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Harry Potter and the List of Best Sellers
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From: Linda Zame <zame>
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 10:00:27 -0700
Since my ten minutes of fame came on the same news story where they announced the change in policy of the NYT's I feel I JUST have to chime in. I wish when they interviewed me they had asked my about this change instead of the religous right's objections to HP. :)
I am sorry to see the removal of children's books from the NYT bestseller list. I think that all things having to do with children in this country are marginalized. So if you are a children's librarian you are never quite as good as a general reference librarian, and if you are a child psychoanalyst then you must be a little bit suspect and not quite as good as an analyst who sees only adult patients. When a children's book moves on the the bestsellar list it for the moment moves us out of the ghetto and everyone can see that this deep and rich literature exists.
My husband who is an academic and generally does not read fiction has been slowly seduced into reading children's books. First it was Walk Two Moons for an adult book seminar I facilitated for analysts and their spouses and then it was His Dark Materials. Now we are on an extended summer vacation near an excellent public library and we are 'fighting' over who gets first dibs on the books from the children's room. Of course he is also a big fan of HP. And with it on the bestseller list has been able to 'sell' it to a number of friends and collegues.
Yesterday we had a long discussion about the literary merits of children's books. He had just finished Bud, Not Buddy and found it much more compelling and moving than most of the adult fiction he reads. I wonder how many adults may have a similar experience if children's books are part of the mainstream and visible as HP became when on the NYT bestseller list. Isn't possible that when The Amber Spyglass hits the stores in October that it too will sell enough to qualify but now will be shunted off the a list that most won't see and how sad to think of all who might miss it.
Linda Goettina PS Here is a link to my Nightline appearance click on the video icon and you can see and here me.
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/nightline/transcripts/nl000707_trans.html
Received on Wed 06 Sep 2000 12:00:27 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 10:00:27 -0700
Since my ten minutes of fame came on the same news story where they announced the change in policy of the NYT's I feel I JUST have to chime in. I wish when they interviewed me they had asked my about this change instead of the religous right's objections to HP. :)
I am sorry to see the removal of children's books from the NYT bestseller list. I think that all things having to do with children in this country are marginalized. So if you are a children's librarian you are never quite as good as a general reference librarian, and if you are a child psychoanalyst then you must be a little bit suspect and not quite as good as an analyst who sees only adult patients. When a children's book moves on the the bestsellar list it for the moment moves us out of the ghetto and everyone can see that this deep and rich literature exists.
My husband who is an academic and generally does not read fiction has been slowly seduced into reading children's books. First it was Walk Two Moons for an adult book seminar I facilitated for analysts and their spouses and then it was His Dark Materials. Now we are on an extended summer vacation near an excellent public library and we are 'fighting' over who gets first dibs on the books from the children's room. Of course he is also a big fan of HP. And with it on the bestseller list has been able to 'sell' it to a number of friends and collegues.
Yesterday we had a long discussion about the literary merits of children's books. He had just finished Bud, Not Buddy and found it much more compelling and moving than most of the adult fiction he reads. I wonder how many adults may have a similar experience if children's books are part of the mainstream and visible as HP became when on the NYT bestseller list. Isn't possible that when The Amber Spyglass hits the stores in October that it too will sell enough to qualify but now will be shunted off the a list that most won't see and how sad to think of all who might miss it.
Linda Goettina PS Here is a link to my Nightline appearance click on the video icon and you can see and here me.
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/nightline/transcripts/nl000707_trans.html
Received on Wed 06 Sep 2000 12:00:27 PM CDT
