As Harry Potter Mania sweeps the Globe

[Guest BlackJesus]

[img]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/07/14/harry.potter/cover.potter.jpg[/img]
[u]Harry days are here again
'Half-Blood Prince,' Rowling's latest, due Saturday
Friday, July 15, 2005[/u]


(CNN) -- The numbers speak for themselves.

There are 270 million of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books in print, 80 million in the United States.

The Potter books have been translated into more than 60 languages.

They have spawned three movies (total worldwide take: about $2.6 billion), with a fourth on the way this holiday season.

The sixth book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," has been No. 1 on Amazon.com's bestseller list since it was announced in late 2004.

The book, which is due for release Saturday, already has worldwide pre-orders of more than 2 million copies, 1.4 million from Amazon alone. Half of those are in the United States, so many that United Parcel Service and the U.S. Postal Service are teaming up to deliver them all.

Scholastic, the book's American publisher, is printing 10.8 million copies of "Prince," a record.

[Bengals_12th_Man]

I like the movies, but never read any of the books.

[Guest BlackJesus]

[color="green"][i][b]Some Christians want to ban the book... which I have to admit I have never read any of them seen the movies, don't even know what it is about, (Don't like that Genre) but hey if the Christians hate it, I'll defend it I guess.[/b][/i][/color]


[u]Look Out, Harry Potter! -- Book Banning Heats Up[/u]

J. K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter children's book series topped the most frequently banned books last year. The books about sorcerers may head up the list again, for the second year in a row, if the shift in censorship cases continues to focus on books about fantasy. This week, National Library Week, Education World examines the issue of book banning. Included: Resources for establishing procedures in your school system to handle challenges to popular books.
Look out, Harry Potter! Your mystical adventures aren't sitting well on bookshelves in some school libraries and classrooms. In 1999, the focus on wizardry and magic in J. K. Rowling's best-selling children's books made them the most challenged books in 1999, according to the American Library Association (ALA).

The Harry Potter series is keeping company with such frequently banned classics as John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Last year, there were 26 challenges to remove the Harry Potter books from bookshelves in 16 states, said Beverley Becker, assistant director for the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom.

Reasons for book banning have shifted over the past decade, said Mark West, a professor of English with a specialty in children's literature at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and author of Trust Your Children: Voices Against Censorship in Children's Literature. "During the 1980s, most of the censorship cases were anything that pertained to the body, sex, and swear words. [Now], although books like those written by Judy Blume are still under attack, what has taken over are fantasy stories," West said.

Opponents of the Harry Potter series believe that anything that mentions a witch or a magic spell is equated with evil, West said. "They don't see it as fantasy," he said. "They see it as real. A small group of Americans can't accept fantasy that way. They really do care [about the book's impact], so they go against others' legal rights."


[u]CHRISTIAN WRITER SAYS POTTER CONFUSES KIDS [/u] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/30.gif[/img]
Berit Kjos, a Christian author of several books, including A Twist of Faith and Brave New Schools, doesn't see it that way. Although she is neutral about banning books in schools, she points out that schools have permitted information about other religions because of the prevalent multicultural emphasis.

"Times have changed," Kjos said, noting that children today are more vulnerable to fantasy stories such as Harry Potter because they may view the imaginary world as much more fun compared with the real world.

"There has been a paradigm shift from the social context that was the old biblical view," she said. That shift makes it tougher for children, with less biblical knowledge today, to evaluate good and evil or to resist such threats to their faith, Kjos maintained. She has responded to parental concerns about the Harry Potter series by offering parents guidance on her Web site.

"Christianity clashes with a love for witchcraft," Kjos said. The biblical God doesn't fit into Potter's world of wizards, witches, and other gods. The Harry Potter series teaches an Earth-centered spirituality, the same religion as what the witch religions teach in the San Francisco area, she said. "It is a religion that is very real and is spreading throughout the country. It makes me very uncomfortable when [children] are immersed in topics that make witchcraft very exciting. It can be very confusing for them."

Arch Priestess Tamara Forslun, of the Church of Wicca Australia, doesn't agree that books based on differing cultures and belief systems should be removed from schools based on individual fears. "For generations, we have had books based on fairies, witches, goblins, magic, … all with differing views," she told Education World in response to the controversy regarding the Harry Potter series. "We cannot remove something from this world because of fear and ignorance. These are children's books, and as long as they are not nasty, cruel, ridiculous in any way or show witches as evil, obscene creatures, then there is no cause for mudslinging or legal retaliation."


