Harry Potter Extravaganza

Welcome to the next stop on the Harry Potter Extravaganza tour! The tour is hosted by Monica at Bibliophilic Book Blog. For my part of the tour, I’m going to tell you how Harry came to be a part of my life.

I have not always been a reader. I would read one, maybe two, books a year. Nothing really grabbed my attention, until Harry Potter came into my life.

The year was 2002 and I was 22 years old. A customer came into the place I worked; a lady in her 40s and in the clutches of her arms was a Harry Potter novel. Yeah, I had heard of the series and seen the books around. But I wanted to know why everybody was reading this book, including grown-ups. After all, isn’t Harry Potter a children’s book? But these books are so thick. Do kids and teenagers read thick books? I sure didn’t; at least not then.

So I asked her. I asked her what the big deal was about these books. She simply said “You just have to read it. Then you will understand.” She peaked my curiosity enough to get me to try it. I was going to get the first book and find out for myself what all the fuss was about.

I was hooked by the first book. The details were incredible and the elaborate world-building was fascinating. I really had nothing to compare it to since I really hadn’t read anything like it before but I knew this was going to take over my world until I read every last book in the series.

When I first started reading the series, books 1-4 had been released. I had to wait, just like the rest of the muggles and die hard fans for books 5, 6 and 7. I didn’t go to any of the midnight release parties so I made sure I pre-order my copy so that I would get it shortly after release date.

It was a sad, sad day when I finished reading book 7; the journey had come to an end. Yes, I got closure and yes, it ended well but I just wasn’t ready to let go of Harry, his friends and their world.

I cried.

Harry Potter and his world had been a part of my life for the last 5 years.  This series launched me into the world of reading for enjoyment. Never has a character, book or author captivated my attention like Harry and J.K. Rowling. This series did what no other book did - it got me to read for fun.

J.K. Rowling is a fascinating woman. To think a divorced, single mother started out writing this series on napkins; and look at where she is now, all that she has done. She has changed the world of reading. When I heard she was going to be on the Oprah show, I knew I had to watch. I wore my kids out to make sure they were napping by the time the show started and I was glued to the TV for an hour.

I am currently trying to get books 1-5 in hardcover. I have books 6 and 7 in hardcover on my bookshelf. I no longer have the first 5 books because I foolishly sold them at a yard sale. Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I figured since I had read them that I was done with them. I wasn’t going to re-read them so I had thought better to give them to someone else who would enjoy them as much as I did. Now I regret that decision and I’m working on getting those hardcovers. I would like to re-read them one day. I would also like to read them with my children to share this experience, this magical world, with them and eventually pass the series along to them.

And there you have it; that’s my Harry Potter story. What about you - have you read this series? What was most memorable for you? How has this series affected you?