I Heart Harry Potter

So, I don't know about you guys, but I freakin' love Harry Potter. The final movie is coming out in less than a week, and I count myself excited. Actually, "excited" may be an understatement. Chris and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 this past weekend, in order to feed fuel to our inner Harry Potter fires (Incendio!). Whoop whoop! Oh, and Chris re-read the second half of the 7th book as well. I'm also a bit sad that the end of Harry Potter madness is almost here. Today I realized that I've been experiencing HP Fever on an ongoing basis for about half of my life... and that's pretty significant.


I think I read the first book in middle school... I can't remember which grade I was in (6th? 7th?). In fact, I have no clue how the HP series first made it into our home. But, I do remember reading the first book in my bed in one evening when I was either mad or feeling sad/misunderstood (ah, middle school... I don't think you could pay me a million bucks to go back to middle school). Also, my little sister, who hated reading, got hooked on HP in fourth grade and forever became an avid reader thereafter. Thank you, JK Rowling.

I remember spending weeks of summers in avid anticipation of the books coming out, and I remember remarking at how the writing and stories grew in maturity each year as I did. And then I would spend one glorious day/night reading the entire new release, completely wrapped up in another world and another reality (and perhaps a blanket), and none of my real-world life and problems existed for those sweet 6-12 hours. And then, as I turned the last page and closed the back of the always-two-hued hardcover, I'd be ready for the next summer and the next (hopefully fatter) novel. My sister and I would discuss rumors about what would occur in the upcoming release, we'd argue about which characters were the best, and who was truly good and truly evil, and we'd always order two books (sharing=  no thank you).

I also remember being home for the summer from college when the 7th and final tome came out, and I specifically recall talking to Chris on the phone after he finished the book (because he was at his own home on break... weird to think of that now!). He was so heartbroken that it was all over. I mean, he just sounded so sad.

So, I think we've both read the series twice now, and it's so fun to have someone to see the movies with and to share the fever with.

The movies coming out over the years have been wonderful, mainly as a way to relive the glory and anticipation of when the books were coming out. Plus, despite what a lot of people say, I think they've done a pretty damn good job with most of the movies. All I'm asking is for the wonderful story to be told on the screen, and for it to be entertaining and mostly true to the book.

Now, here's the part where I get on my literary soapbox: For those of you who don't want to have anything to do with Harry Potter on the grounds that you don't like that so many people like it, that's like saying that the Beatles suck because they're too good. And for those of you who think it's "lowly" or "juvenile" somehow (I'm thinking of a lot of my fellow English majors in school), I feel sorry for you. You're missing out on something truly enjoyable (why does a book have to really be anything other than enjoyable? Especially if it doesn't claim to be more than that?). So, remove that novel-sized stick from your very tight butts. The first couple books may seem juvenile to you now if you're over 14 or so, but I seriously recommend powering through them to get to books 4-7. And if you're someone who thinks that books about magic are evil and should be taken off the shelves, well, then, you may be too far gone to save (get it? "Save?" Bahahahaha!).

Ok, now I will step down from my soapbox and leave you with this quote from NY Times Book Reviewer Michiko Kakutani from her July 19, 2007 review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

"The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal coexist. It’s a place where cars can fly and owls can deliver the mail, a place where paintings talk and a mirror reflects people’s innermost desires. It’s also a place utterly recognizable to readers, a place where death and the catastrophes of daily life are inevitable, and people’s lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world."



We make a pretty good Ron and Hermione, yes?