Ok....So here goes...So we all love harry potter as much as possible, maybe even more than life itself, and we know its probably the same for everyone else here at Veritaserum. Me, for example, Harry Potter is my life, i depend on it 24/7. but is that really a good thing? i mean, we're going to be really upset when its over,JKR says that she will Never write another Hp book after no 7, after this its gone forever. How many people in the whole world will commit suicide or be close to commiting suicide once its over? 50? 100? These books are so important to so many people around the world. People have fallen in love with some of these characters. Many others get depression when one of their favorite characters die. And i mean actual depression. not whenever you just feel sad and say 'Oh im depressed.' no, this is actual depression. These books are all they have. Maybe if the hadnt read them, they would have been better off? although you have to remembver how happy they were at the start. Sometimes the best things arent always good.

So, harry Potter - blessing or curse?
What do you guys think about this?
Please leave your thoughts and opinions below.

Wow thats heavy. Even though I can see people getting depressed as the 7th book comes out, I don't think it will get as serious as people commiting suicide. I have often wondered what will happen when I finish the 7th book. Even though i will be terribly sad it ends with a epilogue and we know what happens in the character's lives and we have all the books to look back on and re-read. It has to end sometime and we need to remember that its not real as much as we want it to be These books are indeed a blessing to people all over the world, not a curse

~LovelyLily

yes, thats really heavy

i think it depends on the people who read the books... if you are such a fanatic reader that you would commit suicide when the story ends, then the books are a curse. it wouldn´t be the first time, i think, and it wouldn´t be the last time.

but... my first real conversation with one of my classmates was about harry potter, because we had been the only harry potter fans in our class. now she´s my best friend... and harry potter isn´t my whole life. so for me the books have been a blessing...

yeah, i see what you mean. i suppose it depends on the person. maybe i was being a bit dramatic.....but its possible right?...

for me it is a blessing, it means that there will be 7 books I can rely on to make me feel happy when I'm sad, it gives me something to do when I'm bored, they give me something to talk about when I've got nothing else to say, ... I'm addicted to Harry Potter but I don't let the books control my life!! I think the people of this lifetime are truelly blessed, we've got the Harry Potter series ( others will have too off course but we actually lived it!!), the Lord of the Rings films, Friends, ... we have so many beautifel things to pass on to our children and for that we are blessed!! I can't wait to be able to tell my children about Harry Potter and see the joy on their faces when they read it!! I have a simular feeling with my brothers but it's not the same... but Harry Potter should be an enrichement to you life, not your life itself!

These books are a blessing, there is no doubt in my mind. Commenting to xXTonksXx's first post, I hope to G-d that no one commits suicide, let alone just thinking about it. Think about how bad JKR would feel. If I was here and that happened, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

Like twiggysun, I don't let Harry Potter control my life; I guess you could say that I have a completely different life outside of Harry Potter. When I'm at school my friends and I havn't talked about it once. I don't know why it just hasn't come up.

For me Harry Potter has always come as a blessing. But sometimes I get into triuble for it. My parents don't like me reading Harry Potter, they always think that it's a waste of time. But I feel differently, I love reading HP and I can't stop reading it. When the 7th book comes out I'll be a bit depressed but no, I'll not commit suicide for it. I mean I can read the same set of books again and again till eternity...

As sweet_november said it depends on the person with these things and there might be some weirdos who commit suicide but that'll only mean that HP had a bad influence on people and parents like mine will find a reason to condemn HP and JKR. So callinfg to those HP fans who are thinking of suicide " Hey you are doing harm to a future generation of HP fans"

For me it's a blessing of course! Its given me years of pleasure and all that. Think about it: it helps kids get reading, its get them away from the telly ( apart from the movies, but focus on the books ) , and it can help empathy techniqes. For those of you who dont know what empathy is it's basically putting yourself in somebody elses shoe. See, it's about teenagers, which is about the age they majority of readers are amd it deals with real life issues. It also brings you hours of joy.

HP will never end for me... a legacy lol.

