I'm back with Day 3 of the 30 day book challenge. Whoohoo!!! The topic for day 3 is favorite series. In my last post I wrote about one of my favorite series. The Work and the Glory is great, but not my FAVORITE. Being a child of the 90's and a teenager of the 2000's I bet you can guess what my favorite series is. It's about a boy who is orphaned and has to live with his horrible aunt and uncle until a boarding school offers him a spot to come learn. Can you guess what series I'm talking about? I'll give you a minute to think.
Yes, yes I know. I'm so predictable. Harry Potter is EVERYONE'S favorite series. So many people would choose this as their favorite series that I probably don't even need to summarize it. So instead of wasting time summarizing a series that almost everyone I know has read (or has at least seen the movies) I will instead share why this is my favorite series.
As I've mentioned before, my mom always has a book in her hand. Us kids could all be watching t.v. and mom was reading on the couch. She read to us until we were old enough to read and then she read with us. I attribute my love of reading to my mom and the example she set for us. Reading has always been a part of my life. I read Little House on the Prairie, The Baby Sitter's Club, and Box Car Children (all highly recommended for Elementary aged kids). Then Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out. Confession time: I actually did not like this book the first time I tried to read it. I checked it out from my school library in 6th grade and actually returned it before I finished it. Even now I find the first couple chapters of the Sorcerer's Stone slow and hard to get through. But I push through it because I know of the magic that lies in wait (pun intended). I gave it another chance later and am so happy I did! This is the first series I remember staying up late reading because I could not go to bed without knowing what happened. I went to a midnight release when book 6 came out because I couldn't wait even an extra day or 2. I HAD to know what happens next! When the movies started coming out my friends and I would have in depth conversations about how the books were better (because they always are), and vent about all the stuff the movies left out that we thought definitely should have been in the movies. (Hello, how can you leave Quidditch out of the 5th movie????)
I think the reason my generation loves Harry Potter as much as we do is because we were able to grow up with Harry Potter. I was 9 when Sorcerer's Stone came out, probably 11 or12 when I first read it. As the books were released, Harry Potter and I were basically the same age. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were 3 more friends for kids my age. Reading about the books was like hearing your best friends tell a story about their crazy adventure. It really felt (and still feels) like you are hanging out with your 3 best friends. And the world J.K. Rowling was able to create! How can anyone read these books and not immediately want to go to Hogwarts, hang out with Hagrid, drink Butterbeer, and have Mrs. Weasley yell at you? What kid wouldn't want to fly a broomstick, play Quidditch, and go hang out at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes? Reading these books really lets you escape into a world that is every kid's dream!
With all the turmoil that can come with being a young adult, having these books as an escape was a dream come true. Your best friend might be bad at you, you might have gotten a horrible grade on a test, or your crush started dating someone else. But you had another Harry Potter adventure to turn to, and, even better, Harry was going through some of the same things! But Harry lives in a wizard world with spells, magical creatures, and legit bad guys, so it made it even better (to read, maybe not experience).
Harry Potter helped an entire generation get through a lot of tough times. It helped promote literacy and showed that reading can be fun and books are cool! I only wish that every generation had a series of books like we were lucky enough to grow up with. Getting excited about a book being released, rereading the series from start to finish so that everything is fresh in your mind, waiting in line with your money in hand, and running home to find a cozy spot to guzzle up the newest adventure, this was the life! These are the things I wish kids (and lets be real, adults) experienced on a regular basis. This is what Harry Potter provided. We need more books and series like Harry Potter!
I have read the series through, start to finish, countless times. Any time a new book was coming out, I read the series over again. Any time a movie was coming out, I read the series again. Every summer, just for fun, I read the series over again. It's been a couple of years since my last read through, and I think I'm experiencing some Harry Potter withdrawals. I think this proud Hufflepuff needs to get to reading some Harry Potter!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment