More Nick Hornby on NPR

Nick Hornby, my favorite novelist, was on Studio 360 this morning and said that he was bothered by the popularity of Harry Potter among adults. His point was that the Harry Potter books are good children's novels, but that adults are missing out on a lot of good literature. Of course, Hornby admitted that he had only read The Sorceror's Stone (the first book in the series). Personally, I've been impressed with how the content of the books has matured as the characters in the story have. J.K. Rowling obviously has plenty of fans, but I'm not sure that she gets the critical acclaim that she deserves.

Hornby might want to read the rest of the Potter books. I think he would be pleasantly surprised. I read a lot of books—about one per week. I read popular fiction and non-fiction, obscure fiction and non-fiction, some academic stuff, and a variety of books related to my job. Still, I'm not sure I enjoy reading anything as much as I enjoy reading the Harry Potter books. I love Vonnegut and Salinger and Nick Hornby. I enjoy the creative non-fiction of David Sedaris. I am fascinated by the work popular Bible scholars such as John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. Still, there's something about Harry Potter. I read all of the existing books in the series about once per-year, and I never get tired of them. Nick, give them a try.