I think something that Griffindorgirlie said is very important.... Harry Potter has given the gift of reading to a whole generation of kids. I may not be that old (I'm 28), but I can't remember a single book or series as well-read or well-loved as the HP books in my lifetime. I'm not thinking of the last book as the 'end.' I see it as I still will have seven excellent books to read and re-read and share with my children someday. I think that as long as you don't let the HP universe die within you then you'll always have it.

But do you not think it will be annoying when you cant try to figure out stuff thats going to happen in the next book, or if dd and sirius are really dead? or is snape is good or evil? i think its going to be really frustrating when there isnt anything else to find out or anything more exciting to discover.

I think Poohki and Griffindorgirlie make a very valid point. the HP series helped get a lot of young children to read. I can remember being on the NYC subway and all i would see were children young in age with these huge HP books. In a time when children are mostly into video games and such things its good to know that there is actually something out there, like HP to stimulate their minds and get them to read. Im 24 years old and I can't remember a series of books out there that ever caught my attention.

As for what xxTonksxx said in regards to it being annoying not being able to try and figure out what is going to happen in the future, well I think we are all so eager for the new books because we want to know whats going to happen next, once all these questions are answered they're be nothing left to try and figure out. we know DD is already dead, and it was said in the OOTP that wizards can not come back once there dead. as for snape being evil, we'll soon find out in the last book.

As for when the last book comes out I think most will react to it like they do to any other era that passes, they will embrace it for its fond memories,and just look back on the good times. its like growing up you look back on the fun you had back then and reminiss

Yes, I must admit that it will be sad to not have any more mysteries to discover or anything like that. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, even Harry Potter. I suppose it's better that JKR end the series with a smash than drag storylines out until they get stale. I know series of books/movies/etc. that just keep going and going until people really don't care about them anymore. I think that would be very sad to see happen to the HP works. I hope that people can find new joy in re-reading, re-watching, re-writing HP stuff, but I do understand that with no new information, there comes a point where everything's been done. That's when we have to help someone else discover it for the first time and re-live it all from the beginning.

Very well put, poohki, i mean after a while, after all evil has been defeated ehat else is there to write about??? harrys kids and grand kids?? it would be like reading soap operas neverending plots that keep going and going and going. but i think i would like to see like one last book letting us know what everybody is up to like after a few years go by... maybe if ron and hermione hook up what ever becomes of my faves the twins etc..

It's like any great series. Leave it on a high note. I agree that if they kept HP going that it would eventually get stale.

But to call it a curse is too much. It is most definitely a blessing.

And besides, after book seven comes out, we still have to look forward to Half Blood Prince, and the seventh movie to come out! The world will never die, never fizzle. I mean, they still have Star Wars conventions, almost 30 years since the original came out!

Put it this way: Would you rather have not experienced Harry Potter?

hmm... this thread is quite interesting.

I think HP is both a blessing and a curse. I think that it is a blessing because it gives us something to do and write about and talk about. And keeps most of us out of trouble. lol But it will also suck for us when it is all over because there will be no more mysteries to solve or anything to look forward too. (not talking about movies) Seriously, what are you gonna do to occupy your time after it is all over?
But I think that it is a curse because it has us all so addicted to it, that it may not be so good. Especially to those of you who live for it. (No offense!) What are you gonna do when it is over? Its gonna take some getting used to... Good thing these sites aren't going away!!
~snitch

Harry Potter to me is definitely a blessing! I have learned a lot from the books, as a matter of fact. I grew up reading Harry Potter. Technically you could say I grew up with Ron, Hermione, and Harry! When the series is finally over, it wont be the end of the world. We can always go back and read again, and remember there are still two more movies to be done! (I dont think theyd get as far as 5, and not do the last two movies ) But like the saying goes, every good thing must come to an end.

But when a door closes another one opens somewhere!

Oh, I totally agree! Though it'll be sad to see the series come to an end; I just loved it so much. We can always read it again, but it just won't be the same.

The seventh book is going to be awesome, though!

HGJL

Oh a blessing definetly. Overall, its such a release to be able to read a book, watch a film then join a site like this. It makes everything so real.

