A thing a have noticed about Harry Potter fandoms, is that there's a disproportionate amount of queer folks that are really into it. The book never once mentions anything LGBT related. It's not like the wizzarding world is super accepting of anything out of the "norm" either. They're all about traditions and old ways of doing things, so I don't know how positive their stance on gay peeps would be anyway. Maybe it's just the escapism of another world beyond ours that is the appeal? Why it resonates so strongly to a specific niche of people is a bit of a mystery to me.
1) it gives you that "sports" kick without having to participate in any of the sports the people who don't like you participate in. 2) The "fairness" of most sports is core to their playability and comprises the majority of arguments over rules. The "fairness" of Quiddich is taken to be nonexistent - that whole "find the snitch and win" thing is inherently unfair as it makes all other efforts pointless and there isn't a match in the whole of the wizarding world that has any fairness to it. So. It's going to attract people who want to play sports, but not with people who play sports, and who are attracted to unfairness. Nothing puzzling about it.
Christopher Hitchens agrees. I love that review. When I was a kid, I read Harry Potter first. Then I read Phillip Pullman right after. And I'd agree with Hitchens - The Golden Compass is infinitely better, more thrilling, and sends a better message. I only read Harry Potter to get points in the MS Read-a-Thon. Just to clarify - I think JK is profoundly stupid. You're right - her beliefs are rooted in a very simplistic view of the world. But if kids are willing to sit and read 700+ pages of books it won't be very hard for them to move up. Holy hell, I think I should do a standalone review of His Dark Materials. That shit was tight.