Harry Potter during the rise in the popularity of the Harry Potter books. The research also found that children who read Harry Potter books were not more likely to go on to read outside the fantasy and mystery genres. NEA chairman Dana Gioia said the series, "got millions of kids to read a long and reasonably complex series of books. The trouble is that one Harry Potter novel every few years is not enough to reverse the decline in reading." Jennifer Conn used Snape's and Quidditch coach Madam Hooch's teaching methods as examples of what to avoid and what to emulate in
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter released in bookstores. When his nephew and nieces received the book, they read it for the remainder of their vacation with him. Colbert, a historian and former head writer on the television quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", became interested in the books and bought the first novel in the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", to see what the story was about. As he was reading, he began to notice mythological references in the book. He commented: "I almost laughed out loud when I came across the three-headed dog <nowiki>[</nowiki>Fluffy<nowiki>]</nowiki>. I instantly knew it was a