I cant say i've learnt much from the harry potter books, but they have helped me in my writing, how to structure and all of the other really interseting stuff...

i guess its just tp have a whole world to discover, thats why i love lotr so much, and its is only a tiny fraction of the world that tolkein created. Hp is fast becoming a whole world too. When the books end, sther stories and extras can always be written, jk has created so many brilliant characters and places that she could write about them all.

i have to admit there are some down-sides. like the other day, we nearly ran over a child dressed as a wizard, i guess he thought he was invincible or something.
Oh and right now? im meant to be completeing some very overdue homework. instead what am i doing? browsing vtm and downloading pictures of snape and draco....

Clara}~

although i have no idea what i am going to do when it stops, the quote it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. A yeah? you try it.

Harry Potter has been a blessing. It's hard to describe how it makes me feel and how much I feel I am a part of the books. . .how into it I get. I definitely will be very, very, very sad when it ends. Definitely not to the point of suicide, but a little depressed. Of course that doesn't mean I won't keep rereading.
How do you think the forum will be like when HP is over? Well, we'll be discussing the 7th book of course and what we thought of it, etc. but eventually there will be nothing else to speculate. . .I wouldn't leave, though. I love it here.
Not to mention I can't survive a day without a Harry Potter site.

Usually, HP is a blessing it provides the most wonderful opportunities for escapeism. Right now though, during revision for exams,it's a but of a curse because I get distracted. i was silly enough to start reading HBP again and now I keep on wanting to read that and not my course stuff! But otherwise, blessing! It brings magic into the world!

wow. Im sorry about this, and Im not trying to offend anyone here, but you depend on it? Harry Potter is just a series of books we have grown to love. Of course Im going to be a little sad when the last one comes out, but thats natural, its the end of a journey and there is always a little sadness at the end of journey. But to say that I would be crushed or my life would end is a bit dramatic. Mabey you guys should stop reading into Harry so much, that is so not healthy.

well i suppose mostly it is a blessing overall because you know that you will always love the books no matter what but do you not think that when hp is over you cant write theories about what will happen next...well ok you can write them but you'll get annoyed because you will never find out what truely happened. I know that JKR has said that there will still be plenty to talk about after HPDH has been read but do you not find that it will never be the same?

(by the way im not trying to get everybody really depressed. to tell the truth i think the time i left the first post i was either really upset or in a VERY bad mood! i actually think that i was a bit over the top.......)

I have spent many nights thinking about how my life would be post Harry. And i couldn't come up with anything. I guess i would just re-read all of the books over and over until i am old and gray. I guess i would feel better when i let my daughter read them when she's old enough and see how much joy the books bring her. Just like joy they brought to me. And i hope we'll always have this site to keep us busy. Maybe we need to make a Harry Anonymous to talk about our feelings post harry.

I could see it now. Hi, my name is Reecy. (Altogether.. Hi Reecy!) And i'm here because the Harry Potter series has ended. (Counselor) And how does that make you feel?

Honestly, I find HP a major blessing. Yes, when the 7th book comes out and the last movie is made, it will be quite sad because there will be nothing new to see or read, but think of it more optimisticaly. You can then do more analyzing of the books and reread them as much as you want, because you know that this is all the information you're going to get, and this is all you have to use to figure out all the things left unfinished. Although my non-HP loving friends may find my love of HP a curse, now that I think about it, I can't imagine what I would of done having not grown up reading HP.

Harry Potter is definately a blessing! Without it my daughter would not be quite as imaginative as she is now. She loves HP and everything about it. She likes to atch the movies and act out the scenes along with the actors on screen. It is also such a great way to escape the "real world" I read HP everychance I get. I'llbe flying out to New Mexico tomorrow and HP andthe GoF will be with me the whole way!