[u]NUMBER OF CHALLENGES DECLINES[/u]
Although controversy about the Harry Potter series has raised recent awareness about censorship cases in public schools, the total number of book challenges has dropped to its lowest level since the American Library Association began keeping track of them in 1991. In 1999 there were 472 challenges, compared with 762 in 1995, when the largest number of challenges were reported to the ALA.

The ALA defines censorship as the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons -- individuals, groups, or government officials -- find objectionable or dangerous. It occurs when expressions -- such as books, magazines, films, videos, or works of art -- are removed or kept from public access.

West credits the decline in the number of challenged books to the fact that most schools provide parents with alternative options for assignments, respecting individual parental objections to certain materials. Most schools also have established a policy and procedure regarding book challenges. His advice to school administrators, if they don't have a policy, is to develop one now, before the school district faces a censorship challenge. (See the sidebar "What You Can Do Before and After a Challenge.")

"Nowadays, with the opt-out possibilities, it is very difficult to make a case that your child is being hurt, since they can read something else," West said. During the early part of the 1980s, he believes, parents who challenged school materials had fewer options available compared with the opt-out choices they have today, such as home-schooling or providing alternative reading assignments. "Parents then were sincerely motivated and operated under religious convictions they truly believed in and wanted their opinions accommodated in the public school situation for what was best for their own children," West said.

"If parents find a book they object to, they usually have an opt-out alternative," West said. "If they persist in having that book removed from the school, it seems to me there are more complex motivations at work." He believes with the alternatives available to parents, those waging a censorship battle cross the line from parent and move into the role of censor.


[u]DO TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS SELF-CENSOR?[/u]
"Most teachers and librarians won't acknowledge [that they self-censor], so we don't know how deep or widespread [censoring] is," said Nat Hentoff, author of several First Amendment books, including The Day They Came to Arrest the Book and Living the Bill of Rights: How to Be an Authentic American.

"Talking to teachers and school librarians, they do self-censor," Hentoff added. They are aware of the list of books that are in trouble, and if they use those books, it gets them in trouble too. "A lot of the time, they think, 'What is the use?'" he said.

Discussion about the Harry Potter series across the country prompted school superintendent Gary L. Feenstra to direct teachers in Zeeland, Michigan, to stop using the book for read-a-loud purposes and for school librarians to remove it from library shelves in November 1999. He decided not to ban the book; however, he placed restrictions on its use and determined the school district would no longer purchase future Harry Potter books for the school libraries. Existing copies of the books would be made available for check out to students with parental permission.

Feenstra stated in a letter to the school staff that he had reached his decision after reading the first Harry Potter book in the series, discussing the issues with educators, and reading critiques of it from all sides. Although the school district has a process regarding challenged books, Feenstra made his decision outside that process. According to Jim Camenga, communication specialist for the school district, Feenstra defends his decision, claiming the school district's procedure pertains only to curriculum materials, not to books used as resources.

Four months following Feenstra's directive, the Zeeland Board of Education voted to establish a committee to look into the matter. The committee comprises parents and educators from each school in the district not involved in the current debate and is expected to render its recommendation about the book series by May 2000.

"Perhaps teachers are self-censored because they felt the chill [from the controversy]," said Charles Suhor, a field representative for the www.ncte.org National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Suhor disagrees with Feenstra that he didn't "ban" the Harry Potter books: "It is outrageous that [Zeeland School administrators] claim [Feenstra's] directive is not censorship. The corner of censorship is when you take a book that is used out of the school or library."

Spells and magic aren't the only concerns that are stirring up controversy about Harry Potter. Since the Columbine tragedy in April 1999, parental concern has increased about violence in books and in other school materials, Suhor said.

"People all over the country started worrying about [Harry Potter books]. Some of those who want it banned claim it teaches violence. Teachers who use this [series] say it just doesn't compute," said Suhor.

[Guest BadassBengal]

I'm hooked in a good way.

On another note, I'd hit the chick that plays Hermione in the movies. With my wang, I mean. Not with my fist. Word.

