Literature in the world

Harry Potter has become such a part of our culture that you'll often find references to it in other things, often without any mention of the fact that it's from Harry Potter. I love finding these. I found one in my reading at work day before yesterday, in the New York Times Book Review from June 1, in a review of the book "Love, Nina" by Nina Stibbe, written by Emma Gilbey Keller: "They come from quick-witted stock, and they’re a constant source of the articulate, Hermione Granger-ish back and forth you might expect from two London schoolboys with such brainy parents." No mention of who Hermione Granger is, because Harry Potter is so well-known that everyone reading should know who Hermione Granger is! I love that. It's almost like the Bible: you can throw in a reference to Noah or Judas or Abraham with no need for explanation, because everyone should (though these days not everyone has enough familiarity with the Bible to) get the reference. I found a Lord of the Rings one today, in the same publication - a reference to hobbit holes without any explanation of what those may be. It was great. I'd hate to not know the source material (be it HP or the Bible, or LotR) well enough to get allusions like this - it's a good reason to try to be 'cultured', whatever that may mean in a given society at a given time. Even if HP isn't your thing (or the Bible, for that matter), it's worth reading just so you can keep up with the references. I definitely agree with people trying to get the Bible taught simply as literature in schools; it's so pervasive in our history and culture how can you get by without at least knowing the basic stories?