No book is a Cure if it gets kids to read or anyone for that matter.
so yeah it's a blessing. I've grown very attached to the characters and everything about the books and when it's over I'm gona be VERY sad!....for awhile, but I'll get over it and there will be other books.
HP is not the only book/series that I love!
personally I love series books
Harry is my favorite but the Inheritance trilogy (Eragon, Eldest) is right up there.
I'm pretty sure that if you look hard enough you can find a book/series thats up there with Harry
or just read Harry Potter over & over & over....ect

Its gonna be so wierd when all the books are finished and everything comes to an end...no wait there will still be two more movies to come out so the world won't totally end, but i will admit the books are better,but if there was no movies there would be no Daniel, Emma, Rupert e.x. so yes i'd be very sad when i finish book 7 but i wouldn't say its a curse, NEVER!

i think it could be both CALL ME CRAZY but heres wat i think

Blessing: its a blessing because every one love the books and it puts you off in a fantasy world where you can do magic and hats talk.

but...

curse: it could be a curse because some people are EXTREEMLY obssessed with harry potter and they could like...go on a rampage and storm JK's house demanding more books lol

sorry i was trying to make it serious but turned out funny ... its mostly blessing though

....but it could happen...

A blessing. Definately.

Without HP, I wouldn't have inspiration, imagination and basically I wouldn't have a life! Harry Potter allows people of all ages to just get away from everything in the world.

If I just sit down, by the fire, with a chocolate biccy and a cup of coffee, reading Harry Potter, I just feel so relaxed. So away from it all. My own world of magic and wonder. Just me and the characters.

Without HP, I wouldn't have such amazing (sleep) dreams. When I'm asleep, I can truely enter the magical worl that Harry witnesses, everyday.

Without HP I wouldn't have such ambitious (life) dreams! My dreams to play Romilda Vane wouldn'y be there. My confidence and determination would be a teensy speck among my bad points.

The only bad things about Harry Potter ARE:
1) You can't put it down and...
2) When the series is over, my life will be a misery!!!!

it is a blessing that we get to read one of the greatest fanitsy writers ever and her books will inspire many to read that would not have. Look at all the people who have read 700 page books for fun before potter about no young people to after potter with throungs of young people reading long complex books. Blessing

i think that harry potter is a blessing because it really has an ifllunce on some people and its the best movie and books of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and i think that i would be crazy with out harry potter.

At first I was like definitely, BLESSING!!!!!!!! but then when I think about it it's also not because after the seventh book, I will be left without meaning in my life. So, it's a double edged sword that is a blessing now as I enjoy reading them, watching the movies, speculating. But after it's all done, I will be cursed to have to find some other hobby or learn to knit or something, which is soooooooo not what I want. I just want this to be a continuous blessing that will last forever!!

I agree with TheGoodGirl when she says that no book is a curse if it gets kids to read. Harry Potter allows people, especially teenagers and adults, to use their imagination, in an otherwise rational world. I can't even imagine my life without Harry Potter. I'm going to be devastated when the final book ends, but I'm not going to commit suicide. Hopefully no one has been sucked into the book that much, but I guess it happens. Plus, if Harry Potter never happend, I would have no clue who Daniel Radcliffe is. And that is seriously tragic.

Meaning no disrespect to anyone who feels their life will have no meaning when the books are over.. but it will. I'm guessing most of the people who feel that way are quite young (not to be patronising) - but it's definitely easy, when you're younger, to obsessively want things to last forever.

Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't love it if there was to be another HP book every few years for the rest of my life; but as you get older, you get more used to things coming and going, and so I think you're just better-prepared to deal with it. I don't know if anyone here has ever read the His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, etc) by Philip Pullman, but that series finished when I was about 15, I think. And I was pretty gutted...! But it's also made me better-prepared for the final Harry installment.

For anyone who feels their life will really be over when the series ends; don't forget you can read them again and again forever more.. and you've also got the 6th and 7th films to look forward to, not to mention that JK once said she may write another volume concerning characters' histories, etc.

In regards to whether the books are a blessing or a curse.. I'd say definitely a blessing. When I was little I used to read constantly; there would never be a time when I didn't have at least one book on the go (usually Enid Blyton, or CS Lewis, or Tolkien when I got a bit older)... and things have changed a lot now. There are kids in the schools my sister works in who don't even know how to hold a book the right way up, before they come to school. If Harry's achieved improved literacy for all the children who've read it (not to mention that he's opened their eyes to the world of books, and a lot of great stories they would have otherwise missed out on) then as far as I can see, the only thing he can possibly be is a blessing

Throughout my life I have noticed that every time I get annoyed with something, I read. Now most of the time in 5-10 mins I'm fine. So I've concluded that HP has sort of a calming feeling over me. And I was wondering if anybody else had this same feeling.

