We live in an age of fandom. People cling to their favorite things to the point where they become an obsession. As you read this very sentence, the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees are battling it out in the World Series, and crazed fans from each team are rooting them on like lunatics. (Hours prior to the final National League playoff game, the city of Philadelphia greased the city's lampposts to prevent festive fans from climbing them.)
You probably know plenty of sci fi fanatics, and a few passionate Mac users. We don't need to tell you about the wild Twilight fans who have already bought tickets for the premiere of New Moon next month. And everyone probably knows a Harry Potter or Star Wars geek. But when your friend is a fan, and you are not, it can strain the relationship. We have a few tips to help you deal with your favorite fanboy or fangirl.
Is there a better way to put off your homework than to spend 4 hours deciding which J.K. Rowling character best captures your own personality? Of course there isn’t.
We’re pretty much all book nerds here at SparkNotes (as are plenty of you Sparklers), so we love this time of year. Why? Because from September 26th to October 3rd, it's National Banned Book Week, which gives us a chance to feel like dangerous political rebels instead of pale, bespectacled shut-ins.
How can you celebrate? Pick up one of the hundreds of great books out there that somebody has tried to ban, like 1984 or James and the Giant Peach. And as you're reading, try to figure out why in the world these books were/are considered incendiary. We have a few guesses:
Sparkler ilikedishes is one amazing writer. She's also a big HP fan and a fan of good music, which makes her triple awesome in our book. Enjoy her post, it's one of our faves! —SparkNotes Editors
I'll be the first to admit it: When it comes to Harry Potter, I am a full-blown nerd. I've read and re-read the series more times than I can count, and I've seen the movies so often I can practically recite them. I even have a cardboard cutout of the boy wizard in my basement. But there is an aspect to my Harry Potter fandom that is a little more obscure and much less publicized: wizard rock.
Wizard Rock (commonly known as wrock) is exactly what it sounds like: a bunch of huge Harry Potter fans getting together and playing really awesome music for fellow fans. Some bands write songs from the perspective of one character, while others write about the series or the fandom as a whole.
We’ve tabulated your responses, Sparklers, and we’re happy to say that the vast majority of you agree that the Kingdom of Nerds shall inherit the Earth. What’s more, a lot of you are proud, Jedi-banner-waving nerds ready to declare your love of Harry Potter, Robotics Club, or Nerd Fighters (which didn’t turn out to be the underground boxing club we expected).
Twenty years ago, “nerd” was the kind of word that caused students to declare war on each other or start stealing lunch money. Now there are whole groups of people who proudly call themselves nerds. On the first day of school, there were probably at least one or two people in your class who introduced themselves by excitedly talking about what huge nerds they are.
The popularity of “popular literature” (aka “not likely to appear on an AP English exam”) tends to be pretty short-lived. Some pop lit books make it into the canon (Frankenstein, Jane Eyre); others vanish without a trace.
Which of our favorite books-of-the-moment will be read by the Sparklers of 2059, and which ones will have been totally forgotten? Let's discuss the odds:
Along with good vs. evil, hot vs. cold, and Harry Potter vs. Twilight, cat people vs. dog people is one of the most basic of rivalries. Cat people like to point out that their feline friends bathe themselves, never make too much noise, and can curl up comfortably on your lap. Dog people argue that their canine pals are more fun, will learn tricks, and can be used to hunt foxes.
But cat AND dog people overlook the hundreds of other great pets out there, plenty of whom are just as cuddly as kittens and as lovable as dogs. For all of our animal loving Sparklers out there, we suggest the following:
Harry Potter. Twilight. His Dark Materials. Eragon. Percy Jackson. These books have become very successful, and all it took to make them was a few well-organized words. So what are you waiting for? Write your own fantasy novel!
We've come up with a few tips and tactics to help get you on your way. Follow these rules and you will become a bestselling author overnight. (Then you can sell out and turn your books into lackluster films and TV shows!)
Remember how excited we were about the hotly-anticipated release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Well, it's been a couple weeks, and your SparkNotes editors are ready to call the latest installment... an EPIC WIN. The romance! The intrigue! The Quidditch! It was all so fantastic that, by the time the credits rolled, we'd gleefully eaten a giant-sized tub of popcorn in a sort of Potter-Hungry fugue state.
Of course, as with any work of cinematic wonder-stuff, we liked some bits better than others... and, we imagine, so did you. Which bits, you ask? Read on for a full rundown of the Harry Potter parts that expecto'd our patronus, and the ones left us cold and confunded. (Note: For those who haven't seen/read Half-Blood Prince yet, this post contains spoilers. Also, what planet are you from? Go buy tickets immediately!)
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