UPDATE:  Okay, maybe I should clarify.  I’m not a literary snob like this guy.  I’m not advocating that people should be reading James Fenimore Cooper or Nathaniel Hawthorne.  I, too, enjoy my share of massively popular culture (e.g. "American Idol"). 

I mean — honestly — I’m the first person to agree that it is okay to have a cheeseburger for dinner sometimes.  Everything doesn’t have to be endive salad.

And even then, some very well-read intelligent people I know swear that the Potter books — apart from actually being fun — are very well-written and qualify as "literature".

So, in other words, I’m not anti-Potter or anti-Rowling.  I’m just anti-hype.  I mean, my God, we just weathered the whole iPhone thing, and now we’re all going to be talking about this for the next week?

And — okay — I’ll admit it — I’ve never read a Potter book, or seen a movie.  Or even a trailer for a movie.  It’s like being the only one not "in" on the "inside" joke, or like being the only guy at the formal ball wearing cargo pants and brown shoes.  Call it jealousy if you want — I’ll cop that plea.

So let me ask you Potter people out there — where does a Potter virgin start?  Book One?  Or should I watch the movies?