I, for one, am not calmed by reading books. When I am upset, I am unable to concentrate on reading. I usually read when I am already calm, tired, or something else. I confess, I find you lucky that you can wind down in only five or ten minutes.

Don't worry Salty, i get this feeling too. Whenever i am tired, annoyed, sad or angry i like to sit down and read - especially HP. It has the most calming effect on me because it allows me to leave 'my world' and enter somebody elses. Its like an escape route for me.

No,I don't get that feeling..In fact only when I'm happy I can read books..inthat way the happy mood helps me to concentrate,think about each line.So I guess I'm similar to After the Burial..you know,when I get angry I can read but I just don't understand each and every word!!

sadly no. i think reading in general used to calm me... inculding HP but now i hardly have the time or feel like reading and when i am annoyed,angry or upset i don't turn to reading. i find that i turn to music or "chilling" as i can't concentrate on the words...

Reading HP books or even playing the HP games on the multiple gaming systems is calming to me. Whenever I get aggravated I read an HP book, when I am bored I will play one of the many games that I have and it seems to do the trick!

Marcey

Actually yea..it is calming to me. It gives me a chance to relax and get away. It is a nice change from my son constantly wanting attention lol. I can't wait till book 7 comes out lol. I left all my HP books in Chicago and I'm in CA.

Well I agree because it does calm to go and read an hp book like the second one where they escape in the flying car but I only have the first one right now because i just moved from england to the u.s and left all my book stupidly..... so i know how ya feel SmanthaD710

I usually read all the time

but really I appreciate it when I'm sad

because when I'm sad I don't like to talk to anyone so I just read , and when I'm finished I'm much more happier

i agree...HP has a calmy sensation when read

wow i totally agree! i suppose it can sometimes be a blessing but when you get yo wrapped up in it is seems like a curse because its like youre addicted to it. its like giving up caffine or smoking or something although i hope its not as bad!



aw thats so sad they cant even hold a book properly? then yeah i suppose for them its a blessing

Harry Potter is by far a blessing.. hey that sound silly, but what the heck?? I love the books and the films, and think the characters are great. Alot of them have a hidden depth which we have found out as the series lengthens
=]

It is a blessing definitely I mean JKR has introduced a whole new world a magical world that is the best thing anyone has ever done. Well it is also a curse cause now I am hooked and will probably spend hundreds of dollars on the merchandise but I still love it!!!

"it's not everything but it's right up there with oxygen"

HP is both a blessing and a curse.

Blessing
It has given hope to those that do not have any. It has given many people a job. It has given us excitement in waiting for the new book and movie.

Curse
Some people can get carried away with it. I have a life besides HP, but when people are obsessed with HP, or anything else for that matter, it can lead them to a world of hurt. They do get depressed and they have lost their life for a life that is not real and will never be real because it's made up. It's fiction. In my opinion this is sad.

So, depending on how seriously and how obsessed or in love you are with HP, it can be a curse or a blessing. PM if this doesn't make sense, or just let me know what you think about this!

I don't think it's just with HP for some people. For me, I can go read any book and calm down if it's slow. I think it's more of a personal level and what the person needs to do or read in order to calm down. For some people it may be HP, but for others it might be Ghostbusters or The Truth About Forever

I am going to say that the HP series is a blessing definately. For one reason, I think that anything that inspires people to read is a good thing. For me I love to read, however, it had been a few years since I read anything new. I would always read the same books over again. Harry Potter changed that for me. It gave me something new to read for eight years now. It has also introduced me to fanfiction so I will never truly stop reading about Harry Potter. This will never be over for me because I couldn't possibly read ALL the fanfic everyone has written.

The other reason I think it is a blessing is that it makes individuals question what they believe. It makes people fight for what they believe in. I may not agree that banning Potter in Libraries is right but at least she is doing something passionate about something she believes in. (Laura Mallory) Standing up for what you believe is a good thing.