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I think Harry Potter poses such an interesting case study for our generation, in particular.  I'm also taking Writing for Children this semester, and part of what we've spoken about so far is how HP totally revitalized the "young adult" industry.  It was those books that showed that kids were willing and able to read, say, 700 page books if the books themselves were worthwhile.  It's also interesting how we all grew up with HP, so to speak--the "reading level" "increased" as we grew older, too.  

I think the value of "out of class books" is immense, and part of what is so compelling about this case study is just the fact that the series "belonged" to our generation, so to speak.  It became cool to read HP during lunch/recess/free time, and it sort of became a touchstone--something that, at least for a while, almost everyone had in common.  I also remember it seemed like everyone read it almost exactly at the same time--i.e., as soon as it was published, perhaps due to the nature of the "midnight release parties."  (Question:  Did midnight release parties even exist before HP?) 

Re: engaging students with certain books, I remember my third grade teacher tried to use HP as our read-aloud book for a while, and it failed so miserably--indeed, ~killed the magic~--that she didn't finish the book.  I understand the need (from an educator's perspective) to jump onto whatever excited kids when it comes to literacy, but I remember feeling like her decision to read us HP is what took away some of its "coolness."  Furthermore, part of what's empowering about kids with HP is the fact that they can read HP themselves.  In retrospect, I totally appreciate that she tried to revitalize her curriculum for us and tried to teach us what obviously excited us, but I think it would have been a "smarter," or at least more beneficial, pedagogical decision to read us something that related, perhaps thematically, to HP, rather than the exact same text itself.  For example, reading, i.e. "Midnight  Magic" by Avi, could have introduced us to a new author and new form and story--we were already enthralled with HP, so her decision to read it to us simply underscored (yet simultaneously weakened) our already-established relationship with the story.