Double Double toil and trouble

I remember when the first Harry Potter book came out. I’m not sure what compelled me, but I reserved the book at our local library (it was so popular it was already on loan). After about a month of waiting, I got the call that the book was now available and picked it up. I tried to read it but I just couldn’t get into it. I felt like it was boring. I don’t think I ever even got past the opening scene with Dumbledore and McGonagall leaving Harry on the door step of the Dursley’s.

I never ended up finishing it and, until seeing the movie Deathly Hallows Part 1, I didn’t have a big urge to read any of them through either. I had seen the movies, why would I read something I’ve already seen? I’ve thoroughly spoiled myself, after all. Later I got over that, but then my thinking was that since the first two movies were now rather kiddy and uninteresting in my now older eyes, the books would be the same and I didn’t want to have to paddle through the first two just to get at the rest of them. I’ve also acquired a certain impatience and lack focus to read through books. Eventually, however, I wound up listening to the audio books, read by the magnificent Stephen Fry, who practically brought the books to life. I did skip the second book, but otherwise I listened through them all.

During the course of this, much like with the movies, I came to the conclusion that, like enika, I’m far more interested in the older generations than the actual main characters of the books and movies. I think that of, for the lack of a better term, 'Harry’s generation' I was only interested in Luna and Neville, the rest of my interest lied with the Weasley twins and the adults. My interest in the adults, along with the urge to see how it all ends without having to wait for ages for the final movie, was actually a big reason as to why I wanted to read the books - I wanted to know more about them. Imagine my disappointment when it turned out that the books didn’t reveal much more than the movies.

Over the course of the books I grew sick of Harry as a character and all the romance plots and puny drama between the young students. I was far more interested in how they would have to actually face a war at such a young age, a war that would essentially be a genocide from Death Eaters’ part, but unfortunately I feel like the author didn‘t take advantage of the inherent tragedy and drama of their situation. I should probably mention I was sick of Voldemort even before I hit the books. I was also disappointed by the idea of horcruxes. They felt like a sudden flat idea, shoved to the books because the author simply needed some loop hole in there so Harry could kill the wizard she had made out to be so powerful. I understand that there needed to be a way, but horcruxes, to me, are a very dull idea that is similar to a variety of clichés within the genre of fantasy. I guess I could also include the prophecy in here, along with the fact that the main character is a male child who happens to be the “chosen one” (would be nice to have a female child as the chosen one for a change, just a FYI at the young adult fantasy novelists) and whose parents have died a tragic death.

This probably makes it sound like I hate the books, but I really don’t. I think they are okay. I’m not a huge fan or anything but they were okay, and Stephen Fry made it very entertaining to listen to them. Harry Potter books are certainly better than a lot of the crap published these days, I’m looking at you, Twilight books.

I think that’s about it with me and the phenomenon that is Harry Potter.
As a summary: I wanted to know more about the adults! I wanted to see children - not just Harry - facing a war and the notion of genocide.

Here, have a song...