6 ms·
So, why should an adult choose to read this over actual literature?
by n09n 13y ago
So, why should an adult choose to read this over actual literature?
- gyardley 13y agoIt's inventive and clever, extremely well-written, and the combination of a hyper-rational character in a fantasy world setting is unique. Don't let 'but is it literature?' questions deprive you of an enjoyable reading experience. That said, you probably will get more out of it if you've already read J.K. Rowling's novels, and if you worry about whether something's 'actual literature' or not, I'm guessing you haven't.
- bgilroy26 13y agoI'm not in it, but it seems like it has a neat, active community.
- unimpressive 13y agoThere are two kinds of fan fiction, fanfiction that degenerates from the source material, and fanfiction that generates from it. The former is much more common than the latter but this is without question the latter kind. Then again, I can understand if you have better things to do, I try not to read books that I'd regret spending the time on later. As a litmus test, if I could revoke having read HPMoR in exchange for the time I used, I wouldn't.
- bromagosa 13y agoI agree with you in all possible ways. Counting that your average lifespan will be around 85 years, and you've been reading real literature since you were 14, that gives you 71 years of good reading. That is, if you are lucky enough to preserve your eyesight. On average, let's say you read about 12 books per year, which gives you the sad total amount of 852 books you'll be able to read in your whole life. In my case, I've still got enough time for 684 more books. Think about this when you go into a library. A whole life worth of books fits into a couple of bookshelves... There are more authors worth reading than books I'll ever be able to read before I die. So, nope. IMO you should NOT choose to read this over actual literature.
- swombat 13y agoThis is "actual literature". I say this as someone who greatly enjoys world classics as well as modern writers, everything from Gogol, Tolstoi, Kafka, Dickens, Dumas, and so on... The only point of reading JK Rowling, imho, is to make HPMOR more fun.
- unimpressive 13y ago>There are more authors worth reading than books I'll ever be able to read before I die. Since you seem like you would have an interesting opinion on this: What books do you feel I should read before I die?
- bromagosa 13y agoWell, I don't have an actual list, but I usually choose books I think will still be read 500 years from now.
- unimpressive 13y agoIs that a litmus test for quality, or do you plan on being alive five hundred years from now?
- bromagosa 13y agoIf you had read my words, you would know I obviously "plan" to live around 85 years, and the verb «think» would have suggested to you that I don't have an infallible way to know what the people of the future will enjoy reading. I thought you were asking sincerely, but it seems you're either trying to start a flame with your sarcasm or just not reading through my words. If I want to read good sci-fi or fantasy I'll pick Bradbury, Asimov, or any other brilliant author I _think_ will still be read in 500 years. Go and read whatever you like, I couldn't care less.
- unimpressive 13y agoI was asking sincerely, you gave me a non-answer.
- gizmo 13y agoAt the risk of taking a pithy dismissal a little seriously: Different categories of books offer wildly different experiences, and the marginal utility of great literature goes down the more literature you read. By reading the best books in different genres you get a far more richer and rewarding experience than by reading only great classical literature (or only the best biographies, or only the best scientific literature). hpmor is at a local optimum, or at least close to it. It is clever, contains tons of in-jokes and obscure references to geek culture and the book successfully subverts many tropes. So if you liked reading sci-fi or fantasy as a kid or if you like geek culture you probably will like hpmor as well. Try the first chapter or so and see for yourself.
- n09n 13y ago>It is clever, in-jokes and obscure references to geek culture and the book successfully subverts many tropes Thanks, that's enough to tell me that I wouldn't enjoy it.
- Tichy 13y agoI think you are probably not open minded enough to enjoy it anyway, so in your case I'd recommend to skip it and sticking to something with more complicated words and more obfuscated and mysterious messages that allows you to sustain your airs of high culture and intelligence.
- honestcoyote 13y agoBecause this is one of the more interesting books of recent years, creating an interesting story, showing the tragedy and comedy of a very logical and rational boy who tries to interact with chaos of humanity, and the book manages to work in many discussions of science, rationality, politics, Bayesian statistics, and the potential and limits of each. If this book had used an original setting with renamed characters but was identical otherwise, it would be hailed as a modern genre classic. If you have any interest in fantasy / sci-fi / or the original Potter setting, this book also deliberately sends up or subverts many of the tropes common to this setting. The application to the fantasy settings is particularly interesting due to the main character attempting to apply the scientific method in a world where people can perform magic and do so without questioning where it comes from, and the book therefore tries to take Clarke's old maxim to its limit. Is it literature? I personally think so. Will it be read in fifty years? I have no idea and care little. Do adults need to only sit down with incredibly serious books which have been approved by a set of gatekeepers? No. You're missing out on a world of weird and wonderful things if you limit yourself in such a way.
- n09n 13y ago>If this book had used an original setting with renamed characters but was identical otherwise, it would be hailed as a modern genre classic. If that were true, then wouldn't it have happened already? 50 Shades of Gray is a famous example of fanfiction that was well-received enough that it got rewritten into a standalone work. I wasn't impressed. I see no reason not to interpret "best fanfiction" as "least stinky poop".
- bryanlarsen 13y agoThe difference is that 50 Shades of Gray is fanfiction for those who liked Twilight. I didn't like Twilight, and I didn't like 50 Shades. OTOH, Methods of Rationality is fanfiction for those who were disappointed with Harry Potter.
- cabalamat 13y agoIn what sense is fanfic not actual literature?
- n09n 13y agoIn the sense that it is almost uniformly trash.
- ebbv 13y agoSomething tells me the people who like this are the same ones who think Big Bang Theory is hilarious.
- jmagoon 13y agoBecause it might cause them to take themselves less seriously.
- smsm42 13y agoThe same reason an adult could watch football instead of (insert your favorite meaningful activity here). Some people happen to like it.
- n09n 13y agoFootball isn't known for typically being aimed solely at teenaged girls. Harry Potter fanfiction is.
- smsm42 13y agohpmor is the only Potter fanfic I have ever read, and I couldn't see any particular affinity to teenage girls. But maybe all others are, I have no idea, so I defer to your expertise here.