h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I noticed an advert in the Guardian this weekend saying that the Harry Potter books were now available in "Adult Editions" - was this a joke? If not, what does an Adult Edition of a childrens book entail?

Except the Harry Potter books were never writen with children in mind... it just sorta happened that way.

The whole "adult edition" thing is proabably just a scam to cash in on the "above 25" crowd.

peace.

Sounds a little creepy if you ask me.

Maybe, but it is also smart. A lot of adults will now shell out their hard-earned $$ for the "new and improved" version. This could be the move that transforms Harry Potter from a current child craze into a timed classic. Not that I am for that. I am no fan of the Harry Potter series. But this could do it, sadly.

peace.

I know some adults who are big Potter fans, anyway. When my cousin's wife expressed interest in the new Harry Potter movie, I simply stated that I, personally, was much more interested in seeing The Lord of the Rings translated into film form. She answered, "What?"

Lord of the Rings=greatest fantasy trillogy (4 if you count the Hobbit) ever.

peace.

I heartily agree. I didn't really expect my cousin's wife to have read The Lord of the Rings, but I had trouble grasping the fact that she hadn't even *heard* of it.

Yeah, it's too bad. But some people only pay attention to what is on the #1 bestseller list at the moment. Which, ironically, is usually c**p.

peace.

So true. I'm almost afraid to ask her if she's ever read the hitchiker books.

I wouldn't. I'd just slip a copy in her christmas stocking and hope she reads it. Or something along those lines.

peace.

It would be interesting to see if she would appreciate the humor of Douglas Adams or if she would read a couple of chapters and declare the book to be "stoopid."

I let a friend borrow the complete hitchikers guide toward the end of school. She kept it the entire summer. In the begining of the new school year she returned it. When I ask how she liked it, she said that after reading the first chapter or two she thought it was dumb and stopped reading. I was rather surprised... then grew depressed. *sigh* We can't all be appriciative of great litterature I guess.

peace.

Yeah, it's too bad everyone can't appreciate a fine work like the guide. Then again, it feels kind of cool to be one of the people who gets it.

Amen to that.

peace.

think the new harry potter adult books just have different covers so look more refined and less childish

Yep - that's the only difference; the content is just the same. You just pay a pound extra for the 'stylish' 'modern' cover.

I haven't read the books, but to me they do look like childrens books. Something like the Narnia books or Alice in Wonderland can be read by adults. But these ones seem quite simply in my opinion. And not overly original. I read a book when I was little called The Seventh Son. Seems it had the same plot.

Ah!

Marketing.

I thought they had released HP's with adult covers ages ago. Weren't they the ones with black and white photos on the cover? Pretty much guarenteed they'll release at least six more versions with th film photos on the cover. Lets see: one for the script, one really dumbed down for stupid kids, one with directors comments, one with stills from the film, one hard back luxury edition, one hardback cheapo edition, one paper back large size, one paper back small size,.....

bet you can think of some more.

FABT

Don't forget the autographed luxury hardback with high-quality photos from the film to illustrate crucial points in the story...

Yes, the adult editions have been available for ages. They have much better cover art than the children's ones.