Until a few years ago, I agreed w/ DUke - thankfully, I decided to actually look into the topic before ranting about something that I didn't have a clue about...
When the books first came out (well, actually around the time the third book was published) I was droning on and on about how I hated the hype going on w/ the series. It was just so silly...then, my wife read up on the books and showed me that the books actually showed Magic and Witchcraft in a good light for a change in a popular book series. Kids were eating it up and now, when they hear someone referred to as a witch they won't just get the image of Fairuza Balk in "The Craft" but can now think of Hermione Granger in the various Potter novels. It's a good thing.
Shortly after seeing the first movie (on DvD), I devoured the First, Third, and Fourth novels (I wanted to see the second movie before reading the book). I hadn't read anything this good since I read "Mists of Avalon"...
-Ferret
"Before you criticize the hype, find out what the hype is actually ABOUT"