For me a big part was that it was a book series that other people would talk about in depth. You don’t get that with most books, and I can talk about books for days. I wouldn’t put it in my top 10, but I know it back and forth because people will actually talk about it.

Agatha Christie for sure! I’m on a binge right now! I can never just read 1.

Also part of the HP generation, so I’m with you there. Besides that…Baby-Sitters Club and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

BSC feels like catching up with childhood friends, Tree is like going home to family.

Or people being shocked that bad/evil characters do and say bad/evil things. Or that stories set in the past don’t conform to modern morals.

While OP makes some fair points, and I hate that I’m defending Rowling, s/he is missing the bigger picture. If we look at wizards as a metaphor for white, Christian people, and muggles/mythical creatures as a metaphor for other races, this is what happens. Those in power subjugate those who aren’t, and dismiss them as lesser. That is a huge mistake, and is addressed in the books. The Death Eaters dismissal and poor treatment of non-human creatures leads to their downfall. The final battle wouldn’t have been won without centaurs and house elves. Sirius’ poor treatment of Kreatuer directly leads to his death. Umbridge is captured by the centaurs because of her insistence that she rules them.

Yes, many “good” characters are fine with elf slavery, but, as said in the book, the world is not separated into good people and Death Eaters. “Good” people can do or ignore really horrible things. Slave owners didn’t think they were evil. Many thought they were “good” owners, and their slaves were happy and better off than they would be freed. Someone from the outside, like a Hermione, would see that and be appalled, but when it’s all you know it’s easy to take it as right and natural. It’s how humans actually behave, not how they SHOULD behave. Many American slaves joined the Yankees and helped win the war, just like what happened at the end of Hallows.