I really (really) love re-reading the Harry Potter books.
There’s something comforting about them, you know? In spite of the death and pain and war and all.
I first read Harry Potter on the insistence of my brother. I distinctly remember: he let me borrow the books #1-5 January of 2004 – just after the 5th book came out and just before the 3rd movie came out.
I fell in love. I devoured all 5 books (thousands of pages) in less than 7 days.
I actually – and you’ll forgive me if this makes me sound crazy – wrote my Master’s thesis on Harry Potter. Granted, the chosen subject was significantly more involved and academic than just writing about a young adult book series, but still. I spent about 6 months reading and writing about Harry Potter. And passed my thesis defense with flying colors.
Since then I’ve been re-reading the entire series about once a year. Usually in the fall/winter months. Partly because spring is when I re-read Anne of Green Gables. Partly because the increasingly dark stories lend themselves to dark, chilly overcast Saturday afternoons curled up with apple cider under a quilt (guess what I’m doing tomorrow).
I love the thickness of the books – it feels so luxurious to read 700+ pages of fiction. Especially several books in a row.
I love the barely perceptible changes between books 1, 2, 3 and 4. The first book, of course, is written at approximately 6th grade level or so. It’s the shortest of all the books with the largest print. I love (love) how the print of the books gets ever so slightly smaller as the content becomes more adult. It’s just an interesting visual shift to recognize as you go through the books.
I love all the detail in the books – this is one of the many differences between the books and the movies (which I plan on blogging about next Friday). A novelist can use her choice of words to draw your attention to something specific, or even mention in passing in a way that is (not better or worse but) so different from the way a filmmaker does.
I love combing through these books with every read-through, looking for things I might have missed (ex: this time reading through the series, I’m noticing how all the *big* events are happening actually ON holidays. Specifically holidays that have connection to pagan (primitively magical) festivals. It’s just so interesting to me).
I love how many literary themes and topics are explored throughout the series. I could probably write a whole paper on the use of music in Harry Potter. I’m sure I could write a whole book on the use of names in Harry Potter. I have a soft spot in my heart for academia (I do, after all, have a completely useless Master’s degree in English Literature), and once you start reading the Harry Potter series you just can’t help but find piles of interesting topics.
I really admire JK Rowling and I love what Stephen King has said about the books:
Her characters are lively and well-drawn, her pace is impeccable, and although there are occasional continuity drops, the story as a whole hangs together almost perfectly over its 4,000-plus page length
As of this writing, I’ve just started the 6th book (which I think is my favorite) …. I love reading these books. Love.
Re-reading the Harry Potter book series plants a seed of inspiration to:
- Watch all the movies. Obviously.
- Quit doing everything else I need to do (laundry, dishes, dayjob) and just read until my head aches.
- Write a novel. Or 5. For some reason reading great books like this always makes me feel like I could write one myself.
- Write an article or series of academic articles on Harry Potter. I have a maybe-someday goal of writing a book-length study guide for use in advanced High School or undergrad English classes on Harry Potter.
- Revisit my Master’s Thesis. I wrote it just a couple months before the final book came out.
- Re-read the series again. As soon as I’m done I always want to start again immediately. Just like when I watch Band of Brothers.
Have you read the Harry Potter books? Do you ever re-read them?
*note: HP book links are Amazon affiliates.
I just re-read the last book this summer in preparation for the movie
My son is 9yo and started reading when he was still in pre-school. He would devour non-fiction texts- the DK Science Encyclopedia is one of his favorite go-to books. But the only fiction books he totally loved were those stupid Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. This summer he wanted to get the Harry Potter Lego game for our xBox 360. We told him we would purchase it after he read the first book. He did, we bought the game, and he kept reading. Through the summer he read the next two books. He is still reading book four but not with any regularity. School takes the oomph out of him and he is now working his way through the How to Train Your Dragon books. (Total aside- have you seen the movie? It’s really sweet. I highly recommend it.) I know he will get back to the series when he has a good chunk of time.
As a teacher- I love how the Potter series made reluctant readers want to read and it grew with them- as you mentioned. Even ten years later- it is still working its magic.
PS- I love orange jellyroll pens too, and I am not at all horrified that you mark up your books
PPS- My rambling style of writing must drive you nuts as an English major
PPPS- Thanks for your continued blog posts. I really do enjoy the variety you post.
is it terrible that i really wanna borrow one of your copies so that i can read all your comments?
i kinda wanna write something on the twilight series, but i don’t really know how to go about it
xo,
christen
Look at that Steven King quote again and think harder. It’s a polite bit of fudge. He basically says it’s sloppy.
I read this blog a lot and really enjoy it, but this post depressed me. I’m a publisher of YA fiction in the UK and, like you, an English graduate. I also have a postgraduate qualification in children’s literature. And one assertion I really don’t agree with above is that HP is YA. It’s not; it’s children’s/young teen. In YA the adult world is fleshed out in all its complexity. That doesn’t happen in HP – I put together a couple of questions at ‘advanced high school’ level to demonstrate what I mean:
1. Do adults working in teaching institutions generally:
a. have normal human needs for active and fulfilling personal lives, including sexual relationships?
b. live as celibates?
(if your answer is (a), find at least one example per book to support your argument).
2. What is obesity?
a. a character flaw
b. a result of over-consumption of food
(if you do NOT answer (a), you will be required to compare and contrast Harry’s consumption of butterbeer, magical sweets, puddings etc with Dudley’s in order to demonstrate that no goalposts are moved during the series)
You’re basically a fan of some populist novels. Cool; we all like a bit of that. I’m a secret fan of Twilight, personally. But you’re also laying claim to some academic credentials and you’ve forgotten that no academic worth their salt ‘loves’ his/her text, (s)he interrogates it. Love it and want to spread the word? Head to a fan convention and have a nice time!
I absolutely adore these books, and I think part of it is that JK Rowling’s own story is so wonderfully fantastic. I love stories that show that no matter how desperate the situation, there is always the potential that everything completely changes tomorrow. Forever.
Jumping in here… Elle — I see what you’re saying, however, why can’t we love a text we’re interrogating? Doesn’t that make one more passionate about it? Just wondering
xo,
Christen
I re-read them about once a year too! Also usually in winter. I also re-read all of the previously released books before the launch of each new book as they were coming out.
I’d love to read your thesis (so serious).