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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PatrickLawinger" data-source="post: 2462030" data-attributes="member: 2735">First of all, it sold somewhere around 8.5-9 million copies in the first 24 hours between the UK, Canada, and the US. This is still an incredible block-buster, but it is certainly not 30 million copies in 24 hours.Second, the books are decent. I would not call them literature, but they are a relatively fun read, particularly when it is something you can share and discuss with your children. If I didn't have kids absolutely thrilled by Harry Potter I don't know if I'd be so familiar with the entire series.Third, the HP books have lead to an increased interest in books by kids in an age of computer games and electronic overload (not increased "literacy"). People have actually spent time and money studying this. I don't think the credit lies entirely with HP, but I do know children whose interest in books does track directly back to the first couple of HP books. Finally, I don't think JK Rowling is a great writer, nor that it is all that original an idea or story, but my shelves are full of books that would fall into the same category. The idea that she is "subverting" fantasy or that she didn't recognize HP as "fantasy" is well, silly. I personally think she needs much better editing, but would you want to be the editor that pisses off the author that can sell 9 million books in the opening 24 hours?Anyway, more fuel for the fire ...Patrick</blockquote>