Click to enlarge.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Harry Potter for Adults
The Harry Potter series is not without its critics, as anyone who reads the popular press, may know. One of the most famous critiques of the Harry Potter books is the July 7th, 2003, New York Times editorial written by the award-winning British writer, A.S. Byatt, who also wrote a series, whose main character also had the surname, "Potter". This editorial, entitled "Harry Potter and the Childish Adult" (CCPL Database access instructions) engendered a firestorm of contraversy and received an equally famous rejoinder by Charles Taylor in the online literary journal, Salon, called "A.S. Byatt and the Goblet of Bile". Another editorial response to Byatt, published in the India Times, titled, "The Magic of Harry Potter" by Rani Dharker, illustrates the trans-cultural appeal of this series to adults and children.
This brings up the point, "What is good reading?" S.R. Ranganathan, a famous native of India, himself, and one of the seminal figures of modern library history and practice, proposed five laws of library science, listed below. Laws 2 and 3 apply to this discussion and perhaps suggest that good reading is in the mind of the reader.
1. Books are for use.
2. Every person his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.
This brings up the point, "What is good reading?" S.R. Ranganathan, a famous native of India, himself, and one of the seminal figures of modern library history and practice, proposed five laws of library science, listed below. Laws 2 and 3 apply to this discussion and perhaps suggest that good reading is in the mind of the reader.
1. Books are for use.
2. Every person his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Predictions and Literacy
It is no secret that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has given children's and fantasy book genres a tremendous boost in popularity and readership. Another subtler, positive outcome of the series' popularity is the increase in the use of primary literacy skills such as making predictions. Making predictions about reading is one of the curriculum standards that students are required to master by the SC Department of Education (click here to see SC English Language Arts standards ) beginning in pre-kindergarden (PK-R1.8). We hope that CCPL patrons of all ages will enjoy our Harry Potter contest, even if, like the old cereal ad, they don't know that it is really good for them!
For more information about
reading literacy skills from the
National Center for Family Literacy,
click here.
Harry Potter Cover Art
Here are some covers for Book 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in Farsi (Iran), Hindi, Finnish, Danish, Ukrainian, UK English, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French, Swedish, and German. Enjoy!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Thinking Outside the Box
In the array of literacy skills used by readers to comprehend what they read, literature analysis is one of the most deeply personal. Literature analysis asks the essential question of a work of fictional literature, "What does it mean?". For nonfiction the primary analytical question is "What is the point?" and requires a slightly different set of tools, such as knowledge of the writer and his/her possible biases as well as some background knowledge of the subject being discussed. Knowledge of the writer is also useful in analyzing fiction but not as essential.
The tools for analyzing fiction are various and subjective depending on the individual reader. Literature like visual art, speaks to each individual in a unique way. The reader may use any conceptual framework that he /she is familiar with as the starting point for beginning an exploration into the meaning of a work of literature.
I was introduced to this concept in a science fiction lit class by a professor who would analyze a work of sci-fi using various schools of psychology as his reference point. He would do a side-by-side analysis of a particular work using Freudian, Jungian, and Adlerian terminology and concepts. A religious scholar would have perhaps used the framework of one or more religions in their analysis, while a folklorist would take the culture of the writer and his/her subject into consideration, and a scientist might use their familiarity with scientific theories and paradigms to connect to the work.
There is no one way to analyze literature and if a work is strongly appealing to the reader it may lead the reader to explore multiple disciplines in order to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning. For example a work of historical fiction might move a reader to read actual historical accounts of the events depicted in the novel. The more "tools" (i.e. disciplines) readers are familiar with, the greater the opportunity for the reader to connect and connect more deeply to a work of literature. Looking at literature through an assortment of disciplinary lenses also helps a reader to connect to other readers and their takes on a work of fiction. Exploring different disciplines as they relate to a work of literature is also an excellent way to achieve the ultimate literacy goal: life-long learning.
The tools for analyzing fiction are various and subjective depending on the individual reader. Literature like visual art, speaks to each individual in a unique way. The reader may use any conceptual framework that he /she is familiar with as the starting point for beginning an exploration into the meaning of a work of literature.
I was introduced to this concept in a science fiction lit class by a professor who would analyze a work of sci-fi using various schools of psychology as his reference point. He would do a side-by-side analysis of a particular work using Freudian, Jungian, and Adlerian terminology and concepts. A religious scholar would have perhaps used the framework of one or more religions in their analysis, while a folklorist would take the culture of the writer and his/her subject into consideration, and a scientist might use their familiarity with scientific theories and paradigms to connect to the work.
There is no one way to analyze literature and if a work is strongly appealing to the reader it may lead the reader to explore multiple disciplines in order to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning. For example a work of historical fiction might move a reader to read actual historical accounts of the events depicted in the novel. The more "tools" (i.e. disciplines) readers are familiar with, the greater the opportunity for the reader to connect and connect more deeply to a work of literature. Looking at literature through an assortment of disciplinary lenses also helps a reader to connect to other readers and their takes on a work of fiction. Exploring different disciplines as they relate to a work of literature is also an excellent way to achieve the ultimate literacy goal: life-long learning.
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