Harry Potter as the Antichrist?

[pjnow]

I view them as childrens' books that are unordinately long for children

I'd argue that there's no such thing. The books aren't meant for small children they're meant for kids 10-15 or so.

I started reading real books at 8 with the Hardy Boys. I remember being disappointed that some of them were so short, and being very happy whenever I came across one of the longer ones.

I first read Lord of the Rings when I was 13, all three books were in one 1100 page edition- I couldn't get enough of it. I read every Michael Moorcock book ( definitely not children's books ) I could get my hands on and would have been in heaven I he'd done them in thousand page increments ( instead of the 180 pages most of his stuff was in at the time ).

I tend to get lost in the story and relish a good long read, the more time to enjoy the book.

Anything that encourages kids to read is good, if a longer book keeps their attention longer that's better.