Still Here

 My time of actively writing about Harry Potter books and movies has come to a paused state. Not because I like the books or movies less, but because I don't really have anything more to add. I still enjoy listening to Stephen Fry reading the books and watch the movies once in a while. I always preferred the books to the movies. I do find it interesting that, even after the many times I've read the books, I still sometimes find little details that I had missed or perhaps just forgotten. The period of time - and the amount of time - I spent reading, discussing, rereading, watching movies and discussing was something I thoroughly enjoyed. I talked with my daughters, with friends, with strangers I met online who have become friends, and with complete strangers I met in stores. It was all fun; it was part of finding that we do have so much more in common than we ever realize. So, from my point of view, it's all been worth it. It has been a gift to all of us that far exceeds what any one author could do.

Pat

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I and II

When I opened this Christmas present from my husband, I was extremely happy and a little bit sad. I commented to him that it's the last time he will buy a Harry Potter movie for me. It's really the last time I'll buy much that's Harry Potter - I'm sure that Warner Brothers and the book publishers won't like the sound of that, but honestly, how many copies of the books, the audio books, or the movies does one person need?

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!


Harry Potter sighting!

It's amazing how a Harry Potter book can catch my eye. I've looked at the covers so often that I notice them even when they are in the background.

I was watching the news story about a police officer in Anchorage, Alaska, who is an illegal immigrant. The man they were interviewing about the story was sitting in front of a book shelf that had the Harry Potter books, in order, on the top shelf. It was the spine of Goblet of Fire that I saw first. And then I noticed that all the books were there with Deathly Hallows clearly on the end.