Is Harry Potter nostalgia dependent?

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I-love-bookssss
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Re: Is Harry Potter nostalgia dependent?

Post by I-love-bookssss »

Having only watched the Harry Potter movies as a child and than reading the books as an adult, I would say it is nostalgia dependant. There is something so unique about Harry Potter that, like the starting of the first movies, the starting of the first book bought back all the memories I had of watching Harry Potter growing up. I will say it was harder to get into as an adult as my opinions about characters have changes. Such as Snape and Dumbledore not being the good guys and seeing them in a more negative light. As a child I was able to accept and even encourage the redemptions arc of some characters but now I can't seem to bring myself to share the same sentiment. So it is nostalgia dependant but only if you still share the same views.
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Post by AnnaMarie Collins »

I was a young adult when HP was first released, so I read through them as an adult. I absolutely, 100% think nostalgia plays a huge role in its cult following. I adore the series, so I can relate to the excitement some people feel when they see a HP backpack or notebook.
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Post by Ohna Martin »

I think you simply outgrew it. I have all the movies and all the Harry Potter ebooks, if I am lucky I might just buy the series of books for my collection this month. I read the books, I have listened to them in audiobooks and I watched the movies and I still cannot get enough.
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Post by Alet Van Tonder »

I must be honest, I do agree thag a bit of nostalgia makes this series even better. I rewatched some of the films a few years later and suddenly it was much less entertaining than I remembered.
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Post by Claire Twy »

Hmm, I would say that depends because I don't think nostalgia is the sole reason so many people love the books, but I think it definitely contributes. Most people I know read the books when they were younger, or to be more precise, around the age when one could hopefully wait for their letter from Hogwarts. Nostalgia builds books we read in our childhoods up in our minds - particularly for such a childhood staple as Harry Potter - and creates a much more fond and favourable impression of it. The reputation helps to form a subconscious impression as well, but I think the books are certainly worth a read! The world is creatively and skilfully developed and the hype isn't all nostalgia, I promise.
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Post by Loniya Chabili Mubanga »

I've never read Harry Potter nor have I ever wanted to. I don't think it's nostalgia dependent though, I think people love it because it's well-written and an escape for many kids or adults from the real world, as all books are. But this one is very graphical and hooks readers from the start. It just depends on whether you like fantasy novels or not, and how much!
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Post by Adekeye Hassan musab »

If it is Stephen King that appeals to to you then I don't think you would really love harry potter. I for one been a adolescent do not think it really depends on nostalgia but its okay if that's what you think it is but I don't think so.
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Post by Adekeye Hassan musab »

esp1975 wrote: 23 Aug 2019, 13:50 I read the first few books in the series for the first time as an adult. I haven't read all the books. But for me, that is probably because the books all came out when I was already an adult.
I don't think HP is nostalgia dependent, because I do think new readers who are of the right age for the books will always relate.
And for adults, at least in the US, pretty much none of us have the experience of going off to school, so there's nothing about the books that will inspire nostalgia.
I think you simply aren't the right target audience for the books. That's okay. I own all the movies. I've read some of the books, but have no deep desire to finish them.

And yeah, if Stephen King is what appeals to you most, then Harry Potter isn't likely to be your favorite. That's okay. But it's also okay for Harry Potter to be the favorite of someone else, and have nothing to do with nostalgia.
Yes, I would agree with you on the fact that if Stephan king is more his style then he probably wouldn't enjoy HP more.
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Post by Angela Ormson »

Honestly, I could see this being a possibility. I grew up reading Harry Potter, just a baby teenager that sat outside to wait on book releases for it. Harry Potter wasn't this huge thing then. It was an escape from reality that helped me to feel like I had a home away from home.

Now that it has gotten as big as it has with different articles and news popping up every day between political views from the author and political views on religion and everything else, I can see why it would be a harder series to get into.

Personally, I still recommend an attempt at a read through, but sometimes, popular books just aren't right for people.
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Post by Ben Madeley »

I don't really think it's nostalgia dependent. I read it as I was growing up, my brother started reading it as a student at college and my parents read it in their mid-fifties.

All of us thoroughly enjoyed it, it's good and fascinating, I don't think liking it is dependent on anything other than that.
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Post by Carlos Mata Saenz »

I think the best age is childhood/teenager age, maybe because of that what you say, you feel more identified if you are at that age.
Now, when I read them again, I feel them almost like a tradition. I love the series and, maybe, one of the reasons is the bond I got with my family as all us read them and discuss them as a group.
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Post by Sav Sparkman »

I also wonder if enjoyment of these books is nostalgia dependent. Anyone I know who read them as a preteen seems to absolutely adore them. I tried to get into reading them when I was an older teen and young adult, and I just couldn’t enjoy them, definitely not to the extent that I heard my friends discussing them. Someone in these comments mentioned it may be more a matter of taste, and that could be the case. However, I enjoy many other young adult books and similar magic/fantasy oriented worlds. For me, the HP series felt a bit underdeveloped at first and then grew so vastly complicated that it seemed to loose any sense of what it really was. I felt the writing, especially in the first few books, was not very compelling, and the writing in later books is over complicated.
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