Wild about Harry? Or not.

Do you love Harry Potter? Tolerate him? Can't stand him?

Whichever one it is, chances are that you have a strong opinion about the boy wizard. I've been surprised at how polarizing these books can be... either you like them or you don't. It's pretty impossible to recommend the series, because everyone has heard of it, and you can't say "I know this great book, you should give it a try."

There's a third category of people... the ones who really, truly want to like Harry, but just haven't been able to get past the fourth or fifth books. (Pssst... if that's you... see if you can make it to the sixth book. It's terrific... and in my opinion it's one of the best in the series.)

I've also found it difficult to make recommendations based on Harry Potter. Whenever I get asked for a book recommendation, I always ask what else the person has enjoyed reading. If they answer "Harry Potter" then it gives me pretty much nothing to go on... and I have to ask for another book they like. Why? Because you can enjoy Harry Potter and be an eight year old interested in light fantasy, or an eighty year old looking for serious science fiction. So many people like Harry, for so many different reasons.

I find that when you read the next book (or if you read it at all) is a pretty good indication about your relationship (or lack thereof) with Harry Potter. I've put up a new poll (see the right side of the page) about when (or if) you plan to read Book 7. Take a moment to answer... I'm always curious to gauge reactions (and see if I should scale back the Harry Potter posts a bit- or not).