"I'm crushing your head"

I imagine this is already everywhere, but just in case. A.S. Byatt takes adults to task for liking Harry Potter. Or at least, that's about the size of it in my opinion. The thing I find interesting is the thinly masked envy motivating this piece. Of all the popular things in the world, why decide that this one reveals the terrible dark underbelly of sloth and lack of imagination? I can point to a dozen things less deserving of being popular without thinking too hard.

It's as if the success of the book themselves reveals a lack of quality. This is something I've never subscribed to.

Granted, I've not read these books. I read about half the first one and lost interest, but it was perfectly fine. I don't know if I'll read the others or not. Too many books, too little time. But I'm glad other people read them and get so much enjoyment from them.

I really liked Stephen King's review of the latest one in the last Entertainment Weekly. He gets it. And has no reason to be envious.