Quote:
But writing for people who don't like to read is not going to produce people who like good books. It's just going to produce people who like easy reads.
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I also take issue with the "at least they are reading" idea. I haven't quite decided if I agree with it, but it seems to me that simply reading is not as important as what is being read.
There are better options for introducing people to books. There are accessible, delightful classic works of children's lit, but it's not limited to those; there's excellent modern children's fiction as well. The difference between those and Potter is a difference in exposure and marketing. It's the parental equivalent of letting your kids learn what to eat from TV commercials. Hey, at least they're eating.
Start a child with Harry Potter, and they may venture into better work. I think it's just as likely their progression would be something like
Harry Potter-->
Twilight-->
Confessions of a Shopaholic. If you wean them on mass market product literature, with no guidance, there's no reason to expect them to stray from it.