4,100 pages down, none to go

After neglecting laundry, grocery shopping, the general upkeep of my home, and occasionally my family, I finally finished the Harry Potter series. And now I see why, for the past seven years, Michael and Amy have wanted me to read the books. They are amazing.

How I missed being swept away by the amazing tsunami of all things Potter when the books were originally published is beyond me. It’s not like I lived under a rock. Of course, when the first book was released in 1998, I didn’t have kids in the target market for a book about wizards. And the only books I read at that time were about potty training and getting your kids to sleep. So the wave just washed right over me.

This was the extent of my HP knowledge: there was a kid named Harry who had two good friends, Ron and a chick whose name I couldn’t pronounce, and they learned magic at a boarding school with two guys named Snape and Dumbledore so they could take on the evil Voldemort. And that was all I knew.

Maybe I was living under a rock from 1998 – 2007… 

(Spoiler alert for anyone as behind the times as I am.)

A few thoughts on finishing the books:

Several people have asked if I cried when Dumbledore died. Oddly enough, no. I was so surprised and shocked – I couldn’t believe it really happened. And I kept expecting a twist to come that revealed he was just hiding.

I did cry when Fred died. I knew he wasn’t coming back – he was gone for good.

I cried when I finished the last book. Thinking about the three friends (and Ginny), sending their kids off to Hogwarts just killed me. Of course, I laughed when Ron claimed to be the reason everyone was staring at Harry.

When the books came out, there were calls for them to be banned because of all the witchcraft. I’ve never been one to call for a book burning, so I didn’t jump on that band wagon. And now that I’ve read them, I really don’t get it. Good is good and evil is evil. If the books made evil look appealing, then maybe I could see why some parents wouldn’t want their kids to read them. But that is not the case here. Not at all.

Perhaps now I’ll tackle The Lord of the Rings…? Nope, don’t think so. My house and family can’t take me getting involved in another epic book series. Not this summer, anyway.