Harry Potter...13 Years Late.

Oh, Harry Potter. I've put off reading these books for an insane amount of time. Apparently, the first book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in 1998. Although I don't recall hearing about the books until maybe 2002. In college, I heard about some people really liking the books and it was always a big deal when a new movie was released. Some of my high school students like the books and I decided about three years ago I better watch the movies so I knew a little about them. I watched the first two movies and never really got into them. I didn't think I would like the books because I've never been that into fantasy or science fiction. Thanks to ladies in my book club, I was finally convinced to read the books.

I read the first one and it was okay. Having seen the movie several times, I felt like I was just reading the movie and images were already formed in my head (I hate reading books after I've seen the movie for this reason). However, I was interested enough to keep reading. I really liked the second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but it wasn't until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that I completely fell in love. I have never devoured books like I did with this series! I can't praise this series enough. I don't want to say too much in case people are reading this that, like me, have been living under a rock for the past decade and have avoided these.

Harry, Hermoine, Dumbledore, Dobby, Sirius, Snape, and Nelville Longbottom are among my favorite literary characters. During the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, my husband came into the room to make sure I was okay, as I'd been crying for ten minutes straight. Later, he asked me why I got so emotional about fake characters. I told him I cared more about these characters than most real people. He got offended (thinking I meant my family and friends), but I explained that it is much more upsetting to read about a character going through something or dying than it is to hear about some girl I don't know dying on the news. He didn't get it, but I think any true reader would agree that fictional characters can have as much (and sometimes more) of an impact on our emotions and lives than most people we encounter in daily life (and no, honey, you are not included!).

Moral of the post: if you haven't read Harry Potter, do so immediately! Don't watch the movies: I can't even explain what you are missing.