to say that I have not outgrown the Harry Potter series! However, I do admit that I liked books one and two significantly less than I did when I first read it. Meanwhile, I enjoyed books 5-7 significantly more! The first two books felt very watered down; nostalgic, certainly, but very watered down nonetheless; I think it is very obvious who the (middle-grade) target audience is. Those two books are pretty fun comfort reads (and who does not want a comfort read?), but I would not read it if I am looking for something with actual substance.
I began enjoying books 5-7 for their more nuanced worldbuilding and for being surprisingly mature, especially for a middle-grade series. What is ironic is that The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows were my two least favorite books in the HP series when I first read them, yet those same books are now my favorites in the entire series! If you want, you can look at my reviews of the series to get a more detailed nuanced understanding about how I feel about each individual book, but overall, the series is still enjoyable, although a bit watered down in the earlier novels.

It does appear you guys are trying to discuss the J.K. Rowling controversy, though, so here is what I think: I do agree with what some of you have said above: I think it is best practices to judge books by their material, not their author. If it just so happens that the author's political opinions slips into an actual book she writes and you happen to find them problematic, then sure, you can say that those sentiments made your reading experience less enjoyable. However, I don't think you should change the rating of a book simply because the author says something outside of the pages of a book that you disagree with; that's just part of being an informed reader, at least in my opinion.

As for the actual controversy itself, all I would just like to say that both Potter fans and JKR could be a bit more open-minded. I get that some of the author's tweets could come off offensive, although I think there are also times when cancel culture pushes limits. We need to all just listen to each other, just as rational, open-minded human beings should, whether you agree or disagree with what JKR says.

Still, back to the prompt, I support the author about half-way, but support the books and the fandom 100%. Those are wonderful!