Does Harry Die?
I just checked my e-mail and I received e-mail from both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com preparing me for the event of the decade. On July 21, 2007 the release of the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise of books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Panic has surged through my body as I am in disbelief at how quickly this day has come.
Several years ago I remember going Christmas shopping at the mall while my Mom was at some seminar for her job. I walked into the B. Dalton books and picked up the first Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone after pre-militant lesbian Rosie O'Donnell talked at length at how great the book was.
It was a kid’s book and I had grown out of those. In fact, I had grown out of those long before I was supposed to since all the books were geared towards girls. It was very difficult to find a book that a boy would enjoy reading. Finally, I sat there in the food court after all my Christmas shopping was done, and began reading.
The Boy Who Lived was the title of the first chapter and it sparked in me a reading frenzy unlike any book or series ever did. I devoured the book, and then I bought the second one. Even though I didn't think it was as good as the first, I still relentlessly took it all in. Then I added the third, Prisoner of Azkaban, currently my favorite in the series and consumed it.
When the fourth book came out, that's when trouble arose for me. The book was the longest in the series, and I just couldn't get into it. It was difficult for me to become excited about the Triwizard Tournament because it seemed like it was going on forever. I thought it would never end. I did press through and finished the book, however it took me much longer than the other three combined.
I finally reached a point when I dropped almost anything for Harry Potter. Upon the release of the fifth book, I actually took Saturday off so I could read it. I knew I had to get through it quickly as everyone and their grandmother was going to start discussing it and I wanted in on the discussion. When it arrived, I opened it up and began reading. I barely stopped and was able to get through it in the weekend. It was the largest book I ever read in such a short amount of time. I seem to remember that Charles Bronson died around that time, yet hardly anyone was talking about his death, but more about the death of Sirius Black.
I made the same arrangements upon the release of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I took that Saturday off and when I finally got the book, I began reading and didn't stop until I finished that same weekend. It's almost necessary to read them all the through as quickly as you can because people talk and want to discuss things about the book, and if you haven't read it, than the dreaded spoiler will ruin the experience.
Even though the task is daunting, I am looking forward to reading this book all the way through. What is even better is that there are about six months before the final book's release. Therefore, I just might read all six books in the next six months to be up to date on everything Harry Potter since I haven't read a Harry Potter book since The Half-Blood Prince, nearly two years ago.
DIGG IT!
Del.icio.us
3 comments:
Dude, I'll have you know that I am incredibly offended right now. You have made a huge error in your Harry Potter reporting. The title is not Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows. The title is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In any case I will definitely be at the midnight release party at the B&N near your store. I Love Harry Potter.
I'm calling this an unintentional typo. If the "G" and the "H" weren't right next to each other, I would have made a more obvious mistake.
If only Microsoft Word 200BC knew the title of the book, it would have caught the error. Sadly, I have to suffer with the fact it recognizes "Gallows" as a word and didn't alert me to the error.
It took me a loooong time before I read the first book in the series, despite urgings from my family. The first four were out before I started. By then nobody was really discussing them so no spoilers for me. Then the 6th book came out and I was still on number 5. As I was checking books out at the library and the students in line were discussing the new book, also new to the library, I mentioned that I had not read the 6th book yet so please don't say anything to spoil it for me. The students said they wouldn't except, one boy, who heard what I said, looked me in the eye, and gave away some critical information from the book. I was sooo mad. I asked him why he would do that and gave him a short lecture on the wrongs of what he did. None of the students like to get one of my short lectures so they try not to raise my ire. I don't remember what the critical piece of info was as it was such a traumatic event and I have blocked it from my mind. I am still in therapy over it. Being the cheap person that I am, unless one of my children buy it and I read it after them, then I will just be waiting until I can get it at the library, the public library.
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