The Harry Potter craze

The books, particularly the first one, are brilliant. Simple plotlines that children can follow, yet witty and well written in a way that makes them entertaining for adults. The fantasy world is imaginatively drawn, vivid, and *fun*. Plus--anything that gets kids interested in reading something longer than a magazine article is A Good Thing(tm).

The movies...eh. If separated from the books, they're pretty good. But I tend to prefer the book to the movie as a rule--my own imagination is usually more interesting that whatever Hollywood puts on the screen. Plus, screenplays dilute the beauty of the writing. They can't help it--it's a limitation of the medium.

The Oh-So-Frightening Religious Implications: Oh, please. Say it with me, slowly: FAN-TA-SY. FIK-SHUN. These books have singing hats, flying cars, and floating staircases fer cryin' out loud! There is nothing of real witchcraft anywhere in there.

The Craze...I'm not big on crazes as a rule. It took some doing to get me to read the first book, because I tend to resist doing things just because everyone else is doing them. But I'm glad I did, because the writing is well worth it.

--fc, purveyor of gender-neutral opinions