Hi everyone! If there is anyone out there who has been wondering where I’ve been, I have been a little busy. My last post was in April and that was around the time the school year was starting to wind down. If you are a teacher you know, the end of the school year is both a blessing and a curse because of all the things that have to be done to close up the school year. A few weeks after that, I worked summer school and then my honeymoon was right after summer school ended. Now, I have been savoring the last weeks of summer before another school year gets into full swing again.
When I finished my school year, I wanted to set a reading goal for myself. I grew up in the Harry Potter generation. Harry and I were the same age as he worked his way through Hogwarts and when he “graduated”, so did I. I remember all the hype that surrounded him and the adventures he set out on. As avid of a reader as I am, I never got into the Harry Potter series when it was in its heyday. Not sure why, but it just didn’t click with me at the time. Being a book enthusiast and all, I have received some surprised looks over the years when I admitted to people that I had never read the Harry Potter series. I have seen bits and pieces of some of the movies, I knew that Harry’s besties are Ron and Hermione, he went to school at Hogwarts, and he wore circle glasses and had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, but that was really the extent of my knowledge. I do, however, have some people in my life that are true “Potheads” and know everything and anything about Harry. I figured that Harry (and Rowling) must be on to something if people are so in love with him and the series. Some of these people that are fans (including my husband) also do not usually read for fun, but they have read the series multiple times (like my husband). This fascinated me because I know that the later books in the series are a few hundred pages long and that would be intimidating to a non-reader. I just wanted to see what all the hype was about.
Let me say that I was truly impressed. There are so many different themes and current events that weave their way through these books that I believe Harry Potter will never not be timely. Whether it is Harry getting into fights with his best friends and we are inside his mind trying to figure things out to Lord Voldemort (oops…He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named…sorry!) and his army taking over Hogwarts when Dumbledore is no longer at the helm and the politics that go along with that, there will always be relevance in the texts. Probably what I most enjoyed about the books are the descriptions that Rowling uses to describe EVERYTHING! She is really a master at this! I was truly transported to Hogwarts and walked through the hallways, I sat in the Great Hall and shared in special meals with the students and professors, and I created different potions in class. I empathized with Hermione when she would have to study her little butt off, but Ron and Harry would rather horse around and let her do all the work. I understood how Harry felt when he was on 4 Privet Drive with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley; he was in a place he completely did not belong and did not fit in and I relate to him when he would be thrilled to board the Hogwarts Express because he knew that Hogwarts was the place he belonged. I have had professors as influential in my life as Dumbledore and those who didn’t believe in me like Snape. Everything in these books just work! I can also write another whole post on all the pop culture references that I had no idea came from Harry Potter that I discovered within the pages. I was left at points not being able to put the books down and wishing I received mail via owl. I really want a Hedwig…just saying…
I highly recommend reading this series if you have not done so already. Rowling really has a gift for writing and it is amazing how she anticipated some events she explains in the series compared to how they worked out in real life. I know I am late to the game, but better late then never, right?
Bookworm's Delight 