And speaking of the Harry Potter books, what's up with Hermione?
Two things bothered me about Hermione while reading the books. Firstly, what's up with that name? Every time I read it, I had to pause to attempt to remember the pronunciation. In fact, I didn't quite get it until about Book 6, despite my co-workers' pronunciation reminders. I'm sure the author, J.K. Rowling, probably included a pronunciation explanation early in the series, but it somehow didn't sink in. Finally, later in the series, Ron develops a habit of saying "Er-my-nee," which greatly sped my reading.
The other issue I had with Hermione involves the plot. You see, these super powerful adult wizards reform a secret society called the Order of the Phoenix to battle the evil Voldemort (flinch). Their headquarters is cleverly concealed and protected by spells to keep out non-members and muggles (humans). Schoolgirl Hermione (Er-my-nee, see it helps) -- in keeping with her habit of visiting Ron and his family for part of the summer -- just happens to be staying at this super secret headquarters. Yeah right... Rowling gives no explanation.
Links:
[1] http://hcpl.net/category/tags/harry-potter
[2] http://hcpl.net/category/locations/parker-williams