I already have all the books in hardback and paperback versions, well read to be sure but in fairly decent condition. (There were a couple of books I replaced after I read them over and over and loaned them to my daughters who read them over and over and they finally fell apart.)
I have all the Stephen Fry audio books of Harry Potter and listen to them all the time. And now I have all the Utimate Editions of all eight movies. I love having all the deleted scenes and extra content, but I don't need the versions that come in a special box or anything else they will come up with in the future. Enough is enough.
To be honest, I was kind of expecting this particular gift. The one that took me by surprise is the book, edited by Travis Prinzi, Harry Potter for Nerds: Essays for Fans, Academics, and Lit Geeks. Cool.
My husband, Terry, who knows a lot about Harry even though he hasn't read any of the books and has only seen four or five of the movies, asked why I listen to the audio books all the time. I listen when I'm going to sleep. I started thinking about it and I think it goes back to my childhood. I've never fallen asleep easily, unlike Terry. I liked being read to as a child, I loved reading to our daughters when they were children but found that sometimes I was the one who got sleepy. There is something soothing and relaxing to me about someone reading to me. Listening to a book when I know the story so well lets me fall asleep quickly. It's different than listening to music. If the music is instrumental, I find myself keeping time to the music. If someone is singing, I want to sing along and pay so much attention to the words that I'm more wide awake than when I crawled under the covers.
A special gift indeed - one that I will cherish for years to come. And now it's time to find my place in Chamber of Secrets on my mp3 player where I fell asleep last night - just as soon as I finish my tea and have one more piece of Christmas fudge.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
