Join the club

Last night at 9:45 I reached a milestone in my life: I finished Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. And it was sad, oh my goodness. I cried. I cannot lie. This last book, or the second to last in the series, is very sad. Which goes to show how fond I've grown of the characters: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Ginny, and others. I love Hogwarts and Hagrid's cottage, and have learned to despise the Dursleys and Malfoys. (a link to a great H.P. character resource)

It has been just three months since I picked up the first book, H.P. and the Sorcerer's Stone. After quickly racing through that one, I realized that I had to finish the series as soon as possible. It was going to take a lot of time, as the books get longer and heavier with each new installment, and I had no desire to turn into a hermit who sat around with her nose buried in a book during every spare minute.

At that point, I remembered the suggestion of my friend Kate that I listen to the books on CD. The dramatic reading was excellent, she told me. When I found out that one of my co-workers had them all on CD, I began borrowing them. Thus, I could spend my lunch hours "reading" about Harry Potter, while preparing, consuming, and cleaning up after my food. I could continue my journey with Harry during my three weekly trips to and from Muncie. To the grocery store (first time I felt lucky that it was in a different city), on the way to friends' houses in Ohio, on my way to meet my parents for dinner, etc.

I was able to nearly finish a ginormous scrapbooking project because I could listen to Harry's stories and get lost in the process of choosing background paper, matting, and cutting and arranging all of my photos and bits of pamphlets that I'd saved from my trip to Ireland. I also made great progress on my quilting project while listening to Harry Potter.

And did I mention the Jim Dale, the reader of the books on CD, is the best dramatist ever? He won an award (can't remember which one) for the 134 different voices he created for H.P. and the Order of the Phoenix. How could a person keep all of those characters straight without Mr. Dale's voices? He brings life to the characters in a way that reading the words on a page could not (not that I'm discouraging reading them, but I'm saying -- he's good. He's very good.).

But now I'm finished. And I'm sad, though very eager for Book 7 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) to arrive (July 21st). I'm also excited to share the tremendous story-telling ability that JK Rowling possesses and the convincing world she has created.

From one bibliophile/librarian to her readership - you absolutely must read these books. They are so well-written; the characters are endearing and revolting (as per the author's intentions), and there are so many excellent themes woven throughout each book - within each and within the series as a whole. She deals with issues of racism, adolescence, cliques, self-identity and self-esteem, and decision-making. Giving of oneself for others - therefore, selflessness - is a significant theme beginning in Book 1 and continuing.
These are important for ideas for people to consider, and it would be easy for parents to parallel these issues with things their children deal with in real life, thus helping them learn how to digest and personally apply, even to discern positives and negatives, in their own lives.

Thus, READ, I say. And read good literature, the stuff that fortifies your soul and encourages your imagination. This is one example, but there are many books out there. Read things that challenge you (both your intellect and your perceptions), not just the things that make you feel good.