Encouraging reading

I was astonished to read Joyce Cassar's letter (July 18) of hell, fire and brimstone over Harry Potter's books. I am a 42-year-old teacher of modern languages and I have just enjoyed reading the latest Harry Potter book. It was a great experience, even though it was certainly not J.K. Rowling's best book in the Potter series.

I could not help noticing in Ms Cassar's letter a hint of "witch-hunting" and overzealousness. And two things have come to mind.

First, why is it that people seem to be so prone to bringing Christ, Christianity and morality into every single subject under the sun?

Secondly, why is it that people seem to be so prone to being unable to stick to the middle of the road in their beliefs? In this case, we either tend to throw God out of the window completely or else bring in the subject of religion in every single aspect of our lives. Which is wrong, in my opinion.

So, dear Ms Cassar, was my generation ill-affected by the enormous number of books of a fantasy nature? Did we really believe in those time-machines, creatures from outer space and the whole lot?

Were innumerable generations ill-affected by fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Did Enid Blyton inspire youngsters to form themselves into inquisitive squads and gangs?

In this light, I suspect that nobody who has read Harry Potter books can take Ms Cassar seriously.

Thanks to Ms Rowling's books, young people now have books that they love reading. And for the first time ever, young people from the age of 12 are being gracefully encouraged not to shirk away from reading 700-page volumes.