[chad7elevenjohnson]

Those books are the only books I read by choice. I'm not much of a reader but Harry Potter is the shit

[sean]

I've read them all and I'm hooked. My wife pre-ordered the new one.

[Jason]

Read them all and loved every one. I am about to finish re-reading book 5 now, and we are buying book 6 tomorrow. Already have a reserved copy.

[ChicagoBengal]

I've never read the books and couldn't get through the first 15 minutes of any of the movies when they've been shown on DTV. I'm just not a fan of the genre (fantasy / sci fi / etc.)

[Guest BadassBengal]

Hell, you dont need to have reserved it. If you're havin trouble find one, just go to a bookstore in the hood. All the copies will be there.

[Guest BengalsOwn]

the suck.

[|RayDoggBengal|]

Not an choice for not read the books but liked the movies.

[|Bunghole|]

I liked the books I've read as well as the movies, especially because when I read them, I can feel the Devil's fingers massaging my brain...I've now converted from Catholicism to Wiccan, with hopes that I can attain true Satanic status soon.
And I owe it all to Harry Potter! Thanks Harry, you changed my life!

[Jason]

[quote name='Bunghole' date='Jul 16 2005, 04:45 PM']I liked the books I've read as well as the movies, especially because when I read them, I can feel the Devil's fingers massaging my brain...I've now converted from Catholicism to Wiccan, with hopes that I can attain true Satanic status soon.
And I owe it all to Harry Potter!  Thanks Harry, you changed my life!

[right][post="115312"][/post][/right][/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

[Guest steggyD]

What's a book?

[Guest BadassBengal]

I finished the book just a few minutes. I'm sad...

[The Scales]

[quote name='Bengals_12th_Man' date='Jul 15 2005, 04:14 PM']I like the movies, but never read any of the books.
[right][post="114993"][/post][/right][/quote]


Exactly

[quote name='steggyD' date='Jul 16 2005, 07:31 PM']What's a book?
[right][post="115365"][/post][/right][/quote]

[BobbyLabonteFan]

I read the 6th book in three days...only because the only time I had to read it was while I was at work and those darn customers kept interrupting [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]



Now I have to wait 2 years to read the final book


I hate waiting [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//20.gif[/img]



But I don't really know which side I would be...I am torn between Gryffindor and
Slitheryn. Half of me is this nice and gentle person, but the other half can be evil and mischievous [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//19.gif[/img]

[BengalsCat]

read the whole series nothing wrong with them.. surprisingly good books

[BengalSIS]

[quote]"Times have changed," Kjos said, noting that children today are more vulnerable to fantasy stories such as Harry Potter because they may view the imaginary world as much more fun compared with the real world.[/quote]

No shit Sherlock...isn't that the point of books and fantasy for kids...to be more fun? Stupid Mudblood.

Anyway, great books...reread the 5th and just finished the 6th. Hate waiting for last one.

[emc334]

[quote name='BengalSIS' date='Jul 22 2005, 10:50 AM']No shit Sherlock...isn't that the point of books and fantasy for kids...to be more fun?  Stupid Mudblood.
[right][post="117615"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/24.gif[/img]

I spent the last month breezing through the first five after my girlfriend finally convinced me to read them. Awesome books, and the sixth was great. I'm with ya Sis on the wait...

[sean]

[quote name='emc334' date='Jul 22 2005, 01:58 PM'] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]   [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]   [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

I spent the last month breezing through the first five after my girlfriend finally convinced me to read them.  Awesome books, and the sixth was great.  I'm with ya Sis on the wait...
[right][post="117620"][/post][/right][/quote]


Most I know who made fun of readers and then were convinced to read themselves....got hooked. There has to be some subliminal message with these books. Perhaps there is an enchantment on them. Every time we read we restore power to Voldemort/SATAN.

[Guest steggyD]

[quote name='sean' date='Jul 22 2005, 03:28 PM']Most I know who made fun of readers and then were convinced to read themselves....got hooked. There has to be some subliminal message with these books. Perhaps there is an enchantment on them. Every time we read we restore power to Voldemort/SATAN.
[right][post="117645"][/post][/right][/quote]
It's all part of the occult. You all will burn in hell.





















Sorry about your luck, but there's no turning back now. [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//3.gif[/img]