How I Ended Up on the Harry Potter Bandwagon

August 14th, 2006

I took children’s literature as an elective in college because reading was a monumental part of my childhood. In fact, I had at one time aspired to write children’s books and wrote several storylines and a few chapters of it here and there so I thought it would be interesting to take a college level course on the subject. The course covered the basic elements that are shared across “classic” children’s literature. You know the ones that last through the ages to be passed on from generation to generation. Our midterm paper assignment was to select a popular children’s book and explain if we thought it deserved the title of “classic” or if it was just cleverly marketed to a generation that does not spend enough time reading to know the difference.

At that time, Harry Potter was all the rage. The fourth book of the series had just been released and you could not go anywhere without seeing the spectacled main character plastered all over the place, every kid in the nation had to have it. It was the epitome of a well developed marketing strategy. So I decided J.K. Rowling would be an easy target, and decided to blow him out of the water. In order to do it, I decided to read the books and get some ammo. I soon realized that J.K. Rowling was not a “him” at all and I was suddenly intrigued. Why did I assume the author was a guy? I guess I inherently knew that it is rare for an author to cross genders in the first person.

Now I have to confess that although I am a voracious reader, rarely putting a book down before it is finished, I find that I occasionally skip sentences, paragraphs, and depending on the book, several pages. Quite frankly, I get bored with tedious descriptions of generic things. J.R.R Tolkien’s chapters describing trees and forests would be an example of repetitive adjectives that I’d rather not be subjected to. I went to the library and checked out the first three Harry Potter books and borrowed the fourth book from my nephew. Three days later, skipping all classes and ramen noodles as my only form of nutrition, I emerged from my dorm, bleary eyed and utterly convinced to switch my thesis in favor of the idea that the Harry Potter Series is the epitome of “classic” children’s books that will endure beyond this generation.

I did not skip a word. Not one word. Although the books are highly descriptive, they captured my imagination in a way few books have. Unlike other plots with oddly named characters and intertwining relationships, I did not have to refer back to the first chapters to jog my memory of who was related to whom. The characters names cleverly reflect their personality and are introduced fully into the plot at the right time, in a non-rushed manner. Although I consider these books easy to read, they are in no way linear. The plot is complex and multi-dimensional, each book illuminating the interlinking pieces of the previous book and entwining details that will be revealed in future books. It is, in a word, genius. After only a few chapters, I stopped my judicial reading and became fully engrossed in a magical world, and to this day, I wish I had a wand to swish and flick away my troubles and handle anoying co-workers. Other authors have their work cut out for them to be able to compete in the Harry Potter arena.

So here I am, a former non-subscriber, transformed into the ultra-fanatical Harry Potter advocate. I have all of the books. I have hardcover, paperback, audio, digital, and the entire collection of DVD movies. So I am a Harry Potter junkie and I am ok with that. In fact, the only people that have ever given me any grief about it are the ones that have never read the books. Maybe if they read the books, they could give me more specific grief about my jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon, since I am sure they will come along for the ride as well.

P.S. My favorite book is the third book and I cried straight through the last 3 chapters of “The Half Blood Prince.” Although I think Warner Brothers has done a wonderful job with the movies, there is so much more to the books they are a delightful read even if you know how each book ends because you’ve seen the movies. I highly recommend the audio books for long drives. You will be enchanted. Happy reading!

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Entry Filed under: Harry Potter