JK Rowling is this site's patron saint.

After all, isn't she the truest egalitarian bookworm (chick?) out there. Her books are as egalitarian as books have ever been, what with their gazillions of readers, and she borrows beautifully from literary predecessors as disparate as Dickens (all the funny names and the portrayal of childhood), Roald Dahl (ditto, plus the gross humor), Austen (the social commentary and wit) and of course Tolkein and Lewis--with a hefty chunk of the genius being her own, of course.

I love the woman. I just love her. And I know that no matter what success I have in life as a journalist and writer I will never be able to do what she has done, which is to captivate children and hold the world in thrall. She's amazing!

Anyway, here are two articles which are getting into the properly egalitarian, non-snobby way to celebrate Harry.

A piece and discussion on HuffPo about the political themes in Order of the Phoenix--of course the readers think it's anti-fascist and pro-democracy, and so do I! Republicans for Voldemort.

And finally, a big old op-ed in the LA Times about how Harold Bloom and his ilk should SHUT THE FUCK up and stop looking down their goddamn noses about HP and other "popular lit." Key quote (emphasis mine):

The most prominent of those naysayers, that drooping defender of the canon, Harold Bloom, has, in his attacks on Rowling, provided us with fine examples of another reason for the Potter books' popularity: the insularity of a literary culture that willfully ignores what it is that makes people readers in the first place.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! to the author. And fuck you, to would-be spoilers. My reading experience will never be diminished.